Hi Heather! I was talking to my dad about my husband’s loans from law school and how the interest rate is 7.8%. He suggested we try to refinance it at a lower interest rate. Is that common? Where would I go to find out about that? Who would I talk to? My husband and I had a foreclosure one year ago so that might disqualify us from refinancing, correct?

Also, I’m trying to find out what our monthly repayment plan under IBR would be. Let’s say our income is $100,000 and the interest rate stays at 7.8% and we are a family of four. What would our payment/ the calculations be?

For fixed Stafford loans and Direct Grad Plus loans there is really no way to reduce the interest rate.  FFEL Grad Plus loans with interest rates of 8.5% can be reduced to 8.25% by consolidating through Direct Loans. Folks who borrowed Stafford loans back when rates were variable, should consider consolidation to lock in currently low rates (in school: 1.87%, out of school 2.47%).

Theoretically, private loans can be consolidated at lower rates, but I hear the market is tough right now.

And don’t forget that consolidating federal loans into private consolidation loans is (in my opinion) a bad idea.