student loan debt

Young Adults with Student Loan Debt are Poorer than Originally Thought

Written by adminAugust 28, 2019

Many people have questioned whether canceling all student debt is the answer to the crisis going on right now. Currently in the United States, 44 million people owe $1.53 trillion. This is a crisis that is getting worse and is expected to hit the $2 trillion mark very soon. It’s causing a major problem in the lives of young adults who are struggling to make it.

A new survey conducted by Consumer Finances took a look at who was more impacted by the crisis and it turns out that young adults are being impacted more than anyone realized. Is forcing many millennials to move back home with their parents after they graduate college. This new analysis of the data finds that we overestimated exactly how much money these young adults are making after college.

As you can imagine, people living at home have more spending money than those who are struggling with their debt and living on their own. By living at home, they don’t have to worry about rent and other major bills because their parents are taking care of the finances. But, if they were living on their own, the data would reveal that the younger generation is poor.

Do We Have It All Wrong?

Matt Bruenig is the founder of a progressive think tank called the People Policy Project. Bruenig said in an interview that “the debate raging over whether recent proposals from Senators and Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren unfairly benefit the well-off are on shaky ground.”

“If we’re going to basically talk about how fair the student-debt forgiveness plans are and your notion of fairness has to do with whether it is distributively equal,” Bruenig said. “You have known what the distribution is and this data source does not allow you to know this distribution very well.”

One of the biggest complaints about offering complete and total student loan forgiveness is that it would benefit many wealthy people. Not everyone going to college is poor or comes from a lower-class background. You have many Ivy League schools full of students with millionaire and billionaire parents who can afford to pay for their kid’s education.

It’s mostly the poorer students who are taking out student loans to afford to get a degree and make life better for themselves. So, the argument that wealthy people would benefit from student loan forgiveness might not have any place in reality. It would mostly impact the lower-class who would then have an easier time finding a job and moving out on their own after they graduate.

Presidential Candidates

So far, most of the Democratic candidates running for office in 2020 have offered their own plans and ideas for offering student forgiveness. Each plan is progressive and effectively helps young adults in this area. President Trump, on the other hand, has done very little to curb this problem.

He has recently signed an executive order making it easier for disabled veterans to get their student debt completely wiped away, but otherwise feels it’s unfair for taxpayers to wipe out a $1.53 trillion debt. He says if you take out student loans, that’s a decision you made and others shouldn’t have to pay for it. We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for this growing problem.

Written by adminJuly 3, 2019

Student Loan Consolidation

When we talk about the student loan debt crisis, you’d think of average everyday citizens fighting to survive. This is true, but this issue hits a lot of people really hard, even middle-class and some we’d consider ‘wealthy.’ Recently, it was found out that even presidential candidates can hold student loan debt.

Pete Buttigieg is one of the Democratic party’s darlings so far. He’s married to his husband Chasten Glezman. As part of his filings to become an official presidential candidate, Buttigieg had to file a financial disclosure. The Office of Government Ethics takes this information and makes it public for those who are interested in how much candidates and politicians are making.

With this filing, it revealed that Buttigieg and Glezman owe together between $110,000 and $265,000. His campaign spokesman, Chris Meagher, actually stated that the exact total of student loan debt they hold is $131,296. This means if Buttigieg is elected president, he won’t just be the first gay president, but also the first to hold student loan debt while in office.

Political Points

Buttigieg hasn’t hidden the fact that he has student loans from constituents. He’s actually been pretty open about it. He’s told his story about graduating from Harvard in 2004, winning a Rhodes scholarship, and later graduating from Oxford in 2007. Most of the debt between them, though, comes from Glezman who has a lot of debt getting his master’s degree.

Having student loan debt makes Buttigieg a sympathetic figure in the Democratic party. This has been a hot-button issue over the past few years. They’re just one of 44 million Americans who owe $1.53 trillion. This is the most recent data according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The figures are set to be updated this fall.

Buttigieg is one of several other Democrats who have laid out their ideas on fixing the student loan debt problem here in the United States. President Trump hasn’t done much of anything towards helping to battle the epidemic at all. His approach is strategic in his own way. He says the burden shouldn’t be passed on to taxpayers to pay for people to go to college.

That’s a personal decision you make, you should pay for it. But the Democratic party is listening to the growing outrage of the younger generation. They’re leaving college with mountains of debt and screaming for help. Many of them demand free tuition, even saying it’s their right to go to college debt-free.

Buttigieg says he wants to expand the Pell grant, add more help towards the Public Service Student Loan program, and offer more assistance to lower-class families under debt. Moving forward, he also wants to offer a ‘zero tuition’ for low-and-middle class families when going to public school.

Written by adminJune 16, 2019

Student Loan Consolidation

Student loan debt is a massive crisis hitting the United States. Currently, 44 million Americans owe over $1.53 trillion and climbing. These numbers are expected to rise later this year when the new numbers are released. That much debt is forcing people to put off major life decisions, simply because they cannot afford their debt payments and other types of spending.

For example, many people in their 20s and 30s are waiting to get married and have kids. They’re not buying homes or vehicles. It’s easy to make fun of the millennial who still lives at home, but they have a good economic reason. They simply can’t afford to pay their monthly student loan debt bill and rent and all the other expenses that come with living on your own.

Putting off these ‘rites of passage’ are coming at a major cost to the economy as well. We have a growing generation of people who leave college and cannot find a decent job. As college enrollment drops, many are starting to wonder if going to college is worth it at all. It is a great long-term investment, but in the short-term, you’re probably going to feel the heat.

Sadly, many Americans feel the sting too strongly. They leave college and have six months to find a job and get on their feet. They call this the ‘grace period’ that gives students a little bit of time. But, whether you’re ready or not, after that six months, that first bill will come in. You might be able to get a deferment, but deferments only make your principal total grow as interest continues to be added.

Leaving the Country

CNBC recently reported about some Americans being in such a tight spot that they decide to leave the U.S. to escape the wrath of their student loan debt. One guy in particular moved to India. Living in Colorado was expensive and the jobs weren’t available. Imagine spending many years and racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt for a degree that doesn’t do anything for you. That’s the desperation this man felt. He left for India to escape it all.

While there’s no official data on how many former students have left the United States due to student loan debt, there’s many people out there. In particular there are Reddit channels and groups all over social media that tell the story of people running as far from the U.S. as possible to escape their debt.

A lot of that has to do with the backlash of not being able to pay your debt. As stated earlier, they will come after you whether you’re ready or not. If you can’t pay, they will garnish your wages, steal your tax refund, and even harass you. Many students were often lied to and became victims of their debtors who purposefully gave them wrong information to keep them from seeking any type of student loan help or assistance.

One person told her story of how she left for Japan. She was working multiple jobs to pay off your debt, but it was weighing her down in every way. As long as she had a lot of debt, she was unable to pay for health insurance, which is another part of this problem. “I wish I could come back to America and not be scared,” she said.

A Lot of Debt

Out of all the other types of household debt, student loans seem to be the hardest to pay off. The 90-day delinquency rate is much higher than all other forms of debt. It’s even predicted that 40% of all student loans will be defaulted on in the next 5 or so years. That’s a lot of people not paying their bills! Because of that, the amount of student loan debt is expected to skyrocket.

While the White House currently has no plans to help out students, many Democratic presidential candidates have made this crisis a top priority in their campaigns. Candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have promised to tackle the issue. Most of the candidates appear to be in favor of free college education and wiping out the $1.53 trillion already owed.

Written by adminJune 8, 2019

Student Loan Consolidation

Not everyone enjoys the college lifestyle. After graduating from high school, many people go for their freshman year of college, but don’t return for their sophomore year. In fact, the National Center for Education Statistics says that only 81% of students return for their sophomore year. That’s a staggering drop! Community colleges have it even worse. Only 62% of students return the next year.

College can present many obstacles that force people to make tough decisions. It’s harder than anyone thinks to go to college full-time while at the same time working, making money, and keeping up with bills. During this time, student loan debt is accumulating wildly. Attempting to get a degree is a massive struggle that cause many to simply drop out and give up.

Even so, regardless of if you drop out or continue until the end, you’re responsible for the debt you incurred while at college. It means those courses were a waste of money that do nothing to improve your life and now you’re in debt trying to pay it off. Dropping out of college is never a good idea. There’s another reason why this is so.

College Degrees and Financial Freedom

While less people are enrolling into college these days, the benefits of getting a degree are still massive. People with a degree make a lot more money in their lifetime than those who don’t. If you drop out before getting your degree, you’re still on a path towards making less money. That means you’re stuck trying to pay the debt you incurred while not realizing your full potential financially.

The Urban Institute found that 42% of people who carry student debt have an associate degree or lower. While they have much less student debt than those who completed their courses, they are at a higher change of defaulting on their loans. That’s because they’re making significantly less money than those who have a 4-year degree or higher.

Defaulting on your student loans is not a path you should take. It will seriously cripple you financially by damaging your credit score and making it nearly impossible to do other things like buying a home or a car. If it gets bad enough, the lenders will garnish your wages and steal your tax refund until it’s paid off.

Taking Care of the Problem

If you think you’ve bitten off more than you can chew and are ready to drop-out, there are ways to handle it. There’s a process called exit counseling. Most students who have federal student loans are required to do this if they want to drop out. Exit counseling allows for the student to learn about all of their repayment options so when they do quit, they are prepared.

You do have a six-month grace period after you leave school. That will help you get on your feet without having to worry about student debt. But, whether you’re ready for it or not, that six-month grace period will end and you’ll be responsible for your loan. You could delay it even more with deferment, but your interest will still accumulate and it will increase your debt further.

Interest also accumulates during the grace period. That’s why you should start making interest payments immediately. Waiting until the grace period is over will also grow the debt you owe, making it more difficult to handle. It’s going to require you to be completely responsible and on your game.

Written by adminJune 3, 2019

Politics

You may be wondering where does former Vice President Joe Biden stand on student loan debt? Most polls show that he’s a clear front-runner – but he has not said much about the student loan debt crisis. Here’s what we know:

Free College?

Biden indicated that he supported the concept of free college, saying, “We need to commit to 16 years of free public education for all our children… We all know that 12 years of public education is not enough. As a nation, let’s make the same commitment to a college education today that we made to a high school education 100 years ago.” However, he did not offer a plan or any specifics to implement it.

Biden’s History on the Topic

We have to look to Biden’s’ past to get a sense of where he has stood historically on the issue.

In 1998, Joe Biden supported a change that created an “undue hardship” standard for federal student loans, making it significantly more difficult for borrowers to discharge their federal student loans in bankruptcy. Biden continued to oppose efforts to loosen bankruptcy restrictions on student loans through 2001.
MOST RECENTLY: In 2005, Biden supported a change in the “bankruptcy code” by applying the “undue hardship” standard. Before this, student loan debt was not treated much differently than other forms of consumer debt in bankruptcy. After this change, private student loans started rapidly expanding across college campuses

As Vice President, Biden was part of an administration that created new programs and protections for student loan borrowers including Borrower Defense to Repayment and Pay As You Earn, as well as greater oversight of the for-profit college industry.

Until he releases more detailed policy proposals to tackle student loan debt, all we have to go on are his prior positions as a lawmaker. We’ll just have to wait and see what else he comes up with.

Written by adminMay 31, 2019

Student Loan Consolidation

If you owe any type of student loan debt, there may come a time when you need a little help. That loan will stay with you until it’s 100% paid off, which often takes anywhere between 5 and 20 years. What are you supposed to do during a financial emergency? Maybe you lose your job or can’t find the extra money to pay your monthly bill.

In a lot of cases, in that situation, a borrower can get a deferment. It allows them to kick the can down the road a bit. It gives you the option of pausing your loan for a bit until you’re back on your feet. It sounds like a great option, but there are several things to consider before taking this route. It’s certainly not the choice for everyone and it comes with consequences.

Because it’s not a simple solution to your problem, it pays to know what type of loan you hold. Some loans will allow you to also put a pause on the interest you owe. Those loans are subsidized Stafford Loans, Direct, FFEL Consolidation Loans, and others. Yet, there are other types that do require the interest to keep flowing. These types are:

· Direct PLUS Loans

· FFEL PLUS Loans

· Direct Unsubsidized Loans

· Unsubsidized Direct Consolidation Loans

· Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans

· Unsubsidized FFEL Consolidation Loans

Paying Back Interest

Taking a month off isn’t a big deal, but if you anticipate a long break, you’ll have to determine what will happen with your interest. The government may continue to let the clock run. That means you will either have to make the monthly interest payment or it will continue to add up the full principal of the loan. You get a break, but you’ll still end up paying more down the line.

If you’re going back to school and need a deferment, be sure you take the time to sit down with financial aid counselor. They can help you get your public and private loans approved for deferment while continuing your education. Being proactive and contacting your servicer is also a great idea. Keep in touch with them over every change in your life that impacts your loans.

Pros and Cons of Deferment

If you’re in an emergency situation, deferring your student loans may seem like a great idea. It will free up money to pay on the more important things, like food, rent, and electricity. While it might be the best idea at the time, be sure to check out these pros and cons before making that decision. There are plenty of drawbacks and might complicate your situation further.

Depending on your interest rate, a $20,000 PLUS loan, which takes 10-years to pay off, can incur an additional $500 in interest towards the principal. That’s a lot of money. Still, it might be worth it at the time, but you should still consider whether you want to extend your loan out another several months.

A deferment can also impact your qualifications towards participation in student loan forgiveness programs. For example, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program requires 120 eligible payments to get full forgiveness. If you defer, those payments are being met and you will lose valuable time, even if you’re still paying something and working for a non-profit.

You’ll have to take a long look at your situation and see if deferment is right for you. It can be the very wrong move, but if you simply can’t afford it, then you have no other choice. Deferment can be a complete lifesaver, but it rarely comes without drawbacks. If you can still make your interest payments, that will help your situation dramatically.

Written by adminMay 21, 2019

Life Style

Not too many of us remember our commencement speaker, unless they were someone famous. In the back of our minds, we were thinking about getting the heck out of there. Summer was coming and it was time to be done! If you are part of the Morehouse College Class of 2019, you won’t be forgetting your commencement speaker anytime soon.

Robert F. Smith is a technology investor and a billionaire. He is the CEO of Vista Equity Partners and was asked to speak at Morehouse College to send off the graduates. Little did the students know, this billionaire CEO was going to announce to the world he was going to pay off all the student loans. What an incredible moment it was!

You could see in the crowd plenty of shocked faces as the audience stood and gave Smith a standing ovation. The amount of student loans for the class of 400 totals somewhere near $40 million. Smith also pledged a $1.5 million gift to the school as well. So, it’s easy to see how this man is clearly giving back to the next generation. In fact, he tells them to do the same.

“On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bus. This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans,” Smith said to nearly 400 graduating students who cheered when they heard the news. “I know my class will make sure they pay this forward…and let’s make sure every class has the same opportunity going forward because we are enough to take care of our own community.”

Student Loans and Politics

Student loans has been a highly politicized topic in recent months. Most of the Democratic candidates at the beginning of their campaign has promised to champion the student loan debt problem. Currently, 44 million Americans owe $1.53 trillion. That’s not a number that appears to be going down anytime soon.

Yet, it’s moments like what went down at Morehouse College that has people paying attention. Morehouse is an all-male school that is historically all black. It’s located in Atlanta, Georgia. Smith says a person’s education shouldn’t be left up to where they live or the color of their skin. We should all be helping in our own way.

“Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you get educated. Where you go to school shouldn’t determine whether you get textbooks,” Smith said. “The opportunity you access should be determined by the fierceness of your intellect, the courage in your creativity and the grit that allows you to overcome expectations that weren’t set high enough.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the voices along with Bernie Sanders calling for free college for everyone, made her voice known on this topic. She tweeted:

“Every Morehouse Class of 2019 student is getting their student debt load paid off by their commencement speaker. This could be the start of what’s known in Econ as a ‘natural experiment.’ Follow these students & compare their life choices w their peers over the next 10-15 years.”

She added in another tweet, “It’s important to note that people shouldn’t be in a situation where they depend on a stranger’s enormous act of charity for this kind of liberation to begin with (aka college should be affordable), but it is an incredible act of community investment in this system as it is.”

Written by adminMay 7, 2019

Credit & Debt , Credit & Debt Settlement

When you think of student loan debt, the image that comes to mind is someone 25-30. They have their whole life ahead of them. We sort of shrug off the student loan debt problem until we see the consequences of it firsthand. Yet, it’s not just a problem for younger generations. It’s also plaguing senior citizens in their 60s and 70s.

Of the 44 million Americans struggling to pay back student loans, about 3 million of them are 60 and older. They still hold as much as $86 billion towards the $1.53 trillion that’s owed. This data was made public by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Just two years ago, that number was significantly smaller (but still large) at $66.7 billion.

That goes to show that the population ages, there will be many people who hit retirement age still unable to pay off their debt. They carry it with them throughout their lives and it’s a devastating burden. Because they have no choice but to pay it off, many seniors are using their Social Security payments to keep up. That should never happen in this country!

Older Americans Going to College

A lot of the student loan debt isn’t so new. It’s not unheard of for someone in their 40s and 50s to decide to get a degree. They don’t realize the burden they’re putting themselves under by doing so. The debt problem wasn’t as pronounced back when they were younger and probably expected to be able to take care of it. They thought wrong.

One such person is Seraphina Galante. She’s a 76-year-old woman who still owes $40,000 in student loans. She decided nearly twenty years ago that she would go back to school to get her master’s degree. She didn’t think she’d have any problem, with a master’s, paying back any of the student loan debt. She was wrong.

“I was very confident that … I would pay it back, you know, in due time,” Galante said. “We grow older and then we get more senior. That’s reality of life. I don’t see the justice or even the logic. It’s not gonna reduce, ever. And the emotional part of it that it’s there. That it’s always gonna be there,” Galante said.

Just a few years from 80, Galante is forced to work. She helps out as a caregiver consultant, only able to work part-time. She has no choice but to make the $176 per month payment she doesn’t believe will ever get paid off. That’s because the government will definitely seize Social Security benefits to pay off student loan debt. It’s driving older Americans into poverty.

Student Loan Debt a Campaign Issue

Student loan debt is becoming such a major problem that it’s on the radar for many 2020 Democratic candidates. One clear example is Elizabeth Warren who wants to cancel up to $50,000 worth of debt for millions of Americans. She knows this will help them get on track with their lives and not live in fear of missing a payment.

“We got into this crisis because state governments and the federal government decided that … they’d rather cut taxes for billionaires and giant corporations and offload the cost of higher education onto students and their families,” Warren wrote in a blog post last month, adding, “It’s time to end that experiment.”

77% of likely Democrat voters said they were in support of Warren’s plan. 57% of all Americans do as well, according to a poll from INSIDER. 21% are in opposition to it, as that cancelation would mean the government is out that money, wasting over a trillion dollars’ worth of taxpayer funds.

Written by adminMay 3, 2019

Credit & Debt , Credit & Debt Settlement

It seems so easy for someone who wants to go to college to take out student loans. All they have to do is sign the dotted line and the money they want is right there. But if you ask anyone currently paying off their student loan debt, you’d hear a lot of stories of struggle. 44 million Americans currently owe $1.53 trillion towards their loans.

Student loan debt is forcing young Americans to put off major life goals. They simply can’t afford to do them with this weight on their shoulders. Many can’t even afford the minimum monthly payments. And again, when you see how much tuition is, it’s easy to resort to loans. The solution is to save loans as the last possible resort or it can hamper your life later.

In many cases, parents have tried to save for their kid’s education. Yet, even they weren’t prepared for the major cost, especially if they have multiple teens in their home ready for that next stage of life. Fidelity conducted a survey that found parents were overwhelming underprepared for their child’s college education costs. That leads them to resort to student loans.

Before you take out a mortgage just to pay for your education, you should look at these other options. By doing them all, it’s possible to pay for school on your own. Even if you still have to take out some student loans, at least the burden will be lessened.

1) Scholarships Are Available

Listen, there are scholarships for everyone out there. Regardless of your child’s major, interests, skin color, race, culture, there’s someone out there who has put up a scholarship. The problem is, it takes a lot of diligence to go out of your way to research all the different types. Then you have to sit down and apply for each one you’re eligible for.

Don’t just apply for the big scholarships either. Every little bit will help bring down your student debt balance by the time you’re finished with your degree. Sallie Mae reports that scholarships can cover as much as 28% of tuition on average. That’s a major chunk taken out of your student loans if you can take the time to apply.

2) You Don’t Need to Go to an Expensive School

At the end of the day, a degree is a degree. You may thing there’s some prestigious mentality to going to a big four-year school, but really, there’s not. There’s no shame in getting your Associate’s degree at a community college, which would save you a ton of money in the long run. In a lot of cases, lower-income people can escape community college debt free.

Many states like Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia have free tuition to smaller colleges for students. More states are starting to institute programs like this to give young adults a good head start. By going to a smaller school and then getting their Bachelor’s at the school of their choice, will pay only a fraction of the student loans. Saving money is about making better decisions.

3) There’s Federal Aid Available

Last year, high school graduates left behind $2.3 billion in unclaimed federal financial aid. They chose instead to take out student loans. Many students qualify for financial aid through the government. It combines grants, loan offers, and scholarships in a program called FAFSA. It’s free to fill out an application.

Many students don’t run towards the FAFSA because they feel it’s time consuming to fill out. The problem is, by doing it, they can save $3,583 per year. That can go a long way towards paying for books, putting a dent in tuition, and other housing costs. Again, every little bit helps to bring down your total debt.

4) Get a Job

Yes, we get it. The last thing you want to do when studying for classes is to have to worry about a job. But many people have to do it in order to survive. It will be hard work, but you’d be thankful in the end if you do. Between scholarships, aid, any savings you had before, getting a job can take care of the rest. It certainly beats paying student loans for the next 10-20 years.

There are plenty of side-hustles and jobs you can do in your spare time. Driving for Uber is one. Do whatever you can to pay off as much of your room, board, and tuition while you’re in school. You will thank yourself later on! You can even do a work-study program through the university or college. They are needed jobs that need to get done around the campus.

5) Have Your Job Pay for College

Another great thing about working while in college are the various job programs out there. Companies like Starbucks, Walmart, Publix, and Wells Fargo all help workers pay for their tuition. If you work 20 hours a week at Starbucks, then you qualify for their Starbucks College Achievement Plan.

You have to work at Publix for about six months before their plan kicks in. If you average around 10 hours a week at least, they can help pay up to $12,800 of your tuition. Wells Fargo will straight-up reimburse tuition for their workers up to $5,000 each year. Their children can even apply for certain scholarships worth up to $3,000.

Many other companies offer some tuition assistance and will help pay off your student loans. Even after you graduate, many large companies offer a program that works like your 401(k) that will pay off student debt. It’s worth the check to see if your work offers any kind of assistance.

At the end of the day, any little bit you can knock off your tuition will be worth it in the end. No one will care where you got your degree from. There’s no shame in spending less and going to a community college. Taking the time to apply for aid and assistance is worth it considering the thousands in extra interest you’d have to pay on that later. And working a job won’t be too difficult. Many thousands of college students make it work.

If you still end up needing more money, at least taking out student loans won’t be too much of a burden and your total is reduced by thousands of dollars.

Written by adminMay 2, 2019

Student Loan Consolidation

Dee-1 is a rap artist that decided back in 2016 that the problem with student loans is rising and did a hilarious music video about it. Listen and see for yourself!

Funny thing is the student loan debt since 2016 was 1.2 trillion, now in 2019 it’s over 1.5 trillion now! If you ever need help with your student loans be sure to call for student loan forgiveness at 844-332-2079.

Call Now 844-332-2079

All credit to Dee-1.

Free College?

Biden’s History on the Topic

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