Like it or not…wanted to or not, it’s here. Student loan repayment officially begins on October 1st, 2023. The interest has already restarted in September, however.
There are probably many feelings and thoughts associated with this topic, but the purpose here is to point you to, hopefully, some good resources to help navigate re-engaging with payments.
Where to Start
If you have no idea where to start or are not sure, then this is where you want to go: https://studentaid.gov/.
You can follow the button to “restart your repayment”. This will take you to a page just for you! It is designed for walking you through each step of the process of getting back into your repayment cycle post-COVID.
Some of these details include:
- Updating your contact information.
- Compare repayment plans using their loan simulator.
- Enroll in autopay to avoid late payments.
- Find out what your monthly payment will be so you can budget for it!
Steps to Take Next
If you know who has your student loans (servicer) then go directly to that company for information. If you don’t know who has your student loans, then you will want to use that handy studentaid.gov site mentioned above and be sure to check their FAQs to answer additional questions you may have.
For the most recent program and steps to consider regarding paying back loans, we would point you to this article written by the Wall Street Journal.
For many of you, figuring out where to put this new payment in the budget is the going concern. Keep in mind that this is something we don’t recommend ignoring or putting on the back burner. Tackle it head-on, with a plan in context to all the other financial moving parts within your budget and Family Vision.
As always, we are here if you have any questions so don’t hesitate to reach out to your Financial Counselor!
Dino Biaggi
Dino holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies and Psychology from Multnomah University and a Master’s Degree in Management from Warner Pacific University with a thesis on Financial Literacy in Higher Education. As a former BCS participant, Dino’s familiarity with BCS makes him a perfect fit to oversee the financial literacy program.