I will be graduating in May with about 18k-20k in student loans...

Currently my interest rate is at about 7% I know I never locked it :cursing



So now my question is what is the best way to go about paying my student loans and why/how


I do not have any credit card debt and this is my only debt if I dont buy car.


Should I be paying the most I can or should I pay the minimum payments? I've heard that you can get the money you paid in interest back from your taxes. But like everything else isnt there a limit? what is the limit? Depending on how much you owe wouldnt it make sense to still consolidate your loans if you will save more by the lower interest rate than by getting the tax write off?

Who can I consolidate my school loans with?

Who can I consolidate my loans with so my loans are still considered "school loans"?

I just found this


http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf


its $2500 I believe I have to do more reading....

First of all, consolidate your loans into a fixed rate. When leaving them at variables rates, each year on July 1 the rate usually increases, causing your current rate to go up. So lock it in. **NOTE: I thought I heard something about legislation stating that all future loans will be fixed, but don't quote me on that.

Anyways, with me I hate debt, so pay as much as you can as fast as you can. If your rate was like 3-4%, you may consider making the minimal payment and investing the difference in hope you would make enough to cover the interest it is costing you. But at 7% I think your best bet is to pay them as fast as possible.

Also, never keep debt for tax write-offs...it is stupid. Take it if you can, but it should never be the reason for getting/keeping debt.

Good luck...

Best thing to do is pay it off as soon as you can, get it out of the way so that it will not haunt you in future years

So now my question is what is the best way to go about paying my student loans and why/how
Pay it off fast so that you pay less interest.

I do not have any credit card debt and this is my only debt if I dont buy car.
Drive a junker and pay off the loan.

Should I be paying the most I can or should I pay the minimum payments? I've heard that you can get the money you paid in interest back from your taxes.
Would you consider paying a lender $1000 rather than paying uncle sam $200? That's about what it would be like. There's a huge difference in a tax credit and a tax deduction.

Deduction- an amount taken off your taxable income.
Credit- amount deducted from your total tax burden.

Depending on how much you owe wouldnt it make sense to still consolidate your loans if you will save more by the lower interest rate than by getting the tax write off?
Forget the write off. Look for a lower rate, or at least a fixed one.

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