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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

Biden to Forgive Student Loans in August 2022?

 

Alright folks I’m back with another student loan update! According to CNBC, Biden is set to make a decision on student loan forgiveness by the end of August 2022. Now while I’m not entirely sold that this is actually happening, there are several things for you to be aware of.

First things first there is still no clear information on how much will be forgiven. While Biden did discuss student loan forgiveness of $10K during his campaign trail other sources have reported higher amounts of 50K. Of course, none of this is set in stone and we are all waiting to hear something.

This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video on “Biden to Forgive Student Loans in August?” I am looking at the camera suspiciously while seated in my office. The background is red.

There may also be income restrictions of who may qualify for student loan forgiveness. Single folks may have a threshold of 125K-150K while those who are married may be between 250K-300K. There is also some talk surrounding what type of loans may be forgiven. Will student loan forgiveness include graduate, undergraduate, and parent plus loans? Some sources have reported that they will however, private loans will most likely not be included.

So, what should you do in light of Biden making a decision soon? Take advantage of the pause on interest for federal student loans by paying as much of your student loans as you can. This is literally the only time in history that there has been a pause on student loan interest and many folks have made serious headway.

Image of a stick figure wearing a graduation cap carrrying a large black ball with the caption "Total student loan debt in the U.S. has reached 1.5 trillion.


You should also get clear on how much you owe and print off any important documents from your loan holder. IF student loan forgiveness does happen you want to make sure that your balance reflects every penny!

Most importantly make a plan on how you will tackle your student loan debt if this does not happen or if it’s not the amount that you were hoping for. As someone who paid off their student loans earlier this year, I know the feeling of having this weight off of your shoulders. It feels good and I want the same for you so don’t wait and do what you can now! If you haven’t already be sure to check out my latest YouTube video for more information!



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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

The Department of Education Changed the rules for student loan forgiveness

 The Department of Education has "silently" changed the rules to student loan forgiveness that will affect at least 800,000 borrowers. On September 29, 2022 the Department of Education made a few changes for those who obtained the Perkin's and Federal Family Education loan.  Here is the language directly from the Dept of Education "As of September 29, 2022 borrowers with federal student loans not held by ED cannot obtain one time debt relief by consolidating those loans into direct loans". Previously individuals who did obtain theses loans were able to receive loan forgiveness. Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video "Student loan forgiveness guidelines have changed" where I am sitting in my office while looking at the camera with a suspicious look.  Many speculate that potential lawsuits could be the reason why the Dept of Ed has changed it's language recently. Long story short the banks who insured these loans will not receive an