Pausing payments for a short period can give you breathing room. But interest may continue to grow, so try to pay the interest during this time to avoid higher debt.
REEVALUATE EVERY YEAR Your knee-jerk move might be to pick a plan with the lowest payment possible, Mayotte says. “That might be the right thing to do for your first loan payments, but as your income grows and your living situation changes you don’t want to leave it on autopilot,” she says. Set an annual reminder to reassess your repayment strategy. That could be tax time or when you recertify your income for an income-driven plan.
The article What to Do When Your First Student Loan Payment Is Due was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by The Associated Press.
ANNA HELHOSKI is a writer and NerdWallet’s authority on student loans. Her work has appeared in The Associated Press, The New York Times , The Washington Post and USA Today .
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