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New Grads Owe New Debts in November. How to Handle Yours – Metro US

New Grads Owe New Debts in November. How to Handle Yours

November istime for sweater weather, Election Day and turkey. Andfor many recent graduates, italso means student loans are coming due.

If you earned your diploma in May, your typical six-month student loan grace period ends this month. We know you’d rather cozy up with a good book and a pumpkin spice latte than face debt repayments, so we came up with three ways you can get startedwith minimal pain.

1. Learn the lingo

The student loan world has its own vocabulary. Understanding just a few key terms will make managing your debt a lot easier. Here are some to know:

– Principal = The total amount you originally borrowed, plus anycapitalizedinterest.

– Interest = The percentage of your remainingprincipal that you pay each month in exchange for the loan.

– Income-driven repayment = Federal payment plans that can lower your monthly payment. Keep in mind, though, that they also extend your term from the standard 10 years to 20 or 25 years, which means you’ll pay more in interest over time.

2. Disregard student loan rumors

There are a slew of student loan myths floating around, including this one: Consolidating your debt will solve all of your student loan problems. That’s not true.

Contrary to popular belief, federal student loan consolidation doesn’t save you money. And it’s likely unnecessary if you have federal direct loans and a single loan servicer.

The rumor is perpetuated because many companies that offer student loan refinancing call the process“consolidation.” But unlike federal consolidation, refinancing saves you money by lowering your interest rate. You don’t need to consider refinancing yet, but it could be a good move in a few years if you have a stellar credit score or a co-signer who does. However, it will also make your federal loans ineligible for benefits such as income-driven repayment plans and forgiveness programs, some of which could be helpful now. Carefully weigh the trade-offs before you refinance federal loans.

3. Set it and forget it

You can automate just about everything these days, includingyour monthly Amazon order of household necessities andhealthy meal kit deliveries. So why not automate your minimum monthly student loan payments? Most lenders will give you a 0.25% interest rate discount if you do. Just make sure you always have enough cash in your bank account when the payment is due, or you might get hit with overdraft fees.

Next steps

With these tips, your new student loan payment doesn’t have to ruin your November, or any other month for that matter. And once you master your payments, you can tackleother important new-grad money moves, includinglearning your credit score and paying down credit card debt. After that,treat yourself to another PSL.

Teddy Nykiel is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: teddy@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @teddynykiel.

The article New Grads Owe New Debts in November. How to Handle Yours originally appeared on NerdWallet.