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 ...
Tax season is here and it’s that time again to gather all of your documents to submit to the IRS! The IRS officially opened for tax season on January 24, 2022 and for students, there may be a few additional items that you should submit to maximize your credits and deductions. After successfully completing my taxes, I decided to give you a few tips on the documents that are needed. My most successful video on YouTube with over 5K views focused on this topic so here are a few updates for this tax season! Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest video “Tax Tips for Students 2022 where I am smiling while looking at the camera. I am wearing a brown sleeved shirt while seated in my office. What Documents Do You Need? 1. 1098-T: This is your tuition statement from your university regarding how much you paid for your tuition and the scholarships/grants that you received. 2. 1098-E: This is your student loan intere...