How to Pay Off Multiple Student Loans
- 1). Be honest with yourself. Many new college graduates have a tendency to not want to look at the hard numbers. You have to sit down and look at how many loans you have as well as the amount, monthly payment and interest rate of each one. Then total up the amount of all your loans and monthly payments so that you know exactly where you stand.
- 2). Look into consolidation. Talk to a financial adviser at your school to find out if you qualify for any state, federal or private consolidation programs. These programs will leave you will less individual loans payments each month and oftentimes lower your average interest rate as well. Even if all of your loans cannot be consolidated, having two or three loans instead of five or six will help you feel less overwhelmed.
- 3). Get current on all of your student loans and stay on top of the minimum payments. Oftentimes, new college graduates become confused or overwhelmed by multiple student loans and quickly get behind on payments. If this happens to you, do whatever you can to get current, even if it means taking a part time job for a little while to bring in some extra money.
- 4). Start paying extra on the loan with the smallest balance as soon as you are financially able to do so. It may seem smarter to pay on the loan with the highest interest rate, but when you have four student loans to pay off, paying off one in its entirety will feel good and keep you motivated to keep paying extra. The smallest balance will pay off the fastest, so focus on that loan.
- 5). Continue paying whatever extra you can afford on the next smallest loan until it is paid off and then move on to the next. Remember to keep current on the other loans, but only pay extra to one loan at a time to see that balance drop quickly.
