Student Loans? Here Are Five Innovative Ways to Pay Them Back

When you began school years ago, chances are that you had no idea the type of commitment and albatross that taking out thousands of dollars in student loans would be later on in your life. While the education that you received is invaluable, the pain and the sacrifice of paying back the money you used to earn it can be excruciating. However, paying back these student loans does not need to be as hard as you think. In fact, there are several innovative ways to get the money to lender faster than you think.IDEA ONE: Start a BusinessThis may sound crazy, but in fact there are ways to begin a business for as little as $500. Most of these opportunities are available online and they range from freelance work with any skill you may possess, such as web site building and backlink creation, to working in direct sales or network marketing in your spare time. The best part about these types of ventures is that they can be done outside of your current job, leaving all the money you earn to go directly to your loan payback.IDEA TWO: Consider a Second JobSimilar to working for yourself, finding a part time job that you can do at night or on the weekends is a great way to get a little extra money for loan repayment. If you can cover your minimums with your full time job, then adding the extra paycheck on top of that will help to reduce the overall time that you spend repaying these loans. Working a few hours a week for as little as one year can have a really big impact over time. As little as $100 extra each month that goes directly to paying the principle on your loan will really help over time.IDEA THREE: Set Reasonable GoalsOne of the best ways to repay any debt is through setting goals both short and long term as a means to make your overall repayment plan seem more manageable. This way, each time you reach one of your small goals you will feel a sense of accomplishment that will encourage you to continue along your repayment plan. It is a great idea to have goals for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 5 years, for example.IDEA FOUR: Identify Your TalentsAnother strategy is to sit down and generate a list of all the skills that you possess which could be used to earn money. Doing jobs on a task-by-task basis will allow you to space the work out according to your family and full-time job schedule. Finding 2-3 small jobs per week will really add up in the long run. Some ideas for the skills you may be able to market are: web design, bookkeeping, writing articles, teaching older people computer and web-browsing skills, tutoring, babysitting, and house cleaning.IDEA FIVE: Make Minimum Payments if There Is Other DebtIf you are balancing both student loans as well as credit card debt, it is essential for your long term financial health to pay off the credit cards first. This is because credit cards carry much higher interest rates than student loans whose interest rates are usually low and fixed. If you do not have credit card debt, make sure you do not acquire any and that you save the use of your credit card only for emergencies.In conclusion, if you feel that you have a lot of student loan debt to repay and are worried about how you are going to accomplish that feat, there are ways to enhance and speed up the repayment process. Remember that not staying current on these loans will cause serious financial consequences in the future and can really damage your credit score, so make sure that you can get them repaid sooner rather than later.