Congratulations, graduate! You are on the road to a new chapter in your life, which can be very exciting. Life after college is full of surprises, good or bad. The only thing that can bring you down is the looming student loan debt hanging over your head. Luckily, there are some ways you can have financial freedom and rid yourself of your student loans faster.
Loan Forgiveness Programs
There are so many loan forgiveness programs you can consider applying for, it will make your head spin. Some programs cancel out all your loans while others significantly reduce payment costs. The main loan forgiveness programs are income-based repayment, public service, teacher and nurse.
When you opt to have an income-based repayment loan forgiveness program, which allows the federal government to keep your student loan payments at a percentage of your monthly income. On the other hand, when you go for the public service loan forgiveness program, your student loans could be totally forgiven after making 120 qualifying loan payments. These are just a few examples of loan forgiveness programs you can be eligible for.
There are other loan forgiveness programs specific to certain types of groups that are available like state-sponsored repayment assistance as well as military loan forgiveness and assistance.
Loan Cancellation Programs
Depending on the type of loan you borrow, you can be eligible to cancel those loans. For example, if you have a Perkins loan you can have up to 100 percent of your loan canceled if you work in a public service job for five years. This is a great option to consider because if you are not able to have your entire student debt forgiven, having your Perkins loan done away with could bring the amount you owe down to a more manageable amount.
Joining A Debt Membership Program
Joining a debt membership program like DTSS.us can be overwhelming, but programs like these can give you the education and the tools to beat back debt quickly. They will not only help free yourself of your student loan debt, but they will also provide you with paramount information that will help you stay relatively debt-free moving forward. There are tons of programs out there, just find the one that suits your needs the best.
Student Loan Discharge Program
These programs are great and beneficial to anyone that qualifies for them. There are many student loan discharge programs. There is the closed school discharge, borrower defense to repayment discharge, total and permanent disability discharge, total and permanent discharge for veterans and discharge for death.
With all of the programs, there are some things that must be in place in order for you to qualify. For example, if your school closes you must have enrolled or have left 120 days, without receiving a degree. You can also be eligible for borrower defense repayment discharge if you have been defrauded by your college but first, you must file a borrower defense to repayment claim with the U.S. Department of Education.
