- Learn the specific interest rate, balance, and terms of your Sallie Mae loan.
- See how increasing your monthly payments will affect the your interest expense.
- Learn more about student loan consolidation at Bills.com.
I have a Sallie Mae loan balance that never seems to go down! What can I do about the amount I pay?
I have a Sallie Mae loan I am behind on by two months. Now it is paid up. The total never seems to go down. What can i do about the interest rate and the amount I am paying?
Before you take any action in regard to this loan, you should learn the specific interest rate, balance, and loan terms, to put numbers to your observation that your monthly payments are not effectively reducing the balance of the debt.
For almost all student loans, including Sallie Mae loans, you can do a one-time consolidation and significantly lower the monthly payment. See the Bills.com resource Everything You Need to Know About Student Loans to learn more about all aspects of student loans. See the Bills.com article about student loan consolidation to see if your loan qualifies for consolidation.
You should also calculate how long it will take you to repay the loan and how much it will cost you. Go to the Sallie Mae loan consolidation calculator. Plug in the remaining balance on your student loan, the interest rate, and the monthly payment amount.
Check the "show amortization schedule" box, hit calculate, and the calculator will show you the cumulative interest you will pay on the loan. You can then play around with different monthly payment amounts to see how much paying extra each month will reduce the interest paid on the loan. For example, on a $10,000 loan at 8%, if you pay $300 per month, it will take 38 months to repay the loan at a cost of $1,350 in interest. However, if you double your payment to $600, it would only take 18 months to pay off the loan and the interest would only be $645.
By analyzing different payment amounts, you can see how increasing your monthly payments will affect the amount of interest you will pay on the loan.
If you find that the terms of your current loan are untenable, you may want to consider consolidating your loan with another lender. You can find out more about student loan consolidation by visiting Student Loan Advice. To learn more about negotiating with Sallie Mae, see the Bills.com resources Sallie Mae Co-Signer Liability, Sallie Mae Loan Repayment Impasse and Sallie Mae Loan Settlement. To learn more about student loans in general, read the Bills.com resource Student Loan Payment.
If you are able to find a lender willing to offer you more favorable loan terms, you may be able to significantly reduce the time and cost required to repay this loan. As mentioned above, it is almost always in your best interest to pay more than the minimum payment, as it can significantly reduce the cost of the loan. Best of luck with resolving this debt.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
Best,
Bill