Student Loan Consolidation
In 2011 I decided to start paying my student loans online through the actual loan organization. SallieMae.com, myfedloans.org and aessucess.org
I would assign my $191.57 to pay for my consolidated student loans through my online banking/checking account. I did receive account/payment history bills through the mail or received them directly by email but I would never open them to study it's content.
So a few months after opening an online account directly through the loan organization, I noticed that there was a $86.00 loan bunched in with a $3,500 loan and $6,000. I thought to myself that's weird! I also noticed that the projected payoff date for this $86.00 loan was 09/2019! I began to look into all of my accounts and I noticed this trend of having a smaller loan rolled into the bigger ones, causing the payoff of the smaller ones to be drug out even longer creating more and unnecessary interest.
Main Example
I received a fixed rate & subsidized college loan for $930.00 in June of 2008. I began paying it back in March of 2009.
I paid it off in February of 2013 and the reason was because within four years of paying on the loan, I had only paid the principle down by $270.00.
I suspect the reason being that $5.00-7.00 of my $191.75 loan payment went to paying down the principle of this smallest loan and another $5.00-7.00 of my monthly payment went to the interest that had gathered on it. Therefore I would only pay $10.00-14.00 on that one loan per month whether it was principle or interest.
There is no longer a wonder as to why the loan wouldn't be paid off until 11 years after receiving it.
I've learned to be more vigilant and study my bills because I can't spend my entire life just giving my hard earned money away!