Personal Loans

Secured Loans

Other Loan Types

Residential Mortgages

Buy to Let Mortgages

Other Mortgage Types

Mortgage Payment Protection

Life Insurance

Other Finance

Tackling Graduate Debt

It is not only letters after their name that graduates leave university with, they also leave with an increasing amount of debt to their name. The average student will amass a debt of around thirteen thousand pounds over the course of their studies, paying for the tuition fees, accommodation and living costs soon adds up.

Climbing out of such debts may seem a daunting task, however there are a few steps that you can take to help you get on top of things, read on for a selection of tips that should help you to get a handle on things.

The first thing to do is to take full account of your situation, so add up all of your outstanding student loan, credit card bills, other loans and arrears that you may have to get a final figure of the exact money that you owe. If the final amount shocks you, then at least it will focus you on the fact that you need to take action. Next you should add up all of your monthly outgoings and deduct this from your monthly net income to get a figure of your disposable income.

Now comes the time to be realistic, you may start off thinking that you will devote the majority of your disposable income to clearing your debts, however its important that you are realistic otherwise you can easily end up missing your targets and slipping into the habit of doing so. Set a figure that you know you will be able to stick to, even if you have a month where you face some unplanned costs and you will find things much easier.

At this point you will have a clear idea of what you owe, and the rate at which you can afford to pay it off, the next step is to prioritise your debts and aim at clearing those which charge the highest rates of interest. A good plan is to make the minimum payments you can on the debts that charge the least interest, and put the rest of your budget towards clearing those with a high APR.

According to statistics, graduates have a higher earning potential than those without a degree. This is of course good news in the light of the debt the average graduate has by the time they leave university, for the first few years of employment much of this extra earnings will need to go towards clearing those debts. When your income does begin to rise, you should re-assess how much you are budgeting for repayment of loans, it is tempting to keep paying out the same and enjoy the extra cash, however don't forget that your debts cost you money, so clearing them quickly will leave you better off.

Consolidating your debts might also be a good option for you, especially if you are struggling to even meet the minimum payments for your existing debts, or if you have large debts on credit or store cards which charge a high rate of interest.