1. Look into career-focused repayment and forgiveness programs
Based on your career and/or degree, you may qualify for student loans that offer lower interest rates and/or longer grace periods for repayment than the standard options. You may even be able to score forgiveness. These programs include:
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, for which employees of federal, state, local, tribal, and nonprofit organizations may qualify
- The Federal Student Loan Repayment Program, for which employees of federal agencies may qualify
- The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, for eligible teachers who work in low-income schools or educational service agencies
- The Department of Justice Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program, for eligible attorneys who are selected for a 3-year period of service with the Department of Justice
- The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, for eligible veterinarians who commit to a 3-year period of service in a designated veterinary shortage area
- National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Programs, for certain health professionals
- Student loan repayment programs, for certain dental professionals
You're not out of luck if your industry isn't on this list. Smaller career-focused programs are out there, and your school may even offer loans for certain degrees of study. It's worth an online search to check.
Plus, your employer may offer a student debt assistance benefit. Check with your human resources department to see if one is available to you.
2. Get your budget in shape
A good way to make sure you can cover your student loan payment each month is to budget for it. You could start with a budgeting tool, such as Fidelity's budget worksheet, or use a simple spreadsheet. Write out your monthly income—counting all the money coming in on a regular basis, after taxes and any retirement contributions are taken out. Then, list out your monthly expenses. Fidelity has a simple budgeting guide.
If your student loan payment takes a big chunk of each paycheck, consider trying these ways to save on groceries, rent, utilities, gas, commuting, dining out, and health care.
3. Prioritize debt payoff wisely
Getting your debt under control can be complicated if you have multiple loans or kinds of debt. That's where these suggestions fit in.
- See the 2 general approaches to paying off debt: Snowball vs. avalanche
- Consider these unconventional ways to pay off student loans
- Find out how investing fits in with paying off debt
4. Mind your credit
Student loans affect your credit score. Reported missed payments could drop your score, making it more difficult and expensive to borrow money in the future. Generally, depending on your loan, missing 3 payments could put your loan into default. A loan default looks worse on your credit report than a late payment, so you'll want to avoid defaulting if possible.
If extenuating circumstances make it impossible for you to make your monthly payments, you could submit a request to your loan servicer for deferment—a temporary pause on loan payments—or forbearance, a pause on or reduction of payments. Don't qualify? Here are other ideas for avoiding defaulting if you can't make your student loan payments.