I don't know if you're a fan of financial guru and radio show host Dave Ramsey, but I certainly am. I listen to Ramsey every day and find his advice to be based on common sense principles for getting out of debt and building wealth. One thing that Ramsey recommends is that if you have high interest student loans, you should refinance and consolidate them now to lock in a reduced interest rate and lower your monthly payments. Other financial pundits agree. Most agree with Ramsey that the sooner you consolidate and refinance old high interest student loans, the better off you will be. I don't have student loans (no college would have me :o), but many of my friends do. I live in a very high tech area with lots of degreed engineers and programmers and scientists, many of whom owe tens of thousands of dollars in old school loan debt. If you have student loans the time to think about refinancing is now. Federal student loan interest rates are at an all time low, but that can't last forever. By refinancing your student loans now, you lock in the interest rate for the duration of the consolidation loan. The first thing you need to do is find out if you are eligible for student loan consolidation. On a referral from a friend, I found one online organization that offers a free survey that will tell if you are eligible for a federal student loan consolidation. This organization says their average customer saves $150 a month or $1,800 annually. That can add up to one heck of a savings over the life of a 5 to 10 year loan. Simply complete the online survey found at the link below to see if you are eligible to consolidate your student loans. |
