I recently re-certified my student loan repayment plan, which got me thinking...does student debt impact my credit the same as any other type of debt? Let's find out.
If you've finished college within the last few years, chances are you're paying off your student loans. What happens with your student loans now that they've entered repayment status will have a significant impact —positive or negative —on your credit history and credit score. It's payback time When you left school, you enjoyed a grace period of six to nine months before you had to begin repaying your student loans. But they were there all along, sleeping like an 800-pound gorilla in the corner of the room. Once the grace period was over, the gorilla woke up. How is he now affecting your ability to get other credit? One way to find out is to pull a copy of your credit report. There are three major credit reporting agencies, or credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union —and you should get a copy of your credit report from each one. Keep in mind, though, that while institutions making student loans are required to report the date of disbursement, balance due, and current status of your loans to a credit bureau, they're not currently required to report the information to all three, although many do. If you're repaying your student loans on time, then the gorilla is behaving nicely, and is actually helping you establish a good credit history. But if you're seriously delinquent or in default on your loans, the gorilla will turn into King Kong, terrorizing the neighborhood and seriously undermining your efforts to get other credit. What's your credit score? Your credit report contains information about any credit you have, including credit cards, car loans, and student loans. The credit bureau (or any prospective creditor) may use this information to generate a credit score, which statistically compares information about you to the credit performance of a base sample of consumers with similar profiles. The higher your credit score, the more likely you are to be a good credit risk, and the better your chances of obtaining credit at a favorable interest rate. Many different factors are used to determine your credit score. Some of these factors carry more weight than others. Significant weight is given to factors describing:
Student loans and your credit score Always make your student loan payments on time. Otherwise, your credit score will be negatively affected. To improve your credit score, it's also important to make sure that any positive repayment history is correctly reported by all three credit bureaus, especially if your credit history is sparse. If you find that your student loans aren't being reported correctly to all three major credit bureaus, ask your lender to do so. But even when it's there for all to see, a large student loan debt may impact a factor prospective creditors scrutinize closely: your debt-to-income ratio. A large student loan debt may especially hurt your chances of getting new credit if you're in a low-paying job, and a prospective creditor feels your budget is stretched too thin to make room for the payments any new credit will require. Moreover, if your principal balances haven't changed much (and they don't in the early years of loans with long repayment terms) or if they're getting larger (because you've taken a forbearance on your student loans and the accruing interest is adding to your outstanding balance), it may look to a prospective lender like you're not making much progress on paying down the debt you already have. Getting the monkey off your back Like many people, you may have put off buying a house or a car because you're overburdened with student loan debt. So what can you do to improve your situation? Here are some suggestions to consider:
The accompanying pages have been developed by an independent third party. Commonwealth Financial Network is not responsible for their content and does not guarantee their accuracy or completeness, and they should not be relied upon as such. These materials are general in nature and do not address your specific situation. For your specific investment needs, please discuss your individual circumstances with your representative. Commonwealth does not provide tax or legal advice, and nothing in the accompanying pages should be construed as specific tax or legal advice. Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC. A Registered Investment Adviser. Fixed Insurance products and services offered through CES Insurance Agency
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