Budgeting Lesson 3 – Managing Student Loans

Education has become an expensive affair nowadays. Many students are willing to go for student loans for higher education. So it's important for them to understand how to manage their money well. And the very first step in this regard is to start budgeting. It may seem a bit confusing and frustrating in the beginning, but it will definitely help them in longer run.

For budgeting you can use any tool, like a simple notebook or an excel sheet, though the latter is a better choice as it is fast and effective. Set a realistic budget and then start tracking your actual income and expenses. Adjust where it is necessary to meet the required goals.

Other Budgeting Lessons

Here are some secret tips that will help you.

Before you borrow:

Do a research on scholarships and grants that are available through Sallie Mae's online scholarship service.
Try to work in your summers, holidays or look out for part time jobs during schools to keep your borrowings down.
Try to use credit cards only for emergencies and not for fun.
If possible, try to use public transports instead of having a car. You may be eligible for some kind of student discount on public transports.
Most important of all, keep a record of the student loan that you borrow and save all documents that you receive like promissory note, disclosure statement etc.

In order to reduce your expenses:

Try to scale back your vacation or travel expenses.
Keep a check on your entertainment expenses like movies, spectator sports etc.
Pay off your credit cards on their respective due dates otherwise, you may end up paying lot of interest on the outstanding balance.
Try to use cash for most of the purchases.
Shop around well before going for major purchase like buying a home, car etc.

Jerry

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Desmond

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Post subject: A word of advice for all students

Hi, This is for students who have chosen to take loans for their studies and are yet to pay them off. One should start making plans for paying off student loans before completing graduation. It may be a low interest loan but then it is better to get rid of financial burdens as early as possible. Besides student loans there can be other debts, in that case I should say you pay off the high interest loan first and then go after the others. Once the high rate loan is cleared, you can start with the student loans. If you have more than one student loan, try to consolidate them. This will reduce your interest rate and monthly payment. The cash you save can be use to make higher monthly payment. But once you have consolidated, you can no more consolidate again. Hope this will be helpful. Desmond

Weisfeiler

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Post subject:

Hi, Students planning there loan repayments can also have a look at this page on student loan repayment. It will give them an idea of how they should proceed with the payment plan for their loans. Thanks Weisfeiler

helping_user

Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 815
Location: Hawaii

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Post subject: Re: How to Manage Student Loan

Hi Today I want to share some tips on "How to manage Student Loan". It helps the student and make easier to handle the loan debt and repay it properly. Tip 1- Organized Yourself: You should kept all the loan documents and correspondence properly. You should be very much aware of all the agreed terms and condition of your loans. And sometime the documents were demanded when you are very much closer to repayment. It is a good idea to keep all the documents and correspondence in a single folder. Tip 2- Documents you should keep: Applications, Promissory Notes, Disbursement and Disclosure Statements and Loan transfer notices. All the copies of correspondence between you and your loan provider. Update yourself with the contact address and telephone number of your loan provider. Tip 3- Manage money properly: Develop realistic budget and never borrow more than you need. Try to live as economically as you are a student still now. You will enjoy the comfortable lifestyle when you will graduate. Try to make clear all your credit card bills due in time. Try to explore the opportunity of work study or any part-time job to earn little amount of money as well as to gather valuable professional experience. It will become an asset for future when you will graduate. Tip 4: Repayment successfully: Understand different loan repayment options provided by your loan provider. Choose the option which you can afford. Contact your loan provider immediately if you have any problem regarding your loan payment. Go through all the correspondence you get from your loan provider carefully. If you have any doubt, clear yourself in that instant only. Pay your loan payment when due each month regardless you receive the bill for that. Thanks

Zeal_Deal

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Post subject:

Already lot has been discussed above on how to manage your student loan. I just want add a piece of advice. Before taking a student loan it is very necessary that you understand what this entails and what it will take to repay the loan. Its important that you take a proper guidance before you actually apply for the loan. By this what I mean is that before you apply for the loan, discuss it with your family members. After all experience counts. Zeal_Deal


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