Not all of us are lucky to go through college without the help of student loans. While they are a huge help, how to pay off student loans becomes challenging, especially with a tough job market. However, do not despair because you can utilize many creative ways to pay off your student loans.
Above all, you should understand that budgeting is crucial to paying debts because it helps control your finances.
10 creative strategies you can apply to pay off your student loan
- Get A Side Hustle
If you are employed, and your income does not cater to all your expenses, it’s time to consider getting a side job. This will increase your revenue, allowing you to have enough cash to pay off your student loan and still leave some for your savings. A side hustle enables you to pay off your loan faster and avoid penalties.
Some of the side jobs you can pick include:
- Bartending: This will increase your income, and the good thing is you can pick night shifts for a few hours. The tips go a long way in paying off the debts.
- Selling things on eBay: We are all victims of impulse buying, so conduct an audit of your house and sell off anything you do not use on eBay, Craiglist, Poshmark, or Etsy.
- Garage sale: Declutter your house and hold a garage sale for the items you no longer use.
- Driver: You can sign up for Lift or Uber as a driver. Suppose your car meets all the requirements instead of letting it sit in the parking lot. You can drive people around in the evening after work for a few hours.
- Rent out a room: If you have a guest house, you can rent it out on Airbnb, and the income from the rent can be used to pay off the student loan.
- Join Zerobound Program
Zerobound is a platform that brings together volunteers, organizations, and sponsors to connect and support and work with each other. It provides graduates who love volunteering a chance to reduce their student loans by volunteering. Zerobound program works with graduates from all walks of life, especially those from disadvantaged groups struggling to repay their loans or those who need a bit of help.
If you have extra time in your schedule and would like to work for a cause that resonates with your heart, signup for Zerobound, and in return, you will receive financial relief from your student loan.
- Move To A New State
If you would like to move to a new state post-graduation, Niagara Falls should be your destination. There has been a population decline in Niagara Falls due to the relocation of many industrial corporations. And as such, the city commissioned a program to attract more tourists and residents to avoid the economy from collapsing.
The new program promises any new residents who will live there for two years will get a total of $7,000 to repay their student loans. They’re hoping to attract people to live there and bring in new talents, positively influencing their employment sector. And continue to live there even after the two years are up.
Note: You must meet several requirements before you are eligible, including renting a home or an apartment in the designated location and having attained a two or four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited school.
Kansas State should also be on your list. However, to be eligible, you must move to one of the 77 rural counties. The state has an Opportunity Zone program that encourages graduates to move to rural Kansas to experience low costs and high-quality living standards.
The ideal candidate must have a college degree, outstanding student loan balance, and an established residency in rural Kansas after July 1, 2011. The new residents will receive up to $3,000 each year for five years, which goes into their student loans.
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- Perkins Loan Cancellation Program
Perkins loans are available for people in specific careers, especially public service workers. They are low-interest loans that the federal government provides to students in dire financial need. If you are a recipient of Perkings loan, a part of the entire debt may be canceled. If you are working in any of the following careers, you are eligible for the program.
- Teacher
- Law enforcement officers
- Social workers
- Corps members ( Americorps, Peace Corps, or Action Corps)
- Early intervention services providers
- Head start workers
You do not have to apply; you only need to contact the school that processed your student loan. So, don’t struggle or put off paying off your student loan and working in either of the above careers.
Perkins loan cancelation program is a good way for public service employees to pay off a good chunk of their student loan debt.
- Pay More Than The Minimum Amount
If you have a high income and want to finish paying your student loan debt early, you can pay more than the stated monthly amount. Right now, you may be thinking, but I can put the money into another use, but the faster you pay off your student loan, you get to save since the interest is lower with each payment. If you only pay the minimum amount, you will be spending a lot more on interest.
You do not have to add too much; even $50 helps a long way. Just ensure that the extra payments are applied to your principal as it reduces the interest. You can calculate the impact of your additional payments on your overall loan by using a student loan calculator. You can also estimate how long it will take you to repay the loan and how the extra payments can alter your due date.
- Consider Refinancing Your Student Loan
Refinancing student loans is a trend that is gaining momentum, especially in borrowers with excellent credit scores and high-interest-rate loans. If you choose to refinance your student loan, you will be consolidating your student loans into one by taking out a new loan with a new lender to pay off your old or original student loan.
Read Also: When to Consider Refinancing Student Loans
You will get to enjoy a lower interest rate when you refinance your student loans because, by now, your financial status is more stable than when you took out the first loan.
Note that if you choose to refinance your federal loan, you’ll not access federal programs like income-driven repayments or even student loan forgiveness. This is because refinancing indicates that you are no longer having financial difficulties. So before you refinance your student loan, evaluate if refinancing trumps all these benefits.
Ladies have more luck in this sector because donating eggs pays really well, and earnings from each procedure can range from $5,000 and $10,000. The good thing is most donation clinics only accept donors who have a college or university degree.
The egg donation process is tiresome because you need to take medication to stop your menstruation and speed up ovulation. These medications have various side effects, such as hot flashes, fatigue, body aches, and headaches. So be prepared because you will also need to take fertility drugs.
Donating your sperm or eggs may be among the top weirdest and most creative ways to pay off your student loan debt, but you have to do what you do to be debt-free as long as it is not illegal.
Educate yourself and consult with an expert physician on what to expect with egg donation before you commit.
- Donate Plasma For Cash
We all that people donate blood daily. Why not give back while earning at the same time? Blood infusion at the hospital costs money, so why not trade it for cash? This is incredibly profitable if you donate blood plasma and earn up to $50 for a single donation. And if you have a rare blood type, you can even earn more since there is a high demand for them.
Once you register, there is a waiting period of at least eight weeks, but you can donate as much as you want after you get in. But always make sure that you are not donating more than your body can handle. And eating healthy to avoid getting sick.