More than 50% of students who earn a bachelor’s degree graduate college with some debt. The average student loan debt, including federal and private loans, is $38,375. The key to paying down that debt quickly is to stay organized. If you have a mix of federal and private loans (with different payment plans, interest rates, and due dates), however, that’s easier said than done.
Unfortunately, one late payment can tarnish your credit history. Before you get into any trouble, it is a good idea to put together a system and a plan for making payments and keeping track of your loans. The following tips and strategies can help.
Key Points
• Establishing a system to organize and manage your student loans can help borrowers stay on track with repayment.
• Create a spreadsheet to track loan balances, payments, and due dates for better management.
• Sign up for autopay to ensure timely payments and potentially receive interest rate reductions.
• Securely organize log-in details for all loan servicers to save time and avoid frustration.
• Consider refinancing to lower interest rates and monthly payments, but weigh the loss of federal benefits.
Understanding Your Student Loans
If you’re like many borrowers, you may have a combination of different types of student loans. Each type has different benefits and features, so it’s important to understand how federal and private student loans work, and to take note of each loan’s amount, interest rate, and payment requirements.
If you’re not sure what type of federal student loans you have, you can log on to StudentAid.gov and select “My Aid” in the dropdown menu under your name. There you can find:
• Your student loan amounts and balances
• Your loan servicer(s) and their contact information
• Your interest rates
• Your current loan status (e.g., repayment, in default, etc.)
The government’s database won’t tell you about private loans, though. For that, you can get details from the bank or lender where you obtained the loan. If you completely lost track of what private loans you have, you can check your credit report. You can get a free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Understand Loan Repayment Options
Federal student loans offer multiple payment options. If you don’t choose a specific plan, you’ll automatically be placed on the 10-year standard repayment plan, which could be a good choice if you’re looking to save on interest. Other options include the Extended Payment Plan and Graduated Repayment Plan.
If you want lower monthly payments and student loan forgiveness, you might want to apply for an income-driven repayment plan. With these plans, your payment amount is a percentage of your discretionary income (typically 10% to 20%). After making payments for 20 or 25 years, any remaining loan balance is forgiven.
Private student loans generally offer less flexibility, but you likely had a choice of a few different repayment plans when you initially borrowed the loan. Typically, lenders will let you choose a loan term between five and 20 years when you first sign for a student loan. If you’re not happy with the terms, you may want to consider student loan refinancing, which could potentially help you get a new loan with a lower interest rate and more favorable terms.
Organizing Your Loan Information
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your student loans, these tips can help you get organized and make the repayment process simpler and less stressful.
Gather Your Documents
An important first step toward keeping track of your student loans is to gather all of your documents and keep them in one place (such as a three-ring binder or file folders). These documents may include:
• Financial aid award letters
• Promissory notes (legal contracts detailing the terms that you received when you originally signed for your student loans)
• Disclosure documents (which include information about rates, fees, disbursement dates, and amounts)
• Monthly billing statements and emails from your loan servicers
As any mail comes in regarding your loans, be sure to add it to your binder or file system.
Create a Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet allows you to have all of the details of your student loans summarized in one place. You could use something like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, or just a regular computer document. Details you may want to include in your master spreadsheet:
• Name of the federal loan and whether it is subsidized or unsubsidized
• Name of the private lender (if applicable)
• Name and contact details of the lender or loan servicer
• Total amount borrowed
• Term of the loan
• Interest rate (this can help you decide which loans you should pay off first)
• Payment due date
• Current loan balance (this will go down as you update your spreadsheet)
With all your loan details in one place, you’ll likely find it easier to stay on top of your student loans. It’s also a good idea to take a few minutes every month to update the columns to reflect the latest status of every loan.
Recommended: Tips to Lower Your Student Loan Payments
Sign Up for Autopay
If you have a job with a steady income, you may want to set up autopay for all of your loan payments. Since your payments will be automatically taken from your bank account, you won’t have to worry about missing a payment or getting hit with a late fee. Plus, you’ll receive a 0.25% interest rate deduction on your federal loans. Many private lenders will also lower your interest rate by .25% to .50% when you enroll in autopay. This can add up to substantial savings over the life of your loan.
You’ll want to be careful, however, that you have sufficient funds in your bank account. If you don’t, you will have to manually adjust your payment amount accordingly.
Organize Your Login Details
Organizing your login details for each student loan website can save you a lot of time and frustration in the coming years. It also makes it quick and easy to check in on your loans and track your repayment progress.
You can go old school and simply write down all of your usernames and passwords on a piece of paper and store the document in a secure place. Or, you might choose to go more high-tech and use a password manager app or website (such as Dashlane or 1Password) or a built-in manager like Apple’s Keychain. This can save you the headache of repeatedly trying — and failing — to access your accounts.
Utilize Online Tools and Apps
There are free websites and online student loan trackers that can help you stay on top of your student loans. There are also apps that specialize in managing and paying off loans easily. Some you might want to check out:
• Undebt.it This free app can help you eliminate all debt, not just student loans. Once you enter your loan information, you can see how quickly you can pay them off using the debt snowball or debt avalanche strategy, as well as the amount that you’ll save on interest over the life of each loan.
• Debt Payoff Assistant This free iPhone app lets you view all of your debts in one place. Simply enter your loan information and the dashboard will break down your different types of debts and your total amount of debt. You can then use the app to see how much you’ll save using the debt snowball payoff method.
• Changed You link your credit or debit card to the app and every time you make a purchase, the app rounds it up to the nearest dollar and puts the change into your Changed account. Once you reach a certain threshold, that money gets deposited to your student loan provider. The app also offers a dashboard that lets you see all your loans in one place. (There is a fee starting at $4 a month.)
Recommended: 6 Strategies to Pay off Student Loans Quickly
Simplify Your Loans by Refinancing
When you refinance your student loans, you combine your federal and/or private loans into one private loan with a single monthly payment. This can simplify repayment and might be a smart move if your credit score and income can qualify you for lower interest rates.
With a refinance, you can also change your repayment terms. You might choose a shorter term to pay off your student loans faster. Or, you might go with a longer repayment term to lower your monthly payments (note: you may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term).
If you’re considering a refinance, keep in mind that refinancing federal loans with a private lender disqualifies you from government benefits and protections, such as income-driven repayment plans and generous forbearance and deferment programs.
The Takeaway
When it comes to paying off your student loans, knowledge is power. So a great first step is to take inventory of all the loans you have, noting the loan amounts, interest rates, payment amounts, and due dates. Other ways to stay organized include: storing all of your loan paperwork and mail in one place, creating a master student loan spreadsheet, and using technology (like apps and loan platforms) to help you track your progress and pay off your loans faster.
Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.
About the author
Julia Califano
Julia Califano is an award-winning journalist who covers banking, small business, personal loans, student loans, and other money issues for SoFi. She has over 20 years of experience writing about personal finance and lifestyle topics. Read full bio.
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