For example, the school’s annual cost of attendance from textbooks to dorms is $20,000. The school offers a financial aid package including $14,000 in scholarships and $6,000 in loans. You bring the financial award letter to your school and let the high school counselor know you need $6,000 more to fund your education without borrowing. The counselor talks about local scholarships, workplace scholarships, and scholarships based on your talents. You may not get all of them but it brings you closer to your goal.

Scholarships

Schools use the information provided on the FAFSA to determine financial need for scholarships, too. But don’t fill out the FAFSA and feel like you’ve done everything you’re supposed to in order to receive money from your college. I received a $1,000 scholarship from my MBA program just for being one of the first 75 people to apply during the summer. Not a rarity. I received a $750 summer scholarship for standing in line on a specific day with a B+ average during my undergraduate years. Talk to the financial aid department every semester before registering to find out about additional scholarship opportunities and application procedures.

Unexpected Grants

Too often if someone doesn’t qualify for Pell Grants, federal grants based on income, they don’t think they qualify for any grants. This isn’t the case. State grants and university grants can have a range of income requirements. Try using Harvard’s net price calculator, and you’ll be amazed at income levels that qualify for some level of financial assistance. I plugged in numbers for a family of four in California who make $200,000 and a small level of need-based aid was available.

Subsidized Student Loans

While still a student loan, subsidized student loans don’t accrue interest during college or for specific periods of time. For instance, depending on your income level and payment, income-based repayment plans may not charge subsidized interest during the first 3 years. Also, if you qualify for an economic deferment, interest isn’t charged during those times either. Don’t deny these loans unless you’re positive you won’t have to do any borrowing. If you don’t fill out the FAFSA, private student loans are your only borrowing options.

Putting Yourself Out There

You can’t go to the senior prom without asking a date or being asked. Spruce yourself up (grades, community service, and essay writing), fill in your FAFSA and see what happens. Even if you don’t get one scholarship or grant offer, you’ll know where you are at before seeking other opportunities. So even if Johnny Financial Aid didn’t ask you to the prom, Jimmy Local Scholarship might.

“I read all kinds of books and philosophies to help me with my money, both spiritual and secular,” says Singletary. “What I’m writing from a spiritual point of view is that your quest for prosperity has to be about more than yourself. Giving is important for your family, community, and the world. That’s central to the [spending] fast for believers and nonbelievers.”

I asked Michelle six questions about spending, financial philosophy, and ways we can all make positive financial changes for ourselves and our communities.

Question 1: Do you think individuals are entitled to certain rewards?

Singletary’s philosophy is that you should wait to reward yourself when you’re not in debt. For example, you don’t need a vacation if you have debt. However, small luxuries are OK in some instances, after the financial fast. If something keeps you sane, you should build it into your budget for when the fast is over, Singletary says. For instance, you could budget for your daily coffee fix. But don’t plan to go out for lunches, too. Prioritize.

Question 2: Can you leave your house and have fun? What do you do if you’re going out to network or socialize?

During the fast, you have to eliminate any expense that is not a necessity, says Singletary. It’s not that hard – remember, this is just for 21 days. Evaluate which events are really important. Meet someone in their office for business meetings instead of going out for lunch, and after work, you can find inexpensive ways to mingle, such as ordering a soda instead of alcohol. “Don’t pretend you can afford what you can’t,” Singletary says.

Question 3: How important is it to have a bare bones budget?

“My expenses are not crazy,” Singletary says. “My husband and I live below our means. If I lost my job, I could find something with a lower salary, and we could still afford to meet our basic expenses.”

Question 4: How do individuals who were recently divorced or separated adapt to finances for a single person?

“Live by your financial values,” says Singletary. “These values should be followed no matter what your marital status is.” When you enter a new relationship, you should take your financial values with you, too.

Question 5: When should you help your friends and family financially?

“When you have your own debt paid off, and they’re using the money in a productive way,” says Singletary. For example, do help temporarily with groceries, or if you can afford to, help with a down payment on a home. Don’t give money for unnecessary expenses. And always give without the expectation of getting the money back. Giving within your personal community can even be an item in your budget. The budgetary amount may be a percentage of income, such as one or two percent, or a set amount.

Question 6: When was the last time that you did the 21-day financial fast?

“I do it every year,” Singletary says. This year, she used the fast to make healthier food choices at home and on the road. She now eats more fruits and veggies and watches what she eats late at night.

Are you going to take a financial fast this year? If so, what are your goals?

Find Out the Date Your First Payment Is Due

Call your loan servicer or servicers and find out when your first payment is due. You can find contact information for your servicer(s) on the National Student Loan Data System. While you’ve got your servicer on the phone, ask if you can get estimated payment amounts for different payment plans, including income-based repayment, standard 10-year repayment, and extended repayment.

Not all loan servicers will be able to give you the exact amount of your first payment months ahead of schedule, but that shouldn’t stop you from making practice payments. If you can’t get estimates directly from your servicers, go to our resources section to find links to repayment calculators that will help you estimate your payment amounts on your own. Try several different variables. For example, if considering utilizing the Pay as You Earn option, enter your current income, and then recalculate the amount if you land a great new job.

After you’ve gotten estimates for different payment plans, pick one that you feel like is manageable with your budget.

Review Your Budget

Creating a budget is the first step to managing your finances when you’re in repayment. If you currently track your expenses, great! You should have a good idea of how much you can afford for payments. If not, do you know much money you have left at the end of the month after you pay your bills? Do you have enough to pay any of the student loan payments your servicer calculated for you? If not, don’t worry — we’ll make room for your payment in the next step.

Make Room for Your Payment

If you’re feeling cash-strapped, the good news is there’s a lot you can do to change that. For instance, when I first moved to Manhattan, I’d take long walks. Inevitably, with what seems like 50 restaurants per half block, I bought a lot of snacks along the way. After all, who doesn’t want to buy pudding from a place so good that they survive by onlymaking pudding? During my snack-filled walks, I managed to not lose an ounce from my body but hundreds from my bank account. So, I decided I needed to make a change — I moved to Brooklyn where there were less restaurants per block, and I lost 40 pounds while keeping my bank account intact.

So ask yourself some similar questions. Could you eat out less? Are you buying too many groceries, and some of them are spoiling before you’re able to eat them? Can you turn the lights off when you’re not home? Find ways to cut your budget at least enough to afford the smallest payment calculated by your student loan servicer.

If what’s spoiling your budget isn’t obvious, use free financial tools such manilla.com to compare what you think you’re spending in different categories with what you are spending.

Transfer Your Practice Student Loan Payment to a Savings Account

Once you’ve established which payment you can afford, start transferring this amount into a savings account on a monthly basis until your first payment is due. This is also a great way to start building a stash of emergency cash. If you have five months until you really have to start paying and are able to put away $200 per month, you’ll accumulate $1,000 bucks.

If you don’t have a savings account, find out if your bank is offering a special for opening one. You might get an extra $25 to $50 courtesy of your bank. I got $50 from mine.

If you have more than one month before your payments have to start, you can also go back to step one, pick a different payment plan, and then practice that one the next month. So if during the first month of practice you realize you can afford $100 easily, try setting aside $200 the second month.

Adjust Payment Plans as Needed

You may decide to change your repayment plan in the future or simply add to your current payments to pay off your loan faster. Since federal student loans allow changes to repayment plans once per year, you should practice the new payment for at least two months before officially changing your plan. After all, you don’t want to ask for a change and then find out you can’t afford the payment. To practice when you’re actually in repayment, transfer the difference between your current payment and the one into your savings account until you’re ready to make the change.

And if you experience a financial setback and need to change your plan, don’t worry — even the most experienced drivers get lost every now and then, but they always get back on track.

This article is part of Wise Bread’s New Graduate Help Center — a new Wise Bread section offering financial tips and life hacks to recent grads. This section is made possible by the support of Sallie Mae.

1. Look Up Your Loans on the National Student Loan Data System Website

The National Student Loan Data System lists every federal student loan you ever borrowed, whether in undergraduate or post-graduate years. You’ll find out who services each loan as well. The loan servicer provides customer service on your student loan and is your direct contact.

Log in on the National Student Loan Data System Website with the PIN you created when you filled out your Free Application for Financial Aid. For now, I just want you to pay attention to the total amount owed. You can plug in this number to one of the various federal student loan repayment calculators to see what your potential payment options might be. You can find links to all these calculators and the National Student Loan Data System on our New Grad Center Resources page.

2. Don’t Wait Until You’re Working to Start a Repayment Plan

While it is important to get a job in order to repay federal student loans in the long-term, in the short-term, your repayment amount could be as low as zero if you’re not working yet or if you’re making below a certain amount. This is thanks to government-subsidized programs like Income-Based Repayment and Pay as You Earn. When you enroll in one of these repayment plans, the exact amount you pay each month is based on your income on your last tax return. Since you were a student last year, this could work out in your favor. If these options don’t work for you as your income rises, you can change payment plans next year. If you just need a temporary repayment break, ask your servicer about deferment or forbearance.

3. When You’ve Found a Job, Analyze Your Financial Situation

Congrats! You’re a working college grad ready to start your life. Now, let’s get your student loans under control. Create a budget of your fixed monthly bills, and see how much you have left over. If it’s not a lot, no worries. Look within your budget for what you expenses you can reduce or eliminate quickly yet painlessly. Are you going out for most of your meals? Consider having friends over for a potluck instead. Are you living in an urban area and parking your car 90 percent of the time? Sell it and take public transit. I live in New York, and half the cars on my block are housing families of dust bunnies. If you need your car, compare auto insurance rates. Changing auto insurance providers can save hundreds. Do what you can to save money, and then at the end of the month figure out what you have available for a student loan payment. The more you can pay now, the less you’ll pay long-term in interest.

4. Pick a Repayment Plan

Now that you know what you can afford to pay each month, it’s time to pick a repayment plan. One great thing about federal student loans is that they have more options for payment breaks and managing your payments than nearly any other loan — and depending on your plan, you could have up to 30 years to repay them. When making your decision, remember that there are benefits and downsides to both longer and shorter repayment plans. For example, even if you’re able to repay your student loans on the 10 year repayment plan, it doesn’t mean you should. You don’t want to pay your student loans off quickly at the expense of keeping your savings account empty. You should save enough money to contribute to an emergency fund, so if you lose your job, you can still pay rent and buy groceries. In some situations it is better to select a longer repayment plan, and pay more than the minimum when you can.

5. Don’t Panic

You don’t have to pay off your student loans tomorrow. You have student debt because you went to school to train for a career. More than likely, the amount you borrowed will be repaid several times over in additional income during your lifetime. However, in the meantime, don’t look at your total student loan debt and panic. You have years, possibly decades, to repay this amount. Plus, you have a career services department at your alma mater that will help you refine your career path well after graduation. Focus this time of your life on building your career, budgeting for the long-term, and treating your student loan payments as just another bill like electricity. When you do this, you’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish in other areas of your life.

This article is part of Wise Bread’s New Graduate Help Center — a new Wise Bread section offering financial tips and life hacks to recent grads. This section is made possible by the support of Sallie Mae.

1. Your Cosigner’s Obligation

If your mom, dad, or really cool friend or relative cosigned your private loan, that person has an obligation to repay the loan if you can’t. The loan payment history is also reported on their credit report — which means that if you miss payments, you can screw up your cosinger’s credit.

So, what can you do to protect your friend or relative?

First, anytime you can’t make a payment, it’s as important to keep in touch with your cosigner as it is your lender. Always ask the lender first about a temporary repayment break, also called a forbearance. But if you can’t get a repayment break, your cosigner needs to know. Your cosigner might prefer helping you out with payment than getting their credit dinged.

Second, some loan providers offer programs to remove the cosigner after a specific number of on-time payments — check and see if your provider is one of them. For instance, if you can pass the credit check and make a specific number of on-time payments, your lender may agree to remove the cosigner from the loan. The obvious perk is that your cosigner no longer has to worry about what happens in the future. The lesser-known perk of removing the cosigner from the loan is that their income will no longer be considered when the lender decides whether or not you qualify for a repayment break.

2. When Your Interest Rate Can Change

Private student loans may have fixed or variable interest rates. Fixed-rate loans never change their rate. Your payments will stay the same unless you change repayment plans. For instance, your payment will get smaller if you switch from a 5-year plan to a 15-year repayment plan.

For variable loans, your contract will say how often your interest rate can change. For instance, the rate could change every three months, but that doesn’t mean it will. Your rate could be 5.7 percent this month and still be 5.7 percent three months from now. The interest rate is based on the interest rate within a financial index (such as the LIBOR or Prime rate), plus a percentage you agreed to pay on top of the indexed rate. For instance, your interest rate might be stated as Prime (which was 3.25 percent as of October 16) plus 4 percent. These financial indexes are in tune with the economy, and they will fluctuate accordingly.

Thus, if you see loan rates rise on new mortgages or car loans, it means rates are rising in general, and you should contact your lender to see if your monthly repayment amount will increase. Your lender is required to notify you of rate changes, but it’s never a bad idea to check yourself in case you want to plan ahead. Your loan contract will also state how often your interest rate can change and how much notice you will be given before it happens.

When interest rates are low, you should try to sock away extra money in a savings account in case your required monthly payment increases later when interest rates rise. If you do have a little extra cash, it’s also a good idea to send in $10 or $20 extra per month to help pay down the balance. Revisit how much you can afford to send in on top of your payments annually. There may be years that you can afford $5 extra per month and other years where you can afford to add $100 per month.

3. What Options You Have If You Can’t Afford Your Monthly Payments

If you can’t afford your payments, you have two options: change repayment plans or request a repayment break. Like federal student loans, you can ask your lender about extending your repayment plan. For instance, you may not be able to afford a loan payment on a 5-year loan, but you could if you switched to a 15-year repayment plan. Let’s say you borrowed $40,000, and the current interest rate is 5 percent. The monthly payment on a 5-year loan is about $750. On a 15-year repayment plan, the payment is only about $300. You will pay more in interest if you spread out your payments, but there generally isn’t a penalty for paying off your loans early. So it never hurts to send in a few bucks extra when you can. However, not all private loans offer these options, so you’ll need to contact your lender and ask. And private loans cannot be put on an Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan — since it’s a federal program, it only applies to federal loans.

If you just need a short-term break from payments, ask for one. Private loan lenders don’t have set rules on repayment breaks like federal loans do, but lenders do grant repayment breaks when you have an economic issue such as a job loss, medical emergency or prolonged job search after graduation.

The worst thing you can do when you don’t have the cash to make the payment on your current repayment plan is skip calling your lender. When you do, you might be surprised by how many options you have.

This article is part of Wise Bread’s New Graduate Help Center — a new Wise Bread section offering financial tips and life hacks to recent grads. This section is made possible by the support of Sallie Mae.