5 Student Loan Repayment Tips
If you graduated college this spring, chances are good that your first student loan payment is coming due. It’s helpful to understand your loans prior to beginning repayment – and we can help with that! For more personalized assistance, give us a call at 260.490.8328 x8265 or email us!
Image source: Shutterstock.com / Photographer: pogonici
Here are 5 ways to make repayment easier on you.
Give your servicer your most up-to-date contact info.
This means you’ll need to create accounts on your payment website(s) or call their borrower help line. Double check that email addresses, mailing addresses, and phone numbers all match. If you get married, change your name! All this makes it easier for you to keep tabs on what’s happening with your loans. It also allows you to ask questions and work through the next few tips!
Open and read your student loan mail and email.
You’ll get plenty of both snail mail and email – open it! Important info you may receive includes changes to your payment amount, the address you mail the check to, or the terms of the loan. If anything seems out of the ordinary, call your servicer directly. The important thing here is to maintain open communication. Staying on top of these communications may be the difference between a 750 and a 550 credit score.
Save your password on your loan servicer’s website.
Once you start making payments on a regular basis, there’s not much more frustrating than losing your password or being locked out of your account. We have too many passwords as it is… just save this one. You can also set up automatic payments this way – and you may receive an interest rate reduction for doing so.
Ask for help at the first sign of difficulty.
The minute you think, “I can’t make this payment,” call your loan servicer. They can help in emergency situations. The worst thing to do in these moments is sweep your fears under the rug. The issue probably won’t just go away on its own.
Weigh your options.
There are many way to make student loan repayment easier – be informed. We regularly publish student loan info on our blog, and we’re happy to meet to work through your individual loan plan. Some regular considerations: income based repayment, loan forgiveness, extra payments, federal consolidation, and refinance. Know what’s available and what will help!
Bonus Quick Tips
- Document any calls to your servicer: date and time of call, and the person who handled the call. Save emails in a separate folder.
- To find your federal loan servicer(s), visit the National Student Loan Data System.
- Request a free credit report from annualcreditreport.com or check on your 3Rivers online banking or mobile app. Keeping up with payments is crucial to building and maintaining a good credit score!