CATAWABA COUNTY, N.C. —  Federal student loan payments restart on Oct. 1, after a three-and-a-half-year pause. 

The pause started in March of 2020 as part of the CARES ACT, offering relief during the pandemic. According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, more than 1.3 million North Carolinians have student loan debt, which totals to more than $51 billion.

A loan simulator on the Federal Student Aid website enables borrowers to input their information to compare plans and see which is best for them. 

Tierra Brant is a commercial loan analyst. She has $87,000 in student loan debt and says prior to the payment pause, she was paying around $800 a month toward the loans.

"One of the most important things I think about is, if I did have an $800 a month student loan payment, I guarantee you, we would not have been able to afford the house that we're in," Brant said.

She and her husband bought a four-bedroom house for their family in June of 2023. It's a process they started two years prior.

Brant says now she is on the Income-Based Repayment Plan, which has pulled her payments down to around $100 a month.

"I'm staying on top of my student loans and one of these days they'll be gone," Brant said.

This summer, the Biden-Harris Administration rolled out the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Repayment Plan.

Monthly payments will be 10% of discretionary income, and your income must be updated annually. Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven't repaid your loan in full in 20 years for undergraduate loans. Those making under $15 an hour are not required to make payments toward their debt.

The Federal Student Loan website advises that plans like the SAVE Plan could result in borrowers paying more overtime compared to the 10-year Standard Plan.