I was sued for $30,000 after I ignored my student loans. This is what I wish someone told me before I graduated from college.

• Carmen Perez, personal finance blogger, learned about the consequences of ignoring student loan debt the hard way when she had to deal with a lawsuit where she was sued for $30,000.
• Student loans are "overwhelming," but "the worst thing you can do is ignore them," she said.
• Her advice for those with student loans? Get organized, know your options and loan terms, and pay a little extra on them, if you can.
• This is a contributed piece as part of a series called Master your Money.

While I was a full-time student, I received a notice in the mail from one of my private student-loan providers' saying that I defaulted on my student loan. I thought to myself that clearly they made a mistake because I'm still a full-time student and my repayment doesn't begin until I graduate.

I brushed off the notice because it had to be a mistake, right?

Wrong.

A few more notices came and I finally called my provider who did, in fact, confirm I had defaulted on my loan. I told the student loan provider that the default was clearly a record-keeping error on their part and there was no way I could "default" on my loan while I was still in school. I felt like I did my best to get to the bottom of it but at that point, my student loan had gone to a collection agency.

So, I did what any naturally overwhelmed college student with no money would do: I continued to avoid the notices. But, I did this until it was too late and got sued for $30,000.

Apparently, it was my responsibility to provide my private student-loan provider, as soon as the money hit my account, with proof of my full-time enrollment status every semester until I graduated. I didn't know that and by the time I started receiving notices from the collection agency, it was too late and I had avoided finding out for far too long.

I survived being sued but there are things I wished I'd known. These are three ways you can tackle your student loans in a better way than I did.

Ask yourself: "What do my student loans look like?"

I, admittedly, was the least organized person on the planet when it came to my student loans and it ultimately ended up costing me. In retrospect, I think I was just overwhelmed by all the different lenders and bills but being organized could have helped alleviate some of my stress. The key, however, is to get organized in a way that works for you.

After you get organized, you'll need to create a list of all of your student loans by writing out who the lender is, how much you owe, how much the minimum monthly payment is, the due date for each payment, loan term, a contact number and what the interest rate is for each loan. Keep this list in a convenient place that way you can always refer back to it when needed.

Second, you will need to either create a reminder in your phone for each due date or mark the due dates on a calendar so you don't miss a payment by accident, this will also help with budgeting.

Ask the important questions

Does your loan provider offer any special repayment plans based on income? Does your loan come with a grace period or do you need to start paying immediately? Are there any early repayment penalties associated with your loan? Can you switch payment plans? If so, how many times?

These are all questions you should be asking to understand what options are available to you once repayment time comes. These are also questions to think about as far as interest accumulation and the overall time it takes you to repay your loans. A loan term of 10 years vs. 20 years can end up saving you thousands of dollars in interest over the long haul so it's important to understand the terms of your agreement as well as how long you are locked in.

Pay extra, if you can.

Don't get stuck in the cycle of paying the minimum each month for the next ten years just because that's what a paper says you need to pay. Get in the habit of paying extra on your student loans. This will help cut down on the amount of interest you will pay for the life of the loan and will also help you knock it out quicker.

I wish I had these tips before I got into the mess I got into. The end of this story is I eventually had to hire a lawyer to send responses on my behalf to the collection agency's lawyer. My lawyer, thankfully, was able to buy me some more time to save the money to pay by tying up the collection agency's lawyer with a request for documents and responses as it related to the lawsuit.

The whole process took about a year and a half but that was also enough time for me to save as much money as possible, get on a budget, cut back, and throw all the money I could at this lawsuit. I ended up paying for the lawsuit in full plus the cost of my lawyer.

I know paying student loans can be overwhelming but the worst thing you can do is ignore them. Get organized, understand your options, and knock your loans out as soon as possible. The faster you get rid of them, the better.

Read the original article on Business Insider