Our Student Loan Questions Live: Part Two

Death, Sex & Money

• Episode: Our Student Loan Questions Live: Part Two
• Website: Death, Sex & Money
• Feed URL: http://feeds.wnyc.org/deathsexmoney
• Duration: 00:55:45
• Published: 2017-09-14 06:00

"Is it totally crazy to go to grad school before paying off my undergrad loans?"

"Is it best to pay the smallest [loan] first and reduce your number of loans? Or is it best to reduce your highest interest loans first?"

"Lately I've been thinking about refinancing my student loans, but I worry about moving from fed loans to a private company [...] does it make sense to do this?"

"Do you think it's likely that in this lifetime, student loan victims unionize and agree to collectively default?"

You've sent us a lot of questions about your student loan debt. And in this episode, we're trying to get some answers. In the second night of our live call-in shows about student loans, we're joined by Miranda Marquit, a finance expert and senior writer at the website Student Loan Hero. Together, we're taking your calls to talk about ways to tackle your debt proactively and efficiently. 

If you missed night one of this call-in special, you can go back and find our conversation with other experts and listeners here. And if you missed our original two-episode podcast on student loan debt from this past summer, or if you want to explore the hundreds of stories we received from listeners feeling burdened by debt, check out our student loan project here.

Here are some of the websites mentioned during tonight's show: 

XY Planning Network - Recommended by Miranda as a way to find fee-only financial planners who specialize in working with Gen X and Gen Y clients.

Let's Make a Plan - Recommended by Miranda as another resource for finding a financial planner, run by the Certified Financial Planner Board.

National Student Loan Data System - Recommended by financial aid counselor Danny as a way to find out exactly how much debt you've taken out, and how to contact your loan servicer(s). 

The American Time Use Survey - A look at what Americans spend their time on—Miranda points to it as an example of how much time we spend watching TV and doing other activities during time that could be spent bringing in additional income to help pay down student loans.