Absolutely! You can refinance any student loan, but there is one thing to keep in mind. If your student loans are federal, then refinancing them will essentially turn them into private loans. The reason for this is because your new lender will pay off your loans and you’ll then you’ll start paying your lender, who…

I’m glad to hear you’re in a good position to pay off your student loans! In terms of which order to pay off debt, one option to consider is paying off the highest-interest loans first. I’m not sure how the interest rate on your auto loan compares to that of your student loans, but that’s one option to consider. If…

Yes, you totally can. Deciding to refinance your federal student loans can be a big decision though. Do keep in mind is that when refinancing federal loans, you would lose certain benefits. You can read more about that here.

Glad to hear you have taken care of your own student loans! If you and your wife are looking for more flexibility with her loans, there are a few options. If she has federal student loans, I’d recommend looking into the Extended Repayment plan. This plan would lengthen her repayment term to 25 years, so the monthly…

Yes, exactly. For a Direct Consolidation Loan, the new rate is a weighted average of your current loans. To find that rate, you can use our Weighted Average Calculator.

Most banks don’t allow this, but if you have not completed your degree, one lender that may currently allow you to apply for refinancing is Citizen’s Bank. In order to apply, you 1) must have made 12 consecutive, on-time payments immediately before applying 2) must not currently be enrolled in school.

If she hasn’t done so already, she can check out income-driven repayment plan options. These plans limit payments based on income (10-15% of discretionary income). You can find a list here. Additionally, she could look into refinancing her student loans. However, it may be difficult to qualify as lenders are somewhat…

This sounds like a hard situation, good on you for recognizing that you need to be proactive.

The best way to verify eligibility is to complete and submit the the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Certification form. When you submit this form, the servicer will verify that both your employment and loans are eligible.

I personally believe it is best to pay off debt ASAP, although a financial advisor (... or someone trying to sell you investment products) will likely disagree. Why do I like paying off debt? The cost of debt is guaranteed, while the return on investment is speculatory. This question largely depends on the investment…

That’s awesome. :) Glad I could help.

That’s a great question, and it’s a difficult one to answer. You’re right that it really comes down to personal preference here in terms of what you feel comfortable. Personally, I prefer to pay off debt first as I know what the cost of that debt will be in terms of the interest rate. Others recommend maxing out a…

Typically, it’s best for borrowers to max out federal student loans first before turning to private loans. This is because federal student loans not only often have better rates, but they also have better repayment options like income-driven repayment, forgiveness, and deferment/forbearance. If you need private…

It depends on the types of loans you have and the interest rates each loan has. A Direct Consolidation Loan has a fixed interest rate for the length of the loan, based on the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of 1%. If you have loans with very…

This primarily depends on whether they are private or federal student loans. If they are federal, you really don’t have much room to negotiate... (read the promissory note when you get a chance and you’ll see.) To move forward, you can pursue student loan rehabilitation, which is an arrangement with a federal debt…

If you stick with PAYE, interest can pile up and you might end up paying more over time even if your monthly payments are less now. On top of this, currently the laws around student loan forgiveness through PAYE mean that any forgiven balance could be considered taxable income. So even if you hang in there for 20…

No, payments do not need to be consecutive to count for PSLF. They simply need to meet all requirements at the time they’re made to count, which are eligible employment and eligible loans (Direct Loans). You can find this information here on the Student Loan Hero website.

If you choose to refinance your student loans, the old loans would essentially be paid off by the new lender and closed. You’d then have a new loan with a new lender. I’m not sure if or how this would impact your credit score, but you would end up with a new loan to replace the old one.

I don’t foresee all student loans getting discharged any time soon. Unfortunately, I think the only option is to keep making payments on your loans. If you’re having trouble keeping up with your payments, you may want to explore your options, such as refinancing your debt.

When you refinance your student loans privately, you still receive your tax deduction for the interest paid, as long as you qualify for the deduction. You do lose some of the protections that come with federal loans when you refinance them privately, however, including the option for forgiveness.