Let’s start right off the bat: I am not an expert in loan counseling or loan repayment but… I am someone currently in the process of paying my loans back. As a paying loaner (that’s what we’ll call ourselves for now, alright?), you’ll find that there are multiple options for how you can begin dealing with your student loan debt and there are a variety of ways you can fit repayment in with your current financial situation.
Federal Loans come with a grace period of about 6 months. Some private loans have this built into their plan as well but you’ll want to double-check your specific lender and their policies. The first 6 months are intentionally built into your repayment plan so you can start off on the right foot. It’s simple logic: Recent graduates will not have a means to pay back their loan straight out of college so you’re given some time to find a career and establish some income before repayment begins.
There are multiple repayment plans that you can choose from, including options that match your appropriate income. You should speak with your specific lender to learn more about your options. The video below covers a lot of this:
The important thing to remember is to not panic. Managing an income with bills (and bills of this nature, specifically) can be a difficult balancing act but it’s not impossible!
That’s why you should check out the following posts from earlier in this week and be sure to keep up with the rest of our Adulting Week programming to learn more about how you can stay on top of managing a budget, a career, and all the rest of that adult stuff:
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Budgeting for Beginners by Mary Federico
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The First Day: Covering Basics & Benefits by Blaine Butler
