student loans

Biden Moving Ahead on Student Loan Forgiveness

April 11, 2021 By Max Erkiletian Leave a Comment

One of the planks in President Joe Biden’s election campaign called for student loan debt forgiveness. Now, it seems the talk is turning to action.

The president signed an executive order extending a pause of student federal loan payments on his first day in office. Previously he expressed doubt he could cancel student loan debt on his own. However, with an evenly divided Senate, he is examining non-legislative options.

An Executive Order

Last week, Biden asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to determine if the president can use an executive order to wipe out student loan debt. Cardona’s report is due any day.

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Sen. Elizabeth Warren D-Mass. pledged to forgive student loans. She also produced a report by three Harvard Law professors supporting the idea that student loans could be dismissed through executive action.

What’s the Problem

Over 44 million Americans owe almost $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, according to a report by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

Sixty-two percent of students graduating from college in 2019 carried an average student loan debt of $28,950, according to the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). Loan debt in 2019 was about one percent lower than the 2018 figure of $29,200.

“After years of declines in state funding driving greater student debt, the recent leveling out of student debt shows the value of investments in higher education,” notes Debbie Cochrane, executive vice president of TICAS. “However, neither state investment nor student debt levels have recovered from the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic risks putting any progress in jeopardy. Students and families are looking to federal and state policymakers to do the hard work needed to prevent student debts from rising quickly again.”

It’s Not Getting Any Better

The cost of a college education has risen steadily over the last two decades. Many students can not get a degree without financial help.

Tuition and other fees have increased more than $5,000 at public colleges and over $13,000 at private institutions, according to a report by College Board. Those figures are adjusted for inflation.

The College Board study determined that a freshman entering college last fall averaged $14,850 in tuition, fees, and board. That does not include the cost of textbooks, transportation, and related costs. First-year students at private schools paid an average of $29,110.

Financial Burden for Students and Parents

“Between parents helping their kids finance college and students taking out their own loans to attend school, every generation is saddled with a considerable amount of student loan debt,” states an Experian report. “Millennials carry much of this burden and have one of the highest student loan balances of any generation.”

Experian, an international credit reporting company, found that people between 23 and 34 carried an average student loan balance of $34,504.

The X Factor

Generation X (ages 40-55) has the most student loan debt of any group. Their loan balance grew 13 percent in 2020, according to Experian. The average balance for that age group stands at $45,095. That is a $5,114 increase.

“When analyzing how federal student loan debt is distributed across generations, it may be striking that middle-aged consumers carry more debt than those near college age,” noted the Experian report. “One possible explanation is the use of federal Parent PLUS loans, which allow parents to take on student debt for their children.”

About 3.6 million parents now owe $96 million on PLUS loans, according to a study by Trellis Company. Trellis assists people trying to repay student debt.

A Middle-Class Burden

Some critics of student loan forgiveness argue that it would benefit high-income earners more than others. However, a Dartmouth College study determined middle-income families bear most of the burden.

“Children from middle-income families make too much money to qualify for student aid packages, but they do not have the financial means to cover the costs of college,” Professor Jason Houle wrote of his research. “The study found that students from families earning between $40,000 to $59,000 per year racked up 60 percent more debt than lower-income students and 280 percent more than their peers whose families earned between $100,000 and $149,000 per year. A similar trend held for more affluent middle-income families earning up to $99,000 annually.”

How Much to Forgive

Biden initially said he favored forgiving $10,000 for each student loan borrower but is now considering raising that to $50,000.

Canceling $50,000 of student debt per borrower would eliminate student loan debt for 36 million people. That is about 80 percent of all student loan borrowers, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Savingforcollege.com.

What Should You Do

If you have a private loan, keep paying as usual. The forgiveness plans are only for federal loans.

You do not have to do anything if you have a federal student loan. No payments are due and no interest will accumulate until Sept. 30, 2021. However, you might want to stash the monthly payment you would make on your loan in an interest-bearing liquid account until that time. That way, if you have to start paying on your loan again, you will have a lump sum to knock down your costs.

Summary

Student loan forgiveness is building momentum. Members of Congress and interest groups are lending their support. A recent Harris Poll shows overwhelming support for loan forgiveness and reform.

We may be looking at an inevitability.

P.S. If you need to know more about student loan debt, just ask John Oliver.

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How Do You Get Paid to Go to College?

February 24, 2021 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

College education is expensive. Everyone talks about the burden of debt that it brings along with it, often wondering if the cost is worth it. However, a college education can be truly invaluable on so many levels. Moreover, there are many different ways to hack the system. You can even get paid to go to college.

It’s Worth It to Try to Get Paid to Go To College

It’s relatively easy for many young people to get student loans. In fact, older people returning to college also often have easy access to large loans for higher education. Despite the availability of loans, it’s worth it to take the extra time to try to get paid to go to college. After all, college costs tens of thousands of dollars. Why would you burden yourself with that amount of debt when you could potentially get paid to go to college instead?

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Fill Out Your FAFSA

The first step planning out the financial side of your college education is filling out your FAFSA. Through this application, you provide the federal government with information about your financial status. They reply with information about the loans, work-study opportunities, and grants that are available to you based on financial need. Look first at the grants and work-study opportunities. Loans should be your final resort.

Apply for Grants and Scholarships

FAFSA tells you about the need-based federal aid that you’re qualified to receive. Therefore, it’s the first step if you want to get paid to go to college. The grants are “free money” that you can use to pay for college. Work-study allows you to earn money on campus to pay for college. In both cases, you reduce your college expenses by earning money.

However, these are only a handful of the grants and scholarships available to you. Take the time to seek out and apply for as many grants and scholarships as possible. In addition to need-based financial assistance, you can apply for grants and scholarships based on varying criteria including grades, family status, gender and other demographic factors, age, area of study, sports and community involvements, and essay-based applications. The more grants and scholarships that you apply for, the more money you might be able to make to go to college.

In addition to grants and scholarships, ask your college about tuition waivers. In many cases, colleges actually reduce or waive tuition fees. Each school is different but some of the qualifications for tuition waiver include financial need, cultural diversity needs of the school, status as a foster child or adopted child, disability, nontraditional student status (such as over age 60) and more.

Get Paid to Go To School Through Work or Military Service

You don’t have to go to college right out of high school. In fact, waiting until later can often open up opportunities to get paid to go to college.

Military Members Get Paid to Go to School

One of the most common routes historically has been to sign up for military service. The GI Bill helps pay military members to go to college. There are also other military tuition benefits, including some for family members.

Members of any branch of the military can get paid to go to school. However, each branch has its own rules and regulations around the terms of service. For example, according to Military.com, most branches offer assistance to both active duty and reserves members; however, the Marines only offer help to active duty members.

In addition to the GI bill and other military tuition assistance, military members as well as their family members have access to a variety of different grants and scholarships particular to their unique circumstances.

Corporate Jobs Pay You to Go to School

But the military isn’t the only career path that will send you to school. Sometimes you can get a corporate job that pays for you to go to college. For example, you might start out as an admin at a large company. After a certain period of employment, they pay you to get a degree in an area study that corresponds to the company’s job opportunities. Typically, you commit to a certain amount of work with them. Then you get paid to go to college to qualify to do that work.

There are some companies that will pay tuition for nearly all employees up to a certain amount per year. For example, according to eStudentLoan by Unigo, UPS employees are eligible to receive over $5000 per year in tuition reimbursement starting on their first day as a part-time or full-time employee. They list three dozen companies that offer corporate tuition assistance including Wells Fargo, Starbucks, Home Depot, Verizon, McDonalds, Chipotle, CVS, and JetBlue. If you’re looking to start a job now that will allow you to get paid to go to college, then check out this list.

Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

If you do end up taking out student loans, then consider studying in a field that offers student loan forgiveness. Teachers qualify for student loan forgiveness. You might also consider social work or another opportunity to qualify for public service loan forgiveness. In either case, you do have to pay your tuition up front using loan money. Then you have to make your student loan payments (with varied options depending on your salary.)

However, over time, if you provide enough service in one of the qualifying post-graduation job positions, then some or all of your student loans will be forgiven without penalty. This provides a long-term way to get paid to go to college if you don’t qualify for up-front payment opportunities.

In addition to federal student loan forgiveness programs, you can find funding to forgive loans from other career-specific organizations. For example, The Balance recommends checking out Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program and National Institute of Mental Health Loan Repayment Program if you work in either of those fields after graduation.

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5 Lessons I Learned From Paying Off Student Loan Debt

January 20, 2021 By Rachel Slifka Leave a Comment

Do you have student loan debt? If so, you are not alone. According to ValuePenguin, the average debt among student loan borrowers in the United States is over $32,000. Ouch.

When I graduated college, I was near that average with $30,000 in student loan debt. And then, I got married and joined my finances with my husband. Combined, we had over $70,000 of student loan debt. We paid this off in 5 years as recent college grads. And while I can look back and rather have not spent over $70,000 in paying off debt, I’m eternally grateful for our student loans. Here are the biggest lessons I learned from paying off student loan debt.

1) My Financial Situation Doesn’t Define Me

Student loan debt is just a number. I learned my financial situation doesn’t define me.

I can have debt and still say yes to things. I can say no to other things. Debt isn’t good or bad….it just is. Money is important, but it certainly isn’t everything. Now that I’m debt-free, my life isn’t drastically different.

When I was in debt, I spent a lot of time making it mean something about me. I thought it meant that I was irresponsible, and that I didn’t deserve to spend money. I beat myself up over even buying something off the dollar menu at a fast-food restaurant.

Looking back, I wish I cut myself some more slack. We had a solid plan to pay off our student loan debt early. I wish I trusted in my plan a little more, and allowed myself to live a little. After all, isn’t that what life is all about? There are resources out there if you need help with your student loan debt.

2) My Student Loan Debt Was Not a Mistake

Again, student loan debt isn’t good or bad. It just is. It certainly wasn’t a mistake.

I spent a lot of time regretting my student loan debt. How could I have let myself borrow so much? Why didn’t I work more throughout college, or go to a community college first in order to avoid taking out so much in loans?

As I did more mind work, I realized my student loan debt certainly wasn’t a mistake. It provided me with so many opportunities. Without it, I wouldn’t have launched my career, met my now-husband, or be the person I am today. My student loan debt launched my personal finance journey, and has given me so many opportunities. Sure, it was not the easiest lesson to learn, but I’m so grateful I did!

3) Making More Money is Fun than Being Cheap

When I first graduated, I had a bare-bones budget. It was all I could do to scrape together enough to pay the minimum required payment to my student loan debt each month!

Frugality works, but it requires a lot of work and can only get you so far. I found myself living with roommates, couponing, eating rice and beans, and even going on a shopping ban for three years!

Then, I started freelance writing and earning extra money on the side. At first, I started writing simply because it gave me a creative outlet after my day-job. Although at first, I was only earning a few hundred extra bucks a month, it was enough to pay my minimum student loan payment. I could then free up a little bit of my budget. I allowed myself to spend a little on my day-to-day spending to be less frugal, but then I put the rest towards my debt, making nearly double the minimum payment at first.

Once I started freelancing, the opportunities really began to take off in both my day job and side gig. I job-hopped and worked hard in order to quadruple my income at work. I also started charging more for my freelancing services, and found more clients. During busy months, I started bringing in an extra $5,000 in freelancing cash!

Most of this went to our student loan debt. While extreme frugality maybe could have worked, it was so much more fun to spend my time growing my freelance business than it was clipping coupons. Plus, now that my debt is paid off, I still get to enjoy the extra income and put it towards our savings goals!

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4) I Love Being In-Tune With My Money

When paying off my student loan debt, I checked in with my money daily. And guess what? I still do this.

I actually love checking my bank and investment accounts. It’s so fun. No matter what financial goal I’m working on, I love being in-tune with my money.

Learning to love my money has been a game changer. And when my mindset shifted, I started thinking of my debt repayment journey as a game. It was so liberating to see just how far I would get in meeting my debt repayment goals!

5) I’m Grateful for My Debt

After graduation, I resented my debt. I was so mad at everything. How could I let myself get into debt? Why did my parents let me take out so many loans? Why does public schooling still cost so much? Why don’t we get more financial support?

Once I stopped blaming other people for my debt and owned it, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was able to push aside all of the negative thoughts I had about debt and about myself, and truly learned to love the journey.

While I wasn’t grateful for my debt at first, I learned to love it, even when I was still paying off my loans. And looking back, I see how many opportunities my debt provided me. It allowed me to take leaps into higher paying roles at work. It motivated me to start my freelance writing business. It gave me the means to attend University. It takes a lot of work to become truly appreciative of debt, but once you start the journey, your life will change for the better.

Reasons Not to Co-Sign on Your Grandchildren’s Student Loans

July 31, 2020 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

You want to be a good grandparent. Therefore, you might have thought about whether or not you should co-sign grandchildren’s student loans. Or perhaps they’ve already asked you to co-sign, and you’re trying to make a decision about it. While it’s certainly a nice idea, it might not be the best thing for either of you. Here are ten reasons not to co-sign grandchildren’s student loans.

1. It Encourages Private Loans

Federal student loans don’t typically require a co-signer. Notably, these are usually the best available student loans. Therefore, your grandchild should be trying to get those federal loans first. More often than not, those loans will cover college costs. If you quickly agree to co-sign grandchildren’s student loans, then you’re encouraging them to get private loans, which they might not need at all.

2. It Discourages Hard Work

In addition to federal student loans, there are a lot of other ways for your grandchildren to fund college. Options include:

Applying for grants and scholarships.
Working part-time including on-campus jobs to supplement loans.
Working full-time for a year or two to save up for college.
Choosing a less expensive college or hacking their education.

When you readily agree to sign their loans, you take the hard work out of it for them. You don’t give them the opportunity to figure out different options. This can be a disservice to them down the line when they have to think their way creatively out of other financial challenges, but haven’t had the practice in doing so.

3. It Affects Grandparents’ Credit

When you co-sign a loan, you guarantee that the borrower will repay that loan. That shows up on your own credit report. It impacts your ability to borrow money. Therefore, you want to think very carefully before you co-sign your grandchildren’s student loans.

After all, your grandchildren are still young adults. They likely aren’t that responsible with their money yet. It wouldn’t be unheard of for them to make late payments or to skip payments altogether. You’ve worked your whole life to establish your credit history. Do you want them to ruin it for you now?

Remember, also, that even if they make all of the payments on time, the loan may still impact your credit score. It adds to your total overall debt.

4. You Can’t Afford It

Of course, you want to help your grandchildren go to college. However, can you truly afford to help them? If you can afford to help them outright, then it’s better to gift or loan the money to them directly. If you can’t afford to do that, then you probably also can’t afford to co-sign grandchildren’s student loans. After all, that’s the same thing as taking out that loan for yourself. Can you afford that at this late stage in your life? Are you truly comfortable with that? Would you do it to go back to school yourself?

5. It Can Circumvent the Parent-Child Relationship

If your child needs someone to co-sign their student loans for them, then they might first look to their parents (your children or children-in-law). If their parents said no, there could be a good reason. If you turn around and say, “well I’ll do it” then you might be circumventing the parents’ efforts. Depending on your family situation, dynamics, and configuration, this could be an important reason not to co-sign grandchildren’s student loans.

6. Parents Have Better Loan Options than Grandparents

If the grandchildren’s parents are involved in their lives and willing to help, it’s better for them to explore loan options before you do. That’s because there are some terrific loans set up for the parents of college students. PLUS loans are the obvious example. These options aren’t typically available to grandparents. If your family is going to support the younger generation through college, a grandparent as co-signer is really a last resort.

7. Your Grandchild Is Only One Family Member

Everyone is facing tough financial times right now. That means any one of your family members might need financial help. If you put all of your eggs in one basket by co-signing on a grandchild’s student loans, then you might not be able to assist other family members as needed. Your other grandchildren, your children, your siblings, and your own parents, if they’re still alive, may all need financial help. Where do you want to put your money?

8. It Puts Your Health at Risk

Dallas News reports on statistics from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that show that co-signing on a grandchild’s student loans often puts the grandparent into a precarious financial position. They are more likely than others in the same age group to skip medicine and doctor’s visits. And yet, if debt causes stress, they made need those doctor visits more than ever before. If you aren’t in a financial position to lend money directly to your grandchildren then chances are that you shouldn’t co-sign grandchildren’s student loans either.

9. It Will Likely Affect Your Retirement

Investopedia reports that older people with student loan debt often end up working later instead of retiring when they originally planned. Moreover, about one-third of baby boomers report that they’ve either delayed accruing retirement income or taken out retirement income early due to those loans. It’s important to think about your own financial future first. Your grandchild has many years left to figure theirs out. But do you?

10. It May Change Your Relationship

When you think about co-signing for the loan, you imagine your grandchild’s gratitude. You are happy to help them out. But it’s important to recognize that this might not be the reality. Your grandchild might drop out of college. They might default on the loan. They might not be as grateful to you as you would think. All of this can have a drastic negative impact on the relationship that you have with your grandchild.

And what if you have more than one grandchild? Are you going to co-sign for all of them? If not, how does that impact your relationship with each grandchild? These are questions to take lightly. Your familial relationships are important. There are other ways for your grandchildren to fund college. There aren’t other grandchildren for you to have relationships with.

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Do You Have to Pay Back Unsubsidized Loans?

June 10, 2020 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

There are a lot of questions going around right now about student loans. The political landscape is filled with ideas about how to address outstanding student loan debt. In the midst of all of the potential changes, you might wonder if you have to repay your own loans. In particular, you might wonder about any differences that exist between subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans for Students

First of all, you’ll need to know the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

Similarities of Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans

These are both types of student loans.
Both of these loans are issued by the federal government.
You must be enrolled in higher education with at least part-time credits in order to receive one of these loans.
You are allowed six months grace period after school ends before you have to begin repaying either loan.
Both types of loans have several repayment options.

Differences between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans

Here are the important differences between the two types of student federal loans:

You must meet an income requirement of financial need in order to qualify for a subsidized loan.
Subsidized loans are for undergraduate education only. Unsubsidized loans are for both undergraduate and graduate school programs.
Typically you are able to access more money with unsubsidized loans.

But here is the really big difference: you do not pay the interest on subsidized loans. The US Department of Education covers that interest for you. In contrast, you do pay interest on unsubsidized loans. Therefore, you have to repay more than the cost of the original loan for an unsubsidized loan.

If you have the option, get a subsidized loan. You can also get both. For example, I got as much money as possible from subsidized loans for my undergraduate education. Then I supplemented that with additional funds from unsubsidized loans, for which I have to pay the interest. When I went to graduate school, I got additional unsubsidized loans.

You Have to Repay All Student Loans … But You Have Options

There are many potential changes taking place in the political landscape when it comes to student loans. For example, one of the COVID stimulus payment plans recommended a stipulation that $10000 of student loans be wiped out across the board for all borrowers. Note: that did not pass! But it is one of many ideas floating around the political landscape in regards to student loans.

That said, you do currently need to repay student loans. You have to repay both subsidized and unsubsidized student loans. With unsubsidized loans, you also have to pay interest on the loan.

Remember, a loan is money that you borrow. It might seem like “free money” at the time. Young students especially feel this way. However, it’s borrowed money. You accepted it with the stipulation that you would repay that loan. If you have unsubsidized loans, you further agreed to pay interest on the loan.

Options for Repayment, Deferment, or Forbearance

That said, student loans are some of the easiest loans to work with when you don’t have enough money to make your full payment. You can contact the lender and figure out the best option given your current financial state.

Repayment Plans

Here are a few common options available to people with unsubsidized loans:

Standard repayment plan in which you pay a specific amount every month for a set amount of time (typically ten years)
Graduated repayment plan in which you pay less per month at the start and gradually increase over that ten year period
Extended repayment plan in which either the standard or graduated repayment plan is extended over the course of 25 years
Income-based repayment plans, of which there are several, allowing you to pay based on what you earn

Options When You Can’t Make Payments

Many people find themselves unable to make their student loan payments for one reason or another. That is particularly true during times of financial stress, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. You might have the option to apply for deferment or forbearance. There are different types of each but essentially both are methods of delaying your payment for a period time.

Note that with unsubsidized loans you are still responsible for the interest that accrues during the period of non-payment. If you are able to pay the interest as it accrues, rather that postponing those payments, it is in your best financial interest to do so.

You Do Not Have to Pay Unsubsidized Loans During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Here’s something important to learn about: There are special payment rules in place during the coronavirus pandemic. This is part of the CARES Act.

First of all, all student loan repayments are automatically canceled through 9/30/20. Therefore, you do not have to pay back unsubsidized loans (or any student loans) during this time. You don’t have to do anything to qualify this; it is automatic for everyone.

That said, you can still choose to make your payments if you want to. If you can, then you should. You’ll repay your debt more quickly.

0% Interest During COVID-19 on Some Loans

Do be aware that certain student loans are set at 0% interest during this COVID-19 “special rules” period. Therefore, although you usually accrue interest on unsubsidized loans, it’s possible that you will not during this time.

Generally speaking, you will not accrue interest on your loans during this time if the loans are serviced directly by the Education Department. This may include Direct Loans, FFEL, and Perkins Loans – both defaulted and non-defaulted loans. It also includes some defaulted HEAL loans.

That said, it is very important to check with your lender to make sure that you clearly understand whether or not your loans accrue interest during this period. Remember that if you have loans that aren’t covered under these temporary 0% rules, you might be able to qualify for an Education Department student debt consolidation loan through which the rules would then apply.

Again, if you can afford to pay your loans, do so. If you ave unsubsidized loans that qualify for zero interest during this period, then any payment you make will go directly to pay down the principal on your balance.

What If I Just Learned I Didn’t Need to Make Payments During COVID-19?

CARES went into effect in March. The 0% interest and no-payment period extends through September. It’s already June. What if you didn’t realize this and have been making payments? First, check to see that you’ve really made them. If you had them set to auto-debit, chances are that the automated withdrawal was canceled without you doing anything.

That said, if you did make payments since CARES went into effect, and you weren’t required to, you can actually get that money back! If you are in a dire financial situation and really need that money, contact your loan servicer to request the refund.

In summary, unsubsidized loans do need to be repaid eventually. However, during COVID-19, you might not have to make payments. You might not even accrue interest. Even after the CARES Act ends and you ave to make payments again, you have options. These include lower payments, deferment, and forbearance options. Check with your student loan provider to review all of your options.

Here Are the Upcoming Changes for Student Loan Borrowers

May 25, 2020 By Amanda Blankenship Leave a Comment

There has been a lot of talk surrounding the United States student loan debt over the past few years. Given the additional financial struggles that came along with COVID-19, many lawmakers are looking for a way to help student loan borrowers manage their debt. Here is what that may look like in the months to come.

What Changes Are Coming?

Since the coronavirus outbreak, it has become increasingly clear that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way the U.S. finances higher education for students. Not to mention, 2020 college graduates are entering one of the worst job markets in recent history. The pandemic gave lawmakers a basis for introducing relief programs to the Senate floor.

They have already passed temporary assistance that will waive all interest on student loans until at least October 2020. However, many politicians think more is needed. House Democrats have proposed the zero-interest period should extend through October 2021.

Additionally, the new HEROES Act would give up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness to private borrowers who are struggling financially. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has even gone as far as to say he would forgive student loan debt for any borrowers who attended public college.

The country’s leaders will be meeting to discuss possible changes for student loan borrowers in the coming months. For now, it is hard to say what will happen.

Student Loan Borrowers, Keep This In Mind

No matter what happens with student debt in America, student loan borrowers need to maintain payments up until a decision is made. Putting off payments until a decision is made in Washington regarding a relief program can seriously hurt your finances.

Don’t forget, there are also a number of payment arrangements you can make as well as forbearance options if you are having trouble paying. Call your loan provider to discuss your options if you need help.