“The average college student graduates with $21,000 in debt,” says CNN in a recent article. That’s not exactly the best springboard to launch your life from. The good news is that there are a number of relief programs available that can ease the burden.

Loan Forgiveness- Working in public service jobs could buy you a loan reduction, or even a loan cancellation. The website Mapping Your Future provides tools to help you determine if you’re eligible for any of these programs. They can help you find out who holds your loan if you are unsure. There are also specific public service organizations that help their employees pay back their school loans.

Economic Hardship Deferments- if you’re struggling to make your payments, check out this hardship deferment calculator to see if you might qualify for a loan extension. This can ease some of the burden, but remember, you will be paying as much as twice the amount of interest by extending your payments over a longer period of time.

If you qualify for any of these programs, you can save thousands of loan dollars. I wish I had one of these for my mortgage!

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