Refinance your student loans.

According to a recent poll, Americans said that taking out too much money in student loans was the financial mistake that took them the longest to recover from. And with student loans taking an average of 18.5 years to repay, this is no big surprise.

Over the past two years, federal student loan borrowers have enjoyed a payment moratorium, or a pause of their monthly loan obligation. With federal loan forgiveness still up in the air, most of these borrowers are set to see their required payments return as early as September 1.

Most college graduates will walk the stage with at least some form of educational debt. Generally, this is in the form of student loans, which are often used to help pay for tuition, books, housing, meal plans, and even certain materials (like a new laptop for class).