If you’re struggling with massive amounts of student loan debt, you might decide that getting help from a money professional is the right move for you. That’s why we’ve written this Student Loan Planner review… because when it comes to something as important as your student loans, seeking help from the right folks is crucial.
Student Loan Planner is a group of specialized student loan professionals who offer expert advice to those with large amounts of student debt. They help people come up with a solid plan to pay debts off, in the most efficient way possible. So far, Student Loan Planner has consulted on over 2.6 billion dollars worth of student loan debt! Better yet, they calculate that their average client will save around $53,000 over the lifetime of their loan! 🤯
We have tons of folks reaching out to How To Money who are juggling hefty student loans and are unsure how to proceed. So we decided to put Student Loan Planner to the test and give them a thorough review. Today, we’re taking a deep dive into the benefits of using SLP, and discussing who could benefit from their services.
Student Loan Planner Overview
Student Loan Planner is made up of some of the country’s top student loan experts. Most of the crew has a CSLP designation which stands for ‘certified student loan planner.’ That means they aren’t just general financial advisors, they’re specialists!
These SLP experts help people manage large piles of student loan debt (anything $20k+) by creating actionable payoff plans. These plans include helping you refinance at the best rates, consolidation if it makes sense, and making sure you’re on the right repayment plan for your specific loan situation.
Essentially, working with Student Loan Planner is like a one stop shop to becoming a student loan warrior. You’ll walk away with a plan to slash that debt out of your life, and pay the least amount of money possible.
Here’s how SLP works:
- You book a consultation with one of their CFP, CFA or CSLP professionals and pay a one time flat fee between $395 – $595.
- One of their student loan experts will perform a thorough review of your student loans. This includes your payment history, and some other aspects of your finances (like your family size and income).
- During this one hour meeting, your student loan professional will help you put together a plan to tackle your student loan debt in order to save you time, money, and stress.
- You can reach out to them via email for support up to 6 months after your consultation. You might have follow up questions or need a review of your plan!
Remember, the average SLP client is projected to save ~$52,000 over the life of their loans! So if you’re wondering whether the $595 plan fee is worth it — for most folks it definitely is!
What is a CSLP?
I mentioned it above briefly, but CSLP stands for certified student loan professional. It’s a relatively new certification. In fact, we even interviewed the first person to become a CSLP in the state of Georgia, Meagan McGuire, who actually works for Student Loan Planner as a senior student loan advisor!
CSLP education focuses heavily on the federal loan system and private student loans. This allows them to recommend the best payment strategies to borrowers. This makes these highly specialized professionals some of the best people to speak on the topic of student loans.
If you’re reading this, you already know how dang confusing and complicated the world of student loans can be. Imaging having someone fully trained and certified, who knows all the ins and outs of every single loan type helping you navigate your situation. That’s what a CSLP does!
CSLP vs. CFP
On the other hand, CFPs, or certified financial planners, focus their education on five main areas of finances- investing, retirement, estate planning, tax and insurance. While most CFPs do have some understanding of student loans, it can be helpful to talk to someone who has spent a great deal of time studying the ins and outs of both federal and private student loans. If you have a complicated student loan situation, or a large amount of student loan debt, you might stand to benefit more from speaking with a CSLP as opposed to a general CFP or financial advisor.
Why Student Loan Planner was Founded:
One of my favorite things about Student Loan Planner is that its story is actually akin to that of a love story.
Student Loan Planner was founded in 2016 by Travis Hornsby, a former bond trader. He came up with the idea to build Student Loan Planner when he fell in love with his wife.
When they first met, she had six figures of medical school debt. Wanting to help the woman who would become his wife, Travis put his financial expertise to work by helping her to come up with a better plan to pay off her debt. Pretty soon, her friends started reaching out to him, asking him to do the same for them and their loans.
He built a program to analyze student loans, and when he shared it online, hundreds of thousands of people used it and requests for help with student loans began to pour in. That’s when Travis decided to found Student Loan Planner to allow him to help as many people as possible with their student loan debt.
How Student Loan Planner Helps You Save Money:
Once you book an appointment with one of their student loan professionals, you’ll be asked to fill out a questionnaire, and send over an “nslds” file from StudentAid.gov. This file contains information about your federal student loans (if you have them). If you’re dealing with private loans, they’ll ask you for information detailing those loans.
Next, during your call, you’ll discuss your biggest financial goals, as well as evaluate the types of loans you have, and your payment history with your student loan professional.
Then, they’ll plug all your information into a custom planning document built by Travis, which will help you to better understand your personal loan situation. On the call they’ll walk you through every repayment option you have based on your income level, family size, and what that might look like in terms of your monthly payment and payoff timeline.
They’ll crunch numbers with you until you land on the most ideal student loan payoff plan, tailored to your situation. If you decide that refinancing your student loans is the best option for you, they can also help you reach out to private lenders to refinance at the best rates possible.
At the end of your appointment, you’ll have had all your questions about your student loans answered, and you’ll leave feeling confident and in control of your finances.
They’ll send you a followup email summarizing your meeting, along with the planning worksheets they utilized throughout the meeting. And of course, they’ll send you any resources they have for any topics discussed during your consultation.
The Best Things About Student Loan Planner
At first glance, there are a lot of really great things that stand out to me about Student Loan Planner. First, I think it’s awesome to see great financial advice out there catered towards people with high amounts of student loan debt.
While the national average for student loan debt is $35,210, about 6% of borrowers have more than $100,000 worth of student loans. Having six figure student loan debt can feel scary and isolating! Especially when most financial advice caters to those with smaller student loan balances. Talking to professionals can make you feel less alone. Just knowing they’ve worked with thousands of clients with a combined 3 billion dollars of student loan debt feel good.
You’ll Save Money
If you have high amounts of student loan debt, there’s a great chance that you’ll save a large chunk of money by working with SLP. In fact, according to their website, they’ve found over 90% of their clients five to six figures worth of savings over the course of their repayment period.
Whether it be paying less interest, taking advantage of forgiveness programs, or restructuring your payment plans to be more efficient, Student Loan Planner’s primary goal is to help you pay as little as possible.
Flat Fee Structure
Another great benefit of working with Student Loan Planner is that they charge a flat fee. Similar to working with financial advisors, it’s ideal to work with money professionals who charge a flat fee only. This ensures that they have nothing to gain from selling your products, investments or any kind of insurance. Student Loan Planner won’t benefit from you refinancing your loans, or joining a particular payment plan. That means you’ll get unbiased advice from people who truly have your best interest at heart.
Free Resources
Even if going with a consultation isn’t for you, that doesn’t mean SLP can’t help you on your financial journey. They have tons of free resources available that can increase your financial knowledge. They’ve got a free blog on their website as well as a podcast that covers various topics within the student loan space.
Who can benefit from Student Loan Planner
Overall, we think Student Loan Planner offers a great service that can make a huge difference for the right person. Here’s who we think can benefit greatly from a consultation with one of their student loan professionals:
If you have large amounts of student debt:
The larger the amount of student debt you have, the higher the stakes are when it comes to having the right student loan payoff strategy. Remaining on the wrong plan can cost you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your student loan. If you have $20,000-$1,000,000 of student debt, the greater the chances are that you will see major savings with Student Loan Planner’s services.
When you want to lower your monthly payments:
You might suspect that working towards forgiveness is the best way to approach your student loans. If so, Student Loan Planner can help you to choose a plan that lowers your monthly payments. This will maximize the amount of forgiveness you can receive.
People that need help refinancing:
If you need help refinancing your student loans, or deciding if refinancing is the best move for you, Student Loan Planner can help connect you with private lenders and help you get the best rate. They will also come up with a plan for after you refinance. This means you can pay your loans off as quickly as possible while forking over less money in interest.
If you want to learn the best strategy to pay off your student loans:
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a question about your student loans and received different answers from multiple employees at your loan servicer? 🙋♀️
If you’re unsure about the best way to pay off your student loans, you’re not alone. With so many different types of repayment plans, as well as intricate stipulations for each of them, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Speaking with an expert can help you to demystify the repayment process for you. It’ll leave you feeling confident that you’re on the right path.
If you experience money anxiety:
Lastly, if you experience a lot of stress or money anxiety surrounding your student loans (you are not alone!), a consultation with Student Loan Planner could be worth it just for peace of mind. Even if it turns out you’re doing everything right, it can still be helpful to hear from a professional that you’re on the right track.
When Student Loan Planner Isn’t A Good Fit
Even though Student Loan Planner saves a ton of people money, it may not make sense for everyone.
For example, if you are 100% sure that you’re on the right payoff plan already and feel confident that you have a plan you can stick to for payoff, you might not find Student Loan Planner to be worth it for you.
If you only owe very little in student loan debt, it also may not make sense to pursue a consultation. If you’ve only got $5k left, for instance, you probably don’t need professional advice. The bigger your debt, the more likely that Student Loan Planner will be able to find you significant savings. If you have minimal loans, your money might be better spent just paying down a portion of that student loan.
However, even if a consultation isn’t the right fit for you, you can still benefit from Student Loan Planner’s many free resources. Be sure to check out their blog and podcast for free personal finance insights from licensed professionals.
Is Student Loan Planner Legit?…
Wondering whether or not Student Loan Planner will be worth it for you? Just check out their reviews! About 3,000 people on ShopperApproved have left reviews, with 97% of customers giving them a 5 star review!
Here are just a few excerpts from my favorite reviews on their website:
“Professional, organized, efficient. Jake definitely is an expert in the field. His visualization of real-time data really helped guide my decision in choosing a loan repayment plan. He was extremely patient and answered all of my questions including questions on PSLF, nuances of being an S-Corp, filing jointly vs single. I will ultimately be saving tens of thousands of dollars. Thank you so much!”
“I was hesitant to book the call, but it paid for itself since the advice I received will end up saving me thousands of dollars. Not to mention the peace of mind knowing I’m making the best choice of repayment plans. And I love a good spreadsheet!”
“Knowledge, helpful, and polite! Travis listened to my concerns, took me through the relevant data, suggested a solution, and stepped me through that process. I am still processing the fact that I should have my PSLF loan forgiveness cover ALL my loans after the consolidation goes through! Time saver and huge money saver!”
The positive reviews don’t end at their website. Just googling Student Loan Planner Review you’ll find a ton of folks who rave about how happy they are.
The Bottom Line:
Student Loan Planner’s services greatly helps a big swath of folks drowning in student loan debt. They save borrowers tons of time, money and headaches when it comes to paying their student loan debt off. They are a legit company with stellar client reviews. Their mission to help people save money by reducing their student debt burden is one we can get behind!
If you have large amounts of student loan debt, or feel overwhelmed by your student loans, a consultation with Student Loan Planner can help you to take control of your finances and work to pay off your student debt with confidence.
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