Text: Ultimate Guide to Paying Off Student Loans Fast (Infographic)

45 million american borrowers owe over $1.56 Trillion in student debt. Here are 12 ways to pay off yours faster. | Make more than the minimum payment. Take the payments you have and add extra money to them. A simple way to do this is by setting up an automatic payment with an extra amount added. Do the math and find your payoff date. Figuring out your payoff date is always a good place to start when managing debt. Once you know this date, you can work on moving it closer. Consolidate and refinance. The goal of refinancing is to decrease interest rates, meaning more of your payments go towards paying down your student loans. Use a crash windfall. These can include lottery winnings, an inheritance, a settlement from a lawsuit, insurance claim, or any extra cash you have coming in. Take a job that offers forgiveness. Certain jobs, like public service work or teaching, may offer forgiveness for your student loans. All you have to do is meet the requirements to get your student loans forgiven. Apply your raises. Hopefully, you work at a job where yearly raises are part of he compensation. Take one-half of your raise amount and put it straight towards student loan payments. Avoid repayment programs. If your goal is paying off student loans faster, you probably want to avoid income driven loan repayment programs if at all possible. Trim your budget. If you want to find more money but can’t easily increase your income, decreasing your budget is an option. While it may sound extreme, you can try it for a short period of time. Earn extra money with a side gig. You can offer a service online, such as tutoring, editing, or design. Maybe try driving for uber or lyft to generate extra earnings and apply them directly to your student loans. Be strategic about your debt. It makes the most sense to pay off the highest interest loans first. It might be best to target private student loans first, as well before focusing on federal student loan repayment. Take interest rate reductions. Signing up for automatic payments will often generate an interest deduction around 0.25%. Automatic payments often make life easier as well. Take advantage of tax deductions and credits. When paying off student loans, you’re likely eligible for an interest deduction on your federal taxes (up to $2,500 each year).