Consider this. The monthly payments you are making now are for debts you have accumulated in your personal loans and credit cards. Some of this, especially the credit cards incur a high interest rate. To top it all, the interest on these debts are not tax deductible.
Then think of this. Every month you have to write a number of checks to pay for these loans. If you put together all these loans in one, you could be simplifying your finances. Not only will the monthly payment be lower but also you could negotiate for a lower interest rate. In addition, some money will be freed to pay for those debts that incur high interest.
You probably have noticed that there are two types to consolidate the debt loan of student. One is the consolidation of the federal student loan while the other is the private student loan consolidation. Let us take them one at a time and deal with the first one.
The federal student loan consolidation comes in different shapes and forms. There is the Stafford loan consolidation that has a fixed rate and can consolidate all the current Stafford loans. The savings here could be as much as over 50%. You can't beat that.
Then there is the Plus Loan Consolidation that allows parents to lump together all the Plus Loans they took to send their child to college. This can be done even if the student is still in college as long as the money has been fully paid out by the university.
Here is good news for those who have finished their graduate program. The Graduate Stafford Loan Consolidation will allow to combine the undergraduate Stafford Consolidated Loans with the new graduate one making it simpler.
Let us study further the advantages of consolidating the federal student loan:
- One could apply for a lower rate that could be locked in for the term of the loan.
- The monthly payment can be reduced by as much as 50%.
- Doing this can improve the credit rating.
- If the application is made during the grace period, the interest rate can be further reduced by .6%.
- There will be no credit checks or any fees.
- There will be only one monthly payment.
This article is getting too long so we will have to deal with the other one on private student loan consolidation in another article. Meanwhile mull this over to see if this fits your situation. Make sure you deal with a reputable company. This way you will be able to consolidate the debt or loan of student.
About the Author
Brief Biography: Dr. Guzman worked for the Atlantic Health Corporation and was consultant to St. Joseph's Hospital, Sussex Mental Health Clinic, and St. Stephen Mental Health Clinic for many years. He was Director of Forensic Psychiatry at Centracare for ten years and published numerous articles, including financial ones in the Journal of the American College of Forensic Psychiatry and other medical magazines.
