How to refund your student loans

You may be in debt to the neck. But, if you have completed your studies, you have to repay your student loans. With the continually rising cost of education, your debt could amount to an astronomical amount. You must develop a good plan to pay it back. Here's how. Although this article refers to the American agencies, its suggestions are valid everywhere.

1. Determine who your creditors and how much you owe them.  

You had maybe your loans there a while, then you have spent on your education, without thinking of the exact amount of your debt, but now you need to determine the exact amount to be able to handle it. Most likely, the lenders and the financial aid office at the school have sent you advice regarding your loans. In this case, file the notice and note the following:

•      What loans have you contracted? There are many types of loans, such as Stafford loan, the Perkins loan,  Heal the loan, the PLUS loan. Carefully read all contracts you sign and make a list of loans that you had.
•      How much is your debt? Take a look at contracts that you have signed, they must indicate the exact amount of your debt. Also review the opinions of your lenders and make sure the amounts match. If you have an award letter listing all your financial aid, read it and do not confuse grants and loans. Scholarships are gifts that you do not have to repay. Do take into account that the loans.
•      Who do you need money? Remind yourself that your current creditors may differ initial banks where you have contracted your loans. Banks often surrender or transfer their credits to other lenders for cash, they can lend to others at a higher interest rate. They do not need your permission to transfer your debts, but you will be informed about your new lender. Often, a debt changed hands several times since the moment of its birth until its extinction. It's a very liquid market, like that of stocks and bonds. Your latest readings should help you identify your creditors.

2. Examine the debt cancellation options.  

For details, learn how to apply for debt cancellation. Some of these options are: 

• The Americorps. The AmeriCorps is a program of the American federal government on civic education, education and public service. If you agree to volunteer for a year, AmeriCorps gives you $ 4,725 (€ 3,500) to pay your debts education, and an allowance of up to $ 7,400 (€ 5,500) . For more information, visit their website or by calling (800) 942-2677 site.
• The Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the American government, which provides employment for 27 months to work in the field of international development, such as education, business, information technology, agriculture and the environment. If you work with the Peace Corps, you can defer repayment of most of your student loans until the end of your participation in the program; more discount you will get a portion of your debt up to 70%. Visit their website or by calling (800) 424-8580 for more details.
• Vista (Volunteers in Service to America). Vista is a national service program created in 1965, this program has been incorporated into the AmeriCorps in 1993, aims to fight against poverty and illiteracy in the United States. You will get the $ 4725 (3500 €) to repay your student loans, provided they participate in their cause for at least 1700 hours. Visit their website or by calling (800) 942-2677 for more information.
• Military service. If after graduation, you enlist in the Army Reserve or the National Guard of the United States, you can receive up to $ 20000 (14850 €) to repay your student loans. If you're willing to accept additional risk, ask to be assigned to dangerous areas to get even more money.
• Teaching. Teach for America (Teach for America), for example, selects college graduates to teach in low-income communities and offer the sum of $ 4,725 (€ 3,500) for the repayment of your student loans for each year spent working for them. For more details, visit their website.
• As part of the Education Act for national defense, If you teach full time in a primary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families, you can benefit from the cancellation of a portion of your debts under your federal Perkins loans. Request information on your academic inspection to identify the schools affected by this provision.
• Social work. Your debt can be completely undone, if you are a provider of early intervention services for people with disabilities, full-time employee by an agency which provides services to families of low income communities or a full-time nurse or medical technician or a full-time officer or correctional police. However, restrictions apply depending on the date on which the loan was granted. Talk to different organizations or agencies for more details, for example, visit the website of the NASW.
• The Equal Justice Works. The Equal Justice Works offers to cancel the debt of graduates of law schools who are committed to issues of public interest or for positions in nonprofit. Visit their website for more details.
• The body of the National Health Service. This body is a branch of the Department of Health of the United States; It offers $ 25000 (18600 €) per year of service, up to four years, to health professionals, such as medical students, osteopathic and dental surgery who agree to work in underserved communities.
• Occupational therapy and physiotherapy and debt forgiveness studies. Ask the debt forgiveness program to your employer when you apply for a job. Most employers offer this benefit to attract occupational therapists and physiotherapists. 

3. Learn about the different options for refund of your loans.  

After you graduate, you will have a grace period of six months to start repaying your loans. The longer the repayment period, the more you will pay interest. The options are:

• Full refund. If you have money, you can choose to repay everything you need at once, so you will not have to pay any interest. Usually, either this option is not possible or that initially you probably did not need to take a loan.
• The regular refund. You repay your loans plus interest, by making monthly payments for 10 years. This gives you the best interest rate, but the monthly payments will be among the highest.
• Rescheduled payment. it is a viable option if, on leaving college, you expect to win a modest salary, but steadily increasing. Repayment terms are starting quite low and increase every two years over a period of 10-30 years.
• Refund based on income. You can choose to pay on a monthly basis in proportion to the amount you earn and get a repayment period of up to 15 years.
• The long-term refund. In this formula, you repay your loans plus interest, over a period of 30 years with monthly payments. 

4. Have a budget.  

Keep track of all your income and your expenses for at least one to two months. Examine your past spending and find ways to reduce them and save more money.

5. Find well- paying jobs, as well as ways to increase your income.  

Be a good employee to get a promotion and a higher salary.

6. Learn about ways to postpone refund of your debt, if necessary.  

Note that you spend more time to refund your loans plus payable interest will be. Here are some options:

• The debt consolidation. Find out how to consolidate your debt. In fact, if you have many loans to repay, you can combine them into a single larger loan and opt for a longer repayment period, with more interest to pay, of course. There are several companies that offer this possibility and if you plan to use this option, you must do your research to find the best interest rate possible.
• The postponement of repayment.
• You can negotiate with your creditors to get a period in which the repayment of your debts will be suspended, but that will not stop the interest continue to accumulate, if your loan is not subsidized.
• You can defer repayment of your loans automatically, if you take a higher education.
• The grace period. This formula is similar to the report, in the sense that you get a grace period; This formula allows you to negotiate with your creditors for a period of three months during which you will not pay, provided proof of undue difficulty. 

7. If you have defaulted on your commitments and refused to repay your loans: 

you can negotiate with your creditors in order to fix it. You can get away with a consolidation or rehabilitation.

•      Consolidation: This is to make three consecutive monthly payments of a reasonable amount or agree to a payment plan tailored to your income in order to remedy the default.
•      Rehabilitation: In this case, you are nine monthly payments on time, for ten consecutive months to remedy the defect and become eligible for new grants or loans.
•      Second bankruptcy: student debt is not dischargeable in a bankruptcy first. However, if they were included and rejected during the bankruptcy and if you need to file a second bankruptcy a few years later for various reasons, student debt will be included and will be extinct because of that the effect resulting from the second bankruptcy. Several advisers and lawyers ignore this provision.