Student loan repayment is a fact of life for millions of Americans. Is there anything you can do to take more control of your debt repayment?

Actually, yes — refinance your loans.

Refinancing could help manage your student loan debt in a few ways:

1. Lowering your interest rate (contingent on your creditworthiness)
2. Combining multiple loans into one refinance loan
3. Adjusting your repayment length to better fit your monthly payment into your broader financial plan

For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus mostly on that third benefit and how to make the best decision.

Should you stick with the standard 10-year repayment length? Lengthen or shorten the term? Here’s how to choose the right student loan repayment option:

How to fit student loan repayment into your life

Life doesn’t slow down for student loan repayments. You don’t want to hit pause on the rest of your life, particularly when you’re fresh out of college. Refinancing your student loans helps you take ownership of your repayment and figure out what plan best fits into your bigger financial picture.

You can alter your repayment length to help you either pay off your loans faster and save on interest or spread it out over more years to lower your monthly payments.* Most lenders give you the options of 5-, 7-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year repayment terms.

Which repayment plan option is the best for you? Consider the examples of Katie and Ben:

Here’s what you need to know about Katie:

• 30 years old
• $200,000 in student debt
• 6.8% APR fixed interest rate
• $2,302 monthly payment
• 10 years left of repayment
• Will pay more than $75,000 in interest over the life of loan

Katie is fresh out of medical school. She landed a job at a nearby hospital, but even for a doctor, her $2,302 monthly student loan payment is a lot. There’s little room in her budget for affording the vacations she missed out on while she was in school. Plus, she expects to get engaged within the next year, so she wants to ramp up her wedding fund.

Katie wants to lower her monthly payment through refinancing. She’s deciding between these two options:

The 15-year refinance loan catches Katie’s eye. Yes, she’ll incur roughly $20,000 more in interest charges, but adding nearly $700 back into her monthly budget is a game-changer. Katie figures that money can buy her an extra vacation with her friends each year, with plenty left over to save for a wedding someday.

And then there’s Ben. Here’s what you need to know about him:

• 25 years old
• $50,000 in student debt
• 6.8% APR fixed interest rate
• $677 monthly payment
• 8 years left of repayment
• Will pay more than $15,000 in interest over the life of loan

He’s ready to refinance and is weighing these three options:

The 7-year refinance loan really appeals to Ben. That’s because he currently earns a good salary, so he has the resources to raise his monthly payment by nearly $50 and not sacrifice his ability to reach his other goals. He’s making the decision so he can save close to $5,000 in interest by eliminating a year of repayment.

Right now, Ben’s content with renting his apartment. But when the seven years are up, he can use that extra $720 per month to ramp up his down payment fund. Saving $720 for 12 months comes to $8,640 toward that down payment.

Keep your financial goals in mind

Consider your own timeline when deciding to refinance. List out all of your financial goals and when you hope to achieve them. Then you’ll have a much easier time figuring out how your student loan payments fit into your budget.

And if you notice something needs changing, find the right lending option for you and get started!

Be ready for whatever's next

Looking to switch up your student loan repayment? Learn more about the Citizens Education Refinance Loan to see if it’s the solution for you.