Crushed by Student Loans? Help's Coming

What to do: Applications will be available July 1. While you can check your eligibility, the Internal Revenue Service will verify your income for the previous year.

If you have multiple fixed-rate loans that charge 6.8 %, you'll probably want to consolidate them. However, if you have variable-rate loans from before 2006, you might qualify for a lower rate in July under a consolidation rate set by Treasury auctions. You can find out more through the Federal Direct Consolidation Loan's Web site.

If you have older, consolidated loans but can't afford the payments because you lost your job, you might qualify based on your current income. For older loans, the new payments would be based on how much you owed when you started repaying the loan.

You might qualify for the Income-Based Repayment program even if you've defaulted on your student loans. If you've filed for bankruptcy protection, this might be the best way to repay your loans. Bankruptcy doesn't erase student loans.

The program is still a work in progress, but it aims to make loan payments less of a burden and encourage public service. Eventually, your education will help you land a better job and repaying will become easier. And that's the Savage Truth.