1/19/2021 – Time to restart Federal Student Loan payments
Winter, for most people, involves spending more time indoors. You can use that 'indoor time' to regroup and reprioritize things in your home (and your budget and your relationships) OR you can sometimes just slip into hibernation mode!
It might be good for your mental health to tackle a project, pick up a book you've been wanting to read, clean out your closets, repair or clean some tools you'll be using when summer comes, etc.
Federal Student Loan payments restart soon
In March 2020, most student loan payments involving the federal government were paused. In early December 2020, this was extended from December 31 to January 31, 2021.
Do you or your children or grandchildren have federal student loans?
- Decide whether you’ll pay your bill before January 31. Any money you pay prior to then will go toward the loan principal.
- Make sure you budget to resume paying your student loans in February.
Do you have private student loans?
- Sorry, this doesn’t apply to you. The Department of Education can’t legally tell private institutions to stop collecting your payments.
- If you need help, call your lender or servicer to see if they offer assistance programs. This might be a good time to look into getting a lower payment by refinancing.