Are repayment assistance plans a good idea?
These plans lower your minimum payment and waive unpaid interest, but you might lose that interest subsidy if you make extra payments to clear your debt faster. This uncertainty leaves borrowers desperate for direction, unsure if they are better off using standard debt management or consolidation programs instead.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Evaluating potential savings based on interest rates and intended payoff durationDid this help you?
- 2Continuing to pay minimums while accidentally incurring more debtDid this help you?
- 3Looking for a higher-paying jobDid this help you?
- 4Reaching out to individual credit card issuer hardship or relief programsDid this help you?
- 5Consulting with a nonprofit credit counseling agency for lower interest ratesDid this help you?
- 6Following structured payoff methodologies like Dave Ramsey's stepsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Yes, no difference in interest rates. With RAP the minimum payment is lower and any unpaid interest is waived as well. However if I make extra payments I’m don’t think I’d get the interest subsidy.”source ↗
“So I found the debt management plan as a way to reduce the amount paid to interest and help clear up my debt steadily and build my credit, but I am not sure if that is a good option or not.”source ↗
“What is the difference between this and debt consolidation programs? what would you have me do? I am desperate.”source ↗
Where this came up
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- 2Why does loan paperwork show two different interest rates?