Even in the past, a college education was more of a luxury than a necessity, an opportunity mainly reserved for the privileged. Those who had intentions of getting into college but couldn't afford it had two common choices – go through college through a scholarship/grant or a obtain a student loan. Though scholarships or grants are quite common, there are quite a number of qualifications that an applicant must meet (such as academic performance and income range), not to mention the huge disparity in the ratio of the number of applicants and the number of slots available. Student loans, however, are relatively easy to get; the problem is how to eventually pay them off . The concept of a student loan is something similar to borrowing money from a bank to pay college tuition and other expenses related to that, only under more reasonable terms, including lower interest rates and more flexible payment schemes. The amount loaned is only payable after the student's graduation. Normally, getting a student loan goes like this: Get a loan from a college or university, study, graduate, find a good job to earn money, then pay off the loan. The problem is, many are burdened by these loans by several factors beyond their control. These factors include inflation, depreciation of currency, and unemployment. There are times when people have difficulties paying their student loans even if they do have jobs. In most cases, people pay hundreds of dollars every month even though they are earning barely enough to get by. If you are one of people worried about paying off student loans, don't lose hope for there are several ways to climb out of this hole. Getting Out of Debt Before you go any further in this article, you must identify what type debtor you are. Are you the person who is willing to pay, or are you not willing to pay, a huge sum of money? Willing to Pay Assuming you already have a job, but you don't think it will be easy to pay, here are some things you can do:
•Consolidate your Loan – There are many individuals or organizations willing to let you borrow the money that you need to pay your student loan. Depending on the institution that lent you the money, you can possibly pay less money on interest, and lower your monthly dues. This option in paying can be more flexible than striving to keep up with paying your loan directly.
•Transfer your Loan to a Credit Card – If you own a credit card that allows the transfer of existing loans to it and it has low or reasonable interest rates, then do the transfer. This option is similar to consolidating your loan, only much more convenient and advantageous. You not only pay your student loan instantly, but you also get to pay lower interests. If anything goes wrong, such as if you were to go bankrupt, you can file for bankruptcy and have the loan waived or forgiven.•Keep the Loan, But... – Depending on your situation, you can keep your student loan on forbearance, like putting it on hold. For example, if you lost your job or transferred to a new company where the salary is not enough to pay the debt, you can put your loan into forbearance for awhile until the time you are capable of paying again. You can also declare your student loan as a tax deduction, depending on your tax laws, allowing you to pay less tax to the government.
As previously stated, these are just options; the choices that you make depend on your preference or your current situation. If you do choose to consolidate your loan, you must know that you might end up paying more interest, especially if you have a bad credit history. It is also not advisable to take this option if you already have several outstanding loans. Transferring it to a credit card may not be for you if you don't have a steady source of income. If you miss just one payment, or pay a day later, you'll be subject to surcharges and fees. Credit card companies can be horse-visioned when it comes to these matters. Unwilling To Pay Before anything else, you should know that not all of the options here are applicable to everyone. Options vary depending on the type of student loan you have, the amount, and your location or the institution that you got it from. Most schools or institutions that offer student loans may also cancel, or at the very least, reduce the amount that has to be paid back, depending on certain conditions. For example, in the United States, most schools or institutions even completely cancel debts from student loans if the person fulfills some conditions, often in the form of community service. If you want to find out if you can totally get rid of your debt without paying a single penny, you can try some of these:
•Before anything else, you should determine what type of student loan you have, and if you are eligible to loan cancellation or at least reduction.
•Determine the qualifications, and do them if they apply to you.
Oftentimes, community service can completely wipe off your debt, especially if the funds came from the government. Some examples are teaching in public schools for a given number of years, joining the peace corps or military, or simply by working or setting up your business in a particular city or state. If you're lucky, you can forget that you ever had a loan without much effort. It can be quite restrictive, but if you think of the huge amount of money you will be saving, it's indeed worth the trouble.