A local financial expert says now is a prime time to tackle other debt while student loan payments are deferred.

President Joe Biden recently announced that federal student loan payments will once again be deferred, this time through the end of August.

The move impacts 43 million Americans who owe more than $1.6 trillion in student loans.

Eatontown financial expert Paul Oster says that now is the time for those with student loan debt to make payments on any other debts they may have – and to check on any other loans one may not have paid in the past two years.

“Your loan could’ve been sold to a different servicer, new terms and conditions. So actually figure out what kind of loan you still have and what the terms and conditions are,” Oster says.

He says one of the most important steps now is for anyone with debt to reach out to their loan servicers and see if they qualify for any new payment programs.

"There's income-based plans that you can actually base in real time with your income. So if you're not making the money you thought you were going to or you lost your job or decrease in hours, get into an income-based replacement plan and look at some of the forgiveness plans that are out there,” Oster says.

He says the sooner this is done, the better.

"They are going to be inundated, inundated, on Sept. 1. There will be millions of student loan borrowers reaching out to the creditors, so now is the time to bend their ear and make sure you're in the right place,” Oster says.