Graduation Debt: How to Manage Student Loans and Live Your Life (Cliffsnotes) - Softcover

Reyna Gobel has accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, recovered from student loan default, and set herself on a mission to help others who face a seemingly insurmountable student loan burden, with a powerful message about taking a step-by-step approach and not being overwhelmed by the sheer weight of student loan debt.

Divided into small subsections geared toward those neck-deep in debt, this book is easily digestible to students who aren’t inclined to focus on their finances. Readers are encouraged to take action steps, such as finding long-lost student loans that may have gone into default, discovering payment plans they can afford, consolidating loans when it makes sense to do so, saving money on eating out and groceries, improving credit scores, tweaking their debt-to-income ratios so they can buy a home, and discussing their student loan and non-student loan debt with their significant others.

By the end of the book, readers will be on the road to financial stability, with extra money for vacations and other fun stuff, too.

“Reyna makes navigating the student loans and post-collegiate life a breeze with her tips and budgeting advice. It’s a complicated world, but Reyna breaks it down for us. With her guidance, you’ll not only survive graduation and beyond, you’ll thrive.”
—Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for US News & World Report
and author of The Economy of You

Updated to reflect the myriad changes in the student loan industry that affect students and their parents burdened with student loan debt, this trusted guide provides a step-by-step road map for effectively managing student loan debt and having a successful financial life. You’ll get expert advice on how to:

· Evaluate your student loan debt situation
· Organize your student loan debt payments
· Consolidate your federal loans
· Manage your private loans and payoff strategies
· Budget for your lifestyle and your student loans
· Pay off your non-student-loan debt
· Understand how your debt looks to lenders
· Budget during down times
· Pay off your student loans early

Reyna Gobel, M.B.A., M.J., is a freelance journalist who specializes in financial fitness. Her expertise is in the student loan industry, in which she advises debt-burdened students (and their parents) how to successfully create and stick to a path that makes them debt-free.