Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Consolidating College Loans - What You Need to Know

Through consolidation of your college loans, you can reduce the number of payments you make each month into one manageable consolidation loan. Benefits to consolidating college loans include flexibility in structuring payments, and saving money by having a low fixed interest rate.

Student loans are no doubt a terrific way to pay for your education, but of course they need to be paid back. With smart management of your student loans, this can be very easy and affordable.

Although your earning potential will be greater when you graduate from college, you may find that your starting salary isn't as much as you had hoped. This can lead to shortages in your budget when you are paying for living expenses, along with repayment of your student loans. If this sounds like your situation, consolidating your student loans is a good idea.

When consolidating your student loans, you'll find that you have options in setting up your repayment schedule. In most cases, you can choose a term for the new loan of 10 to 30 years. With a longer term, such as 20 years or more, the amount you'll pay each month will be less. However, the total amount over the life of the loan increases with the length of the repayment period.

In many cases, you can even choose to pay less per month in the early stages of loan repayment, and then pay a greater amount once you are making better money down the road.

Consolidation of student loans can be a great way to simplify your finances, and help you keep on top of the monthly payments, especially when you're just starting out as a new college grad.

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