Crash Course: Refinancing Student Loans | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health Wellness

Crash Course: Refinancing Student Loans

The quick and easy process that can save you thousands

27
Crash Course: Refinancing Student Loans
Erica Benham

I've said it before but I'll say it again. We have to be open with each other about things we all have in common to help each other out.

There are 44.2 MILLION people walking around this earth with student loan debt!!!

The newest count shows the national student loan debt total to be $1,520,000,000,000 (that's TRILLION)!!!

Anyway, my point is that pretty much all of us are dealing with the same thing so we should help each other out.

I want to be open about it and show how easy it is to consolidate and refinance your student loans so that we can fight this crippling debt as best we can.

(I'm providing a vocabulary dictionary at the bottom of this to help you understand what the heck I'm talking about.)

Let me say this first though: not everyone is in the same situation you are in. There are tons of avenues one can take for higher education, tons of different ways to pay for it whether it be grants, scholarships, cash, private or public loans. That being said, this may be different for you but this is my experience with my student loans. Do with this what you will.


I graduated from a four-year university with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. I didn't receive any government assistance (i.e. grants, FAFSA, etc.), I also worked an average of 20-25 hours per week to pay for my own expenses to lessen the amount of loans I had to take out. I had heard about refinancing and consolidation but had no idea what it was or how to do it, so I asked around and I found that not many people knew what it was, even adults who have been paying back their loans for years were unaware. I also found that everybody who did know about it had a different situation from mine so the process looked different for them.

Anyway, I did my research and found a website called Credible.com and hopped on.

I entered my information like who I was, what loans I had, proof of income and co-signer stuff. (You may not need a co-signer but I did so I'm mentioning it)

From there, Credible gave me about ten options of refinancing plans sorted by either fixed or variable interest rates, the loan term (5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 years) and monthly payment costs.

I selected which one worked best for me which lead me to a bank that was offering it.

Once again, I entered the same kind of information as I had before, signed agreements for my new loan and then that bank dispersed the amount of money I owed to the private lender (Sallie Mae, in my case) and just like that my time with Sallie was done.

I went from having five separate loans (one for each year I was in school), each with different interest rates and ridiculous monthly payments to having one loan with an interest rate that was almost cut in half from my previous rate,

and a monthly payment cost that was affordable for me.

The whole process took about three months but that's mostly because getting things approved/verified on bank time took a while but it wasn't bad.

Just to clarify, I still owe the same amount as I did before, however I will end up paying about $30,000+ less on interest with a reduced interest rate and now instead of five monthly payments I have one.

Proverbs 22:7 reads, "The borrower is SLAVE to the lender." I don't plan on being a slave to a lender a second longer than necessary.

Vocabulary

Consolidation: bringing your multiple loans down to one for convenience

Refinance: Reevaluating your loans to get a smaller interest rate/monthly payment

Fixed Interest Rate: an interest rate that remains the same regardless of how the market is (stays the same for the entirety of your loan term)

Variable Interest Rate: an interest rate that fluctuates to account for the market's status (could change higher or lower randomly throughout your loan term)

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
an image of taylor swift standing center stage surrounded by her backup dancers in elegant peacock esque outfits with a backdrop of clouds and a box rising above the stage the image captures the vibrant aesthetics and energy of her performance during the lover era of her eras tour
StableDiffusion

A three-and-a-half-hour runtime. Nine Eras. Eleven outfit changes. Three surprise songs. Zero breaks. One unforgettable evening. In the past century, no other performer has put on an electric performance quite like Taylor Swift, surpassing her fans ‘wildest dreams’. It is the reason supporters keep coming back to her shows each year. Days later, I’m still in awe of the spectacle ‘Miss Americana’ puts on every few days in a new city. And, like one of Taylor’s exes, has me smiling as I reminisce about the memories of the night we spent together.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

These powerful lyrics remind us how much good is inside each of us and that sometimes we are too blinded by our imperfections to see the other side of the coin, to see all of that good.

79381
Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

The song was sent to me late in the middle of the night. I was still awake enough to plug in my headphones and listen to it immediately. I always did this when my best friend sent me songs, never wasting a moment. She had sent a message with this one too, telling me it reminded her so much of both of us and what we have each been through in the past couple of months.

Keep Reading...Show less
Zodiac wheel with signs and symbols surrounding a central sun against a starry sky.

What's your sign? It's one of the first questions some of us are asked when approached by someone in a bar, at a party or even when having lunch with some of our friends. Astrology, for centuries, has been one of the largest phenomenons out there. There's a reason why many magazines and newspapers have a horoscope page, and there's also a reason why almost every bookstore or library has a section dedicated completely to astrology. Many of us could just be curious about why some of us act differently than others and whom we will get along with best, and others may just want to see if their sign does, in fact, match their personality.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

20 Song Lyrics To Put A Spring Into Your Instagram Captions

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun"

8125
Person in front of neon musical instruments; glowing red and white lights.
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

Whenever I post a picture to Instagram, it takes me so long to come up with a caption. I want to be funny, clever, cute and direct all at the same time. It can be frustrating! So I just look for some online. I really like to find a song lyric that goes with my picture, I just feel like it gives the picture a certain vibe.

Here's a list of song lyrics that can go with any picture you want to post!

Keep Reading...Show less
Chalk drawing of scales weighing "good" and "bad" on a blackboard.
WP content

Being a good person does not depend on your religion or status in life, your race or skin color, political views or culture. It depends on how good you treat others.

We are all born to do something great. Whether that be to grow up and become a doctor and save the lives of thousands of people, run a marathon, win the Noble Peace Prize, or be the greatest mother or father for your own future children one day. Regardless, we are all born with a purpose. But in between birth and death lies a path that life paves for us; a path that we must fill with something that gives our lives meaning.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments