Woman stressed about billsShutterstockMore than 40 million Americans have student debt.This post is sponsored by Citizens Bank.

Many of us remember the joy of receiving our first real (adult!) paycheck ... and the disappointment that kicked in when we realized a lot of it would go toward paying off student loans.

Though it's a common dream to attend a prestigious college, achieving that goal can be a financial nightmare. According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition for the 2013-2014 school year was $30,094 at private colleges and $22,203 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. It stands to reason that leaving school with significant debt can have an impact on your life.

Fortunately, there's a relatively new option — the ability to refinance your student loans — that could make paying off that debt more bearable.

The Double-Edged Sword of Student Loans

In an ideal world, everyone would have an ample college fund set up in advance, but that's often not the case. The reality is that most students need to rely on student loans, of which there are two types: private loans, which are provided by financial institutions, and federal loans, which are sponsored by the government.

Of course, paying for college takes a financial toll not just on students but also on parents. According to a survey from Citizens Financial Group, 94% of parents with a child in college reported feeling "an increased burden from their child's college debt" — 54% were afraid it might even jeopardize their retirement plans.

A New Kind of Solution

For those grappling with student debt, there's an option many don't know about: refinancing. Similar to refinancing a mortgage, refinancing a student loan provides you the opportunity to lower your interest rate based on the current market. By exploring this option, you can consolidate your current federal or private student loans into a single monthly loan payment at a lower rate, potentially saving you thousands of dollars on interest.

Citizens Bank recently launched its own refinancing solution: the Education Refinance Loan. This loan allows those with student debt to refinance their private and federal student loans into one new loan at current market rates. Citizens offers a choice of either a fixed rate or variable rate loan, both with flexible repayment terms. To date, private student loan borrowers have saved an average of $127 per month — one customer even saved close to $1,200 per month through the Education Refinance Loan. There are no application, origination or disbursement fees, nor is there a prepayment penalty. If you're unsure of whether refinancing is a good fit for your situation, consult Citizens' comprehensive guide.

Managing student debt can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be impossible. Refinancing your student loans can help make them both easier to manage and, more importantly, less costly.

Learn more about Citizen Bank's Education Refinance Loan.

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