You never want to miss a debt payment of any kind, but student loans are complicated. Over at Credit.com, editor Constance Brinkley-Badgett explains why a late student loan payment can hurt your credit even more than you probably think.


As Brinkley-Badgett explains, each disbursement of your student loan can be reported as a separate account, even if you just make a single payment each month. Here’s why:

And while a student may get just one federal loan for the year, it will usually be given to them in two or more disbursements. Multiply two or three disbursements over a four- or five-year period, and those accounts add up pretty quickly.


Check out your credit report to see if there are multiple accounts for your loan. It might not seem like a huge deal, but if you miss your single payment, your score can take a huge hit. Here’s why:

But what if you make a late payment on that one repayment you make each month? Yep, that multiplier effect can hurt you again, and pretty badly. Suddenly that one 30-day late payment shows up as 12 or 15 late payments. Two late payments? Ouch. Your credit scores have probably taken a beating.

Of course, your best bet is to simply make your payments on time and contact your lender if you have trouble doing that. Still, it helps to understand how your student debt affects your credit, so check out your report and see how that loan is reported so you know what to expect.

The Weird Way Missing a Student Loan Payment Can Absolutely Destroy Your Credit | Credit.com

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