After four years of college, the time has finally come, it has been dreaded, it has been feared, but the time to start paying off those student loans has arrived. For many people, they have the unfortunate experience of having many different loans and payments at the same time. This alone can be enough to make any person buckle under pressure, they are hard to manage and afford all the way around. However, there is some light at the end of that tunnel. This light comes in the form of student loan debt consolidation.

Sure, you have heard of student loan debt consolidation, but do you really know what it is? This form of consolidation takes all of the student loans you current have and are required to pay to different lenders, combining them into one payment that you can actually afford.

What happens is the bank or other financial institution you choose to work with on your student loan debt consolidation will essentially pay the lenders what you currently owe. This is basically a loan, however, you never get the money yourself, it goes directly to the lenders of your student loans. You will then be required to make one monthly payment to the new lender, instead of having to pay several lenders.

You will then get a new interest rate as well. Some student loans have no interest and others do, this will need to be a deciding factor for you when you decide to seek student loan debt consolidation. Some lenders will provide a fixed interest rate and other will offer a variable interest rate, this will be something you definitely want to check with the lender you do choose.

In general, you will have for choices when it comes to student loan debt consolidation, which includes:

Standard Repayment
Extended Repayment
Graduated Repayment
Income Repayment

Standard is student loan debt consolidation that offers no more than ten years to pay back the loan and is generally at a fixed rate of interest. Your payments will be determined by the amount of years offered on the loan.

Extended can be spread out for up to thirty years for repayment. However, even though this seems like a great deal, be careful. In some cases, you may actually pay more than you may have otherwise, because of the length of the loan, as well as the fixed rate of interest. The advantage of an extended repayment is the fact that the payments each month will be much more affordable.

Graduated is good for up to thirty years, similar to an extended plan. The only real different is that every second year, your payments will be increased.

Finally, income is not a fixed monthly payment. This type takes many different things into consideration such as the income you earn, your family sized, and how much you owe total. This may be good for up to twenty-five years.

The choice of payment plans is up to you and what the financial institution offers. It is important to base your decision on what you can afford, what you owe, and what works best for your situation.

About the Author:
Michael Louis is always looking for the best ways to manage debt. You can find more information about student loan debt here at 123reducedebt.com