The cost of education is rising with time, and so are the student loans.

If you also need to pay this debt and you are constantly worried about how to manage rising student loan rates then here are a few things that ought to help you out.

• Consolidate

One of the things you can do to make student loans more manageable is to consolidate all the loans in a single monthly payment. This way, the student loan rate on the new loan would be the average of individual rate of each loan. Though this strategy won’t prevent you from paying high loan rates, this will make the monthly payment more manageable as you will be able to easily predict the interest.

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you are a borrower who wants a career in public service after completing your graduation, then you should commit to working in public service for as long as it takes to make 120 payments to the loan. When you do that, your rest of the loans could be forgiven.

• Lock in a Fixed Rate

People who have variable rates student loans would be smart to refinance into a fixed rate loan as it will prevent them from further rate hikes. Refinancing process is quite easy. The lender will review your credit history, score, financial background and income. Then the lender will decide whether you are eligible for refinancing. If you are, your old loan will be paid off and you will get a new loan at the fixed rate.

• Review Your Budget

Whether or not refinancing is a viable option, you will be smart to review your budget as soon as you come to know about rising student loan rate. One thing that might help is to reduce unnecessary expenses like the gym membership you never utilize by staying lazy. Another option is to go for an income-driven repayment plan temporarily. It will lower payments for long-term but you could end up paying more money overall.

• Negotiate

A simple thing you can do when wondering how to manage rising student loan rates is to negotiate with your lender to provide you some relief. Yes, if you have a good track record and credit history, you will be smart to talk to the customer service team of the lender and negotiate a lower interest rate. You can even hint switching to another lender and see the discount coming your way.

• Shop Around

In case your lender isn’t giving you a break with regard to rising student loan rates, you will be smart to consider switching the lender. Yes, you can shop around for loan providers and switch the lender if you find a lender who offers a lower loan rate.

• Make Smart Investments

Another thing that can help you is to make smart investments. You should invest your money in investment options like real estate crowdfunding or buy stocks with a good dividend. It will ensure that your savings grow when the student loan rates do and you are able to use the profit you generated from an investment to pay off the additional expense. This will ensure that your monthly budget doesn’t take a hit every time an increase in student loan rates is announced.