Students loans seem to be a necessary evil. Many need them to go to school to get a better job, then spend year working that job just to pay them off. It's fun or ideal but many wouldn't be able to go to school with out them.
They never go away though, they can never be erased in bankrupcy so you have to pay them off and the sooner the better! In fact the sooner you can pay them off the more money you will save in the long run.
First check out SmarterBucks.
SmarterBucks is a cashback and rewards site that applies your rewards payment directly to your student loans. You sign up and connect your account to your federal student loans account. Then, when you shop online through SmarterBucks or do surveys or other online activities, you earn cash back. SmarterBucks makes a direct payment to your student loans when your balance reaches $10 or more.
So basicly SmarterBucks is like eBates but instead of you getting a check the money goes on to your student loans. They also have gifter accounts so you can earn rewards for a family member or friend too. Parents this is a great way to help your kids out if they have student loans.
Set up an Auto Payment. Many students loans will offer a small savings on interest if you set up an auto payment, Normally around 0.25% not much but every little bit helps.
Call your loans ask about interest rates. Some loans if you haven't deferred your payments, and made all your payments on time will lower your interest rate if you ask. Doing so will lower your monthly payment and save you money in the long run. My advice is to keep making your higher payment once the interest rate is lower, this will pay off your loans faster!
Check out Sponsorchange.org. If you do volunteer work you can get help on your students loans. I recently found out about this so I'm not 100% sure how it works. But from what I see on the How It Works Page, you create a profile and work with your organization and people sponsor your organization and help pay your student debt. If you have worked with this site I'd love to hear from you!
Make extra money. Well I'm sure you heard it before, make some extra money and put it toward your debt. HOW can you do it in your already busy life? I make $210 extra dollars a month (sometimes more!) in less then 30 minutes a day from. It's done mostly from my phone too!
What other ways have you saved on students loans? I'd like to add to the list from reader ideas!
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