Student Loan Repayment starts back up again on January 31, 2022. Are you ready to start making payments? Here's my step-by-step guide to find your student loan information and organizing that information, so you can start right where you left off.

Do you know the details of your current repayment plan or what the interest is for each of your loans? For over 5 million Navient and FedLoan borrowers, student loan payments will be serviced by another company, Maximus, come January 31, 2022.

Between federal and private loans, subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and more loan varieties, you’ll most likely be at a loss when it’s time to make a payment and where to send it, much less when the due date is.

Too much confusion puts the power in the hands of the servicer. Borrowers like me, have been finessed out their money, overpaying on student loans because they mistakenly thought they were paying the correct servicer or thought separate loan payments were combined.

Get your money right and give yourself some peace of mind in 2022. No matter how many different loans you’ve got on your plate, there’s a way to organize them.

Here’s EXACTLY how you do it.

Start with a spreadsheet

Spreadsheets can be intimidating. But you need a working document to help organize your loans. The more you have, the more useful it will be to you.

For Google users, Google Spreadsheet lets you keep updated lists and edit them from any device. You can use this premade and customizable template. All you have to do is plug in your content. (Be careful with sensitive information like your social security number and account #s. It is one of the world’s largest data collectors after all.)

Get started with these nine columns:

• Type of student loan. Note whether your loan is federal or private, and subsidized or unsubsidized.

• Name of loan servicer (company managing the loan). If you have separate loans with the same servicer, list them separately.

• Contact information for loan servicer. List their phone number, e-mail, and website so you can easily get in touch when you need to.

• Date the loan was given out. This date may determine some loan benefits you’re eligible for, so keep it on hand.

• Loan interest rate. In addition to the rate, note whether the interest rate is fixed (the same over the loan’s life) or variable (subject to change over the loan’s life). Ask your servicer for this information if you don’t know.

• Loan status. Is your loan in repayment, in deferment, in forbearance, or in a grace period?

• Total payoff amount on loan. This number may be intimidating, but it’s an important one to remember – and gratifying to watch reduce over time.

• Monthly payment amount. Fill out this column even for loans not currently in repayment, so you don’t lose track of the loan.

• Next payment date, or date when the grace period ends. This is the column you’ll probably be updating the most often.

With all the information in one place, you're more equipped to start your repayments right where you left off before quarantine 2020. Be sure to update the columns regularly, as you make payments and account information changes.

In most spreadsheets, you can rearrange the columns as needed. For example, many student loan borrowers use the avalanche method to repay their loans at the highest interest rates. You can sort the loans in descending order of interest rates to see which is the highest.

Find out who and what you owe

It won’t be easy but there are ways you can track down any loan information you don’t have ready.

If you know who your servicer is, use Google to search servicer name and their customer service number. It would be best to dedicate at least two hours to this task. Wait to be connected with a service representative and have your questions and notepad ready to take down everything discussed over the phone.

For federal loans, you can log into the StudentAid.gov website. The database keeps track of what you owe and who your services are. You’ll need your your Social Security number to access the site.

For private loans, you can use a free credit report tool like Credit Karma or Annual Credit Report to learn who and what you owe.

Bookmark each student loan website you use so you can find it easily. Write down your usernames and passwords in a safe document to organize your login information.

Organize your mail and documents (paper and e-mail)

Hopefully, your servicer sends out regular communications to you. Set up your e-mail to send you an alert each time you receive a loan servicer’s message or update. Filing messages keep you on top of other important deadlines, like when to renew income-based payment plans.

Keep any paper mail you get from loan companies in one place. File folders from Amazon or CVS can help. If the mail gets overwhelming, you can ask companies to send communications electronically only. But certain student loan forms like tax forms can only be sent through USPS. Be sure to save those documents too.

Additionally, take some time to organize all the student loan documents you’ve ever signed or received, electronically and in hard copy. These can include award letters and cosign documents when you first took out the loan. Sort these documents by the loan servicer and keep them in one place.

Make your payment due dates all the same or at least close together

Two or more payment dates on different days of the month for multiple loans will leave you stressed, on top of all your other bills. To make things easier for yourself, work with your loan servicer to change payment dates to whatever day works best for you.

If you have the money to make all the payments at the same time, set up multiple payments in the same month. The day after payday is a good option. If your cash flow is sporadic, you're better off paying throughout the month, set a calendar reminder for each day so you don't miss a day.

Enroll or Un-enroll in auto-payments

Lets’s say you used the Get Your Money Right Workbook to create a debt-free budget plan that matches your lifestyle and allows you to make regular payments that lower your debt balance. The next step is to decide whether or not to enroll or un-enroll in automatic payments.

Some loan companies offer discounts for enrolling in automatic payments. Whether or not that is beneficial to you depends on your loan status. For federal loans, you can get a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction if you enroll in auto-pay. Private loans may offer an 0.25 percent or 0.50 percent interest rate reduction.

For student loan borrowers passively paying off their student loans, this incentive works for them. But for borrowers like, students of the Debt-Free & Thriving DIY e-Course who are actively paying off their student loans with the intent to fast-track the process, automatic payments typically do not make sense for them. They end up saving more money with their custom debt-free budget plan.

Consider consolidation or refinancing

Consolidation allows you to combine multiple federal loans into a single loan from a single servicer. It makes dealing with your loans much easier, but it’s not the right option for everyone.

Refinancing, used most often for private loans, also combines loans into a single payment. But it’s not the best option if you don’t have the money or a good credit score. And both options come with more changes than just making payments more convenient, so research before you refinance or consolidate.

Summary

Taking the time to organize student loans will protect you in the long run, save you money, and give you peace of mind. Student loan repayments are coming back, whether or not you will be ready when the time comes is up to you.