Are you a recent college graduate? Do you have student loans? It might be time to make your first payment.  The period of time you were given to transition from college life and enter the workforce is coming to an end and monthly payments will soon begin. 

 

When you are paying back student loans, remember there are different types of loans and they can move from lender to lender.  Keeping a good record is important so be sure to track loan payment amounts and due dates, loan types and current lender contact information.

 

To make sure you have the most current information on your federal student loans, it’s a good idea to check the U.S. Department of Education’s loan database at nslds.ed.gov.

 

If you have private student loans but are not sure about your lender, check your credit report.  You can get a free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com.  It is a good idea to check the accuracy of your credit report on an annual basis.

 

Have you heard of the new payment option called Income-Based Repayment or IBR?  It is available to all federal student loan borrowers and was created for those with high debt and low income. It guarantees that your monthly payment will be no more than 15 percent of your discretionary income.  Unlike other repayment plans, any balance remaining after 25 years will be forgiven by the federal government. 

 

To find out if this is a good plan for you, visit ibrinfo.org. Your lender can also provide information.

 

Get off to a good start by making your first student loan payment on time and continue with timely payments until your loans are paid in full.  Your student loans are a great investment in your future.  Be sure that future is free of credit problems by paying your loans on time!

 

February 2010: Take Charge of Your Student Loans	Transcript
To download, right click and "save target as"