I consolidated my student loans in 1999. I have been stuck with 8% financing since. Need lower rate,

In order to answer your question accurately I first would need to clarify a few things. When you consolidated your Student Loans, were they Federal Student Loans or were they Private Student Loans? Have you taken out any new Student Loans since you consolidated your Student Loans? Are you making just one payment or more than one payment at this time?

The only way that you could reconsolidate your Federal Student Loans is if you took out a new Student Loan since 1999 or if one loan was left out of your previous consolidation. The Federal Government does not allow a person to refinance their FFELP Consolidation rate if you have only one Consolidation with no loans outside of that current Consolidation.

Your interest rate is based on a weighted average of your current Federal Student Loan rates, while a lower rate can not always be guaranteed, if you have a loan outside of your current Consolidation, rates a much lower than 8% currently.

Another way to lower your interest rate exists through what are called borrower benefits.

.25% reduction for using automatic debit

1% reduction for on time payments

If you are not sure if you have any loans outside of your current Consolidation there are a couple ways you can investigate this matter. One is by calling 4FED-AID and the second is logging on to the NSLDS website. For more detailed information on how to check to see if you have any loans outside of your current Consolidation as well as current interest rates please see the source below.

I consolidated my student loans in 1999. I have been stuck with 8% financing since. Need lower rate, how?

Contact the student loan servicing company. MANY student loans have rates less than 3%.

I consolidated my student loans in 1999. I have been stuck with 8% financing since. Need lower rate, how?

Keep your eye out for credit card offers with low interest and either low or no transfer fees for a fixed period of time. You can then transfer the debt to the new credit card but be sure to make payments higher than the minimum. Through careful managment of your credit you may be able to reduce the realizable interest rate to 3 or 4 percent.

I consolidated my student loans in 1999. I have been stuck with 8% financing since. Need lower rate, how?

Refinance your house and pay for the student loans with the equity in your home. That way, you can still deduct the interest when tax time rolls around.