Paying off your student loans in full can feel overwhelming. You’ve borrowed thousands of dollars, how are you going to pay it all back?  The truth is, no matter how difficult it may seem, there are things you can do to pay back your student loans sooner. Implement as many of these tips and strategies as you can and you’ll be paying off student loans in full sooner than you thought.

Pay More Than The Minimum Every Month

Paying more than the minimum every month is the single best thing you can do towards clearing your student loans earlier. Even if you can only pay as little as $25 a month, that will help. Start with whatever you can afford and work on increasing that amount gradually. Anything that you pay over the minimum will help you get out of student loan debt faster.

First, you need to figure out a realistic amount that you can afford to pay back every month. Start by keeping tabs of your monthly expenses. Are there any frivolous expenses that you can cut back on? Cook at home instead of eating out. Brew your own coffee instead of grabbing your daily Starbucks. Cancel your cable. You’ll be surprised at the extra money you can find every month to put towards your loan.

Most important – make sure you tell your loan service to put the extra payment towards the loan principal. The lower the principal, the lower the interest that will accrue. Over time, this will lower the cost of your loan and help you pay it off earlier.

Make Extra Payments Whenever You Can

In addition to paying more than the minimum every month, you may have some extra cash on hand during some months. Maybe you got a bonus at work or you got a generous cash gift for your birthday. Resist the temptation to splurge on a 55-inch flat screen TV or a brand new car. Put that extra cash towards your loans instead. You’ll be glad you did when you pay less by way of interest. Do the same with your tax refund and any other money that comes your way.

Take Up A Side Gig

The more money you earn, the more you can put towards your monthly payments. However, looking for a high paying job as a new graduate is easier said than done. That doesn’t mean you should resign yourself to paying the minimum amount till you get a higher-paying job. You can always supplement your income with a side hustle.

No matter how bad the economy, there’s no dearth of part-time jobs. Think about your skills and how you can use them to make money. Take up freelancing jobs that play to your skills, whether it is writing, Photoshop, or website design. Even side gigs as simple as dog walking, housesitting or waiting tables can help you earn some extra cash to put towards your loan. If you can manage your coursework and a part-time job, start looking for a job while you’re still in college. The money you earn will come in handy to offset your student loan debt.

Consider Refinancing Your Student Loans

Refinancing is a great way to replace your existing high-interest loans with a new low-interest loan. This reduces the amount of interest that accrues, instantly lowering the cost of the loan. Not everyone automatically qualifies for refinancing at a lower interest rate. Lenders will only approve you for refinancing at a lower rate if you have a good credit score and a low debt-to-income ratio.

Meeting these requirements is not as difficult as you may think. Making all credit card and other debt payments on time every time will help you build your credit score. Increasing your income while cutting back on expenses will help to loser your debt-to-income ratio.

You can refinance your loans multiple times and there are no fees involved. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to refinance whenever you qualify for a rate that’s lower than your current rate. This will lower the overall cost of your debt substantially.

Pay Off Your High Interest Loans First

You likely have multiple student loans with different interest rates. It makes sense to try and pay down your highest interest loans first. However, you cannot just make monthly payments on the high interest loans and ignore those with lower interest rates. You have to make the minimum monthly payments on all your loans to avoid attracting expensive fines.

The key here is to pay more than the minimum only on your highest rate loan and clear that loan first. Then target the next highest rate loan. This strategy can help you clear your most expensive student loans faster, saving you a significant amount by way of interest.

Set Up Autopay

Autopay is a system wherein you instruct your bank to make the loan payments every month. With autopay, all payments go out on time every month. You don’t have to worry about keeping track of due dates and payment amount. Most lenders will reward you for these on-time payments with a discount on the interest rate. It may be a small discount of about 0.25% but the benefits can be considerable. For one thing, the 0.25% discount can add up to some major savings over the life of the loan. Secondly, it reduces the risk of missed payments, late fees, and expensive penalties.

Missing even one payment can also jeopardize your credit score. As you can see, setting up autopay can help you pay off your student loans faster in more ways than one.

Pros of paying off student loans early:

1. You’ll save a lot of money. To pay off your loans early, you’ll need to reduce the term of the loan. When you do this, the interest has less time to accrue over a shorter term. This will save you thousands of dollars in accrued interest over the shorter period.

2. You’ll lower your debt-to-income ratio. Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio compares your monthly debts to your monthly income. A high DTI ratio makes it difficult to qualify for additional lines of credit. With no more student loan debt to pay off, your debt-to-income ratio will improve. This will make it easier you to get a low-cost mortgage, credit card, or auto loan.

3. You’ll free up cash for other purposes – As long as you still have student loans, you have to be careful about how you spend your money. You have to think twice about putting down a mortgage payment or saving for retirement. You can’t afford to take a vacation or indulge in impulse purchases. Having to be careful about money all the time can take its toll. Paying off student loans early can free up cash that you can use to pay down your mortgage. Or just take that much-needed vacation.

Cons:

1. You need to have extra funds. To pay off student loans early you’ll have to refinance with higher monthly payments. This will reduce the loan term and you’ll be debt-free earlier. Alternatively, you can pay off student loans early by making additional payments whenever you have extra cash. However, those additional funds can be elusive, especially immediately after graduation.

2. You’ll need to put all other financial goals on hold. If you want to pay off student loans early, you’ll have to focus on this one single goal. You can’t afford to think about saving for retirement or building an emergency fund at the same time. All of these goals require you to have money and no one has unlimited reserves. You’ll have to shelve these financial goals while you focus on paying off student loans. Only when that debt is completely paid off will you have cash that can be used for other purposes.

Paying Off Student Loans In Full

There is no magic wand that will help you eliminate all your student loan debt overnight or even in a few months. But, implementing the tips and strategies above can help you get on a fast track to paying off your student loans in full.