I never signed up for a credit card while I was in college but I still racked up the debt…student loan debt. I’ve got 17 more years of payments left to make to Aunt Sallie Mae, and that’s with the generous help of my parents taking out parent loans, paying for books, and sending spending money.

I happened to come across a smart little article on MSN on how to Graduate with Less Debt. Here’s the highlights:

1. Stick to a four-year plan – While this sounds good in theory, it took me four and a half years to graduate, and I worked my butt off. I’ve heard statistics that less than half of students now graduate within four years.
2. Get a campus job that really pays – Does such a thing exist? I had friends that worked for minimum wage, all hours of the day and night. Better options should be available to students.
3. Get responsible – It’s never too early to budget!
4. Cool your jets – There’s no rush to get a credit card. Wait till you have graduated and have a steady job! Then fall back on the responsibility you lean red budgeting through college!
5. Use a debit card – They are like credit card with training wheels.
6. Check credit unions – They typically have great rates, fantastic customer service, and it’s a chance to start building a relationship with a reliable financial institution.
7. Freeze your plastic – If you can’t keep your hands off your credit card, put it in a jug of water and freeze it. Can’t take a huge hunk of ice to Nordstrom’s for a impulse buy, can you?
8. Be realistic about borrowing – If you borrow now, you have to pay later. So keep those payments in mind when borrowing!
9. Research loans – Don’t sign anything you don’t understand. Words to live by.
10. Max out federal loans first – Before you take a private loan, exhaust your government loan options. You wouldn’t believe how much you’ll save without interest accruing for four years.
11. Investigate nontraditional lenders – There are state loan programs, employer loans, credit unions. Know your options before you make a choice.

One they left off the list…start early and find money for college through scholarships, grants, and generous grandparents.

I finally got something other than a bill in the mail today. Apparently when you make 36 on-time student loan payments, your interest rate is reduced 3%.

That means that my Sallie Mae graduate school loan (about 25% of my total loan amount) is now officially financed at 1.3%. My undergraduate loan (the remaining 75% of my total loan amount) reaped similar benefits a few years ago, and is financed at 1.8%.

Maybe Sallie Mae isn’t such a bitch after all!

If I had to fund my College Education all over again, I would not rely on Sallie Mae. I would write essays, enter contests, and strive for high honor roll if it meant scholarships and grants. Money is availble through more places than most high school students and their parents realize, like the $50,000 college education sweepstakes sponsored by As The World Turns and Guiding Light!

To enter the sweepstakes, all you have to do is watch As The World Turns and/or Guiding Light on February 11th, 13th, and 15th and make a note of who spoke the opening line of the show. Then visit the sweepstakes website by 6 pm on February 22nd to enter. All three of your answers need to be correct, and they can be from any combination of shows, and you could win $50,000 in college scholarships of a 6 month supply of Pampers!

Every month when I write my check to Sallie Mae, I wish I would have tried harder to earn a scholarship like the ones available from the Bill Gates Foundation. When I was starting college (which I like to think was just a few short years ago) resources were very limited to find scholarships I qualified for. There wasn’t a website like Scholarships.com that offered a database of grant and scholarship opportunities, let alone one that is constantly updated and free to search. Their databases contain innumerable opportunities to earn cash for college and every incoming freshman should join the free scholarship search and see what is available to them so they aren’t mailing a check to Sallie Mae every month, like I am.

Whether you have a private student loan or a government student loan, you can still take advantage of student loan consolidation, like I did.

When I graduated college, interest rates on student loans were at their lowest in years, so I knew I had to get the paperwork started for a student loan consolidation. I knew that consolidating before my six month deferral period was over would require payments to start immediately, but it was well worth it.

By processing my consolidation when I did, I locked in interest rates under 3% on $20,000 worth of student loans. That greatly reduced my payment amount and the time frame necessary to become free of student loan debt.

If you’re graduating mid-term, now is the time to start considering student loan consolidation and educate yourself on the benefits of consolidating

If you took out student loans to go to college, you probably get a student loan consolidation notice in the mail every day. Take advantage of them. They really can save you a big chunk of money over the life of your loan. I locked in my student loans at 2.3%, which really is a pittance in the world of interest rates. Premier Student Loan can help you get your loan payments down and your loans paid off faster by consolidation.

I can’t say enough good things about student loan consolidation, so go check them out!

It’s back to school time, and lots of new freshman are getting a crash course in their Stafford college loan. I admit that I didn’t know squat about my student loans until I graduated and had Stafford loan counseling that taught me all about repayment and the consequences of missing a payment. I think colleges and loan companies should considering offering loan counseling before students sign on the bottom line, so they know exactly what they are getting in to and how valuable their education is. It might stop a lot of Thursday-Saturday party weekends if students knew how much their psychology 101 class is really costing them.