$10,000 of your student debt has been cancelled but you still have more — now what? (2024)

The Mint app has shut down as of Jan. 1, 2024. For alternatives, check out CNBC Select's ranking of the best budgeting apps.

Student loan debt will soon be a thing of the past for millions of Americans. President Joe Biden announced that up to $20,000 in federal student loans would be canceled per borrower, eliminating student loan debt for 20 million Americans. However, 25 million Americans would still have some form of student debt remaining after the forgiveness.

The student loan forgiveness cancels up to $10,000 worth of federal student loan debt for individuals earning less than $125,000 per year and married couples or heads of households making less than $250,000 per year. For Pell Grant recipients, up to $20,000 worth of debt will be forgiven. President Joe Biden also extended the federal student loan forbearance period for a final time, giving borrowers until Jan. 2023 to start making payments again.

While this is great news for many student loan borrowers, there are millions of people who will still carry a balance, even after the loan forgiveness kicks in. Below, Select speaks with an expert about what your best options are if you find yourself in this situation.

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For the 25 million or so borrowers who won't see their student loan debt completely wiped out, you can still take advantage of this moment to strengthen your finances, even if just a small portion of your debt has been forgiven.

Since forgiveness depends on your income level, the Department of Education will need it to verify your eligibility. The eight million borrowers who already have their data on file with the Department of Education will automatically receive relief. However, most borrowers will need to submit a student loan forgiveness application. This will go live in early October, well before payments resume in January. You can sign-up for email notifications from the Department of Education that alert you when the application goes live.

Since the payment pause ends on Dec. 31, borrowers are advised to apply before Nov. 15 as it will take four to six weeks to receive relief. You are still eligible to apply for forgiveness even after the payment pause ends.

Make a budget

Priya Malani, founder and CEO of Stash Wealth, recommends that borrowers use the time before payments kick back in to get their finances in order.

Once you see the relief reflected in your account you'll want to understand what your outstanding student loan balance is. From there, it may be a good time to make a budget and calculate how much your new monthly debt payment will be.

You can start by calculating your essential and discretionary expenses as well as your savings.

Essential expenses are food, housing, transportation and minimum debt payments. Discretionary expenses are your wants — like eating out— and savings may be for an emergency fund, retirement or any investments. You'll want to make sure that your essential expenses, including your monthly student loan payments, don't exceed your income.

There are a number of great free budgeting apps such as Mint that link to your bank accounts and credit cards, so you don't have to manually calculate your expenses, savings and income.

Start paying down debt now

For some, it may be a good time to pay down student loan debt since payments will go towards the principal balance and not towards the interest. Once Jan. 1 arrives, interest will start accruing again.

Another option is to save the money that would go towards student loan repayment and then make one lump sum payment after the pause ends, according to Mark Kantrowitz, higher education expert and author of 'How to Appeal for More College Financial Aid'.

Sign up for autopay

Kantrowitz also recommends that borrowers sign up for autopay with their loan servicer before the pause ends. Doing so will ensure that you won't miss any payments, and you may even get a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction.

By continuing to chip away at your student loans, there's also a lower likelihood of lifestyle creep in the future, according to Malani. If you've already been spending the money that would normally go toward debt repayment for the past two years on other things, it may be difficult to begin making payments toward your student loans again when they restart.

If you're eligible for an income-based repayment plan, your payment plan will also change significantly. If you're on an income-based repayment plan, your monthly payments are a percentage of your discretionary income.

With the new changes, borrowers on income-based repayment plans will only have to make monthly payments that are 5% of their incomes rather than the 10% required on most plans now. And if you have a loan balance of less than $12,000, your balance will be forgiven in 10 years instead of 20.

Build an emergency fund

Lastly, you can also use any excess money that would go toward your student loans to build up your emergency savings. Experts generally recommend having anywhere from three to six months worth of expenses available to cover any emergencies that may come up, such as an unexpected medical expense or car repair.

A high-yield savings account is a good place to stash your emergency fund since it offers a significantly higher interest rate than a traditional checking account would. Select ranked LendingClub and Marcus by Goldman Sachs among the lenders offering the best high-yield savings accounts due to their high returns and lack of fees.

It's worth noting that President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan only applies to those with federal student loans, so if you're holding private student loans, it might be worth thinking about refinancing to get a lower interest rate and better terms. One Select reporter was able to save thousands of dollars in interest by refinancing. Select ranked SoFi, Earnest and Laurel Road as some of the best student loan refinancing companies.

If you're unable to pay down your debt or save money right now, don't fret. "Unless you're eligible for a forgiveness program that's going to wipe your debt completely at some point in the future, it's more helpful for you to pay it down over time rather than procrastinate," says Malani. "That said, if your income is tight and you expect it to go up in the future, you could give yourself some breathing room now with the intention of paying it down more aggressively down the road."

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