I've got ~$30K in student loan debt, spread out between different loans with different interest rates. My minimum payment is $190, but I'm in a financial position where I can afford about $750 per month.
It's my understanding that payments are applied first to accrued interest, then proportionally (more money goes to larger loans) for the first $190 (my minimum) of a payment, and finally any remaining money (in my case about $560) goes to the loan with the highest interest rate. Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of that.
This all being said, it stands to reason that paying $750 every month is better than paying 3 × $750 = $2,500 every three months because the accrued interest will be less overall. Likewise, it stands to reason that paying $750 every month would also be better than paying $750 ÷ 3 = $250 three times a month because only $250 − $190 = $60 minus any accrued interest (compounded daily) would be going toward my high-interest-rate loans.
Is there a happy balance between these extremes? Does it even matter all that much? Do my assumptions check out?
Here are my loans: