How to pay back your student loans

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 9, 2013

Keep paying on loans even if they're in deferment. I am currently in school for my masters degree, and am not required to make payments on my loans from my bachelors degree but I am still making payments.

Calabria, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2013

I've actually started doing Dave Ramsey's plan. I'm paying off my smallest loans first, and snowballing those payments to pay off other loans. I also do everything I can to get rebates on my loans.

I initially used extra funds (while my loans were in deferment) to pay down a high-interest private loan so that my monthly payments would be lower on it, which helped a lot. And I will sometimes apply bonus/holiday pay or tax refunds to this loan, too. At this rate, I'll be paying my loans off several years earlier than planned.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 9, 2013

Don't miss a payment. If you think you're in danger of not making a payment, contact the loan company ASAP--before payment is due--to see if anything can be done. The ding that one missed payment makes to your credit report has a lot of negative repercussions for the next 7 years.

Throw whatever extra money that you can towards the loan. Even little bits here and there can add up. If you have multiple loans, throw the extra money at the one with the highest interest rate.

Agree about consolidating loans: see if that's an option. It's a lot easier to make one loan payment every month than to keep track of multiple payments.

Last...minimize or avoid having student loans in the first place. Yes, I know this advice does little for someone who is up to their neck in loan payments, but keep it in mind for the next nursing degree.

megank5183 · Jun 9, 2013

consolidate, sign up for IBR plan, have loans discharged after ten years if you work in the public sector (which most hospital system are). Not enough nurses know about this and it is a LIFESAVER!

IcySageNurse · Jun 9, 2013

Here's what is working for me:

1. Set an amount (higher than minimum payment) that you can afford for monthly loan payments. My monthly loan payment is $285 and my set amount that I can afford is $400.

2. Look at your loans. If you have multiple (which most people with federal loans do) then look at the interest rate. Whichever has the HIGHEST, apply the entire difference between the set amount and the minimum payment to that loan - pay the minimum payment on all of the others. So for me, I am paying the minimum on all loans except for my highest (6.8%), which receives the minimum + $115 (difference between set amount and total minimum payments).

3. When that one is gone, move on to the next highest. Do not lower your set amount - and if you get a raise or cut out some other expenses, see if you can actually raise your set amount.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2013

When paying extra, make sure that the link an company is applying it to your principal balance, not your next payment.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jun 9, 2013

Keep paying on loans even if they're in deferment. I am currently in school for my masters degree, and am not required to make payments on my loans from my bachelors degree but I am still making payments.

Best advice out there. Pay em down when they are not getting interest.

LandD_RN_chica · Jun 9, 2013

I pay $1000 a month. It's ridiculous and I don't even know where to start to get them down. I have private loans and federal stafford and nonstafford or whatever the other is called. It's like a damn mortgage. Any suggestions on what I can do? I'm 32, a single mom, and id like to buy a house!

artsmom, BSN, LPN · Jun 10, 2013

So are you all saying that crying at the bill and tossing it is a bad idea? Damn.

azhiker96, BSN, RN · Jun 10, 2013

I highly recommend taking Dave Ramsey's course. It helped my wife and I get organized to pay off everything except our mortgage in 3 years. We paid off just over $100K on two nurse's incomes. There were several key things that helped.

1. We established an emergency fund in case something unexpected happened.

2. We made a monthly budget and adjusted it as needed during the month. This was the biggest thing as it allowed us to see we were wasting a ton of money on eating out. Eating rice and beans at home will save a lot of money that you can then throw at your debt.

3. We set up all our debts into a debt snowball from lowest BALANCE to highest. Pay the minimum on everything except the smallest debt. That's the one you beat on with every extra dollar. When it is paid off you it gives you positive feedback that you're making progress and helps keep motivation up to continue on the next debt. Then, money that was going to the first debt is budgeted on the next smallest once the first is paid off. The snowball works!

4. Pick up extra shifts or call and use the extra money to pay on the debt snowball. Use any refund from filing taxes to pay off your debt. Delay any unnecessary expense such as vacations until the debt is paid off. Get creative. Have a garage sale to get rid of things you don't want/need and use the money to pay down the debt.

There were several things we changed to save money so we could pay off the debt faster. We stopped buying things at the hospital cafeteria. Instead we packed our own lunches. It saved money and was healthier too. I stopped buying coffee out. Instead I would drink the free coffee in our department or brew my own at home. When I cooked at home I made 2-3 times what we needed so I could portion/freeze leftovers for our lunches.

I also noted how much each interest each debt was costing me each month. As a debt was paid off we realized that money was now paying off the next debt instead of feeding the banks.

AWanderingMinstral · Jun 10, 2013

I pay $1000 a month. It's ridiculous and I don't even know where to start to get them down. I have private loans and federal stafford and nonstafford or whatever the other is called. It's like a damn mortgage. Any suggestions on what I can do? I'm 32, a single mom, and id like to buy a house!

LandD_RN_chica, I FEEL YOUR PAIN! I had an undergrad degree before getting a nursing diploma, BSN, and MPH. I am now paying $1,200 a month and IT'S KILLING ME! I have decided to start making my minimum payment and sending any extra to the loan with the smallest balance. I regret earning the graduate degree that I did, but I'm trying to transition my career in a direction that will enable me to use it AND, in a few years, work as a consultant.

The Indian Health Service offers some loan repayment as does certain prisons within the Federal Burea of Prisons.

WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS!