7 Tips to Manage Student Loans for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
By Financial Coach Rebecca Brooks
If you are a college student or the mother of one, the coronavirus pandemic has likely changed your life dramatically and forced you to rethink your financial decisions and how you manage your money. Despite classes shifting to remote study, tuition costs continue to be high, student loan debt feels more terrifying than ever, and many Americans are drowning in debt.
But by making thoughtful decisions and paying close attention, it is possible to graduate without the student loan debt. I know what you’re thinking and no, none of this advice has to do with scholarships, grants, being a tech startup wonder-kid, or any of that one-in-a-million advice.
Done with last semester’s textbooks? Don’t let them gather dust, put them on sites like eBay and Amazon immediately and recover some — if not all — of the money you spent when you bought them. Also, consider not buying books from bookstores at your college. You often can find the textbook on eBay or Amazon at a significant saving; just search for the book you need by the ISBN.
Whether you are a working student, live off your student loans, or anywhere in between, you need a budget. Managing your money well should always be a priority, but even more so if you live off of your student loans. You will need to pay back every dollar borrowed later, plus interest. So, find a budgeting app or tool that you like and build the habit of managing your money now. This will help control spending and find opportunities to save, limiting your student loan burden.
As a student, you should budget for a full semester at a time. Even if you aren’t sure exactly how much money you will make because of hourly work or fluctuating student loan disbursements, knowing how much money you need is crucial. Calculate all of your expenses and make sure you will be able to cover the costs. If not, find ways to make up the difference, ideally without debt.
Between Starbucks, Target, and Uber Eats, it is easy to have the “I’ll only go to college once” mentality. However, it all adds up and causes a lot more stress than joy more than often. So, try living simply and spending less than what you can technically afford right now without debt.
Although eating out is more difficult during the pandemic, restaurants and take-out are among the largest discretionary expenses for students and is an absolute budget killer. As a student, odds are you might have enough time to cook for yourself. Save some money and teach yourself a functional, delicious life skill!
No matter where you live, there are tons of ways to spend time with friends and spend little to no money. Free online events, getting outdoors, movie nights at your place… you get the idea. Talk with your friends who share your goal of being financially savvy and come up with fun ways to spend time together safely this fall!
If you can limit your student loan burden by working extra here and there, future you will thank you. I have never met a single person/client that has said “I wish I had worked less and took on more student loans in college.” NO ONE would wish that! So, if you have down time, get some extra work and make that money!
For Individuals
Willow Talk
Willow Partner Advisors, LLC (“Willow”) is not affiliated with any third-party Advisers and neither Willow nor any of its representatives are authorized to provide investment advice on behalf of a Willow or to act for or bind as an Adviser. Each matched Adviser has entered into an agreement with Willow under which the Adviser pays Willow a combination of fees. The fees paid by the Advisers to Willow are paid irrespective of whether you become a client of an Adviser and are not passed along to you. However, the presence of these arrangements may affect an Adviser’s willingness to negotiate below their standard investment advisory fees, and therefore may affect the overall fees paid by clients introduced by Willow through the Willow platform. Please ask your Adviser for more information about their fees.
Willow provides a matching service based on a computer algorithm to match the data you provide Willow to an Advisor. Willow only matches clients to Advisors that have taken and passed our certification courses and signed up for our matching service platform.
The Advisors we refer, have all paid Willow for both the courses and the matching service platform. Advisers provide cash compensation to Willow of up to $5,200 per year in connection with client referral services, and up to $800 per year in connection with participation in Willow’s certificate program. Such compensation arrangements may be subject to discounts.
Willow does not match clients to Advisors that do not pay for these services. This is a conflict of interest. To mitigate this conflict the matching algorithm directs clients to Advisors based solely on a correlation of the personal data you provide with the experience, background and beliefs of Advisors that have paid to be on the Willow platform.
Willow solicits and publishes testimonials from our existing clients and Advisors. Willow does not compensate clients or Advisors for testimonials in any way. Interactions with individual Advisors will vary.
Willow does not guarantee your interactions with the matched Advisor(s) will be the same as represented in any testimonial or will generate any specific investment result. Testimonials are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
Neither Willow nor its affiliates are engaged in providing investment advice. Willow does not receive, control, access, or monitor client funds, accounts, or portfolios. Willow does not warrant any services of any Adviser and makes no claim or promise of any result or success of retaining an Adviser. Your use of the Willow platform, including the decision to retain the services of any Adviser, is at your sole discretion and risk. Any services rendered by an Advisers you contact are solely that of the Adviser.
Willow and its affiliates are not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any information contained on third-party websites.
