Don’t take out more loan money than you need. Figure out your monthly expenses (rent, food, transportation, gas, school expenses, incidentals, etc). Only take out in loans the amount that you need and do so at the lowest interest rate you can find. Although it’s nice to have “just in case” money, for emergencies or unexpected expenses, most of us just end of using the extra money for shopping trips or vacations. So unless you have an unprecedented amount of self-control, it is probably best to only take out what you need.