The process of refinancing student loans can be like studying for finals: you prepare for weeks, the stress keeps you up at night, and once the big day finally passes, you feel a huge sense of relief. You might even go out with friends to celebrate. But like college, you can’t just forget what you learned. You have to apply that knowledge to the next step. When it comes to refinancing student loans, the next step is to continue honing your financial savviness. Find other ways to reduce and quickly pay off debts so you can start spending money on the things you want, instead of the things you need! Below are five tips to consider after refinancing student loans.
Pay Down Other Debts
Take the extra amount you paid toward that student loan and apply it to other debts. With a $50,000 loan at an 8% interest rate, you could owe approximately $480/month for 15 years. Your total interest over the life of the loan is $36,000. But if you’re able to reduce that interest rate to just 6%, your monthly payment drops to $420/month and the total interest paid is $26,000. What could you do with an extra $60/month? What could you do with an extra $10,000 over 10 years? A lot. Consider all the types of debt and ongoing expenses you have that you could apply that $10,000 toward:
- Credit cards
- Car loans
- Home loans
- Medical bills
- Childcare
- Cell phone bills
- Utility bills
You can also opt to keep that extra money aimed at your loan. Refinancing student loans often establishes terms with no prepayment penalties. So paying off loans faster can alleviate the burden of debt. This can take many forms, including:
- Make an extra payment: In addition to your minimum monthly payment (12 payments a year), consider an extra payment every few months. In the example above, if you save $60/month on your refinanced student loan, you will have enough money for a whole extra payment every 7 months, with no additional work done on your part. Just a little saving!
- Pay more than the minimum: If you don’t want to worry about orchestrating extra payments, overpay during each regular monthly payment. By going above and beyond the minimum payment, you’ll keep from accruing as much interest on your principal balance. Going back to our example again, if you were to keep that extra $60 applied to your monthly payment of $420 (for a total of $480), you could pay off your loan 2–3 years earlier at a savings of $5,000. It might seem tempting to use that extra $60 as play money right now, but $5,000 could be an even bigger play day in the future!
- Make single lump-sum payments: Use your tax return, annual bonus, or an inheritance to make lump-sum payments toward the principal balance on your refinanced student loan. Again, the mindset here is to pay off that loan as fast and comfortably as you can.
Negotiate Other Bills or Debts
Don’t stop while you’re on a roll. Once you secure better terms for your loan, find other ways to lower your bills. Use that financial savvy you picked up refinancing student loans, and negotiate with other debt collectors. This negotiation isn’t limited to loans—you can often get better rates with your cable and internet provider too. You also likely have a dozen or more automatic monthly payments coming out of your checking account or linked to a credit card. Some banks or apps like Truebill® and Trim® can help you find and cancel subscriptions that are unused or that you forgot you signed up for in the first place. What started as $60/month saved could possibly turn into $150/month after canceling unused subscriptions.
Consolidate Credit Card Debt
You can consolidate loans, but did you know you can also consolidate credit card debt? If you have multiple cards that you owe money on, you can roll those cards into a single loan. Depending on your credit score and other factors, a consolidated loan can have lower interest or a lower, more achievable payment. You could also take out a personal loan with a lower rate to pay off cards directly with the credit card company.
Keep At It
Refinancing only sounds like the hard part. The real challenge comes after you sign the papers. Getting a new interest rate and a new loan term won’t save you money if you don’t make on-time payments and pay off your loan according to those new terms. Adult life has a lot more things on its to-do list. Set up automatic payments so you don’t risk forgetting. At the very least, set monthly reminders in your calendar app to write a check or manually process your payment.
Tell Your Friends
ELFI offers options for student loans and refinancing student loans. But did you know ELFI also has a referral program1 that can help you make (and save) even more money? Sign up and create a personalized referral link to share with friends or family. When someone refinances using your link, you’ll get a $400 referral bonus check and your friend will receive a $100 credit toward the principal balance of an Education Loan Finance loan. There’s no limit on the number of people you can refer. Learn more at elfi.com/referral-program-student-loan-refinance. Note: Links to other websites are provided as a convenience only. A link does not imply SouthEast Bank’s sponsorship or approval of any other site. SouthEast Bank does not control the content of these sites. Terms and conditions apply. Subject to credit approval. 1Subject to credit approval. Program requirements apply. Limit one $400 cash bonus per referral. Offer available to those who are above the age of majority in their state of legal residence who refer new customers who refinance their education loans with Education Loan Finance. The new customer will receive a $100 principal reduction on the new loan within 6-8 weeks of loan disbursement. The referring party will be mailed a $400 cash bonus check within 6-8 weeks after both the loan has been disbursed, and the referring party has provided ELFI with a completed IRS form W-9. Taxes are the sole responsibility of each recipient. A new customer is an individual without an existing Education Loan Finance loan account and who has not held an Education Loan Finance loan account within the past 24 months. Additional terms and conditions apply.
