For me, I treated student loans like a “house is burning” emergency. As long as I had that debt hanging over me, I felt like I couldn’t move forward with my financial future, so paying down my debt was my biggest priority. That said, it is an intensely personal decision. Some experts will recommend investing over…

If you are planning to receive the 25 year loan forgiveness, you should check to see what types of federal student loans you have. You might need to consolidate certain types of loans into a Direct loan to become eligible for forgiveness. I encourage you to check out this table here.

In most cases, negative items can remain on your credit report for up to seven years. However, as you continue to pay your bills on time, your older negative items will become less relevant and your credit score will improve over time — even if negative items remain.

Yes, that’s generally correct. Private student loans nor any loans that have been refinanced/consolidated through a private lender are never eligible for federal student loan forgiveness programs. With Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which is the most common program for the professions you named, the loans must be in…

By consolidating or refinancing your student loans, you can potentially lower your interest rate and/or decrease your minimum monthly payment, freeing up more money in your budget. It also can help make paying your loans more simple; instead of having to pay many different lenders, you have just one loan with one…

Congratulations on finding a good job and being able to prepare for your future by setting aside money in a retirement account and saving up an emergency fund. Also, good job on paying down your student debt!

It sucks feeling like you’re trapped by student loans — I’ve been there. But there are some student loan repayment options that you could turn to.

Are your loans federal, or private? If you cannot afford the minimum loan payments right now and you have federal loans, you may want to look into an income-driven repayment plan (IDR). Under an IDR, your payments are based on a percentage of your discretionary income. You need to apply for it each year, and your…

For borrowers who are eligible for PSLF, there’s really no better forgiveness program right now. But obviously if you leave your job before hitting the 10-year mark, you’d be unable to take advantage of this program.

I personally subscribe to Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps… and voted to pay off all $107k of my student loan debt first before investing. Why? Your debt has a guaranteed cost, whereas investment returns is speculatory. Many will argue that you can get a 7% market return over the long haul, but when adjusted for inflation…

Thanks for your question. Do you have 10 years left on a 20-year plan? If not, and you are on a 10-year plan hoping for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, the good news is that you won’t have to pay taxes on the amount forgiven. You can get an idea of how much forgiveness you might be eligible for by using one of our…

It’s a very personal decision and dependent on many different factors, such as your interest rate, monthly income, and your financial goals. We recently posted an article on this topic that may help you make the best decision for you.

As long as you’re keeping up with your regular payments and not missing any throughout the year, using your holiday bonus is a smart way to accelerate paying off your loans. Your lender is happy to get the payments, and the extra payment you make just helps you save money in interest over the length of your repayment.…

Thanks for your question. Unfortunately, private student loans typically come with very few repayment options when compared to federal student loans. There really aren’t any student loan forgiveness programs that apply to private student loans. One of the only options for making private student loan payments more…

Student loans can be pretty difficult to discharge. Here’s a good post we wrote on what happens with student loans if you file bankruptcy.

I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with loans after ITT Tech’s closure. Current students and recent graduates may be eligible to have their loans discharged, as long as the loans are federal, not private loans. We recently did a blog post on this topic that may be helpful to you and help you navigate the process. Hope…

Congrats on making it this far without student loans! That’s an awesome accomplishment, and will go a long way to get ahead.

Student loan forgiveness depends on a variety of factors. In your case, it appears you may be eligible for PSLF. You can estimate the potential value of PSLF for your situation using this calculator.

Kudos to you! My parents didn’t pay for my education, and student loan debt forced me to learn about money and build my work ethic right out of college. I would encourage you to submit a FAFSA form to get a federal student loan. (You can do so here. )Also, here is a great guide for filling out the FAFSA.

Depending on…

That’s a great question. There are many factors to consider here. In my opinion, the most important ones to consider are related to cost of attending balanced with the financial tradeoffs. Specifically, does a graduate degree help increase earning potential? If so, how much? How much will earning this degree cost? Are…