Help! I Can't Pay Off My Student Loans!

For those who are still in school, paying of college loans seems far off. But if you've just graduated, it's probably one of your top concerns. While most lenders give you six months before you have to start making payments, others will require immediate payment.

But what if you can't make your payments right now--is all hope lost? No.

Here are some tips for dealing with not being able to pay your loans.

Admit it. Ignoring the statements as they pile up doesn't make the problem go away. By taking action, you can proactively respond to the problem. you'd be surprised how accommodating your lender may be. So the first step is to not go the avoidance route. If you miss even a few payments, you will fall into delinquency and later into default. You don't want that--this loan is tied to your credit. And even if you don't use credit cards, that can affect major factors later on, like buying a house.

Talk to your lenders. Call your lender and simply state that you are having issues making payments at the moment, and you'd like to know what your options are and how they may be able to help. Some of the things lenders can do is give you a forbearance, or period where you don't have to pay. They may also offer you lower payments. Make sure to be aware if any of these options have penalties.

Here's something new--if you have a federal government loan, they have a new program that will calibrate your payment amounts according to your income. This option caps monthly payments at 15 percent of a borrower's discretionary income, which includes earnings above 150 percent of the poverty line. The current poverty level for a single person is $11,000 yearly. This means that payments would be 15 percent of any income over $16,000 a year.

Don't expect freebies. Yes, it is possible in some cases to get debt forgiven, but it's not easy and you can't just claim that you can't make payments. The fact of the matter is that you went to college and used this money to complete your education, so it is only right to pay it back. There can be challenges associated with that, and lenders understand. The best step is to work with your lender to devise options that will help you make the payments and get on your feet.

More information on paying student loans here.

Do you have any questions about student loans? Leave them in the comments with your first name and location so I can respond to them in a future post.