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Is your college grad struggling with student loan debt? Are you up to your eyeballs in repaying a parent loan? If so they’re not alone. The most recent statistics on student loan debt tell us the following:
- $1.28 trillion in total U.S. student loan debt
- 44.2 million Americans with student loan debt
- Student loan debt delinquency rate of 11.0%
- Average monthly student loan payment (for borrower aged 20 – 30 years): $351
- Median monthly student loan payment (for borrower aged 20 – 30 years): $203
If you want to read even more staggering statistics, read A Look at the Shocking Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2017 from Student Loan Hero.
What is the solution? How can students and parents manage the overwhelming demand for student loan repayment?
An Easy Solution To Making Student Loan Debt More Affordable
I recently found this website called Credible that I think might be a good solution for some borrowers and want to share the ins and outs with you.
Credible is an online student loan marketplace that invites borrowers to shop around for both student loan refinancing and private student loans. I love the option Credible gives its customers to be able to shop and compare the best rates available for student loans. In this way, Credible makes it super easy.
If you’re looking to get a better interest rate, or maybe lower your payment for your student loan debt, one of the best options (especially for private loans – federal loans provide certain benefits that may be lost when you refinance – (make sure you check terms carefully if refinancing a federal loan) is to refinance your student loan. However, finding the best interest rate and terms for your loan can be tough.
It’s important to note that Credible itself does not lend any money. Instead, they are a comparison platform where you can apply, compare and get your questions asked all in one place.
Let’s go a little deeper and see how Credible works
If you have a private student loan and want to lower your interest rate or change your payment terms, one of the best ways to do that is by refinancing your student loan. When you refinance your student loan, you’re taking out a brand new loan, which pays off your old loan. This new loan hopefully has a lower interest rate, or maybe a longer repayment period, which will lower your monthly payment.
You can also refinance Federal student loans, but it’s typically not advised because many of the benefits that come with a Federal loan are lost. Some lenders do offer similar benefits, but you must read the fine print very carefully before refinancing to ensure you fully understand the gains and losses.
Typically finding the best loans on your own is full of hassles and headaches as you try to maneuver all this information. Finding the magic loan for you can be tricky. But not when you use Credible. On Credible, you can fill out a single form, and it will compare multiple lenders at once for you, so you can find the best rate and terms for your student loan.
It compares options from many of the top lenders: CommonBond, RISLA, Citizens Bank, and more.
What Are The Qualifications?
There are NO minimum requirements to use Credible. However, you must be 18 years or older and have at least $5,000 in student loan debt you’re looking to refinance.
But to get the best available rate and terms, you need to have good credit and a stable income. Also, most of the lenders require a minimum credit score in the mid-600’s.
In many cases, if you don’t have great credit or a stable income yet, you can qualify with a cosigner.
If you can’t find someone to co-sign the loan for you, start taking steps to secure stable employment or income and clean up your credit score by making sure all your payments to lenders are paid on time each month. Once you can fix both issues, try again and see if you can refinance your student loan with Credible.
Some of these articles may help you get your financial situation in order and then your credit score will likely improve:
How To Budget When You’re Living Paycheck To Paycheck
Does Living On A Budget Mean You’re Broke?
Six Books I Read That Got Me Out Of Debt
The #1 Best Way To Break Through Your Money Roadblocks
101 Creative Ways To Cut Costs When You’re Desperate To Save Money
How Credible Works
Credible has one of the easiest platforms to use. It’s very straightforward, and it takes about 2 minutes to find your rate.
- Fill out a quick simple form (2 minutes)
Provide your information to get prequalified rates without affecting your credit, and without your information being shared with lenders.
2. Choose an option you like (2 minutes)
Review and compare your prequalified options from their partner lenders all in one place.
- Provide your loan details (3 minutes)
Use their automated tool to easily import your loan information. You can provide some additional information to finalize your rates. Their team is always here to assist you.
After you complete this process, the lender will work with you directly to finalize all the details.
Credible also offers private student loans for students who are still in school. They offer both fixed rate and variable rate private student loans.
Just like for student loan refinancing, you can fill out a simple form and compare offers from multiple private student loan lenders all at once (without a hard credit check).
With private student loans, it’s important to make sure you fully understand what you’re getting. We typically don’t advise people to take out private student loans if at all possible. If you think it’s necessary, though, using a service like Credible makes a lot of sense. Shopping around will give you the best options and that’s why Credible is a great service to use.
I wish this service were available when I went to Graduate school and had no other choice but to take a private loan. It ended up costing me so much more in interest because I chose a loan that would not allow early payment. It cost me greatly and believe me when I tell you I was thrilled when that debt was finally paid off. Maybe if I had an option like Credible, I might have found a better alternative than the sucky one I ended up with.
Watch this short video to see if Credible will work for you:
Final Thoughts
We’re big fans of Credible because they make it easy to shop for student loan refinancing by comparing multiple lenders in just minutes.
If you’re looking to refinance your student loan, or even to take out new private student loans, make sure you shop around and give Credible a shot at helping you refinance your student loan debt.
Got any student loan tips you want to share? Let me know!
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