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Showing posts from August, 2021

My One Year Student Loan Payoff Update

  January 28, 2022 marked my one year anniversary of paying off my student loans . Reflecting back on choosing to pay off my student loans leaves me with several take a ways that I want to share with you! In September 2020 I decided to become debt free by utilizing the debt snowball method to pay off all my debt. Before this I had struggled to save and really understand basic financial principles. As a first-generation college student, I received a scholarship to attend undergrad for free, but the scholarship did not cover summers. During the summers I took out student loans to cover costs without paying interest rates or how much I was taking out. By the end of undergrad I had amassed a little under $17K. Fast forward to graduate school I received another scholarship that covered my education. At the time I was a teacher in a new very expensive city and I had missed the cutoff to have my paycheck last me throughout the summer. So, I decided to take out a loan for two summers to keep
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Biden Just Forgave 5.8 Billion in Student Loans!!😳

 So as you all know I have completely lost hope in student loan forgiveness at this point. With another extension and no word on loan forgiveness I have just given up and decided to pay my student loans. However, some news from the Biden Administration last week has somewhat restored my faith. Just last week Michael Cardona, The Department of Education’s Secretary announced that President Joe Biden would be forgiving 323,000 individuals student loans! This equates to 5.8 billion dollars in student loan forgiveness y’all! Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest video “Biden Just Forgave 5.8 Billion in Student Loans” where I am wearing a green shirt with my hair in a bun and a surprised look on my face. Now if you are a person with a significant and permanent disability that prevents you from working then you are eligible for this loan forgiveness. Previously individuals with disabilities could apply for loan forgiveness through the Total Permanent and Disability Discharge Act of 1965
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Adult Daily Living Skills: Healthy Grocery Shopping

 Well y’all all that eating everything I wanted during my San Antonio & Austin trips has finally caught up to me! A few weeks ago I went to the doctors for a physical ( my first one EVER!) and I learned that my cholesterol was through the roof! Now I thought I ate pretty healthy and I even exercise on a regular basis but my LDL of 275 said very differently! Your LDL or bad cholesterol is what makes you prone to heartaches and strokes so I definitely was a little nervous.  Figure 1: This is a thumbnail for my latest YouTube video on “Adult Daily Living Skills: Healthy Grocery Shopping with a photo of green grapes in the produce section of Aldi” Since I got this news I’ve decided to add an extra day of exercise and I’ve increased my leafy greens and fresh fruits. Each week I’ve gone to the grocery store and spent less than $10 on these items since they usually last me through the week. I can only hope that this decreases my cholesterol and helps me to drop a few pounds too! As an Afr
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President Biden Extends Student Loan Repayment Again!

  President Biden has extended student loan repayment again. In case you had forgotten, interest and payments were set to resume on September 30, 2021 but now this has been changed to January 31, 2022. Another extension leaves me to believe that these loans aren’t going anywhere. I mean think about it why wouldn’t Biden just cancel them at the end of September? Why does there need to be another extension? In case you can’t tell I have lost all hope in student loan forgiveness. I actually started paying on my student loans in April 2021 and my balance has decreased by about half! I had five student loans through FedLoan Servicing and I am on number four of five. My ultimate goal is to have them paid off by the end of this year and I am working incredibly hard to meet this goal. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my YouTube video “Student Loan Repayment Extended Again!” where I am wearing a black shirt with birds on the front with my hands folded in front of me with a suspicious look on my
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Adult Daily Living Skills: Personal Safety

  Most people probably don’t generally think of personal safety as an Adult Daily Living Skill but when living independently it is one of the most important skills that you can have. This was a big reminder for me when I was recently followed by a guy in Walmart. As a single woman, I am always aware of my surroundings and I always prioritize my safety. So about two weeks ago, I decided to head out to Walmart late night to purchase a hair product that I needed to finish a style I had been working on all day. Of course, I didn’t quite feel like it but I didn’t want all my hard work to go to waste so although 10pm was approaching I decided to go out anyway. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail from my YouTube video on “ Adult Daily Living Skills: Personal Safety where I have a surprised look on my face with my hand on my right cheek”. When I do go out after dark I usually, don’t bring a purse and I always have my pepper spray with me. Taking a purse late at night is an indicator that you definit
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Fall 2021 HEERF & CARES Act Funding is Here!! (FREE Money for College Students!!)💵🤑💰

  A few days ago, I was surfing on my universities homepage and I noticed that there was a message at the top regarding summer II HEERF and CARES Act funding. Since I was enrolled in both summer semesters, I decided to send an email to the person listed as the contact to ask if I could receive more CARES Act funding for the fall semester. Since I had been enrolled in the first part of the summer and had already received funding I was not eligible but I was told that another round of CARES Act funding would be given in the fall! In case you did not know HEERF funding is the Higher Education Emergency Relief Act that was enacted for college students due to the pandemic. HEERF provides billions of support in education through CARES Act funding for enrolled students. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my YouTube video on “Fall 2021 HEERF & CARES Act Funding is Here” where I am wearing a black shirt with a surprised look on my face. Now while I am not sure on how much you will receive thi
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Come with Me to San Antonio, Texas VLOG!

Hey guys! This past week I went on a trip to Austin and San Antonio, Texas with a group of students that I tutor. Yes, I know I was just in Austin a few weeks ago but I was only there for a few hours to visit the The University of Texas at Austin before heading to San Antonio where we spent the rest of the trip. This has been the most traveling I have done since 2019 and it felt great! With this new Delta variant who knows what travel restrictions will look like in the next few months!  Figure 1: This is my YouTube thumbnail for my latest video with four pictures of me sightseeing at different places in Austin, Texas.  While I had been to Austin before this was my first time in San Antonio and I really enjoyed myself! The trip was jam packed with college tours, sight seeing, and lots of great food. The group of students I went with are in a TRIO program for high schoolers enrolled in an early college program. Many of the students are working towards an associate’s degree. I help to tut
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Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act

Hey guys ! I know I’ve been MIA on the blog but I had two big trips planned that kind of blocked out a lot of my time so please forgive me! As you know July was an action packed month for PWDs (people with disabilities) with their being disability pride and the 31st anniversary of the ADA. I even had the opportunity to attend a conference for disability professionals in higher education that really made the month of July very special for me!  Figure 1: This is a thumbnail from my YouTube video on Thanks to the ADA.. where I am smiling next to the ADA 31 logo in red, white, & blue letters.  In case you did not know The Americans with Disabilities Act was created to ensure that PWDS have civil rights in all areas of the public like transportation, education, and employment. This law ensures that this population are treated fairly, not discriminated against, and provided with the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers. As someone who has worked with students with disabilities
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