Hello out there! I am an average college graduate who, believe me, has PLENTY of other things to do besides blog, but this is the only thing I can think of to do in order to reach out to others outside of my network of friends.
Showing posts with label Sallie Mae. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sallie Mae. Show all posts
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
I Was Featured on CNN Money!
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| "4 Steps to Paying off Your Student Loans, from Someone Who Crushed $100,000" |
After connecting on Twitter, a CNN Money reporter reached out to me via email and asked for an interview. At first I thought the email must have been spam. It wasn't. So of course I said yes.
The phone conversations and emails that transpired woke me up to just how much I have paid off. Not that it didn't sink in before, but saying my financial story aloud from the very beginning to present day was quite the humbling experience.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
From Here to Anywhere...
Belmont's motto is just that, "From Here to Anywhere."
So here I am, 2 years after graduating with 'anywhere' looking more like 'nowhere.' As I have mentioned before, I am heading towards a spiraling pit of debt with every closing minute. My mother has asked me once or twice to call Belmont to see if they have any suggestions on what I should do. And, unfortunately, I tell her that I have and not only can they do nothing for me, I end up educating them on something they did not know about the refinancing process. However, it has been a little over a year since I have spoken with someone in financial aid, so I am thinking of giving it one more shot before I give up.
So here I am, 2 years after graduating with 'anywhere' looking more like 'nowhere.' As I have mentioned before, I am heading towards a spiraling pit of debt with every closing minute. My mother has asked me once or twice to call Belmont to see if they have any suggestions on what I should do. And, unfortunately, I tell her that I have and not only can they do nothing for me, I end up educating them on something they did not know about the refinancing process. However, it has been a little over a year since I have spoken with someone in financial aid, so I am thinking of giving it one more shot before I give up.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Winning!
Today I played a small role in someone's decision making when choosing where to receive a graduate degree. My friend and I have talked briefly about my student loan situation. I don't talk about it too much, but I occasionally make some sort of negative comment about it from time to time and she just happened to remember me saying something. She had the choice to go to Austin Peay or Belmont University. Once grants and other financial help was considered, she would graduate Austin Peay with less than $10k in loans and graduate from Belmont with almost $40k. She would add this to an undergrad loan of about $40k. She fully understood the cost difference, but was unsure about the name recognition. She wants the best education so she wonders if the $30k difference is worth the name drop? NO WAY. I talked to her about basically everything I have said here in my blog, but just in a nutshell. After telling her that Belmont's name has done nothing for me, and a little bit of advice from others at work who have the same bills piling on their counters, she decided to choose Austin Peay.
Oh so sorry I have not been blogging.
There really is no excuse for not keeping up with this, other than merely not wanting to talk about it so that maybe it would disappear ;) It is around 3 months shy of a year since I last wrote on this page and not a lot has really changed. In fact, I had ramen noodles and Kroger brand Doritos for dinner just the other night (I swear I remember graduating college 2 years ago). Anyway, as of February, I moved out of the townhouse that my college roommate and I rented right after graduating. I now live in an older house with 2 girls from my work. Adding a roommate and subtracting about a decade worth of visual appeal lowered my rent by $200 a month, so I guess operating outdated appliances and hearing every move either of us ever make is worth it. Now that we are all caught up, here is what I have been doing in regards to my private student loans....
So much for optimism
My load consolidation attempt was once again rejected. I need to at least have an income higher than the 80K I have in debt before credit, etc. is even taken into account.
Such a nightmare.
Such a nightmare.
Monday, March 30, 2015
I Chose A Road
I consolidated! Let me say that again: I CONSOLIDATED! I was actually approved for a private student loan consolidation :) I cannot explain to you the joy and relief the words, “you were approved” brought to my soul; I cried a happy tear or two at my desk then texted my mom and a few close friends about the news. It took 6 years to get this. Although I have a decent stretch of road to travel in front of me, I am hoping that the ride on the latter half of this journey is a bit smoother.
The facts: I decided to go with Charter One/Citizens Bank. The reason being: interest rates. The only other real option in my mind was Wells Fargo; however, Charter One’s interest rates were approximately one point lower on both the fixed and variable options. Also of note, I have been denied consolidation from Wells Fargo on more than one occasion so I figured I would try Charter One first to take advantage of the lower rates and if denied, try my luck over at Wells Fargo again. Thankfully, Charter One gave me an approval.
The only way I would accept a refinance would be a). approval with no co-signer b). a low interest rate and c). no early re-payment penalty. Based on my debt-to-income ratio (which is finally no longer inverted) I was approved to refinance without a co-signer. Based on my credit score, which they reported was 809 (they source EQUIFAX), I was offered their lowest interest rate. The only thing left for me to decide was the term length as well as a fixed or variable interest rate. This was a tough decision because as I stated in the previous entry, I was torn as to whether or not to embark on this refinance journey if I was only going to be reducing my interest rate by a point or two. Before I tell you which option I picked, allow me to lay out the options I was given to choose from:
Term, Type of Interest Rate, Interest Rate, Monthly Payment, Total Amount to be Paid:
20 Years, Fixed, 5.44%, $299, $71,919.13
15 Years, Fixed, 5.19%, $349, $62,831.51
10 Years, Fixed, 5.04%, $460, $55,314.88
5 Years, Fixed, 4.99%, $813, $48,835.84
20 Years, Variable, 2.82%, $239, $57,438.50
15 Years, Variable, 2.67%, $294, $53,004.60
10 Years, Variable, 2.62%, $411, $49,375.23
5 Years, Variable, 2.57%, $766, $46,019.30
I went with the 20 year/variable term for merely monthly payment/total amount to be paid reasons. Although the cap is astronomical, there is a cap on the variable interest, but it is so huge (like upwards of 25(ish)%) that should it ever get that high, I am in some deep water. All of my previous Sallie Mae/Navient loans had variable interest rates, and they never changed. I know that Dave Ramsey states to not choose a variable interest rate when a fixed is offered. However, I did not know why he stated that as it seemed pretty clear to me that if I stuck to repaying the amount as fast as I could, I would save myself money in the long run. Literally the day after I signed everything, I ran across one of his broadcasts on YouTube (I am the nerd that listens to these on my lunch breaks) where he stated his reasoning for always choosing fixed is to eliminate any and all risk associated with your finances. Risk basically equals stupidity. In my case, I was too late to back out and choose a fixed rate - here's to hoping I stay crazy committed to paying this baby off. I may look back on this paragraph 2 years from now and hate myself for it, but for right now, in this moment, I feel okay about my decision.
What this means for me: To begin, I did indeed get the remaining 6K paid off from the original 14K I talked about in my last entry; this put me right where I imagined, financing approximately 43K through Charter One. This does significantly reduce the amount of interest I will be paying each month, but in no way is this a cop-out in regards to my repayment responsibility. I will still follow Dave’s advice to the best of my ability and get this debt gone as fast as I possibly can. I have sacrificed my money, time and freedom for far too long and am more than fed up with this burden; I believe my annoyance and sacrifices in combination with the fear of a rising interest rate will continue to fuel my inner crazy to keep putting every extra penny I come across towards this loan.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Financial Sweatpants
Today I paid off the first of my two federal loans! This, my readers, is what I would like to call unbuttoning and unzipping my tight business slacks. This loan was the one that was sold to the Department of Education when my other one stayed under the same Sallie Mae name. Although it was under another name, I believe Sallie Mae still had some sort of ownership over it because I was still paying on it through their website. I chose this one as my second loan to pay off because it was the lowest of the 2 federals; both started out at $4,500, but where the other one had a 0.5% higher interest rate, its total balance was higher. I will tackle that higher one sitting at a little over $4K next.
If you had told me 2 years ago that I put down almost $17K towards my student loans between March of 2013 and May of 2014, I would have a). told you to walk away, you've got the wrong person or b). figured I hit it big while gambling during the Vegas bachelorette party I knew I was about to attend. I would not have thought it was from budget discipline based around some financial dude’s theory.
It has not been the easiest, especially during changing seasons when I would rather give my hard earned cash to Macy’s over ole’ hag Sallie. However, I know that in the end I will be glad I chose the road to financial sweatpants.
2 down, 4 to go.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Snowball (since it’s winter and all)
Unfortunately, as this is my ‘I’m all grown up now’ blog, I am not talking about a literal snowball, but rather Dave Ramsey’s theory on paying off debt. And let me tell you, it works. It is a realistic, hands-on approach with a surprisingly fast turn-around time in regards to results. A positive attitude can take you far, and for a while that is all I (somewhat) had, but there comes a point when you realize all of your rainbows and butterflies are about to get repossessed.
It is around this point of realization that you begin to accept the fact that a change needs to be made. Making the minimum payment amount each month on an enormous pile of loans, especially when the minimum payment is being applied to interest only, will get you nowhere fast. Excuse me, it will get you somewhere – into more debt. I now understand why Sallie Mae welcomes ‘Interest only’ payment plans with open arms to new graduates as it significantly increases their revenue. Allow me to demonstrate:
I borrowed (in 2007-2008) = $68,545.00
I owe (as of March 2013) = $78,950.18
For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s a $10,405.18 INCREASE of debt in a matter of approximately 5 years.
I have PAID out of pocket (starting in December of 2009 – March of 2013) = $22,510.32
Amount of $22,510.32 that went towards my private loan principal = $0
Amount of $22,501.32 that went to my federal loan principal = $875.85
In summary (5 years):
Sallie Mae gets = $32,039.65
Jessica gets = $875.85
Nauseating.
This seemingly unethical situation is indeed legal and is WAY too common than I care to realize. It looks as if my rainbows and butterflies will not have any friends to play with here soon if people in my similar situation do not make the proper financial adjustments. I created this blog not only as an outlet for myself, but as a publicly visible flashing bright neon warning sign to all parents/students out there to read before entering down the same road I did. Why travel for 20 to 25 years down a bumpy gravel road when you have the option of a shorter, smooth paved one?
I could write pages upon pages on how much I detest the above situation and how many hours of hard work it took and how much I had to sacrifice in order to be able to pay Sallie Mae the bare minimum each month. And I have pretty much done just that in my prior posts, but as I stated in the beginning, maintaining a positive attitude surrounding a situation you loathe can only get you so far. In reality, it is little ole’ you against a beast that gains size and momentum at a daily rate. You shrink smaller and smaller as its monstrous shadow alone expands over you until you eventually shrivel up and freeze to death. Like literally, your mind fast forwards and you visualize yourself as an educated homeless person freezing under an overpass, huddled up in your cardboard box waving a ripped white T-shirt as your surrender flag. Okay, I know that was a tad dramatic, but I would be lying if I said my mind never went there for a split second. I mean, cardboard box/parent’s house, potato/potato :) Only joking mom & dad, but once you calm the hate in your heart and decide you want to survive and fight for the lifestyle you went to school for, what once seemed like an impossible solution, starts to seem possible. A sort of survival instinct kicks in when you take your blinders off and stare your debt in the face.
My baby snowball:
My total monthly expenses: $1,625.00
My total currently in savings: $5,000.00
I should have approximately $600 to put into my savings account every month. In a year, I can save $7,200. This does not include the money I will get from work bonuses or tax returns. Also, my income is somewhat variable as my second job is waitressing so I have more of an earning potential than just the minimum I factor into my monthly income number. That in combination with time and a half for overtime at my day job, I can again increase my monthly income. If I really stay focused and put every dollar I can into savings, I can start to make a dent or two. On the flip side, I will have things happen that will increase my monthly expenses such as doctor appointments, dentist appointments, car trouble, ect.
My rules:
My car and credit cards are paid off, and I rent my house so I aimed at the lowest dollar amount private loan (debt) to tackle first - $12,400.00. In order to get my monthly payment on that loan down a little, and to avoid having what is a mountain of money (to me) just sitting in my savings account, I plan to put money down on the loan in increments of $4,000. It will be a tight rope, but little by little I should be able to get my debt down to somewhat level with my income. I made this plan in March.
It is now December 30th and I am happy to report I have paid off my $12,400.00 loan in a shorter time span than expected! I did have dentist, doctor and car bills pop up, but I picked up extra shifts at work and stayed late some nights at my day job in order to get overtime pay. My best friend moved out of state in May so that helped cut out dinner, movie & going out expenses. It took 9 months, and was very painful to watch chucks of 4 grand be handed over to Sallie Mae; but I knew if I didn't start this now, it would hurt much more in the long run. I will continue to practice this method as it is the only thing I have done thus far that has produced actual results.
1 down, 5 to go.
It is around this point of realization that you begin to accept the fact that a change needs to be made. Making the minimum payment amount each month on an enormous pile of loans, especially when the minimum payment is being applied to interest only, will get you nowhere fast. Excuse me, it will get you somewhere – into more debt. I now understand why Sallie Mae welcomes ‘Interest only’ payment plans with open arms to new graduates as it significantly increases their revenue. Allow me to demonstrate:
I borrowed (in 2007-2008) = $68,545.00
I owe (as of March 2013) = $78,950.18
For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s a $10,405.18 INCREASE of debt in a matter of approximately 5 years.
I have PAID out of pocket (starting in December of 2009 – March of 2013) = $22,510.32
Amount of $22,510.32 that went towards my private loan principal = $0
Amount of $22,501.32 that went to my federal loan principal = $875.85
In summary (5 years):
Sallie Mae gets = $32,039.65
Jessica gets = $875.85
Nauseating.
This seemingly unethical situation is indeed legal and is WAY too common than I care to realize. It looks as if my rainbows and butterflies will not have any friends to play with here soon if people in my similar situation do not make the proper financial adjustments. I created this blog not only as an outlet for myself, but as a publicly visible flashing bright neon warning sign to all parents/students out there to read before entering down the same road I did. Why travel for 20 to 25 years down a bumpy gravel road when you have the option of a shorter, smooth paved one?
I could write pages upon pages on how much I detest the above situation and how many hours of hard work it took and how much I had to sacrifice in order to be able to pay Sallie Mae the bare minimum each month. And I have pretty much done just that in my prior posts, but as I stated in the beginning, maintaining a positive attitude surrounding a situation you loathe can only get you so far. In reality, it is little ole’ you against a beast that gains size and momentum at a daily rate. You shrink smaller and smaller as its monstrous shadow alone expands over you until you eventually shrivel up and freeze to death. Like literally, your mind fast forwards and you visualize yourself as an educated homeless person freezing under an overpass, huddled up in your cardboard box waving a ripped white T-shirt as your surrender flag. Okay, I know that was a tad dramatic, but I would be lying if I said my mind never went there for a split second. I mean, cardboard box/parent’s house, potato/potato :) Only joking mom & dad, but once you calm the hate in your heart and decide you want to survive and fight for the lifestyle you went to school for, what once seemed like an impossible solution, starts to seem possible. A sort of survival instinct kicks in when you take your blinders off and stare your debt in the face.
My baby snowball:
My total monthly expenses: $1,625.00
My total currently in savings: $5,000.00
I should have approximately $600 to put into my savings account every month. In a year, I can save $7,200. This does not include the money I will get from work bonuses or tax returns. Also, my income is somewhat variable as my second job is waitressing so I have more of an earning potential than just the minimum I factor into my monthly income number. That in combination with time and a half for overtime at my day job, I can again increase my monthly income. If I really stay focused and put every dollar I can into savings, I can start to make a dent or two. On the flip side, I will have things happen that will increase my monthly expenses such as doctor appointments, dentist appointments, car trouble, ect.
My rules:
- I will not let unexpected expenses get me off track as it is not failure on my part for not contributing the entire $600 each month; I can make up for what I lost by saving more than $600 some months.
- I will never let my savings account fall below $1,000.
- I will not use my credit cards without paying off the entire balance each month.
It is now December 30th and I am happy to report I have paid off my $12,400.00 loan in a shorter time span than expected! I did have dentist, doctor and car bills pop up, but I picked up extra shifts at work and stayed late some nights at my day job in order to get overtime pay. My best friend moved out of state in May so that helped cut out dinner, movie & going out expenses. It took 9 months, and was very painful to watch chucks of 4 grand be handed over to Sallie Mae; but I knew if I didn't start this now, it would hurt much more in the long run. I will continue to practice this method as it is the only thing I have done thus far that has produced actual results.
1 down, 5 to go.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Numbers Don't Lie
The dawn is closing in on what was a beautiful sunny Nashville, Tennessee Saturday so why not take this time to dwell on my private student loans?!
Ha, all joking aside, it really has been a good Saturday (I worked until 3pm) so I won't tear down the whole day with this post, but I wanted to give y'all an update of where I stand. Strictly speaking in numbers.
The total amount of loans that I borrowed for school (in 2007 & 2008) is $68,545.00.
As of TODAY I have paid Sallie Mae a total of $22.510.32 (of which, $875.85 went to my principal).
As of TODAY I still owe $78,950.18.
Is that ringing as loud for you as it is for me?! I only borrowed sixty eight thousand, have paid over twenty two thousand and yet I still owe almost seventy nine thousand dollars. This is where I would insert 2 or 3 demeaning punch words to show how utterly sick it makes me to look at these facts, but I just don't have the words. I can not mentally wrap my mind around the FACT that a company can get away with this. Punch word followed by another punch word ending in a horrific hashtag.
Ha, all joking aside, it really has been a good Saturday (I worked until 3pm) so I won't tear down the whole day with this post, but I wanted to give y'all an update of where I stand. Strictly speaking in numbers.
The total amount of loans that I borrowed for school (in 2007 & 2008) is $68,545.00.
As of TODAY I have paid Sallie Mae a total of $22.510.32 (of which, $875.85 went to my principal).
As of TODAY I still owe $78,950.18.
Is that ringing as loud for you as it is for me?! I only borrowed sixty eight thousand, have paid over twenty two thousand and yet I still owe almost seventy nine thousand dollars. This is where I would insert 2 or 3 demeaning punch words to show how utterly sick it makes me to look at these facts, but I just don't have the words. I can not mentally wrap my mind around the FACT that a company can get away with this. Punch word followed by another punch word ending in a horrific hashtag.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
I guess it has been a while...
Hi there! I realize it has been a little over a year since my last post and although my words are not on here in blog format, believe me, it is still on my mind daily! A girl named Stacy emailed me last week for an update and got me thinking about how I need to contribute more to this thing so here I go! I really have missed hearing from you guys.
So in this last past year (like a month after my last blog), I got a new job. I work from 8-5 at a big building in the heart of downtown for an inside sales company. I know what you're thinking, SALES?! BUT, really, it is not at all a bad job! I am rarely on the phones, I do not meet with any clients face to face, and I do not have to sell anything to anyone since I deal with already established customers; we just renew the maintenance on whatever product they have. For the most part, I love everyone I work with, and we have all grown to become good friends who actually hang out after 5pm. My salary isn't very impressive (let's just say around the $40k range), but I have a matching 401k plan, discounted stock options, as well as great health insurance. Also, overtime is unrestricted and open whenever; since January I've made $1500 in overtime alone. For some of you reading this, you will probably laugh because although it is not a miserable job, it still does not pay well in comparison with the cost of my education. I will say though that I am blessed to have this job since it comes with a steady income which is something I didn't have for quite some time being a server. Speaking of serving, I still do that on the side maybe 1, 2 or 3 times a week.
All this to say, I am officially skipping out on the industry that I am in debt for, but I really do think that in the long run, this decision will pay off. The music industry was not giving me the paycheck I needed to support the debt I was in to be there. I will continue to be a server, and jump into the world of sales because simply put, I need to chase the dollars, and this is the direction they are running in right now.
As you can tell, I am by no means knocking down my student loans 1 paycheck at a time, BUT I think this is a step in the right direction in order to get my income up and my little debt down so that when I re-apply for consolidation, I have a better chance of having an acceptable debt to income ratio. So far with this job, I have been able to pay off my car and credit cards as well as put about $4K in savings. I also am up to about $1200 in my E*Trade account.
I feel like I somewhat have my ducks in a straighter row, but I am still oh so fearful of their decision after having waited a year and done my best to get things in order. No matter how good things seem to me now, it will take a 5 minute phone call to prove me wrong. Knowing that last statement, I chose to make my financial planning my #1 priority, but to also remember that it is okay to spend a little of my hard earned money and go out and on trips with my friends every once in a while (I mean, I am 25). Because, believe me, at the end of the phone call, having $500 more in your savings account will not sway their decision to accept or reject you.
Anyway, as of now, I am planning to make the consolidation phone call (likely to Wells Fargo) in approximately a month. Wish me luck! I want nothing more than to come back on here, tell you a success story and then tell you exactly how I did it so that you all could follow suit :)
So in this last past year (like a month after my last blog), I got a new job. I work from 8-5 at a big building in the heart of downtown for an inside sales company. I know what you're thinking, SALES?! BUT, really, it is not at all a bad job! I am rarely on the phones, I do not meet with any clients face to face, and I do not have to sell anything to anyone since I deal with already established customers; we just renew the maintenance on whatever product they have. For the most part, I love everyone I work with, and we have all grown to become good friends who actually hang out after 5pm. My salary isn't very impressive (let's just say around the $40k range), but I have a matching 401k plan, discounted stock options, as well as great health insurance. Also, overtime is unrestricted and open whenever; since January I've made $1500 in overtime alone. For some of you reading this, you will probably laugh because although it is not a miserable job, it still does not pay well in comparison with the cost of my education. I will say though that I am blessed to have this job since it comes with a steady income which is something I didn't have for quite some time being a server. Speaking of serving, I still do that on the side maybe 1, 2 or 3 times a week.
All this to say, I am officially skipping out on the industry that I am in debt for, but I really do think that in the long run, this decision will pay off. The music industry was not giving me the paycheck I needed to support the debt I was in to be there. I will continue to be a server, and jump into the world of sales because simply put, I need to chase the dollars, and this is the direction they are running in right now.
As you can tell, I am by no means knocking down my student loans 1 paycheck at a time, BUT I think this is a step in the right direction in order to get my income up and my little debt down so that when I re-apply for consolidation, I have a better chance of having an acceptable debt to income ratio. So far with this job, I have been able to pay off my car and credit cards as well as put about $4K in savings. I also am up to about $1200 in my E*Trade account.
I feel like I somewhat have my ducks in a straighter row, but I am still oh so fearful of their decision after having waited a year and done my best to get things in order. No matter how good things seem to me now, it will take a 5 minute phone call to prove me wrong. Knowing that last statement, I chose to make my financial planning my #1 priority, but to also remember that it is okay to spend a little of my hard earned money and go out and on trips with my friends every once in a while (I mean, I am 25). Because, believe me, at the end of the phone call, having $500 more in your savings account will not sway their decision to accept or reject you.
Anyway, as of now, I am planning to make the consolidation phone call (likely to Wells Fargo) in approximately a month. Wish me luck! I want nothing more than to come back on here, tell you a success story and then tell you exactly how I did it so that you all could follow suit :)
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