Money-Saving Tips For Paying Off Your Student Loans
Hello my fellow college graduates! As fun and beneficial as our college years were, many of us are now to the point where we need to begin paying off our student loans. The monthly payment requests begin rolling in around six months after you graduate, and you’ll need to be prepared to make your payments on time as you move along the road to being debt-free. Here are my money-saving tips for paying off your loans!
Use auto-debit.
I highly suggest putting your payments on auto-debit so you don’t have to remember to log-on to your service site each month to submit your payment. This will prevent you from accidentally forgetting and being late on payments, which causes interest to increase as time goes on, meaning you’ll owe more money in the long-run. Auto-debit will help you stay on track.
Adjust your payment schedule.
Select a sum that is comfortable for you, as well as an ideal day of the month for the money to be extracted from your account. For instance, you may not want the money to be withdrawn around the same time you pay rent, electricity or internet bills. Check your calendar of pay days and select a date when you’ll always have money to spare.
Create a monthly budget.
Although this doesn’t sound fun, creating a budget to keep yourself on course may be necessary. Determine how much money needs to go out each month for bills (rent, electric, water, trash, internet, student loan payments, etc.), as well as additional expenses for food, gas, etc. Determine how much money is left over from your monthly income and create a budget for yourself to avoid over-spending.
Cut corners.
Resist making too many unnecessary purchases. I’m not saying you need to completely cut yourself off from “fun money,” but you do need to remain at an appropriate amount based on your income. Look up equations and spreadsheet templates online that help you calculate these stats so you can manage your money on your own.
Buy generic when possible.
Though this isn’t necessary, you may find yourself saving money in the long-run by buying generic. Test out some generic versions of the products you buy and see which ones work for you — If you find that certain generic items are the same as some name-brand products you typically use, you can switch them out next time you buy and save a bit of money each month.
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What are your budgeting tips? Do you already use some of the methods I use, and if so, have they worked for you? Making student loan payments has been much more financially comfortable for me than I was expecting, which I’m very grateful for. You hear a lot of horror stories about everyone being broke college-grads, but that’s not necessarily the case! What helped me the most was going into the student loan payment process with these tips in mind and being prepared to use them when necessary. I hope this helps you out too & let me know if you have any questions or need any advice! Have a great weekend!
