Hi everyone. Thanks for downloading the Money Girl Podcast.

I'm Laura Podcast.

I'm Laura Adams the author of Moneygirls Smart Moves to Grow Rich

There are a couple announcements before we get started If we haven't connected on social media yet,

be sure to find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. When you're on Facebook, just do a search for

Money Girl. And on Twitter, my username is at Laura Adams L-A-U-R-A-A-M-S with no space.

If you forget all my contact information is on the money girl page at quick and dirty tips.com.

Today's show was inspired by a reader named Brianne who asks,

my husband has $83,000 in federal student loan debt.

He's on the income contingent repayment plan because his income as a part-time teacher

isn't enough to make full-loan payments right now.

He hopes to get a full-time position and qualify for the loan forgiveness program, but if he

doesn't, how can we ever get out of debt? Today's graduates are saddled with huge amounts of

student loan debt while having to endure a tough job market. Student loan debt now

tops a trillion dollars in the United States, which is more than our credit card debt.

Though there's no one formula to get rid of student loan debt,

I'll give you five tips to manage it wisely.

Tip number one, never miss payments.

Many people don't realize that student loans are a different breed of debt because they're like a cockroach built to survive.

You typically can't shake a student loan even by declaring bankruptcy.

The government and private lenders can sue you at any time to collect defaulted student loans,

plus charge you collection fees, court costs, and attorney fees.

...