Investing
How to start investing in 2022
6 min read
You have a world of options at your fingertips when it comes to paying down your student loans. Knowing what they are is the key to becoming debt-free.
— Hanneh Bareham
Hanneh Bareham is the student loans reporter for Bankrate. She specializes in everything you need to know about student loans; from how the current presidential administration impacts your loans to the basics of your balance, Hanneh is passionate about it all.
Her desire to empower student loan borrowers comes from her own experiences with navigating her loans as a recent college graduate. She aims to help others reach their educational goals through making their loans easier to understand.
When she's not reading up on how to maximize her retirement investments or checking her repayment strategies with a student loan calculator, Hanneh enjoys reading, baking and working out.
Hanneh started covering student loans at the peak of the presidential election, when student loans were a widely discussed topic. She quickly began covering federal student loan policies, congressional addresses and student loan proposals, where she developed a passion for student loan legislation.
Hanneh has been a personal finance writer with Bankrate since 2020, where she started as a credit cards reporter. Prior to joining Bankrate, she was a freelance writer and copywriter.
She earned her bachelor's degree in English with a minor in technical and professional writing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she was awarded the John McNair Undergraduate Award for excellence in technical and professional writing.
Hanneh's work has been cited by CNBC, Business Insider, Bloomberg Radio, The National Desk, MSN, HerMoney, Fidelity Investments and BritannicaProCon.org.
You have a world of options at your fingertips when it comes to paying down your student loans. Knowing what they are is the key to becoming debt-free.
— Hanneh Bareham
Average student loan debt continues to rise in the United States.
Finding your student loan balance is important for a few reasons.
A secured loan is one way to score a lower interest rate.
This increase brings federal student loan interest rates back to pre-pandemic levels.
Earning travel rewards with credit cards can help offset travel expenses.
While 3 in 5 students graduate on time, many take much longer to earn a degree.
Some borrowers could see their student loan balances reduced as early as this year.
Home equity loans and HELOCs are different, so know which one is better for you.