What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of student loans? I hope it's the word "debt."

College can be an important component to your future plans, and student loans help to make college happen for a lot of people.

The guide is simple and puts you in control of your student loan situation.

But for millions of people, student loans are a financial burden that have placed a massive amount of debt on their lives that will last for decades.

The process of getting the right student loan and getting the right amount of money for school can be a big problem and can also get really complicated. To add to that, many companies make the process of getting a loan difficult on purpose.

• Some student loan providers deliberately design student loan structures to make you fail in paying them back. They do this because they make money when you fail.

• Other student loan providers say they will help you pay back your loans, but what they don't tell you is that you may potentially create more debt for yourself by doing that.

The Good News

So, what's the good news here?

• If you're thinking about your first student loan...
• If you're already in college and have student loan debt...
• If you've graduated college with student loan debt...
• If you're cosigned on a student loan with someone else...

FoolProof has a great interactive (and simple) guide to help you.

The FoolProof guide is simple and puts you in control of your student loan situation.

6 Different Scenarios

You just pick your personal situation (below), and dig in:

1. Before you go to college: planning college financing using minimal student loans
2. Managing student loans for the soon-to-be or new graduate
3. Managing your financial aid while you are in school
4. Creating a better plan for managing student loans as you pay down debt
5. Managing student loans if you are struggling to pay
6. Parents: financing your child's college education

4 Keys to Success

These plans and resources incorporate four keys to success:

1. Never panic or ignore student loan debt
2. Make a plan that fits you
3. Avoid scams
4. Have a fallback strategy for when the unexpected arises

Isn't that what you need to know? See if I'm right, and head to FoolProof's Student Loan Guide right now.

Good luck and please let us know if you have any questions or comments!

Cheers, Will