 TITLE: How to Prepare for Student Loan Payments to Resume Soon CONTENT: Depending on your situation and budget, there may be several ways you can approach paying down your student loans. While the CARES Act provisions dropped the minimum required payment to $0, you still owe the full balance remaining on the loan. Here are some ways you can start thinking about preparing for student loan payments to start up again.\n### Make a Budget\nIf you don't already have a budget in place, now may be a good time to start using one. A budget is a simple way to help you understand exactly where all of your money is going.\nTo make a budget, start by writing down your income and expenses from the last few months to get an idea of where your money is coming from and where it's going. Depending on your comfort level, break out your expenses into different categories—the more categories you have, the easier it will be to make decisions about how to allocate your spending.\nWith that information in mind, you can start planning how you want to spend your money for the upcoming month, including your student loan payment. Check with your loan servicer to confirm your payment amount in advance, as it's possible it may have changed. Once student loan payments start up again, your budget will help you make sure you have enough cash flow for that expense, along with all of your other ones.\n### Cut Costs\nIt's been a long time since student loan payments were required, and your budget may have changed significantly by now. If you've started using the money that would have otherwise gone to student loan payments for other purposes, you may have to cut back in certain areas of your budget.\nIf you've improved your financial footing, however, you could consider putting more toward your student loans than is required. Even a little extra every month can shave off months of repayment and hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest.\nAs you look for areas to cut back, be honest with yourself but also reasonable, so you can achieve your debt payoff goals while also being able to pay your other bills on time.\n### Earn More Income\nIf you have the time, you may also look into opportunities to earn more income. This may include working overtime at your current job, taking on a second, part-time job or starting a side hustle.\nIf you're thinking about getting a side hustle, opportunities are plentiful, so do some research based on what you enjoy doing or what you're good at to find the right fit.\nSome common side hustle options include:\n*   Driving for Uber or Lyft\n*   Delivering food or groceries for apps like DoorDash and Instacart\n*   Buying and selling used items online\n*   Renting a room on a short-term rental website\n*   Performing odd jobs on Craigslist, Mechanical Turk or Thumbtack\n*   Tutoring young students\n*   Becoming a mystery shopper\n*   Walking dogs\nTake some time to consider several options, including the time requirement, flexibility and pay, to find the best one for you. END