Be the Best Advocate for Your Student Loans

Making Time for Your Student Loans

Standing up for yourself can be hard, especially when the obstacle is complex and has big bucks attached to it, but no one can better advocate for you when it comes to your student loans. We get it, you’re busy: you have a career to manage, a home to take care of, a family that needs your time, hobbies that you enjoy, and a million other things that require your attention. Student loans usually are at the bottom of the “To Do” list; because of the length of repayment, we figure that it couldn’t hurt to put them off until tomorrow. The problem is that, when we put them off, we can unintentionally stretch things out even longer because of the multiple steps often required, each of which can take days or weeks. 

Student Loan Servicers Won’t Pick Up the Phone

Another deterrent to taking action on your student loans can be the tedium of getting your servicer on the phone. If you’ve called recently, you’ve surely noticed the exhaustive (and exhausting!) messages at the beginning of the call informing you that loans are on hold, there’s a Supreme Court case about loan forgiveness, and on and on. I recently clocked a call with a servicer at 4’00’’ just to get through the initial messages and automated phone tree. The trouble is, if you have a question about your student loans, your servicer isn’t going to give you a call. Even worse, if you call your servicer and manage to get through to an agent, there’s no guarantee that they will be sufficiently well-informed to provide the assistance you need. 

You Are the Best Advocate for Your Student Loans

My dad had a saying that drove me crazy as a kid, “You are your own best advocate,” and I’ve really come to believe in it as I’ve gotten older and have helped so many people manage their student loan debt. Your loan servicer isn’t in the business of trying to save you money, they’re managing millions of peoples’ student loans so they can make money.

If you have needs, questions, concerns, you have to start the conversation and, sometimes, you have to persist. Some years ago, I was at a funeral for a former coworker and the eulogist described her as “a bulldozer with a smile.” Now that’s persistence. When it comes to your student loans, you need to be informed, be dedicated, and be persistent. If that sounds like too big a task, then call for help!

Your student loan navigator is there to help you; it’s their job to do those things. If you’re not ready, or too exhausted, to tackle your student loans alone, then advocate for yourself by calling a lifeline. We’re here for you.