Student loans are a financial burden but if you didn't borrow money, you could have never gone to college. Besides it is cheaper to borrow than to have saved for ten years before going to college. So, don't complain but start looking for solutions to your student loan debt problem. There are many ways out, so if you are persistent and creative, you will be able to repay your student loan. There are millions of people like you, so don't lose hope.

Actually, there are more people like you than people who can repay their student loan without considerable difficulty. But why is this so? Why do so many people have difficulty in paying back student loans?

First, it is the terms of the loan itself. Generally student loans come with a six month grace period. This means that six months after graduating you must start repaying your loan. Six months is not so much, especially in times when the economy is down. Sometimes it takes more than six months to find any job, not to mention a high-paid one. So unless you have some ready money – i.e. you have saved while you were still a student – or you borrow again, the end of the sixth month after your graduation might be a difficult time for you to survive.

Even if you manage to find a job right after you graduate, most likely you will be underemployed. You might be working part-time or hold temporary jobs for some time – until you get enough practical experience to find a permanent job. One or two years after graduation is the period when you will need help most desperately.

There are several ways to get help with the repayment of your student loan. Probably the easiest one is to take additional part-time jobs or freelancing. This is especially a good alternative if you are working part-time and you have a lot of free time. Finding part-time and freelancing jobs on the Internet is very easy and it is an option that your parents didn't have when they were young graduates.

But if you can't find additional sources of income, or you don't have the time for more work, the other approach is to cut your expenses. Maybe the idea of living with your parents or a relative sends shivers down your spine but if you have no other choice, you might have to resort to this opportunity until you become financially safe and sound.

A much better alternative is finding a smaller flat with no extras. Such flats are cheaper, though not very convenient to live in. Sharing a place with a roommate is also an option that can save you some money when you need it most.

If the income increasing and cost decreasing strategies do not help, try applying for a forbearance. A forbearance is temporary suspension of payments on a federal or direct loan after repayment has begun. You can apply for forbearance, if you do not qualify for deferment. Check with your lender what the options of forbearance are. Even if you manage to negotiate forbearance for a few months only, this could be of great relief to you because in the meantime you might be able to get a better paying job.

Another option you have is to consolidate your payments. This is great to do when you have multiple loans, which are more convenient to manage when consolidated under one single monthly payment. Besides convenience, another benefit of consolidating is that you might end paying less because of the lower interest rate of the consolidated loan. Actually, by consolidation you might be able to reduce your monthly payments by $100-200 or more a month.

There are plenty of consolidation offers on the market. There are even special plans, like The Income Contingent Repayment plan, which are intended especially for students who plan to pursue jobs with lower salaries, such as careers in public service. Another alternative is the Graduated Repayment Plan. Its advantage is that in the beginning, when you are fresh out of college and hardly make both ends meet, the payments are low (usually you pay the interest only) and gradually increase until the balance is paid. You might end paying more under this plan because the period of repayment is longer but its advantages for fresh graduates are certainly not to be underestimated.

Consolidating might sound like a dream come true but it also has its disadvantages. For instance, under present regulations student loans may only be consolidated once. Because of this, do not rush into the first student loan consolidation opportunity, unless it is really a good one. But if you have already consolidated and still need a life-belt, check forbearance.