Hello myFico community,
Don't mind my student loan ramblings I mostly needed a place to put my thoughts.
Loan information, disbursed 6/6/2022
Original Principal and Interest Rate:
| $75,100.00 |
| FIXED 4.350% |
Principal Balance and Accrued Interest as of 05/18/25:
| $63,350.00 |
| $4,869.47 |
Minimum monthly payments of $150 and interest deferred (accruing but not capitalized) until April 22, 2026. Monthly interest accrural is $230 based on current principal balance. I am making $700 a month payments right now as to work down the principle. $150 of the $700 goes to the interest due to the agreement. After this lower payment period, there is a 60 month (5 year) repayment term requiring minimum monthly payments to complete in that timeframe. Initially this was estimated to be $1500 a month, but I have been paying early, so it will be closer to $1100-$1200 a month. Still, I'm not sure if I will be able to afford that monthly payment at this time, so I'm thinking about refinancing for a longer repayment period for a lower payment.
Does anyone have any recommendations on where to find the best rates for student loan refinancing? For context, I live in California and I will be waiting until next April to refinance to take advantage of deferred capitalization of interest. I do have a preference for credit unions, but my DCU rate for student loan refi was 8.25% fixed for a 10 year term vs. my current 4.35% fixed for a 5 year term. For a rate increase that high, I would rather just pay $1200 a month (assuming I can afford that...) and so I'm open to all options.
Thanks in advance
Splash is an option. I think they provide options from multiple lenders. That interest rate is quite good though and if you are refinancing to a longer term, your rate will probably be higher than it is now. Good luck!
Thanks for the suggestion! It looks like I prequalified for these options I like. It's not too much higher than my current rate and a more manageable monthly payment. I'll hold off on applying for the moment though.
4.98% fixed 7 years $965 monthly payment results in $12734 of interest
5.08% fixed 10 years $727 monthly payment results in $18297 of interest
Of course I can always pay more later when I can afford more to reduce that interest.