Student loan consolidation?

[TurbanError]

Spoiler: sob story (click to show/hide)

So, here is the deal.  I went to school, worked hard, graduated early, working on a masters (original school's job placement was less than ideal).  Advice from many places told me to go for a lower interest variable private student loans versus some of the direct plus federal loans.  I feel like that was a poor choice.  To make a long story short I am just shy of the 30k+ borrowed in federal student loans, so I can't consolidate and get the "only pay 10% of my income" deal.  My other private loans are kicking my ass.  Private Loan payments > rent + food... and I find myself struggling to break even at the end of the month.  I have since put a break on getting a masters, mostly for money reasons.  I am sporting two jobs and think they are paying me a decent wage.  I am not broke yet, but if these trends continue, I will have to make more sacrifices than just putting the masters degree off. 

I just can't seem to get ahead of these student loans.

The question:
Does anyone have any tips/experience in consolidating private student loans?

[Pyrite[1up]]

Yes, pay them off as quickly as possible.

Getting out of debt is the #1 absolute best thing you can do for your financial future.

I recently payed mine off over the course of 16 months after getting out of school and working full time, and was paying about 50%-60% of my income towards the loans each month. Don't settle for the min you can pay on them per month. Settle for the most you can possibly afford to let go each month, and with anything extra at any time (Christmas, Birthday cash gifts, Tax refunds, etc) towards it too.

When you are in school though, if you have subsidized federal loans, the gov will pay the interest on them as long as you are still in school. Otherwise, work on paying the interest accrued while in school if you can. I didn't bother consolodating mine though. Most of those deals for that sort of thing want to give you a low percentage, so you only pay off the minimum amount every month over a period of 10-15 years. You will lose money that way in interest though.

Take your loans with the biggest interest rate, and hammer them out first.

I am now debt free and living large because of it. Make it your priority, live cheaper if you can (move into the ghetto like I did). I found out that living in the dorms and paying for the school's meal plan was actually more expensive than living off campus and eating rice and beans.

[Dynasty[1up]]

Having to have loans sucks big time. I'm gonna have a lot after i graduate too.

[Zangetsu]

Yet another reason I refuse to go to college. I'd rather NOT be in debt for the next 20 years just for a 'chance' at a job with a decent wage. Plus I hate humanity in general so I wouldn't get said job, nor would I be able to finish college to begin with.

So bleh.

[modestninja]

Yes, pay them off as quickly as possible.

Getting out of debt is the #1 absolute best thing you can do for your financial future.

I recently payed mine off over the course of 16 months after getting out of school and working full time, and was paying about 50%-60% of my income towards the loans each month. Don't settle for the min you can pay on them per month. Settle for the most you can possibly afford to let go each month, and with anything extra at any time (Christmas, Birthday cash gifts, Tax refunds, etc) towards it too.

When you are in school though, if you have subsidized federal loans, the gov will pay the interest on them as long as you are still in school. Otherwise, work on paying the interest accrued while in school if you can. I didn't bother consolodating mine though. Most of those deals for that sort of thing want to give you a low percentage, so you only pay off the minimum amount every month over a period of 10-15 years. You will lose money that way in interest though.

Take your loans with the biggest interest rate, and hammer them out first.

I am now debt free and living large because of it. Make it your priority, live cheaper if you can (move into the ghetto like I did). I found out that living in the dorms and paying for the school's meal plan was actually more expensive than living off campus and eating rice and beans.

I'm not sure what the current interest rates for student loans now, but when I consolidated almost 10 years ago, mine were ~2% with the rate being lowered by 0.5% after making 10 consecutive payments.  I didn't have all that much to begin with, but I'm definitely not paying more than minimum on money at 1.5% when I can put anything else that I might pay towards those loans into a high yield checking account at a higher interest.  They're basically giving me free money.

In general though, paying off your high interest debt ASAP is an excellent idea, but if the rates are near what I'm paying on my loans, then I think you'd be much better to create an emergency fund and make sure you're maximizing your IRA and 401k (to your employer match maximum) before retiring low interest debt.  IIRC, your credit history and thus credit score is also improved more by making payments over a long period of time (assuming you don't get behind) than by paying it quickly.