College graduates who have student loans are more likely to suffer from ADHD, stress, and depression than college students who graduate without student loan debt. Recognizing the causes of student loan stress can help borrowers address these challenges and take steps to reduce their student loan stress, and even learn how to manage loans better along with the stress that comes along with them.
Repayment of your student loans can feel terrifying and scary. If no one prepared you for repayment, you may not be aware of when your due date starts or if it’s already started. You might even feel compelled to ignore your student loans completely. But, ignoring your student loans can stress you out even more. Take the necessary steps to understand and manage your student loans when you have ADHD and how to get a handle on your repayment journey.
Causes of Student Loan Stress
The complexity of student loans contributes to a lack of control, causing anxiety and stress. Student loan stress is a problem for borrowers who leave college with more debt than they can afford to repay. People fear what they don’t understand. Borrowers often lack a complete understanding of their student loans because student loans are complex. There are many details they worry about such as fixed vs. variable interest rates, federal vs. private student loans, type of repayment plan, length of the repayment term, delinquency, default, and a lack of transparency.
This makes it more difficult for borrowers to deal with their debt, as there are too many decisions. Borrowers feel overwhelmed, which contributes to stress levels. They feel anxious and don’t want to face their debt. This contributes to the feeling that their student loans are spiraling out of control. There is an urgent need to teach students how to manage loans better. But there are various specific steps you can take to help alleviate your student loan stress. Taking these steps exercises control over your student loans.
Learn about Financial Literacy
Financial literacy training will encourage you to understand your finances better and will provide you with tools you can use to take action concerning your student loans. Understanding how student loans work will help you make smarter, more well-read decisions. Increasing your awareness of debt and how to handle it will increase your control over your finances.
The best option you can start with to manage your student loans when you have ADHD is talking with your parents. Even if your parents aren’t financial literacy experts, they’ve had more time to make mistakes, so you can learn from their experience. Sometimes, knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do.
Know Your Loans
Financial literacy training will encourage you to understand your finances better and will provide you with tools you can use to take action concerning your student loans. Understanding how student loans work will help you make smarter, more well-read decisions and make you learn how to manage loans better. Increasing your awareness of debt and how to handle it will increase your control over your finances.
The best option you can start with to manage your student loans when you have ADHD is talking with your parents. Even if your parents aren’t financial literacy experts, they’ve had more time to make mistakes, so you can learn from their experience. Sometimes, knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do.
Track Your Spending
Every time you spend money, get a receipt or write yourself a note listing the date, the amount, and the purpose of the spending. Transcribe this information into a spreadsheet or money management apps each night.
Assign each expense to a broad category like Eating Out, Entertainment, Housing, Clothing, Insurance, Transportation, Medical Care, Taxes, and Student Loans. Also, tag each expense as a need or a want. Be realistic about what is mandatory and what is optional. Just being aware of how much you are spending and how you are spending your money will help you exercise restraint in the future and learn how to manage loans better. The financial information will also reduce your stress by putting you in control.
Managing Impulse Spending
One of the best ways to manage those impulsive purchases is to learn your temptations. Where do you tend to make the most impulsive purchases? Is it at malls? Arts and crafts stores? Museum gift shops? Knowing your purchasing habits can help you avoid going to these places when it is not essential to do so. However, at some point, you are going to have to go shopping, whether for groceries, gifts, or fun. It is recommended to create a checklist of questions to ask yourself before every purchase.
Also, not all shopping happens at stores. The rise of e-commerce and online shopping has unleashed a torrent of impulsive spending. If you find yourself spending a lot online, it is recommended to avoid automatic billing where you can.
Making extra payments on your student loans or even just making the payments on time will have a cascading effect, causing your financial situation to improve with every extra payment and helping you to manage your student loans when you have ADHD. The question of how to manage loans better will cause you less stress. Thus, if you have extra money, make extra payments on the loan with the highest interest rate. This will save you money by paying it off quicker. You can’t disagree that nothing helps reduce student loan stress more than watching your loan balance decrease.
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