How to Pay Off Student Loans Fast
You don’t have to live with student loan debt forever. Find out how to ditch your student loans fast!
Jade Warshaw
Student Loan Payoff Calculator
Don’t live with your student loans for 20 years. Use our calculator to see how much you can save on interest by making some extra payments!
Got more debts than just student loans? Use our debt snowball calculator.
Student Loan Payments Restart This Fall
Make a plan to pay off your loans with our FREE student loan livestream on September 12 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.
Guide to Getting Rid of Your Student Loans
Sick and tired of your student loans? Learn how to ditch them for good with this in-depth guide!
How Long Will It Take to Pay Off Your Student Loans?
- Plug your student loan info into the student loan calculator (you can enter more than one loan at a time) to get your current debt-free date. This is when you’ll pay off your student loans if you keep making only minimum payments. We’re not going to lie—it can be a little depressing to see that date, especially if you’ve got a long way to go. But don’t stop there!
- If you have multiple student loans, you’ll also see how much faster you can pay them all off by using the debt snowball method. This plan gives you serious momentum. Plus, it can save you a ton in interest!
- But you’re not done yet! Add an extra monthly payment to boost your progress even more. Once you see how much sooner you can be debt-free, you’ll be ready to attack those student loans with everything you’ve got!
Common Student Loan Questions
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What If I Don’t Know My Student Loan Information?
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No sweat—we know keeping track of your student loans can be confusing. If you have federal student loans, you can log into your studentaid.gov account to see who your loan servicer is, your current loan balance, your interest rate and more. If you have private student loans, you’ll need to contact your specific lender(s) to get your loan information. If you don’t know what private student loans you have, you can request a free credit report to find out.
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How Do I Pay Off My Student Loans Early?
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Kudos for asking this question! The fastest way to pay off your student loans (and any other debt you may have) is with the debt snowball. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: List all your debts (including your student loans) from smallest to largest, regardless of interest rate.
Step 2: Make minimum payments on all your debts except the smallest.
Step 3: Throw as much money as you can on your smallest debt (that means paying more than the minimum payment).
Step 4: Repeat until each debt is paid in full and you’re debt-free!
When you pay more than your minimum monthly payment, be sure to let your student loan servicer know that you want the extra payment to go toward the principal. Otherwise, they may just put it toward the next month’s interest. (It’s their sneaky way of trying to keep you in debt longer.)
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How Can I Increase My Monthly Payment?
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There are lots of ways to make extra payments on your student loans—like taking on side hustles, cutting back your spending, and saving money in other areas. Just get creative and use the time and talents you already have.
Yeah, it’s going to take some sacrifice. But it’s only temporary while you work to get those student loans out of your life! Just imagine how amazing it will feel to never have another student loan payment stealing money from your bank account ever again. Totally worth it!
Student Loan Terms
Don’t let the all the lingo keep you from making progress. Here are some of the student loan terms you’ll come across and what they mean.
Principal
This is the base amount you owe for the loan, not including interest.
Balance
Your loan balance is the amount you have left to pay on your student loans. Let’s say you took out a loan for $35,000, and you’ve paid $5,000 toward the principal since you graduated. Then your remaining loan balance would be $30,000.
Interest Rate
This is the ongoing amount you pay for taking out a student loan, on top of the principle. Your interest rate is typically represented as an annual percentage of your remaining loan balance. This is also the reason your student loans may be growing faster than you can pay them off.
Minimum Payment
Your minimum payment represents the total amount you must pay each month toward your student loans (principal and interest). But remember, the bigger your monthly payment, the faster you can get rid of your student loans!
Extra Monthly Payment
Making extra payments toward your principal balance on your student loans can help you save money on interest and pay off your loan faster. If you want to make extra payments, budget extra money each month to put toward your principal balance.
Loan Repayment Term
This is how long you have to pay off your student loan. But trust us, you’re better off speeding up that timeline by making extra payments. You’ll end up saving so much money in the long run!
Amortization
This is just a fancy word for the process of paying off your loans with a planned, incremental repayment schedule. An amortization table can help you estimate how long you'll be paying on your student loans, how much you'll pay toward the principal, and how much you'll pay just in interest. But you can always pay more than the scheduled amount—and you should!
Borrowed Future uncovers the dark side of the student loan industry and exposes how the system is built to work against you.
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