You've done everything right: you graduated from college, you got a great job, you pay bills on time, you might even have a 401k. But that nagging feeling you can't shake? Yeah, it's student loans. Always and forever.
Or so you thought. There's actually a way to save money on your loan payments, and the answer is simple: student loan refinancing.
Repaying debt, especially on student loans, can really suck. But by refinancing, you can make it just a bit more tolerable by lowering your interest rate and either 1) lowering your monthly payment or 2) shortening the term of your loan. What does any of this mean? Well, the key to saving money on loan repayment is interest, interest, interest.
In Option 1, when you reduce your interest rate, you have the option of lowering your monthly payment, since part of every monthly payment is just straight interest. In Option 2—reducing your loan repayment term—you'll have a higher monthly payment, but you’ll pay less interest overall, since you will pay interest for a shorter period of time. Either way, you could save tons of money in the long run - potentially thousands of dollars.
Refinancing isn't perfect for everyone, but if you have good credit, make a decent income, and feel like your loans are a hurdle to buying a home, getting married, having a kid, you will definitely want to look into it as an option for saving money.
There are options out there, but SoFi is the best lender for student loan refinancing; they'll refinance both private and federal loans and they offer competitive rates, as well as community support with career strategy, job search, and entrepreneurial help.
None of this sounds that hard, right? Truthfully, tricks like student loan refinancing are things most lenders count on people not knowing, and they're right—most people don't know. Don't be one of them.
Apply online to refinance with SoFi to save thousands of dollars on student loans.
This post is a sponsored collaboration between SoFi and Gothamist staff.
SoFi Lending Corp. NMLS # 1121636. Terms and conditions apply. SoFi’s Refinance Loan is a private loan. Understand that when you refinance federal loans you forfeit certain flexible repayment options. If you expect to incur financial hardship that would affect your ability to repay, you should consider federal consolidation loan options. See SoFi.com for details.