While you're not required to, you may want to keep making student loan payments if your finances are still in decent shape. Usually when you pay down your loans, you have to pay the principal, or total amount you owe, plus interest on the loan. But because the government won't charge you interest for the next several months, your payments will go completely toward the balance of the loan. This will allow you to pay down your balance more quickly and pay less interest during the loan term.  On the other hand, you can also use the time to further progress on your other financial goals. You may want to pay down other high-interest debt, build up an emergency fund, or put money toward retirement.  "Investing the money that would otherwise go towards loan payments, finding opportunities to increase cash flow, and eliminating unnecessary expenses are all things that borrowers can do over the next few months,"says Dahlby.