7. Make Payments While Still in School
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Student loans aren’t as relevant while in college, but if you make them a priority it can pay off 10-fold in the future. Getting a job in college to start paying off student loans is an excellent way to start doing this. Instead of spending all of the money you earn, start saving a percentage of each paycheck to put towards paying off college loans. Even a few hundred dollars each month can help. For most loans, except for need-based federal subsidized loans, the “interest rate-meter” is running for the whole time your in college.
6. Volunteer
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Like to travel to new places and help people? The two most infamous programs, AmeriCorps and thePeace Corps, both offer an educational payment reward program or student loan relief program in addition to paying for your living expenses while in service. For example, if you serve for 12 months in the AmeriCorps program, you can earn up to $7,400 in stipends and $4,725 to be used towards student loans. These programs can give you an opportunity to travel to a new place, help the community, and receive student loan benefits!
5. Switch to Biweekly Instead of Monthly Payments
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Investopedia explains the importance of switching to biweekly payments perfectly:
“First, you are paying less in interest because there is less time between payments for interest to accumulate. Second, you will end up making an extra month’s worth of payments every year. This is because paying every other week equals 26 annual payments. It’s a relatively painless way to reduce the cost of borrowing and pay off your loans faster. If you get paid biweekly, the payment feels the same on your wallet because you are taking half of a payment from each paycheck…. You may not be able to afford an extra payment a year, but you can afford to send in an extra $5 a month or $25 every other month.”
Not only can switching to biweekly payments help you pay less interest on student loans, but can also help you pay off student loans quicker.
4. Tax Deductions
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If you earn under $60,000 a year (or $120,000 is you’re married and filing jointly), you can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest per year. Although this isn’t a huge amount, writing off $2,500 a year can really add up.Take advantage of this student loan discount if you can! Also, if you do get a tax refund, consider putting it towards your student loans.
