Managing Your Loan

Tips for Smart Borrowing

So you know where the cafeteria is and how little you're going to get for those books you paid a fortune for at the beginning of the semester. That doesn't mean you couldn't use a little refresher course on managing your loans.

To try to help things seem a little less painful when you actually have to repay that loan, here are a few ideas you can use now.

• Borrow only what you need. It may seem like a great idea at the time to have a little extra cash to buy something you "can't live without", but the less you borrow, the less you have to repay. (Trust us...over four or five years, this adds up fast!)
• Make sure you fill out the FAFSA to see if you qualify for a subsidized loan first, which will save you interest money.
• Stay away from credit card debt while you are in college. What does this have to do with repaying your student loan? Everything. The more debt you accumulate now, the tougher time you'll have once those loan payments come due.

With that said, explore this section to learn smart moves for your student loan, and to learn a little more about what to do to help yourself establish a good credit history during repayment.