Crucial Things to Know About Your Student Loans and Repayment

Join our #CreditChat on Periscope, YouTube Live, Twitter, and Snapchat every Wednesday at 3 p.m ET. In this chat we discussed crucial things to know about student loans and repayment.

The panel included: Elizabeth Stapleton: Founder of Less Debt More Wine; American Consumer Credit Counseling; National Foundation for Credit Counseling; Shannon McNay: Personal Finance Freelance Writer; Rod Griffin: Director of Public Education at Experian; and Christina Roman: Social Media Specialist at Experian.

We also featured financial tips all week on Snapchat.

Questions We Discussed:

• Q1: What’s the first thing a student should do when it comes time to paying back their student loans?
• Q2: Where can students go to find all of the student loans in their name?
• Q3: What is the difference between federal student loans and private student loans?
• Q4: What should students know about student loan interest rates?
• Q5: When do student loan payments begin?
• Q6: How much should you pay toward your loans each month? Should you pay more than the minimum?
• Q7: What should someone do if they feel overwhelmed by their monthly student loan payments?
• Q8: What are the pros/cons of consolidating or refinancing your student loans?
• Q9: What are the consequences of missed payments?
• Q10: What are common student loan debt scams that people should be aware of?
• Q11: Any final tips for someone dealing with student loan debt?

If you’ve never heard about #CreditChat, here is a brief overview:

Relevant chats on YouTube:

• Ways to Control Emotional Spending
• How to Juggle Debt & Retirement
• How to Pay Down Credit Card Debt Faster
• How to Eat Healthy (Without Breaking the Bank)
• How to Throw a Fun Dinner Party on a Budget