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The most effective way to pay off student loans fast is to pay more than the minimum payment in any way you can. The more you pay down the principal balance, the less you’ll pay in interest overall.
Here are 11 creative payoff strategies to help you pay down your student loans faster:
- Pay more than the minimum payment
- Avoid certain repayment plans
- Use your job to your advantage
- Consider refinancing your student loans
- Take advantage of tax deductions and credits
- Enroll in autopay
- Use found money
- Cut from your budget
- Make extra payments whenever you can
- Make bi-weekly payments
- Take advantage of your grace period
1. Pay more than the minimum payment
Effectiveness: High
The simplest and best way to pay off your student loans is to just pay more. But sometimes that’s easier said than done.
You don’t necessarily have to pay double or triple; maybe you can just afford to pay $20 or $50 more every month. Whatever is possible — do it! Any amount that you can pay over the minimum will help you erase your student loan debt sooner. Just make sure your loan servicer is applying your extra payments to your loan principal. And over time, as your situation allows, increase the extra amount you’re paying.
Use a student loan payoff calculator to see how increasing your monthly payments can impact the total cost of your loan (and how much interest you’ll save!).
Estimate how long it’ll take to pay off your student loan debt using the calculator below. You can also use the slider to see how increasing your payments can change the payoff date.
Enter loan information
If you increase your payments by $ monthly on your $ loan at %, you will pay $ a month and pay off your loan by Jan 2021.
Does refinancing make sense for you?
Compare offers from top refinancing lenders to determine your actual savings.
Checking rates won’t affect your credit score.
Find Out: Which Student Loans to Pay Off First
2. Avoid certain repayment plans
Effectiveness: Depends
Government repayment programs such as income-based repayment can be a saving grace for those struggling to repay their loans, as they can help you avoid default on federal loans. But if you’re trying to pay off your loans faster and have the budget to do so, repayment programs can actually work against you.
Most repayment programs lower your monthly payments by lengthening your loan term. So not only will it take you longer to get out from under your debt, you may end up paying more interest overall, particularly if you don’t qualify for loan forgiveness. So, if you’re truly trying to pay off your student loans faster, avoid repayment programs that extend your payment terms.
Find Out: Can You Pay Your Student Loans With a Credit Card?
3. Use your job to your advantage
Effectiveness: Medium to high
Your day job might help you pay off your loans in a few ways, too. A number of jobs offer student loan forgiveness in exchange for working in a service capacity. Some public servants, doctors, lawyers, nurses, volunteer organization workers, federal agency employees, and automotive workers may be eligible for student loan assistance or forgiveness, so check whether your career goals align with the criteria for each forgiveness program.
Some employers have started to offer student loan assistance as part of their benefits package, so it could be worth taking this into account as you look for your next job or asking your current employer if they offer (or would consider offering) this perk. Even if it’s not explicitly stated, it could be worth negotiating something into your compensation package if you expect student loans to be a significant burden on your finances.
Learn More: Should You Pay Off Student Loans or Invest?
4. Consider refinancing your student loans
Effectiveness: High
Student loan refinancing is an increasingly popular option for borrowers with good or excellent credit and relatively high interest rates.
When you refinance, you essentially consolidate your student loans into one by taking out a new loan with a private lender and use it to pay off your original loan. This allows many borrowers to secure lower interest rates because they’re more financially stable than when they took out the loan in the first place.
Keep in mind that if you refinance your federal loans, you’ll no longer have access to federal programs like income-driven repayment or student loan forgiveness.
Here are some lenders that will allow you to refinance your loans over the course of just five years (which will help you pay them off faster and save money in interest):
| Lender | Rates from (APR) | Min. term (years) | |
Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable:
5.3%+
Fixed: 4.85%+ | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable:
7.06%+1
Fixed: 6.8%+1 | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable:
6.99%+2
Fixed: 6.99%+2 | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable:
8.03%+5
Fixed: 6.0%+5 | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable:
5.28%+3
Fixed: 5.08%+3 | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable:
8.12%+4
Fixed: 5.9%+4 | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable: N/A Fixed: 6.94%+ 7 | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable:
5.02%+
Fixed: 4.49%+ | 5 | Get Rates |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| Variable: N/A Fixed: 5.79%+ | 5 | Get Rates |
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| Compare rates without affecting your credit score. 100% free! |
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All APRs reflect autopay and loyalty discounts where available | 1Citizens Disclosures | 2College Ave Disclosures | 5EDvestinU Disclosures | 3 ELFI Disclosures | 4INvestEd Disclosures | 7ISL Education Lending Disclosures | 8Nelnet Bank Disclosures |
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Check Out: Best Student Loan Consolidation and Refinancing Companies
5. Take advantage of tax deductions and credits
Effectiveness: Medium
Two types of school-related tax deductions can help reduce the tax burden for students and recent graduates.
Student loan interest tax deduction
The student loan interest tax deduction allows you to reduce your taxable income by up to $2,500 for interest paid on student loans in the year for which you’re filing. In order to qualify for this deduction, you must:
- Have paid interest on a loan in your name
- Have been enrolled at least half-time in a degree program when you took out the loan
- Be filing as a single taxpayer or as “married filing jointly”
- Have a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of less than $80,000 as a single taxpayer or $160,000 if you’re filing jointly
- Not have anybody else claiming you as a dependent on their tax return
Tuition and fees tax deduction
The second type of deduction is for up to $4,000 per year for tuition and fees. Unlike the student loan interest tax deduction, you can only claim this deduction for tax years in which you paid for educational expenses. This will generally only be an option while you’re in school, or if you go back to school while repaying your student loans.
To be eligible for this deduction you must have paid qualified education expenses of higher education (including tuition and fees, but not room, board, transportation, etc.) for yourself or an eligible student (your spouse or your dependent for whom you claim an exemption on your tax return).
If you’re still in school or have gone back to graduate school, you might also be eligible for tax credits, which directly reduce the amount of tax you owe.
Learn More: How Long It Takes to Pay Off Student Loans
6. Enroll in autopay
Effectiveness: Low
Many loan servicers offer an interest rate discount of 0.25% when you enroll in automatic payments. This is a small amount, but can add up to some major savings over the life of your loan.
Plus, autopay is generally a good idea, as it decreases the chance that you’ll get into trouble by forgetting a payment. Talk to your servicer about any interest rate discounts they offer that you can benefit from.
Check Out: How to Lower Your Student Loan Interest Rate
7. Use found money
Effectiveness: Depends
In some cases, people have a right to money or assets that they haven’t claimed or have forgotten about — if the money is rediscovered or claimed, it’s known as “found money.” If you’re able to secure any cash this way, you can then put it toward your student loans.
Having unclaimed property is more common than you might think. About one in 10 people have unclaimed cash or property that’s being held by treasuries or state governments, which is worth billions of dollars, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).
For example, you might be able to claim:
- Checking or savings accounts
- Stocks
- Utility security deposits
- Insurance payments or refunds
- Uncashed dividends, payroll checks, or bonuses
You can search for any unclaimed property that you have a right to through your state’s unclaimed property office or through a multi-state database.
Some potential side hustles include:
- Driving for Uber or Lyft
- Selling your unwanted stuff on eBay or Craigslist
- Delivering with Postmates or Grubhub
- Starting a dog walking business
- Renting out a room or your entire residence on Airbnb
Also be sure to run through your budget to see if there’s any extra cash you can put toward your student loans. Many free budgeting apps are available to help you keep track of your spending and savings opportunities, such as Mint and You Need a Budget.
Find Out: How to Pay off Student Loans in 5 Years
8. Cut from your budget
Effectiveness: Medium to high
The last thing you can do to really get your foot in the door when it comes to paying off your debt is to reduce your monthly spending wherever possible.
Whether it’s $50 less per month because you canceled cable or $200 of spare cash per month you didn’t spend going out to eat, look for extra wiggle room in your budget — and put that toward your student loans.
9. Make extra payments whenever you can
Effectiveness: Medium
In addition to paying more on your monthly bill, think about making extra payments. This can be particularly easy if you find yourself with extra cash.
Spending that money on your loans now will pay off down the road when you’ve paid less in interest — and therefore have more money to spend how you wish.
You can use this student loan refinancing calculator to estimate how much you could save.
Step 1. Enter your loan balance
Step 2. Enter current loan information
Step 3. Enter your new loan information to start calculating your savings
If you refinance your student loan at % interest rate, you can save will pay an additional $ monthly and pay off your loan by . The total cost of the new loan will be $.
Does refinancing make sense for you?
Compare offers from top refinancing lenders to determine your actual savings.
Checking rates won’t affect your credit score.
Learn More: How to Pay off Student Loans in 10 Years or Less
10. Make bi-weekly payments
Effectiveness: Medium
Another smart way to make extra payments and eliminate your debt is to pay your bill bi-monthly. Instead of making one payment every month, simply cut your bill in half and pay that amount every two weeks.
Even though this sounds like it won’t do much, this strategy adds one extra payment to your loans each year. That can make a significant difference — especially if you’re paying off a large balance.
11. Take advantage of your grace period
Effectiveness: Medium
Many student loans come with a grace period, which means you don’t have to make payments for a certain period of time after you leave school or drop below required enrollment. For example, most federal student loans come with a six-month grace period.
Keep in mind, though, that depending on the type of student loans you have, interest might continue to accrue on your loans while you’re in school, during your grace period, and during periods of deferment or forbearance. If you don’t make payments to cover the interest during these times, that interest could be added to your principal balance — this is known as capitalization.
Instead, consider making payments while this interest accrues, such as during your grace period. This way, you can avoid having unpaid interest capitalize — which will keep your student loan balance lower and more manageable.
Find Out: How to Pay Off $150,000+ in Student Loans
Student loan payment FAQs
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about student loan payments:
How long does it typically take to pay off student loans?
The amount of time it takes to pay off student loans varies based on factors like the total amount you owe, your interest rate, and your repayment term. Federal student loans come with repayment terms ranging from 10 to 25 years. If you have private student loans, it’s common to have repayment terms ranging from five to 20 years.
What’s the quickest way to pay off student loans?
The quickest way to pay off student loans is to pay more than the minimum payment each month. Any extra amount you can apply toward your loan balance will help reduce the amount you owe, and the total interest you’ll pay. When you make an extra payment, be sure to ask your servicer to apply it to the loan principal.
When is my first student loan payment due?
For most federal student loans, your first student loan payment is due when your grace period ends — typically six months after you graduate, withdraw, or drop below half-time enrollment. To keep your interest costs lower, you can opt to make interest-only payments while you’re still in school.
If you have private loans, check with your lender. Some private lenders offer grace periods, while others will expect you to start making payments as soon as they disburse the funds.
Find your loan score
If you’re wondering how competitive your loan is, the loan score tool below can help. Just enter your APR, credit score, monthly payment, and remaining balance (estimates are fine) to see how your loan stacks up.
Keep Reading: How Often Can I Refinance My Student Loans?
More Resources:
- Student Loan Repayment Calculator: Estimate Your Payoff Date
- How to Tell If Refinancing Your Student Loans is a Good Idea
- How to Pay Off $200,000 in Student Loans
Napala Pratini contributed to the reporting for this article.
