Friends! I am sure out of the many New Year Resolutions this year; repayment of student loan would have had the top most priority. Well, though it is understood that you need not repay your student loan until you complete your study program, it is important to plan for it ahead. Helping you fine tune your repayment plan program we are offering you 15 successful tips which are handy and practical.

• You can opt for auto debit facility. It helps you make the payment on time. By deducting your monthly payment electronically you save time and money.
• It is important that you calculate and choose a repayment plan that falls well within your monthly budget.
• Keep the lender informed about your name and contact details, to ensure that you receive all communications from your lender and know your repayment liability, options and deadline.
• Keep a tab on your expenditure. You should be able to balance between your personal expenditure and repayment liability. It is important that you choose between your needs and comforts.
• Whenever you opt for taking Student Loan be careful about components such as upfront fees, which is charged around 4% of your loan amount. Out of which a percentage goes to the lender and a percentage to the guarantor. On a proper negotiation, I am sure these amounts are waived reducing the cost of your borrowing.
• If you are under the impression that the amount of borrowing is more than what you can afford, then you should visit your lender’s office and speak your problem. They will surely have ways to sort out your need with minimal liability.
• Understanding the maximum amount of loan you can afford is a serious issue. The general advice is that your monthly commitment on repaying your loan should be around 10 to 15% of a fresher’s monthly earnings. This ensures manageability of your debt.
• When opting for repayment options, be careful about balancing your short term payment relief with the long term cost you incur. By extending the period of repayment for a lower monthly liability you generally end up paying more.
• To avoid the increase in your cost due to repayment options chosen, you should get back to the regular or the standard repayment plans by increasing your monthly commitment.
• Do not forget to make use of the tax advantage you can claim on the amount of interest paid on the Student Loan. This is applicable on the loan availed by both the students and parents for educational purposes.
• You might end up facing trouble while repaying your loan amount due to multifarious reasons such unemployment, health reasons, or planning to take up higher studies. You can always inform the lender about your circumstance and request a deferment or forbearance, which are legitimate ways of postponing your repayment until such time you hit back to normalcy.
• Pay a little more than your regular installment in order to reduce your principal liability. While your monthly installment is used to cover interest and other fees in the first place and the remaining towards principal repayment, ensure the extra amount paid should be applied towards principal repayment reducing your liability.
• Consolidation is a good option for stabilizing your repayment plan. By consolidating several loans into one single liability at a comparatively lower rate of interest, it gives more clarity and easier manageability of your loan liability. At a lower cost and better terms of pay you ensure successful repayment.
• Loan forgiveness is an option available to wipe away your entire loan liability by performing certain services or accepting to certain conditions offered by government as well as non profit agencies.
• Always ensure not to default on your student loan. Because this option seriously affects your eligibility of availing federal loans and grants in future. Causing a major black mark on your credit report. You can talk to you lender about your financial crisis and sort out your repayments option.

Listed here are only fifteen repayment tips, I am sure there are many more. Friends any useful tip should be used and not ignored, hence if you have one that is not listed here, please do let us know so we can share with others.

Happy Learning