So, you just finished college and you are getting all types of things in the mail telling you that you need to consolidate your student loans. Should you go ahead and consolidate or not? What are the advantages and the disadvantages? Here is all the information you need in order to make a decision about student loan debt consolidation.
First, you need to be 100% positive you are not going to take out another student loan. You only get to consolidate one time and you want to make sure that it is the only time you have to. If you are planning to go to graduate school, go back for a second degree, take classes part time to finish your bachelors degree, or anything else that would involve you going back to school, then you should not consolidate your student loans.
Second, make sure you can afford to pay on your student loans before you consolidate them. If you cannot afford to pay on your loans, yet, you need to put them in either a deferment or a forbearance for a period of time until you can afford to pay on them. You can do this for up to 2 years after you graduate and if you need to, then you should. This will buy you enough time to get a couple of raises or work your way up to a better salary. You will also have time to plan your budget for when you have to start paying on your student loans.
When you do decide to consolidate it is a great idea because you will be able to get one payment on all of your loans instead of multiple payments on multiple loans. Plus you can usually consolidate at a similar interest rate to the one that you have on your loans right now. There are many advantages to consolidating your student loans and when the time is right you should definitely shop around a little and go ahead and consolidate them.
Student loan debt consolidation is a good thing for you, but make sure you are ready to pay on your loans and you don't have any plans to go back to school in the near future. If you are not ready to pay on your loans or you plan to go back to school, then you should wait to consolidate your loans.
