Are You a Recent Grad Making Your First Student Loan Payment This Month? Check Out These Free Tools and Tips From Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae Empowers Grads to Learn Healthy Budget Management and Financial Know-How

NEWARK, Del.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#RecentGrads–This November, recent graduates who borrowed to pay for college will likely enter their first month of student loan repayment. According to “How America Pays for College 2019,” 40% of families who borrowed to pay for college haven’t researched any repayment topics.

To equip students with the financial know-how and support to responsibly manage student loan payments, Sallie Mae^® offers a variety of free tips, tools, and resources. The company’s managing your student loans resource is a destination for practical tools, including a monthly budget worksheet and a loan payment estimator, as well as easy-to-understand explanations of subjects, like how interest accrues and how to build a strong credit history.

In addition, Sallie Mae offers a Graduated Repayment Period, which allows students with eligible Sallie Mae loans to make 12 months of interest-only payments before they transition into making full principal and interest payments. Sallie Mae is the first private student lender to offer a graduated repayment option.

“Education is a proven pathway to economic mobility, and once customers finish their education, they have a series of goals and aspirations that come next,” said Martha Holler, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “By helping customers and young adults get on track with their loan repayment, they can take on their financial futures with confidence.”

Sallie Mae offers the following tips and resources to help grads approach repayment successfully:

Know what you owe. The first step in building a student loan repayment plan is understanding what you owe, whether it’s federal loans from the U.S. Department of Education, or private loans from a bank like Sallie Mae. Next, determine how much you owe, including your interest rates and any accrued interest, and your monthly due date.

Create a monthly budget. Your student loans probably aren’t your only monthly expense. Maybe you’ve just moved into a new place, or you purchased a car to get you to your new job. Consider your total monthly expenses, including rent, groceries, and utilities. Using Sallie Mae’s budget worksheet can help you get organized and create a plan on how to stay on top of your finances.

Make payments automatic. Sign up for automatic payments, and you’ll be less likely to forget about paying, you can avoid late fees, and you might qualify for a discount on your interest rate. Sallie Mae customers may be eligible to receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction when they enroll in automatic payments. Paying on time also helps establish and build a favorable credit history, and that can make a big difference when you apply for a car loan, credit card, lease, mortgage, or even a job.

Stay in touch. Open any mail you receive from your lender or student loan servicer and read it carefully. Update your contact information when you leave school — including your e-mail address. If you’re having trouble repaying your loans, contact your lender or servicer, or touch base with your cosigner if you have one.

Consider paying a little extra. If and when you can, make more than the minimum payment each month. You’ll pay off your loan faster, and you’ll pay less interest. Sallie Mae’s accrued interest calculator can estimate how much you might save.

To make repayment even more convenient, consider using the Sallie Mae^® Mobile App to make payments. This mobile-first technology gives Sallie Mae customers the ability to make and manage payments anytime, anywhere, including from an Apple Watch or by using Siri, and the App is available for iPhone and Android.

To learn more about managing your student loans, visit www.SallieMae.com/RepaymentTips.

Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) believes education and life-long learning, in all forms, help people achieve great things. As the leader in private student lending, we provide financing and know-how to help make college happen and offer products and resources to help customers make new goals and experiences, beyond college, possible. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

Contacts

Ashley Boucher

302.451.0452

Ashley.Boucher@SallieMae.com