The Real Deal: Student loan repayments and the best strategy that could save you thousands

Experts say look at all the plans and how they would work for you.

Jul 14, 2023, 12:15 PM

Updated 378 days ago

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Experts say look at all the plans and how they would work for you.
For millions, student loan repayments are starting again soon.
News 12’s Kristie Reeter talks to experts to get the Real Deal on a repayment strategy that could save you thousands.
Caleb Silver of Investopedia says "There's more than 2.5 million student loan borrowers in the state of New York alone and the average balance is over $38,000, a little bit higher than the national average, no one has had to make a payment in over three years so we are going to see how that impacts their finances."
There are a lot of questions about how to save money.
Betsy Mayotte with the Institute of Student Loan Advisors says she is fielding a lot of questions on how to save money.
“When is interest going to start accruing on my loans again? The answer to that is Sept. 1," says Mayotte.
Mayotte says the “save” plan will roll out in waves and the changes will lower a of people’s payments.
“One of the biggest factors is if your payment amount is less than the amount of interest that accrues every month, the government is going to forgive the rest of that interest. So if you are on this plan you will not be in a scenario where you are paying every month, but your balance keeps going up," says Mayotte.
Mayotte says that part won’t be effective until July of next year. She wants viewers to know that under any income driven plan, it doesn’t always mean a lower monthly payment.
“If your income is a lot higher than what your loan balance is, you could actually end up with a higher payment than what you would have under the standard repayment plan. That is not necessarily a bad thing. The name of the game is paying the least amount over time," says Mayotte.


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