Janice Lozano
Student loan debt can be a burden for graduates, taking an average of 20 years to pay off. Luckily, there are now many apps that can help graduates pay off their student loans faster. Some apps help you manage and save your money, while others help you earn money and get cash back. For example, the ChangEd app rounds up purchases to the next dollar, depositing the difference into a savings account and transferring the funds to your student loan balance once you hit your chosen threshold. Other apps, such as Undebt.it, help you keep track of your payments, debt balances, and due dates. If you're looking for help creating a budget, apps like EveryDollar and Fidelity Spire can help you set realistic financial goals and work towards paying off your student loans.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| App Name | Sallie Mae |
| Platforms | iPhone, Android, Apple Watch |
| Features | Quick login, view current balance, total amount due, interest rate, payment history, quick snapshot of every loan, make payments for multiple loans |
| Payment Methods | Auto Pay, online payment, phone, check, money order |
| Auto Pay Benefits | 0.25% interest rate reduction, convenient and timely payments |
| Payment Address | Sallie Mae, P.O. Box 8459 Philadelphia, PA 19101-8459 |
| Third-Party Bill Pay Services | Ensure payment is processed at least 10 days before the due date |
| Late Payment Consequences | Late fee, loss of eligibility for borrower benefits or repayment incentives, negative impact on credit report |
| Other Apps | ChangEd, Fidelity Spire, EveryDollar, Undebt.it, Thriv |
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Budgeting apps
EveryDollar
EveryDollar is a budgeting app that helps you manage your finances by following a zero-based budgeting approach. This approach involves allocating every dollar of your income to specific categories before the month begins, ensuring that your income minus expenses equals zero. The app allows you to link your accounts and view all your financial information on a single dashboard. It helps you build and track your budget, making you more mindful of your spending habits. The basic version of EveryDollar is free, while the premium version costs $17.99 per month or $79.99 per year.
PocketSmith
PocketSmith is a personal finance software that helps you manage your student loans and other bills. It provides a comprehensive view of your finances, including budgeting, cash flow, and overall money management. PocketSmith allows you to create a monthly budget, plan your expenses, and track your spending. By understanding your spending habits, you can identify areas to cut back and free up extra money to put towards your student loan payments.
Digit
Digit is an all-in-one personal finance management app. Unlike other budgeting apps that require manual input, Digit automatically creates a budget for you by analyzing your income and spending patterns. It connects with your bank account to set aside money for bills and then informs you about the remaining amount you can allocate towards your financial goals, such as student loan repayment. Digit automates your savings based on the parameters you set, helping you reach your goals faster.
Quicken
Quicken is a well-known financial app that allows you to link and manage all your accounts, including bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and loans, in one place. It offers a debt reduction planner tool that helps you develop a strategy for repaying your debts based on your income and ability to make payments. With Quicken, you can transfer money between accounts, pay bills directly in the app, and benefit from a comprehensive view of your finances. The app costs $17.99 per month or $79.99 per year.
YNAB (You Need a Budget)
YNAB is a budgeting app that promotes proactive financial management. It encourages you to allocate every dollar you earn to a specific purpose, helping you understand where your money is going and make informed spending decisions. YNAB offers a free year to college students who provide proof of enrollment.
ChangEd
ChangEd is a unique app that rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and saves the difference towards extra student loan payments. For example, if you spend $3.50 on a coffee, the remaining $0.50 will go into your ChangEd account. Once your balance reaches $50, the money is automatically applied to your designated student loan. ChangEd also allows you to make larger deposits or receive contributions from friends and family towards your loans. The app costs $5 per month for savings only, or $9.99 per month for budgeting, saving, and investing features.
Thriv
Thriv is a budgeting app that helps you develop a savings routine and stay on track with your financial goals. It sends you reminders and allows you to visualize your progress through user-friendly charts, encouraging better saving habits. Thriv is particularly useful if you struggle with setting aside money to repay your student loans.
Remember, choosing the right budgeting app depends on your personal preferences, financial goals, and budget. Some apps may charge a fee, so it's important to consider the costs and benefits before deciding.
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Payment methods
There are several apps that can help graduates pay off their student loans faster. These apps help with budgeting, saving, and managing money. Here are some of the apps that can help with student loan repayment:
- Fidelity Spire: This is a free app designed to help young adults achieve their short- and long-term money goals. Users can track their progress after linking an account. The app also offers access to Fidelity's Student Debt Tool, which provides tips to pay down debt.
- EveryDollar: This app is designed by financial expert Dave Ramsey and allows users to create a monthly budget to save money and reach their student loan financial goals. It helps set a realistic budget and work towards paying off student loans.
- Thriv: Thriv helps users develop a savings routine and sends reminders to streamline the process. It offers a user-friendly way to view progress and develop better saving habits.
- Undebt.it: This app offers easy-to-use calculators and keeps track of payments, debt balances, and due dates. It helps users see projected payoff dates and the interest they can expect to pay.
- ChangEd: This app rounds up purchases to the next dollar, with the extra money going towards the user's student loan.
Additionally, some loan providers offer their own apps with features to help manage loan payments. For example, the Sallie Mae app allows users to make and manage payments, view loan balances, interest rates, and payment history, and receive confirmation on their Apple Watch. Similarly, Edfinancial Services offers an online account where users can submit one-time or recurring payments, sign up for Auto Pay, and view the latest information about their student loans.
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Payment tracking
Tracking your student loan payments can be done in a variety of ways, from using purpose-built apps to more traditional methods.
The US Department of Education has launched a student loan forgiveness tracking feature for income-driven repayment plans, providing borrowers with specific details on their progress. This is available via borrowers' StudentAid.gov accounts, where you can access an IDR tracker that shows the number of IDR payments made and the number remaining before qualifying for loan forgiveness. It also includes a progress bar and a projected student loan forgiveness date.
There are also third-party apps available, such as unbury.me, unbury.us, YNAB, undebt.it, and Mint, which can help you track your loan payments and manage your finances.
Some people prefer to use spreadsheets to track their payments. You can use Excel or Google Sheets to create your own spreadsheet, or you can use a template from a site like Vertex42. Spreadsheets can be customized to include various scenarios that may impact your final payoff date or amount, such as using a bonus or moving to a different cost-of-living area.
Alternatively, you can take a more analog approach, such as using sticky notes to represent different amounts and types of loans, which can serve as a physical reminder and motivation to pay off your loans.
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Auto-pay
To set up auto-pay, you'll need to first create an online account with your student loan servicer. You can find out who your servicer is by signing into Studentaid.gov or the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Once you've set up your account, you can log in and select "Auto Pay" from the left navigation menu. You'll then need to provide your bank account information, such as your account number and bank's routing number. Make sure you have enough money in your bank account to cover the payments, as multiple occurrences of insufficient funds may result in the termination of your Auto Pay agreement and the loss of your interest rate reduction.
By default, Auto Pay will be set to pay the minimum payment on each of your loans. However, you can increase the amount you pay each month to pay off your loans faster and reduce the total cost of your loan. You can configure this during the Auto Pay enrollment process. You can also make one-time payments at any time by logging into your account, in case you want to pay more than the minimum on a particular month.
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Loan repayment apps
There are a variety of loan repayment apps available that can help you manage your debt. These apps can provide a convenient way to develop and track your debt repayment plan all in one place.
One such app is the Debt Payoff Planner & Tracker, which is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. This app helps you take control, stay motivated, and save by planning, tracking, and celebrating your progress. It provides a simple, step-by-step plan for paying off your loans. You can enter your loans and debts, your additional monthly payment budget, and choose a debt payoff strategy, such as Dave Ramsey's Debt Snowball method or the Debt Avalanche method. The app then determines the optimum payment plan and how long it will take until you are debt-free.
Another option is the Payoff Planner app, which guides you through the steps of assessing your current situation and developing a strategy for debt payoff. It provides visualization tools to help you track and evaluate your progress and see how long it will take to pay off your debt. The basic version of the app is free to use, but you can upgrade to the Pro version for $10 for two months, $18 for six months, or $24 for 24 months for an ad-free experience with additional features and browser access.
Qoins is another debt payoff app that connects to your financial accounts and helps you set up a specific automated strategy for tackling your debt. This may include weekly withdrawals, payday withdrawals, or rounding up transactions on a linked account. The app also offers a prepaid debit card that earns cashback that can be applied towards your debt. Qoins costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
If you have student loans specifically, there are also apps available to help you manage your repayments. For example, the Sallie Mae app allows you to make and manage your Sallie Mae student loan payments anytime, anywhere from your iPhone, Android phone, or Apple Watch. You can easily make payments for multiple loans, view the current balance, total amount due, and interest rate, and see your payment history.
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Frequently asked questions
Fidelity Spire, ChangEd, EveryDollar, Undebt.it, and Thriv are some apps that can help you manage your money and pay off your student loans.
You can download the Sallie Mae app on your iPhone, Android phone, or Apple Watch. You can make payments for multiple loans and view the current balance, total amount due, and interest rate. Payments can be made anytime, anywhere.
You can log in to your online account and submit a one-time or recurring payment for your student loan account. You can also sign up for Auto Pay, where your payments will be automatically debited from your designated bank account each month.
You can use your bank or another online bill pay service to make payments. You can also pay by check or money order by mailing your payment to the address located on your statement.
Creating a budget can help you pay off student loans faster. You can use apps like EveryDollar and Fidelity Spire to help you create a monthly budget and track your spending.
