Student Loan Consolidation Hot Topics

By now, many of you should have already consolidated your federal student loans (if not, get in touch with us right away 877.328.565). Some of you still have thousands of dollars in outstanding private student loan debt, and are looking to consolidate that as well. First, before you ask - private and federal student loans should NOT be consolidated together. Federal loans, once consolidated have a low fixed interest rate. Private loan consolidation is variable, based on the adjusted monthly prime rate, plus a margin for credit history. So keep the two separate - but if you haven’t already, consolidate your federal loans first. One of the benefits of federal consolidation is that it helps your credit score by reducing the number of outstanding loans you have. A better credit score could help the interest rate on your private student loan consolidation.

By consolidating your private student loans, you will improve your credit score, eliminate complicated finances by making one payment, and combine all student related debt including high interest rate credit cards.

To learn more about private student loan consolidation call our help desk at 866.532.7661 or visit our private consolidation info page.

And…if you are reading this now and still haven’t consolidated your federal student loans, give our federal consolidation department a call at 877.328.1565 or check out studentloanconsolidator.com.

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Figuring out what you can borrow for student loans can be tricky, particularly if you’re still in school, or not even to college yet. Choose right, and you’ll be able to enjoy a comfortable standard of living after college, pursuing the life path you want. Choose wrong, and you get crushed by debt, or you don’t go to/finish college. How do you determine what is a reasonable amount to borrow?

Work in reverse. Debt has to be paid off, so figure out how much debt is sustainable. Most financial planners advocate not exceeding 10% of your net income for debt service, so that’s a good number to remember. What you can pay is of course dependent on how much money you make.

Statistically, college graduates average a starting salary around $30,000 per year. This is highly dependent on where you live, the cost of living, etc., but $30K for liberal arts, up to $50K in medical and technology fields seem to be about the national norms.

Let’s work backwards now. From gross pay, we’re going to write of 1/3 of the salary to taxes and mandatory deductions (social security, etc.). Yup. Uncle Sam takes that much. Here’s the result, your NET income after taxes:

$30K gross: $20,000 net
$40K gross: $26,700 net
$50K gross: $33,300 net

Now, divide each by 12 and you get your net monthly income.

$30K gross: $20,000 net = $1,666/month
$40K gross: $26,700 net = $2,225/month
$50K gross: $33,300 net = $2,775/month

Okay. Now, let’s assume you are free and clear of all other debts (credit card, auto, etc.) at the time of graduation and you just have student loans. You can now afford to make the following maximum payments at a 10% debt service to net income ratio:

$30K gross: $20,000 net = $1,666/month = $166/month Borrowing
$40K gross: $26,700 net = $2,225/month = $223/month
$50K gross: $33,300 net = $2,775/month = $276/month

Today’s federal student loan interest rates are 6.8% for Stafford Federal Student Loans. Based on this, we can use a student loan consolidation calculator in reverse to see the maximum amount of money you can borrow at 6.8% with and without consolidating your federal student loans.

$166/month = $14,424 if you don’t consolidate, $18,700 if you consolidate
$223/month = $19,378 if you don’t consolidate, $29,213 if you consolidate
$276/month = $23,983 if you don’t consolidate, $39,765 if you consolidate

The higher your estimated income at graduation is, the more you can afford to borrow, and if you consolidate your federal student loans upon graduation, you will be able to borrow more. This is a pretty good methodology for figuring out how much you can afford to borrow - and a good example of how overborrowing can limit your career choices to jobs that can pay for your student loans.

For more information about student loan consolidation, visit StudentLoanConsolidator.com on the web.

The nights are getting cooler and sun is setting earlier - summer is nearly over. Lazy days of fun at the beach and relaxing outside will pave the way to fall and winter shopping. Help ease your finances this fall season by getting your student loans consolidated today! With car payments, insurance, rent, and living expenses, the last thing you need to worry about is a huge monthly student loan payment. Whatever your monthly payment is now, consolidation can reduce it by up to 60%. And there is no penalty for early/over repayment - so you can pay more when it’s affordable.

Call today and speak with our expert loan counselors at 877.328.1565. Or check out: StudentLoanConsolidator.com.

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Shopping for a consolidation can be a difficult and confusing event. While many companies offer various cash saving borrower discounts, very few explain how they actually work. In simple terms, discounts remove time off your loan. Your monthly payments will not go up or down, but the overall time you pay is shortened. For loans over $20,000, if you take advantage of both discounts, on average you will save:

• Almost 3 years on a 20 year loan
• Almost 4 years on a 25 year loan
• Almost 5 years on a 30 year loan

The 0.25% automatic debit discount is permanent as long as you continue to use the program.

The 1% discount for the first 36 consecutive on time payments is effective after 36 months. What it all boils down to in the end is money saved. By shortening your repayment term, you save cash. Call and ask one of our loan counselors how much you can save each month/year/overall at 877.328.1565 or visit StudentLoanConsolidator.com.

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You must have more than $10,000 in outstanding federal student loans, cannot be enrolled in school half time or more, and cannot be in default.

Here are the things that are not required:

* You do not need to be employed to consolidate your loans.
* You do not need to have any form of collateral.
* You do not need a cosigner of any kind.

If you’re not sure of your loan amounts or enrollment status, I suggest giving our financial aid counselors a call. They can easily research your loan amounts and status - plus provide you with an estimated monthly savings and payment plan.

Request a free, no-obligation information packet or just give us a call toll-free at (877) 328-1565 and we can confirm your eligibility.

Already consolidated your federal loans? Trying to find someone to consolidate your private loans? Check out our private student loan consolidation page.

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• Reduces your monthly payment up to 60%
• Locks in your interest rates - protect yourself from future rate increases
• Simplifies your finances by having you make only one payment a month
• Improves your credit rating
• Saves you money today when you need it most
• Provides flexible repayment options

Federal Consolidation allows you to lock in today’s low rates and to combine several federal student loans to simplify loan repayment. Because repayment can be spread over a longer time period, your monthly payment amount will likely be much lower. With our Student Loan Consolidation program, you can reduce your interest rate by an additional 1.25% with our borrower benefits plan - Click Here for Savings Details.

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To all recent spring graduates, I hope your summer is treating you well! I know mine certainly is. We all do so many different things once we graduate - for me, it was some much needed time away from school and work. Some of you started jobs soon after graduating, others are waiting anxiously to head off to grad school, and still a few of you may be somewhere, lost in Thailand, backpacking with friends.

Regardless of what you’re doing, please take a moment and make sure you get your federal student loans consolidated. It’s quick, free, good for your credit, and best of all, saves buckets of cash - which you can use to take a last minute Labor day trip, buy some new work clothes, or spring your friends out of that dodgy jail in Bangkok.

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Since the Single Lender Repeal, many of you recent graduates out there can now consolidate your federal student loans outside of your current lender. This is an amazing step forward - being able to shop for the best offer is a huge benefit that many of you previously did not have. Though I think you should all call StudentLoanConsolidator (877.328.1565) and consolidate with us… here are some helpful tips when shopping around:

1. Avoid the Bait and switch, read the fine print - You may see advertisements for very low interest rates and big discounts (something we call borrower benefits). Make sure they apply to you! The best way to ensure what your rate should be, is to call the prospect company while you’re applying. Once you contact them, tell them what your balance is, compare that to what they think your balance is, find out what benefits you can receive based on your loan amounts, and what your interest rate is really going to be. Most importantly… read the fine print. Does the rate they quote start right away? Do you have to wait for 48 months to see it drop?

2. Careful of cash rebates - While getting cash-back once your consolidation is finalized does sound appealing (and gratifying) make sure you’re really saving money. In many cases, utilizing the standard .25% discount for auto-debit, coupled with the 1% discount for 36 on-time payments will save much more money in the long run - more so then a small cash-back rebate up front.

3. Do your homework - If you find a company or lender to consolidate your loans, do some research. See how long they’ve been in business for or even check out the Better Business Bureau. I’ve found that simply calling companies up and speaking with their customer service department is a great indication of their level of service. Let’s face it, the benefit of working with a smaller company is usually the personalized attention not normally present with larger corporations.

Any questions about these tips, or if you have any others to add - maybe from experience or what you’ve seen shopping around, reply back to this post. As always, for more information about consolidation get in touch with one of our loan counselors at 877.328.1565.

Good Monday morning everyone. I received an email over the weekend from one of our consolidation customers that I thought did a good job of highlighting some of the different benefits of consolidation you don’t normally hear about.

Dear StudentLoanConsolidator.com,

I’d like to thank you for helping me consolidate my rather large amount of student loans - I haven’t felt this relieved since I graduated high school. I decided to write this thank you letter today because for the first time since graduating college, I actually have spare time. Spare time to continue looking for a better job, spare time to email friends and family, spare time to clean my apartment, and see my girlfriend. No longer do I have to work a second job on the weekends just too barely pay my bills. And the best part… I actually have money now! Though it may not be a whole lot, its certainly more then what I had before consolidating. Every dollar I earned before had to be saved for my bills. Most important though…NO MORE STRESSING OUT! It’s impossible to function properly when all you worry about is not being able to keep up with bills. How does anyone expect to find the right job under such stress?

Anyway, thanks so much for your help. While it did take awhile for the entire process, it was easy to do and has already made my life so much easier.

Regards

So, whether it’s to save money, relieve stress, or free up time for friends - consolidation can help. Find out how much you can cut your bills by, call our veteran consolidation specialists at 877.328.1565. Or www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com.

As many of you may already know, interest rates for federal student loan consolidations increased this past July 1. However, the Department of Education has announced that any borrower who began the consolidation process prior to July 1, 2006 and has a substantially complete application, is still eligible to receive last years lower rates. In case you forgot, last years rates are:

4.7% For borrowers in their grace period (6 month’s post graduation)

5.3% For borrowers in repayment

Compare that to the current rates of 6.54% and 7.14%. My suggestion to anyone who aimed to consolidate before the interest rate deadline, is to come visit StudentLoanConsolidator.com or call 877.328.1565 and ask one of our financial aid consultants if you already have an application started. Five minutes on-line or speaking with one of our financial aid consultants could save you hundreds of dollars each month.