If you have student loans, you might want to think about consolidating them! Student loan consolidators will lump all your student loans into one single loan, and give you a low fixed rate. And it's a good idea to do it now, because: YOU MIGHT GET A LOWER RATE Over recent years, rates have been extremely low. Every year, student loan rates change on July 1. This year on that date, the rates will rise. In fact, the most common type of student loan rate will rise from 5.3% to 7.14%. But if you consolidate your loans, you lock-in the rate for life, so it will always be that low 5.3% no matter how long you hold the loan! By choosing to consolidate your loans now, you're guaranteed to have a low rate for the life of the loan. YOU MIGHT GET AN EVEN LOWER RATE These days, many student loan companies are offering perks for special customers. For example, you may get a lower rate if you choose to have your payments electronically debited from your checking account each month. And you may also get a lower rate after you make regular, on-time payments for a certain period of time, such as one year or six months. By taking advantage of these deals when you consolidate your loans, you could get your student loan interest rate lowered another 0.5% or so! YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE FEWER PAYMENTS If you borrowed multiple student loans--say, for different years of school--chances are you're paying multiple bills each month. By consolidating now, all your loans will get wrapped into one big loan, which means you only have one bill to pay each month. If you need help organizing and managing your finances, trimming down the number of bills you need to pay can help you gain better control of your money. Here is a list of recommended Student Loan Consolidation Lenders online. It's important to use a reputable lender online to make sure your personal information is secure. Consolidating your student loans is a great idea if you're currently paying a higher interest rate than the one being offered. Just remember: you can only consolidate your loans once in a lifetime, so make sure you're getting a great deal before you sign on the bottom line. |
