Five Ways To Reduce College Debt
Saving money starts before starting college
Delay starting college
You can wait a few years before going to college and get a job instead. If you can still live at home, you should be able to save for all or at least part of your tuition fees. You might not get your dream job with only a high school diploma, but you will earn income.
Compare colleges
One of the ways to reduce college debt is to pick a local college versus a more expensive one out-of-state. By picking a local college, you’ll save onboarding and the cost of living. This decision alone can save you thousands of dollars each year.
If you have no choice in the matter, and you need to live away from home, get a dormitory room on campus or share an apartment off-campus with other students to save money.
When considering local colleges, compare their course structure and how much they charge for each credit. One college may be cheaper than the other with little difference in course quality. If you have your heart set on graduating from a particular college, start your studies in a less expensive college and after one or two years have your credits transferred to the other one.
Explore your options
Before you talk to a bank about a loan, talk to the college administrator about their grants program. Some grants amount to several thousand dollars and don’t need to be paid back.
If you do need to take out a loan, don’t wait until you graduate to start making payments. Loans accrue interest. Even if you can only manage to pay off the interest, you’ll avoid having the loan snowball into a giant amount when you graduate.
Textbooks and materials
Give preference to used textbooks, keep them in good condition and sell them when you’re done with them. If you’re planning on majoring in history, you might want to keep those books. But why save books and materials from other courses if you won’t be using them.
Alternatively, you can try shopping online or get electronic textbooks when available.
After graduation
If you don’t have a job already, get one as soon as possible. Don’t hold out for a career in your degreed field. Even if a potential job is not what you studied for, a salary earned as soon as possible will enable you to pay off your loans.
If you have a job, but you’re not used to handling money, get someone to help you budget. It’s easy to be tempted into having fun after studying for years. You can still make paying off your college debt a priority and enjoy your life as well. It’s a good idea to talk to someone who can help you plan a budget and give you the benefit of their financial guidance.
If you have multiple loans, talk to your bank about consolidating your debt. With all of your financial eggs in one basket, they might be willing to negotiate a better interest rate.
One of the smart ways to reduce college debt is by paying your loans on time, and if possible, paying more than the required amount. If nothing else, seeing the amount of your loan going down will motivate you to keep making those payments.