STAYING ON TOP OF YOUR LOANS
KNOW YOUR REPAYMENT OPTIONS
EXPERIENCING REPAYMENT ISSUES
WHAT IS LOAN CONSOLIDATION

Staying on Top of Your Loans

It's important to stay on top of your student loan payments. Once your loan enters repayment, you're responsible for making those payments, even if you end up employed in a different field or you decide to complete your education later.

Tracking all of your loans and their monthly payments can help you stay on top of financial obligations, seek help when you need it, and save for the things you want. Organizing all your loan information with our Student Loan Tracker and using a simple Budget Worksheet can help you stay on track with important expenses.

Lenders and servicers are there to help. Delinquency and default of your student loans can create problems in the future, but contacting your lender or servicer can help you maintain your financial health.

Track Important Information

In order to see what's coming ahead, you'll want to gather important information about your loans, such as your lender or servicer, interest rates, fees, repayment terms, repayment options, when interest starts accruing, and repayment start dates. But, how do you get started?

You'll find information about your federal loans on the National Student Loan Data System website.

You'll find your private loans on your credit report, which you can request at no charge, once per year. To obtain reports from all three nationwide consumer reporting agencies, visit the Annual Credit Report website. Beware of lookalike websites that charge you for access to your credit reports!

You can also contact your school's financial aid office for assistance in identifying and tracking your loans.

A Student Loan Tracker will guide you to learn important information about your loans, and to sort it so that you can see what's coming ahead. It's also a great place to record any contact you have with lenders or servicers about your loans.

See How Your Student Loans Impact Your Financial Health

How you manage repayment of your student loans can have a big impact on your credit score. A favorable payment history can help build your credit.

The consequences of not staying on top of your student loans can include higher interest rates or an inability to qualify for credit cards or loans for cars, housing, or education.

One missed payment makes your private loan delinquent, and continued missed payments can lead to default. In fact, with some private lenders, your loan can default after just one missed monthly payment. If you're having trouble making payments, contact your lender right away to see how you can avoid default.

Create and Use a Budget

Budgeting helps you pay essential expenses first so that you can make wise decisions, avoid costly fees, and save money to help you get the things you want. A Budget Worksheet helps you plan for payments throughout the month to make sure you don't come up short.

Establishing automatic payments for essential expenses—like your housing, utilities, insurance, and student loans that are in repayment—ensures you cover what you need first.

Many lenders offer interest rate discounts when you sign up for automatic student loan payments. With automatic payments, you're also more likely to make consecutive timely payments that may qualify you for additional rate discounts offered by some lenders.

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Taking advantage of benefits and avoiding late fees and interest charges helps you stay in the black and save for the things you want.

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Keep the Lines of Communication Open

Paying attention to emails, calls, or mail from your lender or servicer helps ensure that you have important information regarding your loan to help you succeed in repayment. These communications sometimes contain opportunities to save or new options that could benefit you.

Make sure you share new addresses or other contact information changes with your lenders and servicers to keep lines of communication open. Failure to receive a monthly statement doesn't relieve you of your responsibilities and obligations.

Creating online accounts for your student loans is a great way to find helpful resources for budgeting, finances, and loan repayment—and to be ready to reach out for help if your situation changes.

Tracking Your Loans

If I don't have money to make my loan payments, does it really matter if I keep track of all my student loans?

Correct!

Yes, it's important! Your student loans need to be repaid, so ignoring them will just create problems in your future. Keeping track of all your student loans helps you plan your budget, cover your financial obligations, and seek help if you're having trouble making payments.
Incorrect

Actually, the answer is yes. Your student loans need to be repaid, so ignoring them will just create problems in your future. Keeping track of all your student loans helps you plan your budget, cover your financial obligations, and seek help if you're having trouble making payments.

Please answer the question above before continuing.

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