how may i help you? clearly, now that i've been an "efa (education finance adviser)" for a week and a half, i'm totally qualified to give you financial advice. so here it is: consolidate your student loans. since i was raised as a spoiled child with no concept of money or the true value of a dollar, i knew nothing about student loans before last week. i didn't even know if i had student loans, much less how they worked.

now i know everything. and i'm here to say that if you have student loans that can be consolidated, you must do it now. those of you who have already consolidated, maybe you can consolidate again to get a lower rate. if you have a low rate already, then sit tight and find a job to pay off those loans asap. interest is accruing people. interest. is. accruing.

consolidation provides you with these benefits:
(1) one monthly payment
(2) an extended repayment period
(3) a locked interest rate

the most important benefit is the last one, the locked interest rate. interest rates are variable and set by the government each july 1st. this year it's scheduled to jump up almost 2%. that can make a huge difference. by locking in your interest rate now, you are no longer at the mercy of the government. and if interest rates go down in the future, you can always re-consolidate.

along with the standard consolidation benefits, most companies will offer you discounts if you sign up for automatic debiting and after making a certain number of consecutive on-time payments. for example, my employer can offer up to a 1.25% discount. you can literally save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.

the federal government implemented the loan consolidation program (higher education act of 1965) to give students a chance to lessen their loan burden. it's great, i highly recommend it. i know spewing this information sounds like a conflict of interest for me. but really, i'm here to spread the christmas cheer about consolidating. (i'm saving the true shilling and hard selling for when my book comes out.) there are honestly no negative side effects to consolidating and i'm just shocked i've never heard of loan consolidation before. help me, help you.

feel free to contact me at priority student loans for additional information, or just call if you want to hear my super professional phone voice. it's professional, and super.