Consoldation at the best rate
Date: Wed, 12/19/2007 - 05:01
Consoldation at the best rate
Hello all! I am working at a university in a Middle Eastern country (a safe one). I came here in August 2006 to try digging myself out a mountain of debt I had accumulated. I owed $27,000 in credit card debt and nearly $90,000 in student loan debt. The good news is that I have paid off nearly all of the credit card debt (I now owe $1,500) but I still have the student loans hanging over my head. The two "biggies" are with the Dept of Education ($54,000) and American Educational Service ($27,000), with two smaller ones as well - NelNet ($7,000) and Sallie Mae ($550 - plan to pay this one in full next month). The AES one is a consolidation I did ten years ago of two loans I got for my master's degree, but because I have paid little on it and repeated deferrals, the original $14,000 I borrowed is now $27,000! The Dept of Ed and NelNet loans were to finance my PhD.
Starting in February, after I pay off the remaining credit card debt and the $550 I owe to Sallie Mae, I can throw $2,500 a month at student loan debt.
Here's my question - I'm thinking of doing another consolidation and wrapping up the DofE, AES, and NelNet together. If I am not mistaken, the interest rates on loan consolidations are set by the fed govt once a year in July, right? Because the Fed Reserve has dropped interest rates a few times since this past July, wouldn't it stand to reason that the rate the govt sets in July 2008 is going to be lower than the rate it is set at now? NelNet and Sallie Mae keep pressuring me to consolidate immediately but I think it's probably better to wait until July 2008, right?
Thx!
Starting in February, after I pay off the remaining credit card debt and the $550 I owe to Sallie Mae, I can throw $2,500 a month at student loan debt.
Here's my question - I'm thinking of doing another consolidation and wrapping up the DofE, AES, and NelNet together. If I am not mistaken, the interest rates on loan consolidations are set by the fed govt once a year in July, right? Because the Fed Reserve has dropped interest rates a few times since this past July, wouldn't it stand to reason that the rate the govt sets in July 2008 is going to be lower than the rate it is set at now? NelNet and Sallie Mae keep pressuring me to consolidate immediately but I think it's probably better to wait until July 2008, right?
Thx!
It depends. Your actual consolidation loan interest rate will b
It depends. Your actual consolidation loan interest rate will be based on a weighted average of all your current loans now with a cap of 8.25%. The July 1 change is only for borrowers who have variable interest rates. If you have older loans with fixed interest rates, the July 1 change will not have much of an impact.
