Students and Families Encouraged to Consider Responsible Money Management

RESTON, Va., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- April is National Financial Literacy month, and Sallie Mae, the nation's leading saving- and paying-for-college company, reminds consumers that it is never too early - or too late - for them to learn more about financial planning and effective money management.

"It is always a good time to start being a savvy consumer," said Martha Holler, spokesperson, Sallie Mae. "Budgeting your money, borrowing student loans wisely and weighing your best financial options for college payment will help save money on the cost of college and keep you out of financial trouble down the road."

Sallie Mae is committed to promoting financial literacy and smart money management, and recommends the following resources for students and families eager to make sound fiscal choices:

Be Debt Smart

Sallie Mae's educational 'Be Debt Smart' campaign provides consumers with various tools and resources that encourage smart borrowing and recommend ways to establish and maintain good credit through responsible financial habits. The 'Be Debt Smart' Web site offers free resources designed to educate consumers from high school through college graduation and beyond. To learn how to 'be debt smart', visit http://www.salliemae.com/BeDebtSmart.

529 College-Savings Plans

Sallie Mae's Upromise 529 college-savings plans allow individuals to save money in a tax-deferred account to be used for higher education costs. Money can be withdrawn at any time, however, only money that is used for qualified higher education expenses are free of federal income tax. Today, families have more than $100 billion invested in 529 plans across the country. To learn more about 529 college-savings plans, visit http://www.upromise.com/.

Scholarships

CollegeAnswer.com, Sallie Mae's planning- and paying-for-college Web site, makes it simple for families and students to do their scholarship homework and search for 'free money' - grants and scholarships - to pay for college. The Web site gives students free access to the largest online scholarship search service, with a database containing more than 2.4 million scholarships worth in excess of $15 billion. Visit http://www.collegeanswer.com/ for more information.

SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM) , commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation's leading provider of saving- and paying-for-college programs. The company manages $142 billion in education loans and serves nearly 10 million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the company also manages $15 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and assists more than 7.5 million members with automatic savings through rebates on everyday purchases. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors, and state and federal agencies. More information is available at http://www.salliemae.com/. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

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