1. Keep an Eye on Your Credit Score
use Credit Sesame. The free app shows me my TransUnion credit score and a credit report card with monthly updates.
You can see everyone you owe money to — student loans, my auto loan, that credit card debt from college… Credit Sesame also offers suggestions for ways to improve your credit card, like applying for a secured credit card or refinancing my auto loan for a better interest rate.
You can sign up and download the app here.
2. Refinance Student Loans to Reduce Your Monthly Payment
Refinancing your student loans basically means replacing your binders full of loans with a single new loan from a private lender. That also means just one monthly payment.
You can see refinancing options through a marketplace like Credible, which will show you offers from a variety of lenders in one place. Checking offers doesn’t ping your credit score, and you won’t be signed up for anything without your consent.
Along with simplifying the process, refinancing could help save you money — today and/or in the long run.
Starting fresh on your loans could help you:
- Owe a lower monthly payment, in case you’re struggling to keep up with payments now.
- Get a lower interest rate, which means you’ll pay less over the life of your loan.
1. Keep an Eye on Your Credit Score
use Credit Sesame. The free app shows me my TransUnion credit score and a credit report card with monthly updates.
You can see everyone you owe money to — student loans, my auto loan, that credit card debt from college… Credit Sesame also offers suggestions for ways to improve your credit card, like applying for a secured credit card or refinancing my auto loan for a better interest rate.
You can sign up and download the app here.
2. Refinance Student Loans to Reduce Your Monthly Payment
Refinancing your student loans basically means replacing your binders full of loans with a single new loan from a private lender. That also means just one monthly payment.
You can see refinancing options through a marketplace like Credible, which will show you offers from a variety of lenders in one place. Checking offers doesn’t ping your credit score, and you won’t be signed up for anything without your consent.
Along with simplifying the process, refinancing could help save you money — today and/or in the long run.
Starting fresh on your loans could help you:
- Owe a lower monthly payment, in case you’re struggling to keep up with payments now.
- Get a lower interest rate, which means you’ll pay less over the life of your loan.
If you have private student loans, refinancing them as soon as you can get a lower interest rate should be a no-brainer. Here’s why.
You can cut high interest rates
Depending on when you borrowed and your finances at the time, your private student loans could have interest rates of 6%, 7%, even 10% or more. Refinancing those high-interest private loans can save you money now and in the long run.
Student loan refinance lenders typically want borrowers with a FICO credit score in at least the high 600s, as well as a monthly debt-to-income ratio below 50% — including your existing loans.
That’s just to qualify, not necessarily to get the lowest possible rate.
But even if you can’t get the lowest advertised rate, refinancing can still save you money.
You may not be able to qualify for the lowest available rates today, but you can refinance as often as you need to as your finances improve.
Pay Off as Much of Your Private Loans as You Can
Unfortunately, your options are extremely limited if you have private student loans. “Private loans have very few, if any, lower payment options or opportunities for relief,” Mayotte said.
The best solution is typically to pay down as much of the balance as you can. Consider whether you could live on a bare-bones budget while working an extra year or two. Putting all your extra cash toward paying down the loans could significantly reduce your payments in retirement, even if you can’t eliminate the balance altogether.
If you don’t want student loans looming over you for decades, this may also be the better approach for federal loans, even if you can lower your payment with an income-driven plan. Keep in mind that even though income-driven plans typically lower your payments, you may wind up paying more over time. That’s because your payments are stretched over 20 or 25 years versus the standard 10-year window.
3. Bank Extra Cash With a Side Gig
This should tickle your fancy.
Need a fun, flexible way to earn money while also meeting lots of new people?
Try driving with Lyft!
Demand for ride-sharing has been growing like crazy, and it shows no signs of slowing down. To be eligible, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old with a year of driving experience, pass a background check and own a car made in 2007 or later.
Because it’s simple to switch between apps, many Lyft drivers also sign up as a driver partner with Uber.
As a driver partner with Uber, you are an independent contractor. You create your own schedule and work as much or as little as you want.
If you want to give it a try, here are a few of the things to keep in mind: You must be at least 21 years old, have at least one year of licensed driving experience in the U.S. (three years if you are under 23 years old), have a valid US driver’s license and pass a background check.
Also, your car must be a four-door, seat at least four passengers (excluding the driver), be registered in-state and be covered by in-state insurance.
Here’s a link to sign up to use the Uber app.
4. Negotiate Your Bills Down
When you need to squeeze a few extra dollars out of your income every month, try negotiating your utility bills down.
Don’t worry; we’re not suggesting you get on the phone with a utility company — talk about a mood killer.
Consider Trim, a bot that works through Facebook Messenger or your text messages.
Trim is basically a free financial assistant. (This is the kind of friend with benefits we get excited about.)
Once you’re connected, you’ll be able to access a dashboard within your Messenger or text conversation with Trim. For example, you’ll see options to:
- Negotiate your Comcast (or other provider) bill down to a lower price.
- View your spending habits.
- Sift through your subscription services to cancel the ones you forgot about or don’t need (‘hem, like that Netflix subscription, now that you’ve got your mojo back…).
Trim also shows your account balance and recent transactions. Want to know how much you spent at Starbucks last month so you can budget better? Just ask the bot.
5. Earn Extra Income — Without Spending Extra Time
One of the best ways to pay off debt is to earn more money. Easier said than done, right?
If you don’t have the luxury of adding a job to your daily schedule, look for creative ways to earn extra money without doing extra work.
Here are a few of our favorite ways:
- Invest without doing anything. An app called Acorns will automatically round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the digital change.
- Share your opinion via paid online surveys. This can be a smart way to turn your commute or waiting-in-line time into a money-maker. Here are some of our favorite places to find paid surveys.
- It turns out deleting your emails could be costing you serious money. Intrigued? One of our secret weapons is called Paribus — a tool that could help you gets money back for your online purchases. It’s free to sign up, and once you do, it will scan your email archives for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from one of its monitored retailers, it will track the item’s price and could help you get a refund anytime there’s a price drop. Plus, if your guaranteed shipment shows up late, Paribus could help you get money back for what you paid for shipping.
Are You One of the 323K Eligible for Automatic Student Loan Forgiveness?
Pause on Student Loan Interest and Payments Extended Through Jan. 2022
Pay Off as Much of Your Private Loans as You Can
Unfortunately, your options are extremely limited if you have private student loans. “Private loans have very few, if any, lower payment options or opportunities for relief,” Mayotte said.
The best solution is typically to pay down as much of the balance as you can. Consider whether you could live on a bare-bones budget while working an extra year or two. Putting all your extra cash toward paying down the loans could significantly reduce your payments in retirement, even if you can’t eliminate the balance altogether.
If you don’t want student loans looming over you for decades, this may also be the better approach for federal loans, even if you can lower your payment with an income-driven plan. Keep in mind that even though income-driven plans typically lower your payments, you may wind up paying more over time. That’s because your payments are stretched over 20 or 25 years versus the standard 10-year window.
3. Bank Extra Cash With a Side Gig
This should tickle your fancy.
Need a fun, flexible way to earn money while also meeting lots of new people?
Try driving with Lyft!
Demand for ride-sharing has been growing like crazy, and it shows no signs of slowing down. To be eligible, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old with a year of driving experience, pass a background check and own a car made in 2007 or later.
Because it’s simple to switch between apps, many Lyft drivers also sign up as a driver partner with Uber.
As a driver partner with Uber, you are an independent contractor. You create your own schedule and work as much or as little as you want.
If you want to give it a try, here are a few of the things to keep in mind: You must be at least 21 years old, have at least one year of licensed driving experience in the U.S. (three years if you are under 23 years old), have a valid US driver’s license and pass a background check.
Also, your car must be a four-door, seat at least four passengers (excluding the driver), be registered in-state and be covered by in-state insurance.
Here’s a link to sign up to use the Uber app.
4. Negotiate Your Bills Down
When you need to squeeze a few extra dollars out of your income every month, try negotiating your utility bills down.
Don’t worry; we’re not suggesting you get on the phone with a utility company — talk about a mood killer.
Consider Trim, a bot that works through Facebook Messenger or your text messages.
Trim is basically a free financial assistant. (This is the kind of friend with benefits we get excited about.)
Once you’re connected, you’ll be able to access a dashboard within your Messenger or text conversation with Trim. For example, you’ll see options to:
- Negotiate your Comcast (or other provider) bill down to a lower price.
- View your spending habits.
- Sift through your subscription services to cancel the ones you forgot about or don’t need (‘hem, like that Netflix subscription, now that you’ve got your mojo back…).
Trim also shows your account balance and recent transactions. Want to know how much you spent at Starbucks last month so you can budget better? Just ask the bot.
5. Earn Extra Income — Without Spending Extra Time
One of the best ways to pay off debt is to earn more money. Easier said than done, right?
If you don’t have the luxury of adding a job to your daily schedule, look for creative ways to earn extra money without doing extra work.
Are You One of the 323K Eligible for Automatic Student Loan Forgiveness?
Pause on Student Loan Interest and Payments Extended Through Jan. 2022
Should I Refinance My Student Loans?
As Student Loan Servicers Exit, Here’s What Borrowers Need to Know
Money Saving Quest 