Struggling to keep up with your monthly bills? You’re not alone. With the rising cost of living, inflation, and ongoing economic uncertainty, many Americans are looking for smarter ways to manage their money. According to personal finance expert Suze Orman, there’s one bill you should always prioritize no matter what.
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Understanding which expenses to pay first can help you avoid late fees, protect your credit score and maintain financial stability. If you’re trying to budget smarter, reduce debt or simply stay afloat, this advice could be a game-changer.
Prioritize Your Student Loan Payments
After student loan payments were paused for so long due to the pandemic, it was a challenging adjustment for many to work on that specific debt repayment once they resumed. Many people struggled to reintroduce this expense back into their budgets — but you can’t just ignore your payment and hope it goes away.
“It should be a priority,” Orman told GOBankingRates. “People need to remember to not put off paying your student loans. It’s not going away and it should be the first monthly bill you pay. It’s not going to disappear. You can’t bankrupt your student loan.”
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Orman noted that under former President Biden’s income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, called the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, your payments may have been significantly lower than they were before the payment pause. However, with President Trump in office, things may have changed. So, it’s important to make sure you are up to date on your loan terms and doing everything you can to prioritize making payments.
“Make a plan/budget that works so you can pay [your student loans] each month,” she said. “Give up eating out or other unnecessary expenses so you can start making your payments.”
Jaime Catmull contributed to the reporting for this article.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Suze Orman Reveals the No. 1 Bill You Should Pay First Each Month
