| You've got to take on student loan debt these days | | | | loans, the news will mean little since rates will stay |
| if you want to go to college unless you are very | | | | the same on the debt in question. For those with |
| lucky. Student loan debt is like any debt. The key to | | | | adjustable rates, things are going to get ugly. |
| how quickly you can pay it off often comes down to | | | | What about federal student loans? Well, I have really |
| the interest rates. For people with federal loans, the | | | | good news if you are carrying federal student loan |
| good news is interest rates are quirky in a positive | | | | debt. The rates on your loan are not set by the |
| way. | | | | market or some cold bank per se. Instead, Congress |
| The economic condition of the United States is | | | | actually sets the rates on your loans. The legislative |
| supposedly in a recovery from the Great Recession | | | | body actually sets a range of rates that can be |
| we recently suffered. With business slow and | | | | charged for each loan, but the banks actually issuing |
| unemployment in double digits, it is hard to make | | | | the money always [and I mean always!] go with the |
| much of an argument that this recovery has really hit | | | | highest possible allowed rate. The rates can change |
| most of us. As we stagger forward, things will | | | | year to year, but are usually much lower than private |
| improve slowly, but a fiscal accounting must take | | | | loans and such. You can access the current rates for |
| place. That accounting is going to come in the form | | | | Perkins, Stafford and PLUS loans at the website for |
| of higher interest rates. | | | | the Department of Education. |
| We have interest rates that are so low now that | | | | Like all debt, the interest rates on student loans are |
| we've rarely seen such an economic condition in our | | | | going to be going up in the next few years as the |
| history. The Federal Reserve essentially is loaning out | | | | Federal Reserve raises rates in general. If you have |
| money to banks at a zero interest rate. That can't | | | | federal loans, you can expect the pain of these |
| last. When it changes, rates are going to move up | | | | increases to be much smaller than with private loans. |
| and so are your debt loads. For those with fixed rate | | | | |