5 Steps To Start Paying Off Your Debt

One of our human instincts when feeling overwhelmed is to bury our heads in the sand. This holds true for millions of Americans. We spend, we ignore and await the outcome.  Ignoring your debt will not make it disappear.  Before I continue, I should tell you who I am.  My name is Genevieve Dobson and I am an author and student loan/debt management expert with over a decade of experience.  I have helped thousands of clients save millions of dollars but more importantly, I saved them undue hardship and stress.

So you don't pay your credit card bills, big deal, what is the worst that can happen?  You are unable to get future credit.  You may be able to make sense of that in your mind but I have to say having the ability to obtain credit can be life changing.  Now, with that said, that is correct, the worst that will happen by not paying credit card debt is the inability to obtain future credit, but that is not the worst thing that will happen if you do not pay on your student loans.

There is no excuse for any student loan borrower's loan to not be in current standings! There is no reason why your driver's license should be revoked, your tax return and wages to be garnished, or for you to be receiving endless collection calls and letters.  (See:  http://blog.degreesofsuccessinfo.com/2015/04/do-you-know-real-secrets-behind-debt.html)  YOU have no excuse to be delinquent on your student loans because there are many options for you to remain in good standings.

  There are repayment options available to pay only 10% of your gross income, there are several ways to have your loans forgiven (yes YOU!), there are ways to save money by paying your loans in a certain way and in the worst cases, there are options for you to defer or forbear your loans (which means delaying the repayment for a period of time).

  None of these options will negatively affect your credit EXCEPT IGNORING THEM. 

Paying off your debt is not a one-size-fits-all but taking these steps will get you started:

1.  If your student loan payment is too high, apply for a repayment option on your student loans that will reduce your monthly payment amount.  There are plans such as Income-Based Repayment that will reduce your monthly payments to 15% of your gross income.
2. If you only have enough money to pay either your credit card or your student loans, pay the credit card.  Eliminate your monthly student loan payment by applying for deferment or forbearance.
3. Take the money initially slated towards your student loans and apply to the credit card with the highest rate and lowest balance. 
4. If you are lucky enough to have enough money to expedite the repayment of your debt, you should pay your credit card balances in full every month.  For your student loans, you want to put extra money toward the highest rate debt first.  People often mistake the quicker repayment of lowest balances instead of highest rates. 

1. Always, regardless of whether or not you have the money to pay your student loans, research government student loan forgiveness options and employer contribution plans.  Why pay money that you do not have to?

Sometimes it is best to contact an expert as it does take many hours of research to know the best way to tackle these loans, but if you take the step of responsibility and use a small amount of determination, it can be done. 

In summation, know your debt repayment options; no excuses.

Genevieve Dobson (Gen) is a student loan expert, debt management specialist and three-time author who has spoken at Howard, Temple, Rutgers and other universities. An invitee of Oprah’s Lifeclass show, she is the owner of Degrees of Success which was named the Best of Tampa for Debt Management in 2013 and is the founder of the financial empowerment series, Stress 2 Success: Debt Management and Wealth Building, which tours the U.S. 

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