1. Minimizing the Burden of Student Loans

2. Consolidation
Combining all of your different loans into one large loan
Pros
One simple monthly bill
Ability to stretch into a 15,20, or even 30 year loan
Cons
A longer repayment period will usually end up costing more in total payments
You may lose certain benefits
Interest Rates, Loan Forgiveness

3. Changing Your Repayment Term
Think About Changing Your Term of Your Loans
Default Student Loans – 10 years to pay back
Option to take 20 or 30 years to repay
Reduces stress of student loan payment on younger workers

4. An Example Sarah has the following loans:
$27,000 Stafford Loan at 3.6%
$40,000 PLUS loan at 6.31%
Sarah is currently paying back her loans in a 10 year period
Sarah has the opportunity to consolidate her loans into a single loan at 4% through the federal government. Sarah is having trouble making her monthly budget work, and is thinking about going to a 20 year loan.
Use monthly payment formulas to figure the following:
Sarah's current 10 year monthly payment on each loan
Sarah’s projected monthly payment if she consolidates to the 20 year loan
Sarah’s total loans paid in each scenario