Is there any way to avoid paying student loans? Have you considered a student loan forgiveness program? If you’re years away from paying off student loans, having debt forgiven might seem too good to be true. While the process can take some time, it can be simpler than you might think.

In my work for SALT, a site created by nonprofit organization American Student Assistance, I counsel consumers on managing their student loans. When I bring up student loan forgiveness, many have the same reaction: “I wish I’d known this option existed before.”

As you look further into this option to decide if it might be right for you, consider these other little-known facts about student loan forgiveness:

1. You may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness and not even know it

PSLF is both a great and a terrible name for this forgiveness program. It’s a great name because of the promise it portrays: by participating in public service opportunities rather than working in the private sector, some of your student loan debt is forgiven.

But Public Service Loan Forgiveness is also a terrible name because you’d never realize how many people outside of public service are potentially eligible for this benefit.

Federal Direct Student Loan borrowers who work for federal, state or local government agencies or 501(c)(3) organizations while making 120 payments under an income-based, income-contingent or standard repayment plan may qualify to have their remaining balance forgiven. Think about it. Almost any state, federal (except members of Congress) or nonprofit organization counts.

According to a report by the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University, more than 10 percent of the US population works in the nonprofit sector. That means more than 10 million workers are potentially eligible for public service loan forgiveness in that area alone. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that potentially 33 million people are eligible.

2. More student loan forgiveness programs exist than you might think

So if PSLF is the most well-known student loan forgiveness option there is — and hardly anybody knows about this program — what else is out there?

At SALT, we found more than 60 different student loan forgiveness programs. Some of these can add up to well over six figures in student loan forgiveness. (Click here to Tweet this thought)

Do you work in health care? Move to an underserved area in California and receive up to $160,000 in student loan forgiveness. Love to ski? Colorado will pay health professionals up to $105,000 for three years of service. Dentists can sign up for an additional two years for another $50,000.

Like cows? (And who doesn’t like cows?) The state of Kentucky will pay $6,000 a year towards your student loans if you come to work as a vet and spend at least half your time working with large animals or those used for food.

And it never hurts to do your own legwork, because these aren’t the only programs out there. Many employers now offer student loan repayment as a benefit. The SALT resource only covers programs found through Internet research — and, believe it or not, not everything is on the Internet. So try doing your own digging to find other programs. A little work could save you a lot of money, to the tune of thousands of dollars.

3. You still have to pay income taxes on your student loans

No good deed goes unpunished. But in the world of student loan forgiveness, it sort of does. You should always consult with a tax professional (or visit www.irs.gov), but in general, if you receive the forgiveness benefit for doing something good, it’s probably not taxable. Examples include PSLF and the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Programs.

But beware that in some student loan forgiveness programs, the forgiven amount will be taxed as income. If you received loan forgiveness as a result of paying for 25 years under the income-based repayment plan, because you became disabled or because you’re a parent borrower and the student passed away or became disabled, the amount forgiven will still likely be taxed.

4. Sometimes you’re better off just paying your loans

Loan forgiveness is great — unless it costs you more in the long run. It’s important to do the math before making any drastic life changes to qualify for these programs. Ensure the risks and sacrifices are worth the reward. You may be better off knocking out your student debt on your own.

Let’s say you’re eligible for a lower payment under the income-based repayment plan. After 25 years under this plan, you determine that about $10,000 will be forgiven. Sounds good, right? But the total amount you pay back in that 25 years could be more than you would pay under a different repayment plan with no forgiveness benefit. After all, the longer you take to repay a loan, the more you pay in interest.

How will you know? Play with SALT’s repayment calculators or the federal government’s. You can also contact your loan servicer to determine the cost/benefit analysis of pursuing these options.

Overall, just as with any other financial decision, it’s important to understand all the terms of a loan forgiveness program. Be sure to weigh both the long-term and short-term benefits to determine the right decision for you.

Betsy Mayotte is the director of regulatory compliance for American Student Assistance, a nonprofit organization with 50+ years’ experience helping people make better decisions about financing their education and repaying student loans.

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A quick call to the student loan servicer results in a forbearance. But forbearance means your balance will keep going up while you get a breather. Once that ends, those student loan payments will be even worse.

Luckily, the federal government has ways of helping you minimize the pain of federal loans. Follow these quick steps to keep ahead of the game:

1. Assess the damage

To understand what you’re up against, get the facts about your student loans. Grab your Federal Student Aid PIN and head over to the National Student Loan Data System for Students to get a printout of all of your federal student loans.

2. Estimate your payment amounts

The U.S. Department of Education has a Repayment Estimator to help you see monthly and overall payment estimates. You’ll need to sign in with your Federal Student Aid PIN to use this tool.

3. Consider consolidation

If you’ve got multiple federal student loans, look into consolidation. This will make repayment easier because it brings all of your loans under a single servicer and allows you to make one payment. This Forbes article breaks down the pros and cons of student loan consolidation.

4. Choose the right repayment option

Forbearance is a sucker’s bet because it causes interest to capitalize. In other words, interest piles up during forbearance, and you end up paying interest on top of interest long-term.

Rather than falling into that trap, look into a repayment option that works for your financial situation. For many borrowers, repayment plans that hinge on your income will give you the best bang for your buck.

Federal Student Aid gives you a comprehensive overview of the repayment plans, but here’s what you need to know:

Graduated repayment. The standard repayment option for federal student loans is 10 years, but most people make far less in the first few years after school than they do later on. The graduated repayment plan lets you keep payments low for the first two years, then rises gradually every two years for the life of the loan.

This is a tricky plan to take on because it results in far higher payments later on than would otherwise be the case. For those who need a little time to ramp up their income, however, it’s a choice to consider.

Extended repayment. Rather than paying for 10 years, you can get your loan term extended to 20 or even 25 years. This will lower the monthly payment amount, but beware: by extending the term of the loan, you could be spending more than double on interest charges.

Extended graduated repayment. This is like the graduated repayment option, except it extends the repayment for up to 25 years.

As with graduated repayment, payments will skyrocket as time goes on. And the interest charges over the life of the loan will be much higher than in a 10-year repayment scheme. Use this option only when you’ve got no other viable choices.

Income-based repayment (IBR). Under IBR, your payments depend solely on your income and not on the amount of the loan. IBR is designed for people who are having financial hardship, and the payment due under this program will never be higher than what you’d pay under a 10-year standard repayment.

Payments change each year based on your income, and at the end of 25 years, the balance of the federal student loan debt is wiped away. You can check out a handy IBR calculator here.

Pay-as-you-earn (PAYE). PAYE, a program that was rolled out in 2012, is designed for newer borrowers. Like IBR, your payments and repayment terms are capped.

So, what are differences between PAYE and IBR? Under PAYE, you’re paying 10 percent of your adjusted gross income when taking into account the poverty level, rather than IBR’s 15 percent, and repayment under PAYE ends after 20 years rather than 25 years.

PAYE is a great option for newer borrowers. As time goes on, more will become eligible for this program.

Income-contingent repayment plan (ICR). ICR is similar to IBR, but payments are calculated differently. ICR depends in part on your income and loan balances and remains helpful if your loans don’t qualify for IBR treatment.

5. Keep the rest of your bills in check

If you’ve got federal student loans, you probably also have private educational debt. None of the above programs are available for private loans, so it’s important to do everything you can to make those payments on time each month. Those private loans often carry higher interest rates, so it’s a good idea to tackle those loans first.

Using one of the repayment options that lowers your monthly federal student loan debt can free up extra money for the private loans. Don’t be shy; send in that extra money each month, and you’ll work closer to your goal, little by little.

Jay S. Fleischman is a student loan lawyer practicing in New York City and the Los Angeles area. You can find him on Google+ and Twitter.

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Which is why the folks at SALT (a site by nonprofit organization American Student Assistance) have released a new ebook to help you better understand the options available to you. Cleverly titled 60+ Ways to Get Rid of Your Student Loans (Without Paying Them), the ebook breaks down your various options in an easy-to-understand format.

As SALT writes:

The number of options out there is dizzying and confusing, and we think it’s cruel to make you figure it out on your own…We figured you might want some help, and you might not like that help to come in the form of a big, intimidating table or webpage. So we wrote this easy-to-navigate book and did our best to collect everything in one place.

You can check out the full post, and download the guide, here.

What option(s) have you found best for handling your student loan debt?

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The post One Way to Get Rid of Student Loans: Not Paying Them? appeared first on Brazen Life.

Why would they need to do such a thing? I’m only 27. The mere thought of it was grim.

But they did have a reason: my student loan debt. Since they co-signed with me for the loans, they’d be left with the debt if I ever—god forbid—died.

I asked several friends whether they’d heard of such a preposterous idea, and one friend told me his parents, too, took out life insurance on him immediately following his college graduation.

This is apparently becoming a trend—a disturbing one

An increasing number of parents are taking out life insurance policies on their college graduates in an effort to avoid being left tens of thousands of dollars in debt if their child dies and can’t repay the loans, The Financial Times reports. With unemployment above seven percent and many baby boomers having already tapped their retirement savings just to weather the difficult economic times, the last burden a grieving parent needs is a loan company hounding them to make payments.

We all know student loan debt is nearing bubble-bursting levels and ready to swallow students and parents. In 2012, outstanding student loan debt exceeded a breathtaking $1 trillion, surpassing other types of debt including credit cards and car loans to become the second largest source of consumer debt behind home mortgages.

To break that down into a figure we can actually comprehend, a recent U.S. News & World Report found that 2011 graduates shouldered an average of $26,220 in student loan debt. My outstanding school loan debt from undergraduate and graduate school is double the average, but I still didn’t think it was enough for my parents to take out the minimum $100,000 life insurance policy on me.

At my parents’ request, when I got the phone call from the life insurance company several weeks ago, I reluctantly obliged and went through the 30-minute verbal questionnaire. The woman on the other end of the phone told me she was surprised to hear how healthy I am.

So I asked her if this was the first time she’d gone through a policy with a young, healthy individual relating to student debt. She said it wasn’t.

How much does this sort of policy cost? MetLife offers a non-smoking individual under 40 with student loans a 10-year, $500,000 life insurance policy for about $10 per month.

What do you think? Have your parents considered taking out a life insurance policy on you to protect them from your student debt? Would you support the idea?

Jennifer De Paul is a tax reporter for The Bond Buyer in Washington, D.C. She hails from New Hampshire and loves to cook and travel. You can follow her on Twitter @BondBuyerJen.

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Couple that with tuition rates rising faster than inflation, a depressed job market, no legislation in place to make higher education more affordable and the fact that most loans only require minimum monthly payments, and it’s clear the problem is only going to get worse.

So what can you do to avoid feeling like you’ve been punched in the gut when you graduate? Here are a few ideas:

1. Save early

I wish someone had drilled this suggestion into my head early on. I justified frappuccinos from Starbucks on my way to class and late night beer runs by telling myself I’d worry about my bank account balance later. By the end of freshman year, I had blown through the meager sum of money my parents had saved for me to go to school and was about to take on my first loan.

Walking out of the financial aid office with a promise of $5,000 being delivered to my account felt great, but I knew it was time to change my behaviors. If you’re not saving—or at least being frugal—right now, do whatever you can to change your habits NOW.

For me, that meant taking a part-time job. It enabled me to save about $50 a week. The key here was not just saving that $50, but putting it in a separate account and leaving it untouched. The weekly contribution amounted to $3,136 by the time I graduated three years later.

2. Take out manageable loans

A little-known resource for college-bound high school students and currently enrolled college students is the Student Loan Advisor application (find it at finaid.org). This free tool lets you look at the average starting salary for your projected major and suggests a manageable loan amount based on that salary.

3. Consider work exchange programs

Many federally-funded programs offer college students the opportunity to work in low-income areas or developing industries in exchange for loan forgiveness or aid.

While some of these programs work like a typical part-time job would, others are in areas beneficial to the community (like working at a homeless shelter) and result in the university’s work-study funds being allocated directly to your loan. Every school is different, but if you’d like to read up about the Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs available at your school and find out what types of employment may be available to you, you can read more on the Department of Education’s website.

4. Change schools

Community colleges perhaps aren’t as glamorous as a four-year institution, but they offer a much more affordable way to get an education. Even better, you can still transfer to a well-known university after two years at community college.

Taking general education requirement courses at a community college for two years will help keep  tuition costs low—to say nothing of the savings you can build if you can live at home. In most cases, receiving a diploma from a prestigious four-year school only requires two years of enrollment, meaning you can still receive a diploma in the field of your choice from a bigger-name school.

5. Use credit cards with cash rewards—carefully

Some credit cards give you cash back every month, and it can really add up. Take that cash back and put it directly into your loan payoff plan for an easy boost.

But be careful; this only works if you’re in a position to pay off your credit card in full every month. If you think student loans are bad, the interest rates on credit cards are much, much worse, and you should never let your credit card balance balloon in the name of paying down student loans.

6. Go with philanthropic service

Philanthropic organizations like AmeriCorps offer recent graduates the opportunity to earn up to $5,500 for each year of service. AmeriCorps works with health and educational organizations around the U.S. to provide philanthropic services to those in need and distributes loan reimbursement through a Segal Education Award to participating post-graduates. These reimbursements may only be applied to student loans or to the tuition of a post-graduate program.

Additionally, if you’d like to commit to more than a one-year term of service for additional funding to help pay off your loans, you can enroll in a two- to five-year program with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). They offer complete loan forgiveness options to graduates but require longer commitments. More information about this organization can be found at the PSLF branch of the Federal Student Aid website.

A final option to consider is Teach for America, a subsidiary of the AmeriCorp blanket. This two-year contracted program offers both a salary and loan stipend. The school district you are assigned to teach in will pay a regular salary for your teaching service, and Teach for America will award you a stipend of up to $11,000, which you can use to pay down your student loans.

As brutal as student loans are, college is an incredible way to learn and move toward a better career. There’s no magic bullet for getting rid of loans, but by planning ahead or restructuring your current post-graduation plans, you can greatly minimize the headache.

Oliver Denton is studying computer science and also works part-time as a tech writer at MegaHowTo, an online repository of useful guides. You can follow Oliver on Twitter.

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The good news is that with a little creativity and imagination (and an app for your smartphone), you can be in a better position to overcome student loans. In other words, you’re about to gamify your debt.

Real-Life Experience Points

There’s something to be said for video games, especially the ones that allow players to advance to the next level. Whether it is one more brick with Minecraft (*beta) or the next FarmVille level, being gradually rewarded while working toward a goal is something many people find addictive.

The problem is that these “victories” are just in the virtual world. What if there was a way to take this excitement and desire to reach the next level to real life?

There is! While some apps, like Chore Wars, are geared more toward children, the concept has been developed by others as well. Here are a few fun apps that make life more like a role-playing game where you earn experience points by completing tasks:

1. EpicWin

“Level up your life,” as their tag line says. This is basically a to-do list with the added feature of experience points. Some people definitely feel a psychological effect when they see a simple screen congratulating them on achieving the next step toward a goal.

To be used to slay student loan debt, this app might be set up with a list of tasks you need to complete to get the debts under control. From budgeting to finding extra ways to pay the loans down quicker, there are plenty of tasks you could use, allowing you to level up your way to financial freedom.

2. Mindbloom Life Game

While similar to EpicWin, there are a few differences with this app. Users create a “life tree” that shows the important things in their lives and what they should be working on today.

Once again, while not specifically designed to work down student loan debts, that goal can easily be added to the tree that represents the life you want to grow—one where you’re not burdened by unpaid college loans.

3. Mint.com

While Mint.com doesn’t have an app version of its “Goals” yet, this game-like feature was added to their website and was really well-liked by members when it was released, with many begging for an app version. There’s no word yet on whether this will happen, but even without Goals as a game angle, Mint.com is still a great way to get a handle on your finances so you can work down your student debts.

Yes, student loan debt is a serious topic, but with a little fun and creativity, you can learn to win the game so you’re not held back by the debt you accumulated in college.

If you use any of these apps (or know of other great ones), let us know in the comment section!

Paul Smithson works for LeadBolt, a leading mobile ad network, where he is a level 42 writer with a +1 Keyboard of Wit.

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But while the grey cloud of debt does means you have to be smart about your money, budget big-time and limit your participation in activities that cost more than $50, it doesn’t have to be a killjoy. You know that saying “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? It’s all about balance.

Just because you can’t make it rain in the cash department at this point in your life doesn’t mean you can’t get out and have Instagram-worthy adventures! Here are a few activities that will keep your cash locked up but leave you rich in new experiences:

1. Hiking

Sure, it’s much easier to sit on the couch and binge-watch Downton Abbey on Netflix all weekend. But get up off that thing, girl (or guy)! Going out and getting your blood pumping will not only get rid of stress; it will also activate those feel-good endorphins.

Know what helps here? Having a buddy. Not sure where to go? The Great Outdoor Recreation Pages has a search engine for hiking. Search by length of the trail, difficulty level and state—which means no excuses. Get out there! No dinero required.

2. Game Nights

If you’re paying off student loans, it’s probably safe to say that most of your friends are too, right? The more the merrier!

Get those broke friends of yours together and have a game night! Don’t have any board games? Try charades, movie charades or the Game of Things. They’re free—only paper and pens required. Ask your guests to donate a couple bucks for snacks and lighten the financial load for everyone.

3. Happy Hour

Who doesn’t want to get some drinks and delicious food with friends on a Friday night? But try making a plan to go during happy hour. You’ll be surprised how much you save when those nom noms are half price.

Search in your city on The Daily Happy Hour to find happy hour deals and coupons near you.

4. Museums

Who doesn’t need a good dose of culture every now and then? You’d be surprised what searching “free museum admission” in Google will turn up.

You’re probably thinking, “I got enough of that museum stuff on high school field trips.” That may be true, but taking time out of our text- and tweet-crazed lives to quietly soak in the beauty of art can be a great stress reliever.

5. Explore

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of going to the same places all the time. Break the cycle! Try exploring a new neighborhood each weekend.

Make a playlist and have a soundtrack for your day of exploration. Not sure where to explore? Try apps like Goby or Serendipitor to get the wheels turning. Meet new people and discover new places to tell your friends about.

With a little creativity, your budget-conscious life doesn’t have to include being a shut-in. Just be smart about where you’re spending your bucks and know that having fun and making memories doesn’t always have to include dropping wads of cash.

Bridget Lappert is an actress turned film student turned blogger who recently launched the blog and Web series Broke but Bougie, where she leads a team of women sharing with the world how to live the cashmere life on a cotton budget!

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You’ve got a multitude of consolidation and repayment methods to choose from. Needless to say, it’s important to figure out how to pay down your loans quickly—and with as little stress as possible. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Be familiar with the loans

There are scores of school loan types, and every one of them has different payment requirements. Learning about the variety of interest rates is important in determining which plan is right for you.

2. Talk to a real person at a bank

Even if you only go to your bank every once in a while, it’s still important to talk with a real-life banker or financial advisor in person about your loans. Working with a local bank’s loan representative or a school loan specialist helps you figure out the best solution for you.

3. Consolidate your loans

It’s a good idea to consolidate the entire sum of your school loans into a single amount before you think about the repayment of school loan debt. More often than not, it lowers the monthly installment and, in turn, reduces the interest rate of your payments. It also facilitates the repayment of school loans simply by allowing a single payment instead of different payments for each installment of loan repayment.

4. Pay as much as possible

That minimum monthly requirement? Quite often this is merely an accrued interest payment and doesn’t help reduce the primary balance that you owe—not by a prominent margin, anyway. You should pay as much as you can every month. The more you pay, the faster your loan is repaid, which would both ease your burden in a shorter span of time and decrease the accrued interest.

5. Be regular with your payments

You should make student loan payments with punctuality, even if you only pay the minimum. Otherwise, late fees will be added to the balance, and it could eventually lead to default. If you can’t make payments, contact loan holders, and they will help you out with the payment arrangement.

6. Steer clear of big purchases

Anything that allows for a higher payment toward the loans will help you get rid of them a lot faster. If that means driving the car you have for a bit longer before you eventually buy a new one, sticking to simplistic and basic phone and cable services and minimizing leisure spending, then just do it.

7. Regularly review your payment options

Did you know there are options that allow you to pay a share of the balance that you owe and school loan repayment extensions that span a particular number of years? You need to pick out the option that suits you the best, which is in accordance with the status of your job and the financial fluctuations of your wallet.

Look into repayment options regularly to make sure the option you’re using is the one that suits you the best. Stick to these tips, and you’ll soon be on the way to enjoying the benefits of your degree—debt-free.

Natalia David, a tech writer, blogs for mobistealth.com. She can also be followed on Twitter @NataliaDavid4.

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But it’s not easy to save on an entry-level salary, when you’re trying to make it on your own for the first time, especially if you’ve gotta pay back student loans.

Besides, does it REALLY matter if you save this year? It’ll be fine if you start saving next year instead, right?

This infographic from Lifetuner does the “save now” mantra justice, showing exactly why you should make the extra effort to save THIS year. Check out how much more the 20-something worker (Mary) has saved by the time she turns 65. The benefits of compound growth are massive.

So here’s our question for you: Is it possible to save 10 percent of what you make when you’re a young professional? Are you managing it? Got any tips for your peers? Let us know in the comments!

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Thanks to a law passed in 2007, interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1 unless Congress passes a measure to prevent it. President Obama, as you’d expect in an election year, speedily asked legislators to please get on that. And get on that they did, though in the usual partisan manner, with Democrats and Republicans coming up with two competing bills. Both keep the interest rates at their current level for a year but find very different ways to pay for the program.

The Democratic approach? Raise payroll taxes on some wealthy individuals who use a loophole to pay less by classifying some of their income as dividends. “What, a tax increase!?” cried the Republicans, who predictably, went ballistic. They instead want to fund the rate extension by eliminating a fund for preventive health care that was part of President Obama’s health care reform bill.

The House passed a version of the bill, including the Republican’s funding proposal. But on May 24, the Senate shot down both versions of the bill, passing – you guessed it — nothing.

The result? The continued threat of a rate rise for students, and a whole lot of unappealing political posturing. (Another “controversial” measure that failed to pass: The Violence Against Women Act.)

The White House says the interest rate will cost borrowers an average of $1,000 a year. But with pundits of all stripes wringing their hands about the magnitude of young people’s debt load (if you didn’t see The New York Times recent package of the magnitude of the crisis, it’s worth checking out) and the job market for grads still pretty grim, it seems a bit rich to ask this group to pay any more at all.

Especially when we’re repeatedly told that any cuts to programs that are important to seniors are a political no-go zone. As Stephen Marche’s explained in his provocatively titled Esquire article “The War Against Youth:”

The political imperative is to preserve the economic cloak of unreality that the Boomers have wrapped themselves in.

Democrats may not be actively hostile to the interests of young voters, but they are too scared and weak to speak up for them. So when the Boomers and swing voters scream for fiscal discipline and the hard decisions have to be made, youth is collateral damage. Medicare and Social Security were mostly untouched in Obama’s 2012 budget. But to show he was really serious about belt tightening, relatively cheap programs that help young people like the Adolescent Family Life Program and the Career Pathways Innovation Fund were killed.

Why? Older people vote en masse. Maybe it’s time for young people to start doing that too.

London-based Jessica Stillman blogs about generational issues and trends in the workforce for Inc.com and GigaOM.

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But it doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom. You may feel like you’re drowning in debt, but believe it or not, you can still enjoy life as a young professional.

Here’s a simple guide to saving a few dollars, so you can make new friends without breaking the bank. Remember, those pesky student loans don’t have to be an anchor!

1. Give couponing a chance. Really. Coupons are all the rage, which means you can now participate without feeling like you’re 21 on your way to 65.

If you haven’t seen the TLC show “Extreme Couponing,” check it out for a few pointers. Scan through your local newspaper for deals, too.

While it definitely takes time and dedication, once you’ve got the hang of it you could save some significant dough each month. You might even turn couponing into a small gathering with friends to make it more enjoyable.

2. Get rid of your cable TV. The average cable bill costs between $50 and $100 each month. Even if you’re splitting the bill with a roommate or spouse, it still adds to your monthly bills – and that can be a real drain on the paycheck.

Companies like Hulu, Netflix and now YouTube make streaming TV and movies cheap and easy. After all, most of the major networks post TV shows in its entirety shortly after their broadcast.

3. Brown bag your lunch. Going out for lunch everyday can easily cost $10 to $20 – or more. If you brown bag it, you could save an average of $200 a month, and that can easily go towards your student loan payment.

Plus, making your own lunch tends to be healthier.

4. Motivate yourself with a rewards programs. Whether you frequent a coffee shop, clothing store or grocery store, ask the customer service reps about their rewards programs. Usually they are free to sign up and can offer some sweet deals even if it’s just a small discount towards your next purchase.

For example, if you like chocolate – and who doesn’t?! – sign up for the Godiva rewards program and receive a free chocolate every month!

5. Ditch the car. If it’s feasible, sell your car. It might sound outrageous and radical, but if you live in a city or close to reliable public transportation, you’ll save on high gas prices, monthly insurance and yearly maintenance costs.

This could be a dramatic change but one well worth it in the long run. And this shift, too, could help you live a healthier lifestyle.

6. Find bargains at your local library. Often times your local library will offer a variety of free programs and events that are worth checking out – you might even run into some new friends who share your interests.

Or you can find the latest best-selling novel and enjoy it for free, a perk may of us forget about once we’ve left college. You may have to wait a few weeks for the book, but that’s well worth a savings of $15 or so.

7. Volunteer. Sometimes the best ways to attend an event or festival is to volunteer – and it usually means you get in for free.

Check out local non-profits or businesses in your area to see what programs they host. This is also a good way to give back to your community and help someone in need.

8. Try upscale resale shopping. There is nothing to be embarrassed about if you shop at consignment stores. In fact, it’s become quite trendy.

Thrift stores are the cheapest places to buy clothes, but sometimes they can be limited in their selection. Try substituting just a portion of your retail shopping for thrift shopping and see how much you save. Or look for a local high-end consignment store and you might be surprised at the bargains.

9. Ask for company reimbursements. If you belong to a gym or professional career-related organization outside of your employment, check in with your human resources department to see whether they’ll reimburse for a membership fee.

And if you use a mobile phone for work, ask whether your company will pay part of your bill.

10. Grow your own food. This may not be for everyone, but if you have the space, it could be worthwhile – and even fun – to consider growing your own food. Not only will it reduce your grocery expenses, but the nutritional value and taste is better than store-bought produce.

If you enjoy being outside, gardening might also be a relaxing way to spend your weekend.

11. Take a coupon vacation. Just because your student loans are weighing you down doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and go on vacation now and again. Living Social, Groupon, Google Offers, TravelZoo and many other companies have made vacationing, taking classes and dining out into relatively affordable and fun experiences.

If you aren’t already signed up for these couponing websites, it’s free and worth a few extra emails in your inbox. Who doesn’t want to go kayaking or enjoy a delicious meal for half the price? If you don’t want to sift through those daily emails, check out Yipit , which does the dirty work for you.

Jennifer DePaul is a tax reporter for The Bond Buyer. She is based in Washington, D.C. and hails from New Hampshire.

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The post 11 Tips for Enjoying Life While Paying Back Your Student Loans appeared first on Brazen Life.

These days, a master’s degree can easily cost over $200,000 in tuition and lost wages. It might be worth it in certain situations, but not always.

If you’re thinking of applying to grad school, don’t make the mistake of going for any of these reasons:

1. To avoid a bad economy

Bad news, guys – the economy isn’t going to get massively better any time soon. People who followed this strategy in 2009 are graduating into just as bad of an economy today, with a wallet $50,000 lighter.

If you can predict economic trends that well, put that $50k into the market instead. And by the way, no matter how bad the economy is, there are jobs for top performers.

2. To learn unique secrets of your profession

Remember in Good Will Hunting when Matt Damon claims he can get a Harvard education for a few bucks in library late fees? That’s not far from the truth. Grad school adds a credential to your resume and helps you meet others in your field. It also helps you structure a plan of study. But if you really want to learn accounting and you have the motivation, you can teach yourself the same principles from a book or an internship.

That’s not to say you won’t learn anything in grad school – just that there are much cheaper ways to gain certain skills if that’s your goal. (And if you won’t take the time to learn something unless someone hands you a due date, grad school is not the help you need anyhow).

3. As a last-minute decision

This happens more often than you would believe. Most schools have application deadlines from December through February for the next academic year. That means you’ll need to start planning in the summer or fall the year before.

Taking the GRE, researching schools and completing personal essays are enormous time commitments. Doing these things poorly just means you have a worse chance of admission and financial aid. If you are just now deciding you might like to go to school, better to wait until 2013.

4. Because a mediocre program is within reach

Let’s be honest – grad programs differ enormously in prestige. Remember how we said you can learn most everything from a book? Every program has access to the same books. What separates one from another is quality of faculty, alumni and relative prestige.

If you can go to a well-regarded school, you’ll gain access to great resources. If you’re considering going to the cheapest possible online-only program, grad school might not be worth it for you. Because when hiring managers look at your resume and don’t recognize the name of your school, they might not give the degree much weight. And if your degree is from an online degree mill, it could even affect you in a negative way.

5. Thinking you need a master’s

This is the big one. You’ve probably seen a ton of articles like this one in The New York Times about a master’s being the next bachelor’s. I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. If you’re shooting out hundreds of resumes to job board posts, then sure, a master’s is practically required – a hiring manager who has 10 seconds to judge each of 1,000 resumes might as well just look at the 30 with a MA. But you shouldn’t be playing that game.

Instead, you should be constantly learning on your own – taking on new projects either during your day job or nights/weekends. Don’t stop learning – but learn things that will help you advance your career.

If you network and show that you understand how to add value, you’ll be head and shoulders above your MA-holding friends who will spend tonight submitting their resumes on job boards. My favorite Seth Godin posts explains just what you can accomplish in a year (for close to free).

That’s not to say grad school is a bad decision! You should move forward with grad school if:

You really want to be a ____, and grad school is the only way to do it.

If you really, literally need a grad degree for a certain career path and you’ve done the research to be sure, by all means go for it. Professors, physician’s assistants, research scientists and many other fields really do require advanced degrees. If that’s your dream, make it happen.

You’re in a profession where grad school gives you a defined career boost.

Some professions like teaching give you a defined salary bump once you’ve earned an advanced degree. Some companies also that require advanced degrees to advance (though this is a huge mistake on the company’s part). If you know for sure that there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you might as well start today. (And if this is the case, you might be able to ignore my advice about going to a less prestigious program. If it’s all the same in your profession, just get the cheapest/fastest acceptable degree).

Someone else will pay for it – all of it.

Every year I hear from hundreds of students whose families will pay for any education they want, for as long as they want, anywhere – and good for them. For the rest of us, see if your employer will consider paying for school. In the last three years, this has become a rarer perk, but it does still exist. Just keep in mind that this could shackle you to the employer for several years – and that might kill other opportunities with other companies.

John Rood is founder and President of Next Step Test Preparation, which provides one-on-one tutoring for the GRE, MCAT, LSAT and GMAT, starting at the price of a prep course. Get in touch with him @johnrood.

Know what’s cheaper and way more fun than graduate school? Brazen’s online courses. We’ll help you land a job in social media, revamp your resume and turn your passion into a business.

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The post 5 Bad Reasons to Apply to Grad School appeared first on Brazen Life.

While you really should show up to work on time and limit the number of tequila shots you share with your boss, you don’t have to suffer through your student loans.

1. Do a little sacrificing

The word “sacrifice” doesn’t mean you’re miserable.  It simply means you’re trading something of lower value for something more valuable.  While you’re still adjusting to adult life, continue to live like a student.  Use that ratty bus pass, keep your cheap apartment, eat at home, and watch your bar budget.

2. Work that BA

Student loan debt is something that becomes increasingly less valuable (and, therefore, more expensive) the longer you carry it.  The education your loan paid for is obsolete within six months of graduation.  Taking 25 years to pay off a loan that hasn’t enhanced your income is like spending 25 years paying off a car that’s stopped running.

To make your degree useful, treat it as leverage. Negotiate for a higher starting salary. If you’ve already started, then leverage your education in your annual review.  Ask your employer if he’d pay your student loans in lieu of a raise.  Many will consider keeping a valuable employee on by providing loan repayment as a benefit.  (For this to actually work, you have to be a rock star.  You can’t half-ass it and expect any favors.)

3. Tap Uncle Sam

If you landed a job with the government after graduation, the Office of Personnel Management can help you.  A portion of your loans can be paid off by the government, up to $10K per year.  (Ahh, that’s where our tax dollars go!)

Even if you don’t work for the feds, they can still help.  The federal Income-Based Repayment program allows borrowers to pay loans back according to what’s affordable, rather than what’s owed.  The government realizes that engineering majors and ceramics majors don’t make the same income after graduation.

4. Seize tax breaks

You may be eligible to deduct up to $2,500 on the interest you’ve paid on your student loans.  The result is a smaller tax bill.  Guess where that “extra” money can go?  Yep, to your student loans.

5. Get your side hustle on

Find ways to generate income through businesses, online content generation, or affiliate marketing.  These methods allow you to earn money while you’re sleeping or working at your full-time job.  You can manage more than you can ever do.  A second job will suck up whatever free time you have left to achieve your other goals.

Find extra income from prize money, completing surveys, being a secret shopper, completing errands or chores, or spending below “budget.” You can do this by pretending you’re paid twice a month, rather than bi-weekly.  Budget for 24 checks, and you’ll have 2 extra checks per year to devote to your loans.  Mind games are essential to paying off student loans.

6. Go ahead and make extra payments

Once you find extra money, make additional payments.  Whether you can afford an extra $20 or $200, paying down your principal eliminates interest later.  (And let’s be honest, an extra $20 now means you’ll get to eat steak sometime this decade.)

7. Be realistic

If it’s easier to structure a settlement that allows you to rid yourself of it once and for all, then pursue it.  Make sure any settlement includes a letter stating that you paid on time, as agreed.  Ensure that all three credit bureaus get a copy.

Another option is to claim hardship status if things have been difficult for you – divorce, car accident, etc.– so your temporary problems don’t compound into long-term problems.  Hardship status can get your debt reduced or eliminated altogether, particularly if you’re dealing with a lengthy illness.  Locate the Statement of Financial Status on the Department of Education’s website to get started.

Post-college life is full of hard knocks – but student loan debt doesn’t have to be one of them.  Pay your loans off to cut them out of your life.  Once you do, you have my permission to toast your achievement with a shot with the boss.

Chris J. Snook has spent over 11 years as an author, entrepreneur, and venture catalyst and has spent the last 5 years in the investment community incubating media startups as the Managing Partner of TLEC Ventures. He co-authored the international best-selling books, “Wealth Matters 2007 and 2011” (2nd Edition) and “Burnout: How to Transform Frustration to Fortune in 2005.”

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The post 7 Tactics for Knocking Out Student Loan Debt appeared first on Brazen Life.

Private loan debt might seem like an overwhelming, scary green monster especially when you compare ‘em with federal student loans. But don’t worry. You can work with this.

The good thing with public loans is that if times get tough, you might qualify for extended, income-based repayment. Private loans usually don’t offer any of these options. Private loan holders sometimes offer forbearance, but generally not for an extended period of time.

If hearing that sort of thing tempts you to pretend your loans don’t exist and go play Angry Birds then keep reading. Put down the cell phone and tackle this problem one piece at a time. Here’s how:

First, sit down and look at your overall financial picture. Figure out how much you really need to live by calculating essential expenses like food and rent. In an interview, Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Fastweb.com and FinAid.org, said things like cable and dining out aren’t necessities. Cancel the cable contract and look for entertainment options that are free instead.

Be sure to get copies of your student loans and read the fine print. Heather Jarvis, an attorney and student loan consultant with AskHeatherJarvis.com, said you need to physically read what you’re entitled to. If you don’t have copies, call the lender and request them.

Next, make sure you have enough money to meet your monthly payments. If you don’t, consider getting a second job or moving in with mom and dad. Yeah, it might not be the most appealing option but it’s better than having your credit history marked with a big red ‘X’. If you default on your student loans, your credit history and potential job offers will be affected for at least seven years.

Consider consolidating. If your credit score has improved since you took out your private loans, you may save some money by consolidating. But if you’ve borrowed loans at different rates and still have a low credit score, Kantrowitz said it may be wise not to consolidate. It’s also a good idea to work to improve your credit score.

Set up an automatic payment plan for paying down your private student loans. Doing this will ensure you’re always on time with your monthly payments. Some lenders will also reduce your interest rate when you set up an automated payment plan. Private loans sometimes offer other perks, like releasing a co-signer from being responsible for a loan after a certain amount of time. Research these options for each private loan.

If you have extra money after paying your monthly loan bills, put it towards the loan with the highest interest rate over its life. If a loan has a variable interest rate and you plan to pay it down over the entire time you are allotted, this will likely be the one you should pay first. “It may be low now but it won’t be a low rate indefinitely,” Kantrowitz said.

If you have both federal and private loans, see if you can reduce or delay paying back the federal loans. If that isn’t an option and you are only going to pay one loan and default on the other, pay for your federal loans, Jarvis said. One of the only benefits of having private debt is there are fewer ways for private loan holders to get their money back. The federal government will “get their money one way or another and the collection powers are so intense that you absolutely have to pay your federal student loan debt back, period,” she said.

If you have a windfall that allows you to make a huge repayment on a loan, negotiate! A lender will sometimes agree to a settlement that treats your debt as paid in full though you pay a lower amount than the total. If you do this, make sure to get a paid in full statement that says your payment covered the whole loan.

So there you have it. Go deal with the debt and get those loans payed off!

Katie Zemtseff is the environmental reporter at The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. She writes about sustainability, green buildings, food and architecture and can be reached on Twitter @KatieZemtseff.

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The post A Step-By-Step Guide For Eliminating Private Student Loan Debt appeared first on Brazen Life.

“We have been giving careful consideration to our policy for some time, and we are changing it to apply the good-faith payment to the customers’ balance after they resume a track record of on-time payments,” Patricia Christel, a spokesperson for Sallie Mae, told Brazen Life in an email.

Previously, when recent grad (or not-so-recent; we know how long those loans last!) took advantage of forbearance — which allows you to suspend or reduce your student loan payments under certain circumstances and for up to one year at a time — it required a fee of $50. Now that fee will go toward the payee’s balance.

The change will be retroactive to private loan forbearances granted on or after Jan. 1. Christel did not respond to a question about how the new policy would affect Stef Gray, the recent college grad who started the petition.

A previous Brazen Life post covered Gray’s motivation to launch the petition:

“I refuse to borrow $300 (for the fees) from friends and family … just to line Sallie Mae’s pockets,” said Gray, who received her M.A. in Geography from Hunter College this past May.

After graduation and a short stint as a temp, Gray found herself staring at mounds of private student loans. With no full-time job or cosigners (her parents passed away before she went to college), Gray chose to go into forbearance on her Sallie Mae loans — an arrangement that permits her to suspend payments, though the loan still accrues interest.

Are you swimming in student debt? Check out these 10 tips for zapping student loan debt, or let us know in the comments how we can help you better navigate this increasingly monumental problem.

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The post Sallie Mae Walks Back Student Loan Forbearance Policy [NEWS] appeared first on Brazen Life.

Recent college graduate Stef Gray started the petition.

“I refuse to borrow $300 (for the fees) from friends and family … just to line Sallie Mae’s pockets,” said Gray, who received her M.A. in Geography from Hunter College this past May.

After graduation and a short stint as a temp, Gray found herself staring at mounds of private student loans. With no full-time job or cosigners (her parents passed away before she went to college), Gray chose to go into forbearance on her Sallie Mae loans — an arrangement that permits her to suspend payments, though the loan still accrues interest.

She soon learned she was charged a $50 per month fee for each loan in order to go into forbearance. The fee does not go towards her loans’ principal or interest.

“As an unemployed person desperately looking for work, I need every extra dollar I have to pay for rent, electricity and groceries,” Gray says in her petition.

Sallie Mae encourages its lenders to try modified, reduced payment programs if they cannot make their originally scheduled monthly payments. Gray said that even those – at more than $400 a month – are out of her reach and she was unable to negotiate a lower payment.

According to Patricia Christel, a spokesperson for Sallie Mae, the $50 fee is used as a kind of guarantee. “When customers ask for a concession to suspend required payments, we in turn ask for a good-faith deposit that acknowledges the importance of and commitment to resuming payments in the future,” Christel said.

Stef Gray created a video of her conversation with Sallie Mae about changing her loan repayment terms.

Gray acknowledged that federal loans do not have these fees and she could have been more careful when selecting her loans, although she says her college’s financial aid office and Sallie Mae were not clear when differentiating between federally backed loans and private Sallie Mae loans.

Gray says she is blown away by the success of her petition, which in less than 24 hours gained more than 17,000 new signatures. She hopes the petition will cause Sallie Mae to change its policies.

A petition on Change.org is widely credited for getting Bank of America to drop its monthly $5 debit card fee in late October.

Katie Bethell, Change.org’s director of organizing for education, said the site has seen dozens of campaigns around the student loan issue in the last month alone.

“There are a million different ways that students are discovering that the student loans that they received are not the deal they thought they signed,” Bethell said. “It’s a widespread issue that I think we’re going to see blow up over the next few months.”

Hadas Gold is a recent graduate of two degrees from the George Washington University. Born in Israel, raised in Arizona and now living in D.C., she juggles multiple jobs while she looks for that dream position.

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The post Petition Calls For Sallie Mae to Stop Extra Charges on Unemployed Grads [NEWS] appeared first on Brazen Life.

$500,000.

Those five and six-figure sums might look like payouts from different rounds on ‘Who Wants to be Millionaire,’ but you won’t find Regis or an oversized check anywhere near this kind of money.

That’s because these totals represent what different people owe on their student loans. Some are in such deep debt that they can barely make payments on the interest of their loans. Forget actual loan payments. Those will have to wait for a better day.

Since Occupy Wall Street exploded two months ago, a website called Occupy Student Debt sprung up alongside and collected horror stories of higher education.

Some are straightforward:

Original Balance: $199.256.90

Current Balance: $253,015.63

Paid so far: $29,242.15 (I’ve never missed a payment)

Interest rates: up to 10.7% (Citibank)

Others full of panic:

HELP!

I graduated college in 2005, originally borrowed a total of $54,232.62, even only paying a lower interest rate and a fluctuating repayment plan over the course of almost 7 years of paying back my loan. I still owe at this time an amount of $54,158.13. As you can see, not much has come off at all.

And plenty more seem like all is lost:

I GAVE UP ON BEING A LANDOWMER YEARS AGO

Never mind the American Dream. Now, I’d just like to be able to pay my rent. Bills take care of my health and my cat’s health. Even my cat didn’t realize what she was in for in 1996, when I started grad school at a private university. Silly me.

Universities, banks and politicians… please explain yourselves.

More than 300 people have posted on the site with tales of financial ruin. Thousands more suffer in silence just for doing what we were taught all along: work hard, earn good grades, get into college and make something of ourselves.

Rising tuition, dried up state funding for public universities, easy access to loans (i.e. Sallie Mae) and a culture that pushes young people to four-year institutions (whether they want to go or not) have all led to statements like this:

Education debt… is a loaded gun to my head.

While we may never pinpoint the root cause of student debt, it’s quite clear where we ended up. A Pew Research study this past week revealed that a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times that of a 35-year-old. That is believed to be the biggest wealth disparity in American history, and surely student debt, along with high unemployment, factors into the equation.

In late October, President Obama tried his hand at tackling the student debt crisis with an executive order that lowers to 10 percent the maximum percentage of income students will have to pay toward their loans. Students will also be presented with new ways to consolidate loans and create lower interest rates.

Obama’s efforts won’t be a cure-all, especially since the new rules don’t apply to people who have already graduated but rather those entering college next year. It will instead ease the pain for future students (and likely nab the president a few extra votes in 2012).

You can question the merits of OWS, but the movement did spur the creation of a sister site dedicated to telling the world about America’s corrosive student loans. Heck, maybe all the rancor over student debt even prompted the White House to act.

College students deserve a system that, at the very least, gives them a fair shot at paying off loans and living without the crushing weight of intractable debt.

Do you have your own student debt horror story? Are four-year colleges and universities still worth the price of admission? Let us know your thoughts.

Danny Rubin is a national news consultant for media research firm Frank N Magid Associates. He is a former television news reporter, lives in Washington, D.C. and tweets as @dannyhrubin.

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The post Drowning in Debt: College Grads Share Student Loan Horror Stories appeared first on Brazen Life.

Because when you’re trying to make it on your own for the first time, putting several hundred dollars or more each month toward paying off that expensive college education can be stifling, no matter how ambitious you are. That’s why some Millennials with the entrepreneurial spirit stay in traditional 9-to-5 jobs rather than starting their own businesses — businesses that would create jobs for our barely-recovering economy.

So Brazenites should be psyched to hear about a new opportunity from the Young Entrepreneur Council that will make it easier for 20-somethings bearing the weight of student loans to file for that LLC.

Starting Nov. 1, Millenials with smart, innovative ideas for startups can apply to the YEC’s new Gen Y Capital Partners, which will soon fund early-stage ventures. The $10-million fund plans to invest $15,000-$50,000 into businesses started by young people. And to help remove barriers for those young entrepreneurs, the program will also pay the founders’ federal student loan debt obligations for up to three years.

“The No. 1 problem for most young people is they don’t have the funds available to them to start a business,” said YEC founder Scott Gerber, who founded the video-production company Sizzle It!. “These programs are… opening the playing field and removing certain barriers to entry.”

The YEC program — which uses private funds, not federal money — corresponds with a new initiative by the White House to make it easier to manage the increasing burden of student loan debt by allowing new graduates to cap their loan payments at 10 percent, rather than the 15 percent allowed now.

That change was approved by Congress last year (though the original program was created by the Bush administration) and is set to go into effect in 2014. But the Obama administration has now proposed moving the effective date to late 2012. For that to happen, the Department of Education must first undergo a rule-making process to create the regulation.

The current law, called the Income-Based Repayment Plan, allows borrowers who qualify based on their income and family size to limit monthly loan payments to 15 percent of their discretionary income. It also forgives all remaining debt after 25 years, while the new plan would forgive the balance of graduates’ debt after 20 years of payments. But few students know about this option, the White House said in a press release.

While the income-based plan is designed to help all graduates, the U.S. Small Business Administration has a website that explains how it specifically benefits young entrepreneurs. There’s a calculator on the site, but as an example, if your income is $30,000 annually, the monthly payment for your federal loan would be capped at $171. If you earn less than $20,000 a year — which, let’s face it, is totally feasible for young entrepreneurs just starting a business — your monthly payment $0. That’s right, $0.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or not, it’s worth checking whether you qualify.

As for the YEC’s new program, they’re planning to invest in 100 Millennial startups during the next 3-5 years. Will yours be one of them?

Alexis Grant is managing editor of Brazen Life. A journalist by training, she shares her transition from working for an employer to working for herself at Solopreneur Secrets.

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The post NEWS: New Program Lifts Student Loan Burden for Young Entrepreneurs appeared first on Brazen Life.