Your student loans may seem like an endless, immortal monster that will never stop pestering you, but this is never the case—even if you have pesky private loans. Whether you’ve had student loans for years or you’re just now starting to make your payments, it’s important to educate yourself on how to get out of student loan debt. If you don’t take care of your debt, it may pile up and become unmanageable. We have some simple tips that will help you come up with the best solution for your situation.

FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS

Student loans from the government will have vastly different options for relief and forgiveness than private loans will. If you have federal student loans, consider the following options for student debt relief:

Seek a Suitable Forgiveness Program

You may find student loan relief from your choice of occupation if it fits into one of the federal student loan forgiveness programs. Teachers at low-income schools and public service workers are two of the most common examples of occupations that benefit from special federal student loan forgiveness programs. It’s important to note that the public service loan forgiveness program is notoriously difficult to get into and will only cut down the amount you have to pay, not completely forgive the loans. The low-income teacher loan forgiveness program is most beneficial to STEM and special education teachers, who can receive up to $17,500 in forgiveness. Teachers of other subjects can see about $5,000 worth of forgiveness, at most.

Finish Your Income-Driven Repayment Plan

At the end of your federal loans’ Income-Driven Repayment Plan, the government forgives the remainder of your federal student debt. This does require up to 25 years of consistent monthly payments, however.

Refinancing Federal Student Debt

Refinancing your federal student loans doesn’t get rid of them, but it may combine all your current loans under one lower interest rate and make payments more affordable. When you refinance, however, you may lose out on any benefits of federal loans, and you’ll have to follow the stricter enforcements of the private lender.

PRIVATE STUDENT LOANS

With private student loans, forgiveness is often not an option. The options available to you may differ based on the lender your loans are under. Refinancing with another lender with a better interest rate is an option, especially if you have multiple private student loans. Another common option is to settle student debt with your private lender. By settling your debt, you come to an agreement with the lender for a final, larger lump sum payment. Once you’ve made that payment, the rest of the debt is canceled, and all that’s left is to pay taxes on the canceled amount.

Before you consider settlement as an option for how to get out of student loan debt, get help from a professional to negotiate terms with the lender. The student loan professionals at Hope Credit will work relentlessly to provide you with the best deal possible for federal or private student debt relief.