Good tips for getting rid of Student Loan please???

Goldilox

Hi there!

I graduated University last year and have a student loan total of about £13,000. For the first year after university they don't require you to start paying this back....however I want to get rid of mine as quick as possible.

It's now April so technically I should start paying this back now - but I am still earning just under £15,000 as I am working as I temp whilst I am applying to the RAF (which is my dream job and what I want to do - I should know whether I am successful or not withing the next 3 or 4 months hopefully).

Because I am earning under 15,000 they are not taking repayments from me...but I am still knocking up a charge of £30 per month in interest...a crazy £360 a year (So at the moment my loan is really £13,360).

So the money in my current job is pretty cr*p and I don't have much spare income each month. I'm also reducing my bank overdraft from University by £100 per week, and paying my parents £50/week to pay them back for £2000 they lent me at university.

I will have paid my parents back by November if I keep paying them £50 week and I would like to continue reducing my overdraft by roughly £100 a week...but what I would really like to do is start paying of a substantial amount of my student loan as well.....this has to be more than £30 per month otherwise all I will be doing is paying off the nasty interest.

Does anyone have some good plans in how to do this. I don't have any spare time at the moment to get a second job because I am concentrating on joining the RAF and this is taking up a lot of time. If I get in there my yearly income will shoot to £26,000 and I will then not have to worry about making these repayments...but still there is no guarantee I will get in so I would like some back up ideas.

I am selling bits and pieces on eBay and have plans to do some carboot sales shortly but I would like a more constant stream of income to help pay off my student loan. Ideally I will be aiming to pay about £70 - £100 a month.

Savvy_Sue

the obvious next step, if you can't increase you income, is to reduce your expenditure. The debt-free board might be a good place to look for tips on that, and the Old Style board another, especially if you're living independently. If you're living at home, is there any mileage in 'earning' money for doing jobs 'over and above the call of duty' for your family?

Mind you, even paying off the interest would help, wouldn't it, because presumably it's compound interest, so you're being charged interest on the total amount you owe, including the interest, IYSWIM. I could be wrong about this, because I only have a parent's perspective on it! Very large SEP field around it!

Goldilox

Thanks Sue for the advice! I will def go and look at the debt free board! :-)