Student Loans. Or: oh the headaches…
If there’s one thing I don’t know, it’s anything to do with finances/money.
I can balance my check book - not that I do it anymore since everything is online. But I know how. I can access my bank account. I can deal with the bank when something isn’t working in regards to my debit card.
But now I have student loans to pay off starting in November (happy birthday to me, indeed).
And what I’m about to say is going to sound so incredibly spoiled and sheltered that I’m ashamed and embarrassed but: I don’t know how to pay bills.
Throughout college, I was supported by my parents. I took out loans that wouldn’t be able to pay for all of my college, but I was lucky enough that my parents were in the position where they could and were more than willing to help me (and my siblings) pay for the rest of college and all of the extra things that came along with it. They paid my tuition, my room and board. When I got an apartment, my dad set up the rent bills to go to his automatic bill paying system on our bank’s online checking account. I bought my own groceries, I paid for my gas, I paid for my drinks when I wanted to go out on a Friday night. But when my own checking account ran low (I did work here and there) more money was just a phone call away.
Anyway… I’m rambling.
I got an email today from StudentLoans.gov today about whether I want to consolidate my multiple loans into one large loan, using the Special Direct Consolidation Loans. The issue I have with this, is that I have no idea what that would do. I feel like it’s something I should do, but since I don’t know anything about it — and the research I’m doing isn’t telling me anything about it, really — I don’t know if I should.
