If you are car shopping but still have a student loan, you should not be looking to buy a new car. What you should focus on is your student loan. Forgiveness of student loans is something that not many know about and it is possible to become debt-free or at least get rid of some of the debt using a government program.
The student loan forgiveness program can be a cancellation or discharge of a student loan either in full or partial. This means that you can either have all the debt removed, or your monthly payments may be reduced considerably. What is important to know is that not everyone is eligible for this program and some conditions need to be met.
To qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program or PSLF, you need to be an employee of the government or a non-profit organization. If you have made 120 monthly payments on your loan, you may have the rest of the debt for the loan completely forgiven.
Teachers can also have their student loans forgiven. If you are a full-time teacher and have been for the past five consecutive years, you may be eligible for forgiveness of up to $17,500.
Lastly, if your college is closed down while you are still enrolled or closes shortly after you withdraw from it, you could have the debt written off. The federal student loan can be completely forgiven if you apply for it.
If you manage to either pay your student loan or enroll in some of the loan forgiveness programs listed above, your finances should benefit greatly from not having those monthly payments anymore. At that point, you could consider car shopping or even financing one. Remember that a lot of people struggle due to student loan payments and if you are eligible for forgiveness of student loans, you should not miss this opportunity.
