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University is a great period in one’s life. There are so many new and great experiences one gets to be a part of. The learning and social aspects along with the independence of this time is a truly great part of growing up.
The one area of university that definitely weighs on many students and/or their parents are the expenses involved in going. All too often many people overlook the total costs of university not taking into account living expenses. There is a lot more to university beyond tuition and books.
A small minority of people may have been lucky enough to have had these expenses covered through scholarships or paid for by parents who were in the position to cover the costs. This is not case for the majority of university goers and the bulk of students will end up with a fair amount of debt once they leave school.
Below are some great tips to get out of student debt quicker.
1. Budget. Once you land that first job, create a budget which will maximize your earnings for paying down debt whilst reducing the accumulation of new debt.
2. Pay off high interest cards or loans first. Student loans generally have a very low interest rate. If you have other debt, it would be wise to pay these down quicker and then move on to your other debts with lower interest rates.
3. Cut spending. Spend less money on eating out and entertainment when paying down debt. If you have a strong budget in place, this should be a easy task.
4. Cut recurring expenses. Any opportunity you have to reduce your expenses, do so and allocate the savings toward the debt to accelerate the reduction speed.
5. Become a bargain hunter. Use the internet to shop and save money on purchases.
6. Increase cash flow. Look for opportunities to pick up some side work through consulting, projects or asking for overtime.
7. Always pay more than the minimum. If you want to pay off debt quickly, you will need to pay more than the minimum. Use your budget to help find areas to increase payments when you can. Think tax returns, selling things, point
8. Get educated. Learn about personal finance, visit blogs and money based sites to get tips on how to get out of debt and wealth creation. There are heaps of free resources on the Internet. A debt free and simple living is within your grasp.
9. Sell items you don’t want or need. Most people have items that they don’t want and just leave sitting around. Sell those items and put the proceeds towards paying down debt.
By following some or all of these tips, you will see your debt start to reduce quickly. In the process you will learn some great personal finance skills which will stick with you for life and keep you from falling back into debt.
This post is from Richard at Simple Living Australia. SLA is a personal finance and lifestyle blog dedicated to helping people gain control of their finances, providing tips on how to save more, spend less and improve their overall standard of living.
The post 9 Must Read Tips for Paying Off Student Loan Debt appeared first on A Young Pro.
