GREENSBORO, N.C. — It is the most talked about story in the country right now. The billionaire businessman who pledged to pay student loans for the Morehouse College graduating class of 2019.
While the news is awesome for them; what about you? How can you graduate from college debt free?
WFMY News 2's money expert Ja'Net Adams shares three tips every college student and graduate should know to pay off loans faster.
"There's no doubt you have heard the story of billionaire Robert F. Smith pledging to pay off the student debt of the 2019 Morehouse graduating class. If you graduated from anywhere else this year you still have to pay your student loan debt," said Adams who wrote the Money Attractor.
Adams shares three tips that are critical to helping you pay back your student loans.
1. Get In The Know
Now that the graduation celebrations are done it is time to figure out what type of student loans you have.
"Do you have federal loans, private loans, or both. If you have private loans you need to be careful because they can have interest rates that can go up and make your payments unbearable," said Adams.
2. Live Beneath Your Means
Now that you're working, you now have a salary. But you also have thousands of dollars in student loan debt.
"Because of this debt you need to live below your means. Although your paycheck might be $3000 a month your living expenses need to be $1000 a month so you can put the rest towards paying off your student loans," Adams explains.
3. Build A Treasure Chest
While you are paying off your student loan debt you also need to be saving money.
"Work your way up to $1500 in savings so that you can be ready for any emergency that comes your way."
Chances are you are not one of the lucky ones who will have their student loan debt paid off by a billionaire, but these three tips can help you reduce that debt on your own.
"You may have not been one of the Morehouse graduates that are now debt free, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also one day be free of student loan debt."