Now that you’ve graduated college, you’re probably focused on finding that first job. With many jobs hard to find, paying off your college debt is probably at the bottom of your priority list. However, for those who take paying off their college debt seriously, the burden of being in debt is significantly reduced, building credit and allowing you to stay ahead of the financial curve.

When you’re starring at a mountain of debt, it’s very easy to feel helpless. The good news is that depending on the type of debt you have, there are flexible repayment options that can often meet your lifestyle. None-the-less, the responsibility for paying off the debt is yours and must be taken seriously. Otherwise, bad credit, liens, etc. could result impacting your future ability to borrow money.

Depending on how recently you graduated and type of loans you’ve taken out to pay for college, you may qualify for different loan repayment options. One of my personal favorites is student loan consolidation. The benefit here is that you aggregate all of your outstanding loans into a single loan with different payment terms. This may result in a lower interest rate and smaller monthly payment.

Some individuals who consolidate see longer repayment periods. However, a little known method of reducing your payment period is by making one extra payment towards the principle of the loan each and every year. For longer repayment periods, this reduces the amount owed and the life of the loan significantly.

The first thing you need to do is pick up the phone and have a conversation with your lender. If they penalize you for early payment then there’s no sense in submitting an extra payment each year. Doing so will only lower you disposable income. However, if there is no penalty for early repayment, ask what one extra payment each year – in the amount of your monthly payment – would do to the total amount owed. You will be pleasantly surprise of the positive impact this can have.

One thing to look out for is how the lender treats your extra payment. A common mistake is that individuals send in the extra payment without any directions for the lender. As a result, they think that you are just advancing next month’s payment. In order to take advantage of early repayment, you need to write on the check, “apply to principle”. If you don’t, they will simply put it towards the following month’s bill. This obviously defeats the purpose as the principle is what you are trying to address.

Once you get things rolling, try to save enough to make a full month’s payment each December. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a lot of money but it will have a significant impact on your repayment schedule and amount. One suggestion is to speak to a representative at your lender to see what types of accelerated repayment programs they offer. Even though this is a great option, it’s not one that is widely publicized.

Paying off your college loans seems like an almost impossible task, but isn’t. Stay focused on making your monthly payments one at a time. Before you know it, you will be way into repayment and can explore other options like making an extra payment towards principle annually. This will save you money and help you eliminate your debt.