Your student loans helped you finance your education. Now you can use them to build good credit. Why is that important? Good credit is essential when it's time to finance your new home, automobile, or business venture. Some potential employers may even check your credit before offering you a job. Don't squander this opportunity to get off on the right foot building your excellent credit history. 

Graduating from college with student loan debt is common today. Your student loans are serious commitments, and you need to be sure you pay them off on schedule. But if your loan has an attractive interest rate, don. t be in a hurry to pay it off early . you might be better off making the regular payments and using the additional money to build your personal savings.

It's to your benefit to manage your entire student loan portfolio as efficiently as possible. Through efficient management, you build a good credit rating for yourself and your timely payments return dollars to the revolving student loan fund pool, allowing new students to receive funding for education. It's a win/win situation when borrowers pay.

Students keeping repayment on-track can earn incentives. Automatic repayment from a checking account may reduce the interest rate. Sallie Mae (the national leader) will reduce interest by two percentage points (for example, from 7% to 5%) for 48 months of on-time payment. Again, prompt repayment helps graduates build good credit histories.

Whether it's buying a car or a condo, establishing an A+ credit rating is the first step to financial success. What better way to show you're creditworthy and build a good credit profile for future borrowing than the responsible repayment of your student loans?