Help for African Americans with Paying Off Student Loans

One thing that is crushing many African Americans and others is student loan debt. Millions of people have student loan debt and can’t keep up with the payments. This is because the interest is keeping the balance rising as people try to pay down the principle. Those who are struggling to pay their student loan debt have options they can turn to and should explore them to see which one is best for their situation.

The average student loan debt is over $37,000. People go to college assuming they will be able to easily pay off the loans they took out to pay for their tuition. Yet many people end up struggling to pay it for whatever reason. Many people don’t earn as much as they anticipated they would out of college, while others struggle due to the rising costs of just about everything that is putting a pinch on their finances.

Student Loan Debt Relief Options

Those who want to pay off their student loan debt and feel they need help doing it have some options to consider. It is a good idea to review the options below to determine which route will be a good one for you and your situation.  Not every option will work for everyone. It really depends on your situation, what your career field is, and more.

Government Options – The federal government offers a range of options to help people with paying off their student loans. You should first start with them to explore the options. They offer you the ability to change your payment options, so that you can pay it back over a longer period of time, as well as loan forgiveness programs. Changing your payments to lower them may keep you paying on the loan longer, but it can help you keep more money in your pocket each month. Plus, some of the loan forgiveness options include for those who teach in certain areas, those who attended some specific schools, if you work for a nonprofit, if you have a disability, if you work in the medical field, and more. To get more information about those forgiveness programs, click here.

Employer Options – Many employers will offer student loan payment assistance. It all depends on what type of field you work in, what places are hiring, your geographic area, etc. If you search for job openings in your field or geographic area you will likely find some employers who are offering tuition reimbursement or will help with student loan repayment. These are typically jobs that are in high demand or in areas with a low population of college-educated people. Search for jobs that will help pay off your student loan debt. If you do not want to change jobs, consider speaking with your current employer to see if they will offer a program to help you with it, or give you a raise, and then use that additional money to pay down the student loans.

Refinancing Options – One way to help save money on student loans is to refinance them. If you do this you can shop around to see what rates and terms lenders are offering. Some will provide you with a lower interest rate that will help ease the burden in paying off the loans over time. Be sure to check with multiple lenders to compare the rates and terms and determine how much you will be able to save by refinancing. One thing consider, however, is that if you refinance you student loans you will not be eligible for student loan forgiveness if the government were to decide to give it people at some point. Once the loans have been refinanced outside of the federal government they no longer qualify for reductions or forgiveness.

Grant Options – There are some grants that are available that can help with paying off student loans. The grants are for a wide variety of things, including those in nursing, veterinary care, teaching, law, military, farming, and more. Explore the grant options to see if there are some in your field that you would qualify for. Getting a grant to pay for student loans is similar to getting a college scholarship to pay for your tuition, only you are getting it after you have already been to college. The grant helps to pay for the tuition after college. To get more information about various grants, click here.

Side Hustles – If you are not able to find a program to help with paying off student loans, consider starting a side hustle. You can use the money earned from the side hustle just to pay off student loans. There are many lucrative side hustles that are easy to start and will provide you with a decent amount of extra money each month. You can take that extra money and apply it weekly or monthly to your debt. Before you realize it, the amount will be paid down and your loans will be paid off. To see a list of 27 side hustle ideas, click here.

Additional Considerations

Paying off student loan debt is on the mind of millions of African Americans and others. Many people are struggling to keep up with their student loan bills each month. Rather than let it go into default it is a good idea to look for help paying off the student loans. Getting assistance can help speed up the process, so that it saves you money over time and will allow you to use your money for other necessary bills.

Explore the options above to find a program that will help you pay off your student loans. By exploring numerous options you should be able to find one that will help you. In the meantime, it is a good idea to try and keep up with the payments, so that it does not go into default. Continue to try and make the payment if you can, while you are trying to find help to get the student loans paid off.

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