You’ve just graduated college and now you’re looking at a large number of student loans for your troubles. It’s likely going to take some time before you can pay off all of your student loans. Seeing how much you have can be overwhelming. How are you going to pay it all off?
You can only take it day by day. It’ll be hard to balance your finances, but with the following tips, you may be able to pay off your student loans in no time:
Pay off credit cards
Like many college students, you likely had a ton of credit card offers. Credit cards can be a great way for students who struggle to make purchases they need. For example, you may have used your credit cards to buy school books, clothing, car repairs, rent and food. Monthly credit card payments, however, may now be holding you back from paying off your student loan debt.
You have a couple of methods to pay off your credit card debt. You could do the “avalanche” method where you pay off the credit card with the most debt first and work your way down to the other cards. Or, you could use the “snowball” method and pay off the smallest debt you have first. Either method can help you move past monthly credit card payments and help you focus on your student loans.
Live on a strict budget
Most people have a habit of making unnecessary purchases here and there. However, these small purchases can add up quickly. To avoid spending more than you should, you could make a budget. Your budget can include everything that’s necessary, such as gas, rent, food, utilities and medicine. Once you’ve worked out what you do need to buy, you can work out what you don’t need and can start paying off your student loans.
File for bankruptcy
If you’re still struggling to handle your student loans despite your best efforts, you may need to file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a great way to resolve large amounts of debt in an instant. Most student loans cannot be discharged via bankruptcy, but you can discharge credit card debts and personal loans — and that can free up the money you need to finally tackle the student loans.
