Three times it just makes sense to refinance your student loans
It鈥檚 2016. Do you know how much you pay in student loan bills every month?
The start of a new year is a natural time to take a good look at how you spend your money. If you qualify, student loan refinancing is one way to cut down your student loan payments or shrink the number of years they weigh on you.
Refinancing replaces your current loans with a new, private student loan at a lower interest rate. The catch: You must meet specific criteria to be eligible. Plus, if it鈥檚 federal loans that you鈥檙e refinancing, you鈥檒l lose access to certain student loan repayment plans and forgiveness programs. That means it makes sense to look into refinancing only when you鈥檝e hit certain milestones.
Here鈥檚 how to know you鈥檙e ready to聽聽as part of your new-year, new-you financial plan.
1. You or your co-signer have great credit
Lenders are most likely to offer you a refinanced loan when you鈥檝e shown you鈥檙e a trustworthy borrower, meaning you pay your bills on time. Your credit history is one way they determine that. Borrowers in the 690 to 850 FICO credit score range will have the best shot at refinancing.
When you鈥檙e 20-something, of course, that can be difficult to pull off.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to have an established, high credit score when you鈥檙e first out of school,鈥� says Jack Zoeller, founder of student loan refinancing lender CordiaGrad.
If your credit isn鈥檛 where you want it to be, you can use a co-signer 鈥� a parent or another trusted adult with strong credit who can take responsibility for the loan if you can鈥檛 pay it.
Some lenders, including SoFi and Earnest, have been聽聽as a basis for evaluating potential customers. Your monthly cash flow, education and employment history are more telling, they say.
2. You have solid income relative to your debt
Most lenders also look at how much you earn compared to your debt load. They鈥檒l consider not only student debt but also car loans and credit card balances in the calculation.
鈥淭he primary reason that many get turned down by one or more lenders when they try the first time 鈥� beyond FICO, beyond having a below-average credit score 鈥� is too much debt,鈥� Zoeller says.
Say you鈥檙e a few years out of school and earning $70,000 a year, but you have $150,000 worth of total debt. 聽That鈥檚 more than double your income 鈥� more than what most lenders will take a chance on, says Vince Passione, CEO and founder of LendKey, a refinancing lender that works with community banks and credit unions.
鈥淪ome lenders might still require you to get a co-signer on that loan because you just don鈥檛 have enough capacity to pay off the loan over time,鈥� he says.
Lower your debt by throwing extra funds at your credit card balance, student loans and car loans. Credit card debt in particular can be a red flag for lenders, Passione says. But once it鈥檚 gone, you鈥檒l likely have a better chance at a favorable interest rate when you refinance.
鈥淚f you pay down that credit card over a couple of months you might be able to reapply six months later,鈥� he says.
3. Your current loans鈥� interest rates are 6.5% or higher
The biggest draw of refinancing is how much you鈥檒l save in interest over time with a lower rate. Qualifying borrowers are likely to save money if their private or federal student loans carry interest rates of 6.5% or higher. Parents who took out loans to pay for their children鈥檚 education can often get a good deal when they聽, for instance.
You鈥檒l save the most over time 鈥� but potentially pay more per month 鈥� if you choose a shorter repayment term along with a lower interest rate than you鈥檙e currently paying, says Zoeller of CordiaGrad. Many customers currently on a 10-year schedule refinance to five- or eight-year loan terms, he says.
鈥淭wenty-five [percent] to 30% of our borrowers, almost a third, actually increase their monthly payments when they refi,鈥� he says.
Next steps
Fill out the form below to see how much you could save by refinancing through NerdWallet鈥檚 partner Credible, a marketplace that聽lets聽you compare refinancing offers from up to eight lenders. Click 鈥淕et personalized offers鈥� on the next screen to complete聽a full application on Credible鈥檚 website. You can also check out lenders like SoFi and Earnest, which aren鈥檛 on Credible鈥檚 platform, to see what interest rates you get.
You鈥檒l want to apply and complete the refinancing process within a 30-day period so your credit isn鈥檛 adversely affected.聽If refinancing makes sense for you, you鈥檒l be able to free up cash for the things you want to do, in the short or long term 鈥� and that鈥檚 a solid way to start 2016.
This article first appeared at .
