I have three Federal Unsub Direct student loans:
Loan A: Principal is $5500, Interest Rate is 4.66%, Accrued Interest to Date is $327.67. Distributed ~2014/2015.
Loan B: Principal is $7400, Interest Rate is 4.29%, Accrued Interest to Date is $461.92. Distributed ~2015/2016.
Loan C: Principal is $7500, Interest Rate is 3.76%, Accrued Interest to Date is $122.75. Distributed ~2016/2017.
I will not be taking out any more loans in the future, so I only need to focus on these for now. I am unsure on how to best start paying these off. They are not due yet, as I am still in school until 2018, but I read that starting as early as possible if money is available to do so is best.
I have ~$1000 that I could use on the loans today, but I have conflicting ideas on how to distribute it. Should I simply start paying off all of the interest that has accrued for all three loans today, continue to pay off additional interest over the next year, and tackle principals after graduation? Should I try to knock out the loan with the highest interest rate first (Loan A)? Or should I work on Loan B, because it has a high interest rate, close to the highest, and a high principal? (In my head this makes sense, because .0429x$7861.92 > .0466x$5827.67, but I sense that I may be relying on some faulty logic because of compounding. According to studentaid.gov, this loan accrues month to month based on a daily interest formula, which is a little confusing to me.)
I tried to use a few payment calculation sites, but it was hard to estimate how much I will actually be able to contribute to them until I'm closer to graduation.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Submitted April 07, 2017 at 05:34AM by blueukulele http://ift.tt/2o4ESdG
