There are a lot of benefits one can get when he or she consolidates his or her student loans. But just as there are benefits, there are also some disadvantages. It is best therefore for you to read and know all you can on consolidating your student loans before making that all important decision and therefore sealing your financial fate.

But loans being as they are - annoying and relevant at the same time, the kind you cannot live with but at the same time cannot live without - you just can't help but avoid thinking of them until that period where you have no choice but to pay up. But do not fear, the federal government is here - believe it or not - to help ease your payment of your student loans.

With the help of Congress, all your student loans could now be combined into one. Not only that, doing so results in automatically lowering the payment you have to pay every month. Plus you are provided with very flexible means of payment. Not only that, there are also features where you could - if you wish - extend the period you want to pay your student loans.

Still not convinced or are you still confused? Okay, to make it clear, the following are the benefits one could acquire when he or she gets to consolidate any or all their student loans.

You get to have the advantage of making payments that are lower than the ones you regularly pay every month.

Not only will you get to have monthly payments that are lower, you also will get to pay one and only one loan per month. This is in lieu of the several loans you may have if you do not consolidate your loans.

Besides only one payment made each month and a low one at that, the interest rate attached to the loan is a fixed one! It should and must not get to be over 8.25% at any period during the whole duration of the payment for your student loan. This is enough to get anyone going especially now that interest rates available nationally are at their lowest in over forty years.

And here is the best part, the process one goes through when applying for a consolidation of student loans is very simple. Believe it or not, the application does not involve any forms of credit check. There is also no fee involved for processing the application for consolidating student loans.

When you consolidate, you could also avail of a plan for payment that is flexible. This means you will basically be able to create a plan of repayment that you think suits you the best, financially of course. This is a great opportunity for you to assess your current financial needs as well as your financial needs in the future.

Also, if you decide to pay your loan via electronic means, you will be able to decrease your interest rate by .25%. Doing electronic payment also keeps you updated in your payments and decreases your chance of ever forgetting to pay.

Another thing, when you consolidate your student loans, you will have an option to, if ever you decide, to prepay the loan you have at any given time with no penalty whatsoever.

Aren’t these good reasons enough to consolidate?

Okay, to be fair, there are also valid reasons not to consolidate. These are the following:

If your loans have a combination of high interest and low interest, it is best if you do your math. If you consolidate your loans and if averaged, you will get to pay your low interest loans with rates that are higher, it is probably best and would work to your advantage if you separately get to pay your loans that have low interest.

As much as possible, try to be aware of the flexibility always cited in payment plans. It might not do you good financially if you keep paying your loans for a longer period of time. Try to do your math again and analyze if doing so would mean that you are actually paying a higher amount because of the interest that keep incurring.