Paying off student loans early isn’t always the obvious financial decision. Make your own decision on the trade-off between student loan repayment and other goals.
There are currently seven different repayment plans available, between which you can choose and change according to your own financial situation. 1. The Standard Repayment Plan offers a fixed payment of up to ten years with interest paid throughout the loan repayment.
2. The Graduated Repayment Plan offers a lower initial payment which then increase every two years or so and payments up to ten years. 3. The Extended Repayment Plan offers fixed or increasing payments over 25 years if you owe more than $30,000 in student loans.
It all starts with setting financial goals and your budget. Budget first for savings and retirement investing. I see too many people wait until they are completely debt free before they start saving.
Stop paying off student loan debt just because it’s the popular thing to do. Take advantage of lowest rates you will ever find and the most flexible repayment options around to use good debt responsibly and create your financial future.