Advocacy organizations and student loan experts have warned of a coming " default cliff " for millions of borrowers who are already behind on payments. The last of the pandemic-era safeguards expired earlier this year, and President Donald Trump's administration has made it clear it is intent on collecting outstanding loans.

Student loan debt has topped $1.8 trillion, impacting over 42.5 million borrowers nationwide. With prices rising on just about everything and the stress of next month’s rent and groceries looming each month,