Student loan refinancing and payments advice

Hi everyone,

My grace period is about to end for my US student loans and I am looking for some advice about paying them/refinancing. I have tried several companies and applied for refinance and keep getting rejected. Basically they look at my GBP income and must wonder how I even afford food. So my debt to income ratio is too high for them to approve my refinance. Does anyone have any advice on refinancing US loans from the UK? I am on a decent income just when you convert to dollars and dont factor in lower cost of living and not having to pay health insurance, it looks quite low.

Also, I know people with UK loans get their monthly payments taken out before taxes. Is there any equivalent for US loans? When you factor in fees for having to transfer money abroad and having to pay them post-tax, it all adds up very quickly.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Keila

Are they private or government loans? Federal direct loans have income based repayment plans. Unfortunately because you live and work in another country you'll have to pay after transferring funds and after tax. I use TransferWise into my US account they are drawn from.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

They're government.
Yeah I will do the income-based if I have to. Would really like to refinance though...

US Dept of Education loan consolidation program?

They're government.
Yeah I will do the income-based if I have to. Would really like to refinance though...

If you're receiving funding via US based Federal loans, then any repayment you're going to do in US dollars as well, right? Why not try entering your income as USD on these applications(because than your income would be higher)? The UK government uses the OANDA currency converter; you could enter your income after converting it this way. The dollar and the pound don't fluctuate that much.

If you're being paid in GBP, then I think converting what ever amount you make monthly/Weekly/ etc. is a reasonable way to go about it.

https://www.oanda.com/currency-converter/en/?from=GBP&to=USD&amount=1

But this really depends on whether you're going to do automatic payments from a US based account, or are going to transfer the funds via a wiring service, or if you're trying to pay directly from your account in the UK.

 I've seen Transferwise mentioned (a wiring service), which is one I also use and would recommend.

Personally, I think your best option is the income based repayment. Start making some payments; when you've crossed the threshold you need to for refinancing, do it.