On your student loans, if possible, try to make interest-only payments while you are still in school. If interest is not repaid, it folds into principal after graduation and can cost you hundreds (or thousands) of extra dollars in finance charges. For example, Sara borrowed

$4 comma 0004,000

at the beginning of her freshman year and another

$5 comma 0005,000

at the beginning of her junior year. The interest rate (APR) is

1212%

per year, compounded monthly, so Sara's interest accumulates at

11%

per month. Sara will repay what she owes as an ordinary annuity over 60 months, starting one month after she graduates in the summer term of her fourth full year of college.