If you are considering taking out student loans, or already have, and maybe they are going to be coming due soon, it is important that you know exactly how much you will owe, and how much your monthly payments will be.Once you graduate from school, you will need to start making payments shortly. For Federal Stafford Loans, you get a six month grace period from the day you graduate until you have to start making payments. For Federal Perkins Loans, you get nine months.With all student loans, you have several options for repayment plans, and your monthly payment and total amount due will be affected by the plan you choose:Standard Repayment PlanWith the standard plan, you will pay a fixed amount each month until the loan is paid in full, with a total term of 10 years. This will most likely have the highest initial payment, but you will pay your loan off the fastest and with the least amount of total interest.Extended Repayment PlanUnder the extended plan, you will pay your loan off in fixed monthly payments, but you will pay it off over the course of 10-25 years. You can lower your monthly payment by doing this, but you will pay more interest over time.Graduated RepaymentWith this plan, your payments start off low and increase every two years. The length of repayment will still be 10 years, but you will pay less to start, and you will pay a lot more near the end.Income Based RepaymentWith this plan, your payments are capped at what the government deems affordable for your current income. You can have a plan that is paid over 10 or 25 years. Additionally, if you work in a public service job, you can have your loan debt canceled by the government.Given all of these different choices for student loan repayment, don’t you think a student loan calculator makes sense?
