A three-year pause on student loan payments will end this summer regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the White House plan to forgive billions of dollars in student loan debt.

If Congress approves a debt ceiling deal negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden, payments will resume in late August, ending any lingering hope of a further extension of the pause that started during the COVID pandemic. Even if the deal falls through, payments will resume 60 days after the Supreme Court decision.

That ruling is expected sometime before the end of June. No matter what the justices decide, more than 40 million borrowers will have to start paying back their loans by the end of the summer at the latest.

Here's what to know to get ready to start paying back loans:

How should I prepare for student loan payments to restart?

Betsy Mayotte, President of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors, encourages people not to make any payments until the pause has ended. Instead, she says, put what you would have paid into a savings account.

"Then you've maintained the habit of making the payment, but (you're) earning a little bit of interest as well," she said. "There's no reason to send that money to the student loans until the last minute of the 0% interest rate."

Mayotte recommends borrowers use the loan-simulator tool at StudentAid.gov or the one on TISLA's website to find a payment plan that best fits their needs. The calculators tell you what your monthly payment would be under each available plan, as well as your long-term costs.

"I really want to emphasize the long-term," Mayotte said.

Sometimes, when borrowers are in a financial bind, they'll choose the option with the lowest monthly payment, which can cost more over the life of the loan, Mayotte said. Rather than "setting it and forgetting it," she encourages borrowers to reevaluate when their financial situation improves.

What's an income-driven repayment plan?

An income-driven repayment plan sets your monthly student loan payment at an amount that is intended to be affordable based on your income and family size. It takes into account different expenses in your budget, and most federal student loans are eligible for at least one of these types of plans.

Generally, your payment amount under an income-driven repayment plan is a percentage of your discretionary income. If your income is low enough, your payment could be as low as $0 per month.

If you'd like to repay your federal student loans under an income-driven plan, the first step is to fill out an application through the Federal Student Aid website.

Talk to an adviser

Fran Gonzales, 27, who is based in Texas, works as a supervisor for a financial institution. She holds $32,000 in public student loans and $40,000 in private student loans. During the payment pause on her public loans, Gonzales said she was able to pay off her credit card debt, buy a new car, and pay down two years' worth of private loans while saving money. Her private student loan payment has been $500 a month, and her public student loan payment will be $350 per month when it restarts.

Gonzales recommends that anyone with student loans speak with a mentor or financial advisor to educate themselves about their options, as well as making sure they're in an income-driven repayment plan.

The Federal Student Aid website can help direct you to counselors, as well as organizations like the Student Borrower Protection Center and the Institute of Student Loan Advisors.

"I was the first in my family to go to college, and I could have saved money with grants and scholarships had I known someone who knew about college," she said. "I could have gone to community college or lived in cheaper housing … It's a huge financial decision."

Gonzales received her degree in business marketing and says she was "horrible with finances" until she began working as a loan officer herself.

Gonzales's mother works in retail and her father for the airport, she said, and both encouraged her to pursue higher education. For her part, Gonzales now tries to inform others with student loans about what they're taking on and what their choices are.

"Anyone young I cross paths with, I try to educate them."

Can I set up a payment plan for my student loans?

Yes — payment plans are always available. Even so, some advocates encourage borrowers to wait for now, since there's no financial penalty for nonpayment during the pause on payments and interest accrual.

Katherine Welbeck of the Student Borrower Protection Center recommends logging on to your account and making sure you know the name of your servicer, your due date and whether you're enrolled in the best income-driven repayment plan.

What if I can't pay?

If your budget doesn't allow you to resume payments, it's important to know how to navigate the possibility of default and delinquency on a student loan. Both can hurt your credit rating, which would make you ineligible for additional aid.

If you're in a short-term financial bind, according to Mayotte, you may qualify for deferment or forbearance — allowing you to temporarily suspend payment.

To determine whether deferment or forbearance are good options for you, you can contact your loan servicer. One thing to note: interest still accrues during deferment or forbearance. Both can also impact potential loan forgiveness options. Depending on the conditions of your deferment or forbearance, it may make sense to continue paying the interest during the payment suspension.

How can I reduce costs when paying off my student loans?

— If you sign up for automatic payments, the servicer takes a quarter of a percent off your interest rate, according to Mayotte.

— Income-driven repayment plans aren't right for everyone. That said, if you know you will eventually qualify for forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, it makes sense to make the lowest monthly payments possible, as the remainder of your debt will be canceled once that decade of payments is complete.

— Reevaluate your monthly student loan repayment during tax season, when you already have all your financial information in front of you. "Can you afford to increase it? Or do you need to decrease it?" Mayotte said.

— Break up payments into whatever ways work best for you. You could consider two installments per month, instead of one large monthly sum.

Are student loans forgiven after 10 years?

If you've worked for a government agency or a nonprofit, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offers cancellation after 10 years of regular payments, and some income-driven repayment plans cancel the remainder of a borrower's debt after 20 to 25 years.

Borrowers should make sure they're signed up for the best possible income-driven repayment plan to qualify for these programs.

Borrowers who have been defrauded by for-profit colleges may also apply for borrower defense and receive relief.

These programs won't be affected by the Supreme Court ruling.

Though the Internal Revenue Service sent out the third monthly child tax credit payment last week, some families are still waiting for the funds.

Angry parents have contacted CNN, taken to Twitter and posted to other online sites complaining that they did not receive the money on Sept. 15 as expected. Eligible families can get up to $300 for each child up to age 6 and up to $250 for each one ages 6 to 17.

The agency, which distributed $15 billion in credits to about 35 million families last week, acknowledged Friday that "some individuals" had yet to receive their September payments, though they were sent ones for July and August. It also noted that these parents may not be able to see the status of the payment on the IRS' child tax credit portal.

The August distribution, however, also didn't go that smoothly. The agency said last month that some families — fewer than 15% — who received direct deposit in July were mailed paper checks for August. But it expected to have the problem resolved in time for the September batch.

The IRS, which acknowledged Friday that it was looking into the situation, did not immediately provide CNN with an update on Tuesday.

John Belfiore, a father of two teen boys, is getting antsy. He lost his job as a telemarketer for a finance company in February after contracting COVID-19 and spending eight days on a ventilator. The monthly child tax credit payments of $500, along with the pandemic unemployment benefits, were helping keep his family of four afloat.

But now that the enhanced unemployment benefits have ended, the child tax credit has become even more important for the Lake Forest, California, family. They received the funds for July and August via direct deposit, but the IRS portal says nothing about the September payment.

"I'm budgeting penny to penny," said Belfiore, who tried to call the agency but hung up after waiting on hold for an hour. "The $500 gives me gas money to get to interviews and keep the lights on."

Here are more details about the expanded child tax credit:

Who qualifies?

Created by the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in March, the full enhanced credit is available for heads of households earning up to $112,500 a year and joint filers making up to $150,000, after which it begins to phase out.

For many families, the credit then plateaus at $2,000 per child and starts to phase out for single parents earning more than $200,000 or for married couples with incomes above $400,000.

More low-income parents are eligible for the child tax credit because the relief package made it fully refundable. It had been only partially refundable — leaving more than 26 million children unable to get the full credit because their families' incomes were too low, according to Treasury Department estimates.

About half of Black and Latino children, as well as kids living in rural communities, received only a partial credit or no credit at all because their families' incomes were too low prior to the enhancement, said the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The provision means that a single mother with a toddler and a second-grader who earns $12,000 a year would see her credit increase to $6,600 for 2021, up from about $1,425, according to the center.

The Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill seeks to make the credit fully refundable permanently.

Parents who aren't citizens can receive the payments for their citizen children as long as they have individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) and their children have Social Security numbers.

Families can check their eligibility through this IRS website.

How much will I get?

That depends on your household income and family size.

Eligible families can receive a total of up to $3,600 for each child under 6 and up to $3,000 for each one age 6 to 17 for 2021. That's an increase from the regular child tax credit of up to $2,000 for each child up to age 17.

When will I see the money?

Parents will receive half their credit on a monthly basis through the rest of the year. The payments will be made on the 15th of each month, unless that falls on a weekend or holiday.

They can claim the other half when they file their 2021 taxes next year.

Parents can check if they are enrolled to receive the advance payments at an IRS portal. They can also use it to provide or update their bank account information.

Those who don't receive their monthly payments until later in the year will still get half the credit in 2021.

Families who want to receive the payments as a lump sum can opt out of the monthly installments at the IRS portal.

Some parents may not want to get the monthly payments, particularly if their incomes increase this year. The payments are credits toward families' tax liability for 2021, but are based on 2020 or 2019 income and household size. Some who get the advance credits could wind up receiving much smaller refunds — or even owing taxes — next spring when they complete their 2021 returns.

The IRS advises parents whose incomes or circumstances change during the year to update their information through the agency's portal when it adds the functionality. The IRS can then adjust the monthly payments accordingly.

Lawmakers, however, protected lower-income parents from potential overpayments. Heads of households making $50,000 or less and joint filers with incomes of $60,000 or less will not need to repay any excess payments.

Do I have to do anything to get it?

The vast majority of families get the credit automatically because they filed 2019 or 2020 returns claiming the credit.

The IRS also sends the payments to Americans who previously used its non-filer portal to register for the stimulus checks.

But families who haven't filed tax returns recently or used the non-filer tool must take action. They can use another IRS portal to register to receive the enhanced child tax credit. The sign-up tool allows users to provide the necessary information about their households and, if they choose, their bank accounts so the agency can directly deposit the funds.

Parents can also go to GetCTC.org to file simplified returns and claim the enhanced credit. The site, which launched earlier this month, was developed by the non-profit Code for America, in collaboration with the White House and the Treasury Department. It is available in English and Spanish.

The IRS portal has been criticized because the tool is only in English and does not work well on cell phones.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M -- As difficult as it can be supporting two kids as a single mother, Melissa Martinez says her children are her motivation in life.

“I'm glad that they have each other," Martinez said. "They're a handful.”

Working a minimum-wage job, she says it can often be a struggle to put sufficient food on the table.

“They love their juice, they love their milk, and at one point there was a time when they were limited to resource of milk and formula when he was little, that was scary,” Martinez said.

Martinez isn’t alone. Research analyst Derek Lin with New Mexico Voices for Children says food insecurity was already a big issue in the state of New Mexico and across the county. The pandemic made it worse.

“In New Mexico, before the pandemic, 1 in 4 children suffered from child food insecurity after the pandemic started," Lin said. "That rate went up to 1 in 3.”

In recent months, Martinez says life has been made a little easier thanks to child tax credit payments that were expanded under the American Rescue Plan.

According to U.S. Census data, about 35 million eligible families received the first monthly payment of up to $300 for each child ages 5 and under and up to $250 for each child ages 6 to 17.

“What the administration and Congress did in recent legislation was make available those payments in monthly installments to low-income families, up to $300 per month, and those payments started in July, and we've already seen a very significant impact on food insecurity," said Geoffrey Plague, managing director of tax public policy and government relations with Feeding America.

Plague says the percentage of families indicating inadequate access to food dropped by 24%. Lin says more money in the pockets of families facing poverty can help end the cycle.

“When children aren't able to access enough high-quality food, they're not able to perform well in school," Lin said. "They're not able to do extracurricular activities. There are correlations between food insecurity and academic, behavioral and emotional issues.”

He says if they can’t do well in school, then it's difficult to go on to higher education and a life of better resources. Martinez says she hopes her kids can break that cycle.

“How do we offer them the best when some of us are so limited," Martinez said. "The workforce is hard because we're, we're striving to make the best of those minimum wage jobs, but we can't afford to make ends meet when we have to pay for back to school items. I don’t want them to remember that I struggled. I don’t want them to remember that it was hard for me. I want them to remember that they had really good things."

Martinez says the extra help is needed to be financially stable in a single-income household and she hopes the child tax credit payments will continue.

The current payments will continue monthly through December, but Feeding America is pushing for those payments to become permanent.

“The child tax credit has, for the history of it, for the entirety of its existence, proven to be one of the most effective anti-poverty provisions that we have at the federal level," Plague said.

For now, Martinez is taking it one day at a time. She says she’s thankful the tax credit has helped her give her children adequate food and clothing.

“We bought him new shoes, new sketchers, they even light up,” Martinez said.

MASON, Ohio — The Cincinnati area’s biggest amusement park is encouraging its guests to leave the cash at home.

Starting in mid-July, all Kings Island locations will only accept credit or debit cards or an online payment form like Apple Pay or Google Pay, a news release from park spokesperson Chad Showalter said.

For visitors without card or online-based forms of payment, the park will offer kiosks in five locations across the park that will transfer cash to a card which can be used anywhere, not just at Kings Island or Soak City Water Park.

Each card can be loaded with up to $500 and must have a minimum of $5.

The park's website said going cashless will allow them to conduct contact-less transactions.