The end of the student loan payment pause appears to be in sight. The Department of Education has said the seventh extension, announced on Aug. 24, will be the last.

Federal student loan borrowers will need to resume making payments as of Jan. 1, 2023. Let’s look at some steps you can take in the coming months to prepare.

Private student loans aren’t included in the payment pause or student loan forgiveness programs. Refinancing can be a great way to get a lower interest rate. Credible makes it easy to compare student loan refinance rates from multiple lenders.

You can expect to get your first post-pause federal student loan bill after Jan. 1, 2023. Loan servicers are supposed to send borrowers billing statements or a notice at least 21 days before their first payments are due.

However, you don’t have to wait to hear from your servicer. You can log into your financial aid account at StudentAid.gov and find out key information about your loan ahead of the payment pause deadline.

The federal government first instituted the pause, and set student loan interest rates to 0%, in March 2020. The move was intended to provide financial relief to Americans struggling with the pandemic’s impact on their wallets.

Now the breather that was originally intended to last 60 days has stretched on for more than two years, and many borrowers may be unprepared to start repaying their loans again in January.

The average federal student loan payment is about $260 per month, according to the Federal Reserve. But about 60% of borrowers didn’t make payments between August 2020 and December 2021, the Fed notes, and they may not be ready to resume payments once COVID forbearance ends.

Here are steps you can take to prepare to begin repaying your federal student loans next year:

Check into all possible avenues of student loan forgiveness — there are multiple options. In addition to the $10,000 of forgiveness borrowers with incomes under $125,000 may qualify for, you may be able to qualify for:

Be sure you understand exactly how much you owe, what your interest rate will be when it resets from 0%, and what your monthly payment may look like. If you know the first two pieces of information, you can use a student loan calculator to get an idea of your monthly payment.

A 10-year repayment term is the default for all federal student loans. If yours first came due during the pandemic pause, when payments resume you’ll likely be on that plan.

Check into an income-driven repayment plan if you’re still on the 10-year standard one. Or, if you were on an IDR before the payment pause, your circumstances may have changed. Income changes can affect the IDR you choose and how much your payment will be.

It’s a good idea to explore your options to ensure you’re on a plan that will set you up for success when payments resume.

If you’ve never had a budget, or have one but haven’t updated it in a while, the next few months are a good time to work on budgeting.

Add up all your monthly expenses, both those you must pay every month — like housing costs, insurance, and basic necessities — and discretionary spending. Look for opportunities to set aside the amount you’ll need for your student loan payments.

You may have to trim from multiple areas of your budget, or find ways to increase your income.

If even an IDR won’t be enough help to make your student loan payments manageable come January, it may be time to consider other options. It’s important to avoid delinquency, as federal student loans usually can’t be discharged by bankruptcy.

Look into consolidating your federal student loans into a single Direct Consolidation Loan. This will allow you to have just one payment, and one interest rate to keep track of. It can also allow you to extend your repayment term, which can give you a lower monthly payment. 

Just keep in mind that your interest rate may not be lower than the ones you have now, as it will be the weighted average of your previous interest rates. And extending your repayment term will increase the total interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan.

Refinancing into a private student loan is another option. It may be most helpful for:

With Credible, you can easily compare student loan refinance rates from multiple lenders in minutes — without affecting your credit.

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Getting a PhD can be an expensive undertaking.

The average annual tuition and fees for graduate students was $19,749 for the 2020-21 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Considering it takes PhD candidates an average of 5.8 years to complete their doctoral degree, according to the National Center for Science and Engineering, that could mean a price tag of nearly $115,000 for your doctorate degree.

Even though these costs may sound overwhelming, doctoral students have a number of options for paying for their degree, including PhD loans.

Private student loans may be an option to cover your PhD education. Credible lets you compare private student loan rates from multiple lenders, all in one place.

If you need to borrow money to pursue your PhD, the best initial loan source is the U.S. Department of Education. That’s because federal PhD loans (like all federal student loans) offer fixed interest rates no matter your credit history, flexible repayment terms, no payments until after you leave school, and options for postponing payments.

Two types of federal loans are available to PhD students: Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Grad PLUS Loans.

Graduate students, including PhD students, can take out federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans to pay for their program. As unsubsidized loans, your interest will accrue and capitalize (be added to your principal) while you’re in school — unless you make voluntary interest payments. 

For the 2022-23 school year, you can expect the following:

Don’t forget that the U.S. Department of Education adjusts the interest rate annually on July 1, so the interest rate on federal loans during your first year of doctoral education may not be the same rate for future years.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans have a standard repayment period of 10 years with a fixed monthly payment. But you do have the option of switching to alternative repayment plans. 

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUBSIDIZED AND UNSUBSIDIZED STUDENT LOANS?

These types of loans are specifically designed for graduate students, including PhD students. Like Direct Unsubsidized Loans, the interest on Grad PLUS Loans is unsubsidized, so it will accrue and capitalize while you’re studying, unless you make voluntary interest payments.

The 2022-23 limits and rates for federal Grad PLUS Loans are:

For-profit banks and other lenders offer private student loans. This means the specific borrowing limits, interest rates, repayment terms, fees, and credit requirements will vary from lender to lender. The best way to find the right private student loan for you is to shop around and compare rates and terms from at least three to five lenders. 

You may be wondering why PhD students would take out private student loans since federal Grad PLUS Loans have a borrowing limit as high as the school’s cost of attendance. Here are a few reasons you might consider turning to private PhD student loans:

Private student loans can also be a good way to reduce the cost of your PhD loans down the road. 

If you need to take out private student loans, visit Credible to compare private student loan rates from various lenders in minutes.

FEDERAL VS. PRIVATE STUDENT LOANS: WHICH MAKES SENSE FOR YOU?

If you’d like to avoid taking out loans for your PhD program, you can find several other ways to pay for your advanced degree, including:

You can use both federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Grad PLUS Loans to pay for living expenses. The U.S. Department of Education will usually disburse the student loan funds directly to your school. If there’s any money left over after the cost of tuition and fees is covered, the remaining amount will be refunded to you, and you can use that money to pay for housing or any other education-related costs. 

With private PhD loans, you can borrow whatever amount you can qualify for and use the money for any education-related expenses, including housing or living expenses.

The amount you can borrow with a PhD student loan depends on the source of your loan. 

With Credible, you can compare private student loan rates without affecting your credit.

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If you’re looking for a personal loan, prequalification is a good place to start. Since applying for personal loans can affect your credit score when inquiries appear on your credit report, it can be helpful to get quotes from multiple lenders at once.

In addition, if you’re concerned you won’t qualify, prequalification can give you insight into how likely you are to get a loan, so you don’t ding your credit score by submitting many applications.

Credible makes it easy to see your prequalified personal loan rates from various lenders, all in one place.

Personal loan prequalification allows you to find out if you’re likely to qualify for a personal loan, and what interest rates and repayment terms a particular lender might offer you.

Some lenders use the term prequalification and pre-approval interchangeably, but the terms can mean something slightly different depending on the lender.

When you apply for prequalification, the lender typically does a soft pull on your credit, which won’t affect your credit. The lender gets a basic picture of your financial situation and estimates how much they might lend to you.

A loan pre-approval is a more in-depth look at your finances and provides a more complete loan offer. For example, when you’re pre-approved for a mortgage loan you’ll need to provide the lender with more detailed personal and financial information.

HOW TO GET A PERSONAL LOAN

Getting prequalified for a personal loan has several advantages:

If you plan to apply for a personal loan, prequalification should be the first step. Visit Credible to compare personal loan rates from various lenders without affecting your credit score.

When seeking prequalification, follow these steps: 

If you discover during the prequalification process that you don’t qualify for a personal loan or are eligible for less than you need, you may need to ask a friend or family member to cosign or take a little time to work on your credit score before looking again. 

You can get prequalified for a personal loan from banks, credit unions and online lenders.

You may also consider visiting individual online lenders’ websites if you have a particular lender in mind. You may also want to consider seeking prequalification through your local bank or credit union. Many banks or credit unions offer discounted rates to current customers.

If you’re ready to get prequalified for a loan, Credible lets you quickly and easily compare personal loan rates to find one that works for your unique situation.

When you have bad credit, it might feel impossible to get a personal loan. Fortunately, a number of lenders work with borrowers who have subprime credit. As a borrower with a lower credit score, you may pay higher interest rates on your loan.

In some cases, you may only qualify for a secured personal loan, where you’ll have to provide collateral to get the loan (typically a car title, expensive jewelry, or other valuables). If you fail to make your payments, the lender can take your collateral to repay the debt.

Alternatively, you could ask a trusted friend or family member to cosign your personal loan. Your cosigner should be someone with an excellent credit history. If you fail to repay your loan, the cosigner is responsible for the debt.

If you’re trying to find a personal loan and you have bad credit, focus your search on lenders that specialize in loans for subprime borrowers. While your interest rates are likely to be higher, it’s still possible to find a lender who will loan you money.

If you’re still unable to qualify for a personal loan, here are some things you can do to improve your credit:

Before applying, check your credit report for any errors and potential red flags that could make it difficult for you to qualify for a loan.

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If you’d like to help your child pay for their college education, you might consider taking out student loans. But since parent loans usually require good credit to qualify, you may find it difficult to get approved if you don’t have less-than-perfect credit. Fortunately, you may still be able to get a federal or private student loan even if you have bad credit.

It can be hard to get a college loan with bad credit, but here are a few options that you might want to explore.

Parent PLUS loans are federal loans for parents who need help covering their child’s college costs. You may be able to borrow up to your child’s cost of attendance minus any other financial aid they receive, such as grants, scholarships, and other loans.

Just like most federal student loans, parent PLUS loans have fixed interest rates that are set for each school year. But these loans don’t have a grace period after the student leaves school. You may, however, request a six-month deferment. 

To qualify for a parent PLUS loan, you must:

If you’re interested in this option, you’ll need to fill out a Direct PLUS Loan application at StudentAid.gov. Be prepared to share a variety of personal and financial information for both you and your child. You’ll also have to agree to a credit check and sign a Direct PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note upon approval. 

Private student loans are offered by private lenders, such as banks, credit unions, and online lenders. Once your child has exhausted all scholarship, grant, and federal student loan options, private student loans may fill any financial gaps they might have. 

While every lender has their own unique criteria, you’ll usually need good-to-excellent credit to qualify for a private student loan. 

Fortunately, some lenders have lenient requirements and are willing to lend to borrowers with lower credit scores. Keep in mind that if you do get approved for a private student loan with bad credit, you’ll likely have to settle for a higher interest rate, which can increase your overall cost of borrowing. 

To apply for a private student loan, do your research and compare all your options so you can find the right one for your unique situation. 

Credible makes it easy to compare your prequalified rates from our partner lenders. Note that while some of these lenders have high required minimum credit scores, you might be able to qualify if you apply with a creditworthy cosigner.

Credible lets you compare private student loan rates from multiple lenders, all in one place.

If your credit isn’t ideal, and you’re unable to land a student loan for your child, there are other opportunities to help pay for college, including: 

Grants and scholarships are a cost-saving way to cover college costs because you don’t have to pay them back. A number of scholarships are available, including need-based scholarships, merit scholarships, athletic scholarships, and specialty scholarships. 

You can find them through various scholarship websites, colleges, and nonprofit organizations. The more scholarships your child applies for, the greater their chances are of securing gift aid for college.

Grants differ from merit-based scholarships in that they’re typically offered to students based on financial need. This means your child doesn’t have to write a long essay or have the best grade-point average to qualify for a grant. They can get approved based on their financial situation. 

A few examples of federal grants offered by the U.S. Department of Education include: 

If you don’t need a student loan right away, it might be worth your time and effort to improve your credit score. This way, you can qualify for college loans in the future. Make sure to pay your bills on time, keep your balances low, and only apply for new credit when necessary. 

Don’t forget to visit AnnualCreditReport.com to pull copies of your credit reports from all three bureaus and dispute any errors you may find.

As a parent, you can support your child with college costs in other ways. If you’re not eligible for a parent PLUS loan, for example, help your child decide if it makes sense to borrow a higher amount of Direct Unsubsidized Loans. They’ll need to reach out to their school’s financial aid office for more information on how to do so.

You can also apply for a parent PLUS loan with an endorser. This can be anyone — except for your child — who has strong credit and is willing to share responsibility for the loan. Likewise, you might want to apply for a private student loan with a cosigner, which may be a friend or family member with good credit. But keep in mind that if you default on your payments, your cosigner, will be responsible for them. It is also possible to refinance with bad credit later.

Another idea is to explore other, more affordable college options with your child. For example, depending on their career goals, they might look into a trade school. Or, if they’re not yet completely sure of their desired career path, they might spend two years at a community college then transfer to a college or university to complete their degree. 

If they have their heart set on an expensive out-of-state school, educate them on quality in-state options that are more affordable. Encourage them to be flexible and creative in finding ways to save dollars on their education. 

With Credible, you can compare private student loan rates without affecting your credit.

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When you take out private loans to help fund your education, choosing between fixed- or variable-rate student loans is important, as it can impact the total cost of your loan. Most private lenders offer both options. However, the U.S. Department of Education has only made fixed-rate loans available since July 1, 2006.

Ultimately, for private student loans, you need to consider whether you’d prefer:

If you keep these thoughts in mind, choosing fixed- or variable-rate student loans will be an easier choice.

Fixed-rate and variable-rate loans are two different kinds of loans offered by private lenders. The key difference is in how the interest rates work.

Interest is the amount you pay to borrow money, which is typically expressed as a percentage of your loan amount — such as a 6.00% annual interest rate. 

When choosing fixed- or variable-rate student loans, it’s important to understand exactly how each one works and how your choice could impact monthly payments and total payoff costs over time. 

Fixed-rate student loans have the same rate for the life of the loan. Whether you take out a loan with a 5-year, 10-year, 15-year or 20-year payoff period, you’ll be charged interest at the exact same rate over the duration of the loan. No matter what the prevailing market rates are, your rate will not change.

Since your rate stays the same during your whole payback period, you’ll know upfront the exact amount of interest you’ll owe over the life of your student loan (assuming you make all your payments as scheduled). You’ll always have the same monthly payment and there won’t be any surprises. 

For example, if you borrow $20,000 on a 10-year term at a 7.00% interest rate, your monthly payment would be $232, and you’d pay a total of $7,866 in interest. 

The downside of fixed-rate loans is that they usually have a higher rate than the initial rate offered by their variable-rate counterparts. If you have a fixed-rate loan, you also won’t benefit if interest rates decline during the repayment process, unless you refinance your private student loans to take advantage of the rate drop. If you refinance, you’ll have to decide whether to choose a new fixed-rate loan or switch to a variable-rate student loan. 

If you need to take out private student loans, visit Credible to compare private student loan rates from various lenders in minutes.

Choosing a variable-rate student loan when refinancing or when taking out your initial loan means that you’re taking on more risk. But you could potentially have a lower starting rate than with fixed-rate alternatives and could benefit if rates drop during your repayment period. 

Variable-rate loans give you an initial starting rate locked in for a period of time, but your rate will change on a set schedule. Your rate will be tied to a financial index such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). As this rate index changes, the rate you’re paying could fluctuate up or down.

If interest rates rise and your rate goes up, you’d have a higher monthly payment and your total repayment costs could go up. 

For example, say you borrowed $20,000 at a starting rate of 6.00%. Your monthly payment would begin at $222.04. But if your rate adjusted after six months and went up to 6.25%, your monthly payment would go up to $224.45. 

If your rate went up by .25% every three months thereafter, you could end up paying as much as $274.82 per month by your 117th payment. And you’d ultimately pay as much as $10,581 in interest over time.

Of course, if the index your rate is tied to shows rates going down, then your rate and monthly payment would decline and repaying your loan could cost you less over time. 

If you’d prefer the certainty of knowing that your payment won’t change, a fixed-rate student loan may be a better option. This can be especially important if you have a lower income and would struggle to make payments if your monthly costs increased.

If you’re planning to take a long time to pay off your loan and you believe rates will rise during your payoff period, then a fixed-rate loan may also be a better option. And if rates are low at the time you’re borrowing, then you’d likely be best off locking in these rates for the life of your loan. 

Choosing fixed- or variable-rate student loans depends on your financial situation. A variable-rate loan may be a better option for you if:

Just remember, it can be hard to predict what exactly will happen with interest rates. So, you must be sure there’s enough wiggle room in your budget to afford higher payments if your rate does go up. You don’t want to take out a variable-rate loan if you couldn’t afford to make monthly payments if rates rise. 

With Credible, you can compare private student loan rates without affecting your credit.

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Long before his viral TikTok career revved up, Daniel Macdonald — better known as @itsdanielmac across social platforms — had his finger on the car world’s pulse.

Over the past three years, Macdonald has been driving a “slightly used” 2019 Tesla around the Los Angeles area and recently told Fox News Digital the electric vehicle (EV) market has some growing pains to work out.

“There’s still some issues with the [mileage] range. I think that’s probably the primary issue that a lot of people have. I feel like Americans in particular, we like to go on trips, we like to travel far,” the TikToker pointed out.

“America needs a car that can allow them to go to Yosemite if they want to go. And essentially, the root of the problem is the charging networks,” he added. “And Tesla is far ahead of everyone else.”

FORMER AUTO EXECUTIVES WARN ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSH HAPPENED ‘TOO SOON AND TOO FAST’

That’s part of the reason why Macdonald felt persuaded to buy a Tesla in the first place: just a few years ago, they were a “status symbol,” he said. When Tesla debuted its first full EV, it was priced at more than $100,000. However, you could get behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 today for around $50,000, according to CARFAX.

But now, Macdonald is airing out his “gripe” with the EV brand, telling stories of charging, towing and jump-starting nightmares.

“If you don’t have an at-home charger, or your apartment doesn’t have one, then you have to every couple of days literally physically get in your car, drive to a station and then wait for it to charge,” the TikTok star explained. “I liked it a lot more when I had accessible charging. Now it’s kind of a pain.”

“I got lucky because I have a supercharger that’s pretty close to me, it’s about half a mile away, but all people don’t have that luxury,” he continued.

Macdonald admitted he once had to pay nearly $1,000 to get his Tesla towed after the battery died. On another occasion, he attempted a haphazard jump start of his own.

“I often travel for various shoots and whatnot, and sometimes I’ll be gone for several weeks at a time, and sometimes my Tesla will just sit there and lose battery while I’m gone… So that happened one time where I was in my garage, I’m next to my charger, this was when I used to live in my old building that had a charger… but when it dies, it won’t even allow you to charge it,” Macdonald started to explain.

“I call Tesla, I go, ‘Hey, is there no other option? I have it right next to the charger. Is there no override for me to be able to plug this in?’ … and they say, ‘No, there’s nothing we can do,’” he further detailed, before saying he turned to the internet for solutions.

“I don’t know why they were kind of hiding this information, but I look up online through various sources a way to potentially jump start the Tesla, and I jump it, and then it actually does turn on after I leave it going for a little bit. But then I had to go bring it in for service because something messed up with the battery. So it’s either you have to tow it, or you have to bring it in for service.”

Not getting a clear answer from Tesla and being stranded with his car has been the “scariest” part of the EV experience, according to Macdonald.

“I was very concerned and confused that whoever I was talking to at Tesla didn’t even give me that as an option,” he said. “They go, ‘No, we don’t know anything about that.’ And I’m like, okay, are you just trying to make money off of a tow?”

Tesla did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Despite his negative customer experiences, the TikToker leveled that many Americans — him included — fall into the middle ground of the EV debate.

“Right now, [EVs are] kind of like in this weird middle spot. And I think in 10 years from now, it’s going to be a lot more accessible,” Macdonald said. “They’re super easy to navigate, my Tesla drives like butter. It’s very convenient, I don’t have to go get oil changes… I think it’s a good move for the average American. Honestly, depending on which model you buy, I think Tesla is a solid choice as long as you have a lot of range.”

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“I would not get an EV unless it’s a Tesla at this point,” he clarified. “And I know I keep saying Tesla, Tesla, Tesla, but they’re so advanced that they do really have that monopoly right now.”

If you’re not in a Tesla, Macdonald did warn that “connectability isn’t that good. And if you’re not on the Tesla network, you really can’t travel. So I think that is the biggest thing holding back the industry.”

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Trump Media and Technology, backed by Donald Trump, may be the target of market manipulation, according to CEO Devin Nunes wrote a letter to Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman on Friday. He alleges shares of the social media company, which trade under the ticker DJT, have been the target of short selling. This is when an investor makes a bet shares will fall. The former president is the largest single shareholder in the company. 

Read the full letter here:

The stock which went public in March 2024 rose as high as $79 giving Trump a paper net worth of about $9 billion. Since the stock has dropped valuing that stake just under $3 billion with shares in the low $30s. 

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