Personal Finance and the College Graduate

There's nothing more that a college student looks forward to than graduation. That is, until they realize that they have this giant debt looming called a student loan.

 

This loan is a necessity for most students, as family finances often dictate it. Money is usually short for a good university and it seems like a small price to pay for a good education. However, most students have no idea how to pay it back!

 

Repayment is not as easy as most people think but knowing how to do it the right way can make it much cheaper and efficient. All it take is a little more education.

 

Most students are not aware that they have a grace period on their college student loans. These are usually in place until the student graduates and may have an extended period for an average of six months after graduation. Contact the lending institution and find out if the grace period can be extended so you will be able to find a job and also be able to start making payments.

 

After the grace period is over, you will have to start paying right away. Even if you can only make the minimum payment, do so. This reflects on you credit rating and can adversely affect your credit score which will give you problems when you apply for a credit card, car loan, or even a mortgage later on.

 

It's always wise to pay more than the monthly minimum. However if you can't, you can always ask the lending institution to change the amount you pay every month. They may also be able to extend your grace period some more if you're really having problems. 

 

A way to simplify the loan repayments is to get all the debts consolidated. It at least makes the payments easy since you're only dealing with one company. That means a single interest rate on a single payment instead of having to compute various rates and make out several checks to different companies. The best places to get your loans consolidated are with national banks or with companies that specialize in consolidating student loans.