Parenting is surely a challenging job but being a single mom is surely a million times tougher. However, single moms need not lose heart and stay determined and disciplined about paying down student loans systematically. Moreover, they must realize that there is some sort of assistance out there especially for single moms. Your state must be having a host of programs that have been designed for helping single mothers. You do not need to depend on these programs forever. You simply need to use them as stepping stones to get back on to a stable and solid financial path. You could become debt-free and even have a great credit score despite being a single mom and the sole breadwinner of the family. Only you need to put in some hard work, stay motivated, be disciplined and adopt a frugal lifestyle.
Your student loans from college days could seem overpowering and overwhelming especially when you need to run the show singlehandedly. However, you must realize that there are numerous others in your predicament and as per the statistics presented by the Federal Reserve; it is clear that student loans amount to over $1.3 trillion in the United States of America, second only to the total mortgage debt in the U.S.A. The overpowering burden of student loans is stopping couples from starting a family or preventing college graduates from purchasing a home. If you are a single mom, you must systematically approach student loans. Develop a solid plan for managing your student loans as that is crucial for boosting your overall long-term financial health. You may seek professional assistance from reputed companies like NationaldebtRelief.com for perfect solutions. Here are some effective tips for single moms for dealing with student loan debt.
Calculate Accurately Your Total Debt
You must understand precisely how much money you owe in terms of student loans. Students in the United States usually graduate with a pile of student loans both private and federally sponsored; since they had to arrange new financing every year they have been in school. Hence, now it is time to do meticulous math and determine accurately the total amount of money you need to pay back in terms of student loans. Once you know exactly how much you still owe, you could consider chalking out a plan for paying down the outstanding amount, or opt for consolidation or ask for student loan forgiveness.
Know & Understand the Terms
As you go about assimilating your debts and finding the total size of your student loan debt, you need to go about itemizing the terms associated with every loan. You need to realize that each loan must have come with diverse rates of interest and different rules of repayment. You would be requiring this crucial information for developing a repayment plan that avoids any extra fees, interest, and penalties. Moreover, single moms must know that the ‘Department of Education’ seems to have a website online for assisting students to identify their best student loan repayment plans.
Consider Reviewing the Grace Periods
As you are assimilating the specifics, you would soon realize that every loan seems to have a grace period. The grace period is supposed to be the time you are having post-graduation for starting to pay back your student loans. A grace period of one loan could differ from that of another. For instance, Stafford loans offer a grace period of six months while Perkins loans allow you around nine months of grace period to initiate your payments.
Opt for Consolidation
You may opt for consolidation once you have gathered all the vital information. The major advantage of consolidation seems to be the fact that it reduces the overall weight or burden of monthly payments. It usually, extends your payoff period or term that seems like a mixed blessing. You get more time for repaying your outstanding debt but you need to pay more in terms of interest. You must do a meticulous comparison of loan terms before signing up for consolidation. You must, however, know that once you consolidate, you would be losing your right to all the income-based repayment plans and even the deferment options that are associated with certain federal loans.
Focus on the Highest Loans First
It is a good idea to start paying off all those loans that have the highest rates of interest. Once you pay off the loan with the highest rate of interest, you could focus on the next loan with the second-highest rate of interest. You may carry on eliminating your debts in this manner from the highest to the lowest. This technique is referred to as the debt avalanche method of debt repayment.
Consider Paying Down Principal
This seems to be a pretty common debt payoff stratagem. You simply must focus on paying additional principal whenever possible. The faster you could go about reducing the principal; you would end up paying substantially less in terms of interest during the loan term. As interest is supposed to be calculated as per the principal every month, you must realize that less principal would be translating into relatively lower interest payments.
Opt for Paying Automatically
Some lenders of student loans generally offer an attractive discount on your loan rate of interest if you agree to opt for automatic payments. Suppose you agree that the loan repayments would be withdrawn automatically every month from directly your checking account, you could be entitled to some attractive discounts.
Look for Employers Who Provide Assistance in Student Loan Repayment
As per https://www.forbes.com, you must look for employers who are willing to offer assistance in student loan repayment. This is supposed to be a rapidly growing advantage that is offered by employers. The programs are known to vary in terms of the amount they would be covering. Moreover, they differ in the way they are structured. Any extra effort your employer puts in towards your student loan repayment could make a massive difference over time. This could be a crucial factor while comparing job offers.
Conclusion You may not find all the tips discussed above as beneficial to you, but you must try one or more of these tips that may help you get out of the vicious cycle of student loan debt. You must not ignore your student loans. You simply cannot sit tight and do nothing but go on
