Strategies to Pay Off Your Student Loans Before Graduation

Think it’s too early to start planning your post-graduation finances? Financial planning is most beneficial when it is done as early as possible. This is especially true if you are one of the 40 million Americans facing student loan debt. Even though you may not be required to make a payment on your student loans for months or years from now, don’t wait to begin paying off your loans. Reducing or eliminating your monthly student loan payment before graduation can provide you with financial freedom that many individuals do not have.

Explore three of the most effective strategies for paying off your student loans prior to graduation.

Create streams of extra cash flow
Rather than trying to use one source of income to pay down your debt, there is a far more effective strategy. If you haven’t done so already, start creating multiple streams of cash flow that you can use toward paying off your student loan debt. The possibilities are endless as to how you can earn multiple sources of income. You can take on a new part-time job that has flexible hours, or you can find a virtual part-time position (e.g. a virtual assistant). In addition to your regular work, you can also generate income by participating in paid online surveys, selling unused items, or by creating an online store that sells a product or service that you make. What ever you choose, just be sure that you dedicate the extra income to your loans.

Explore your loan options
When you took on your student loans, you may not have been paying attention to the interest rate or number of loans that were required to help pay for your tuition. Since that time, better loan options may have become available. Explore the possibility of consolidating your student loans to get the best rates on your existing loans. Saving even a small percentage on your student loan interest rate can lead to thousands of dollars in savings.

Avoid taking on any new loans
As you begin to tackle your loan debt, it is also important to create a plan to pay for your upcoming tuition payments. The progress you make can quickly be canceled out by having to take on thousands in new loans. You can avoid this problem by establishing a personal budget for yourself. When creating your budget, assess how much you can pay toward your future tuition expenses, and how much you’ll have left over to pay down your existing student loan debt.
Although the future may seem far away, student loan payments can quickly catch up to you. That’s why it is so important to build a plan to pay off your student loans with multiple streams of income, reduced student loan interest rates, and by avoiding new loans.

Freelance Contributor: Lucy Jones is a former financial advisor and debt management professional who is now building a career for herself in financial writing. When not working, she loves nothing more than to spend time with her family and walking her pet Labrador, Rosie.