FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Interest will begin accruing again for federal student loan borrowers on Friday, Sept. 1. Experts recommend to start planning to make student loan payments now, and to look at your options.

Rachel Blakeman, director of Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Community Research Institute, said with inflation being a factor, many families will have to adjust their budgets.

“We do recognize that people feel a crunch in their budget and having additional costs isn’t welcome at any point, it is especially not welcome when rent keeps going up,” Blakeman said. “It’s certainly not cheap to get groceries right now, might be a little cheaper now than it was a year ago, but it’s still not cheap.”

Blakeman said it’s not too early to start thinking about that now, and she suggests contacting your student loan servicer if you haven’t already. That’s who you’ll be making those payments to.

Blakeman also said you should ask how much your payments are going to be, and if you qualify for any income-based repayment programs.

“The cost of living simply is higher than it was where we were at 12 to 18 months ago. So that’s also why the student loan income-based repayment program may be a very attractive option,” Blakeman said.

Even if these kinds of programs were not a good fit before the initial student loan payment pause years ago, Blakeman said to look into them again because terms have changed.

Student loan repayments resume in October.