Monthly Archives: November 2022

This Pause Is Giving Me Pause

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In March of 2020 everything changed in the world as we knew it.  Everything closed down.  Masks were pervasive.  Toilet paper was a hard-to-find commodity.  And my least favorite task was bathing the groceries.  But as the pandemic moved forward, we learned more about the virus.  Treatments and preventative vaccines were created.  And now everything feels a lot more like normal.  Well….almost everything.  Student loan repayment seems even more up in the air now than it did at the beginning of the pandemic.

In March 2020 the President announced a pause on federal student loan repayment, as well as setting the interest rate on all Federal Direct Student Loans to 0%.  This was supposed to last for a few months, until the public health emergency had passed.  But we all know now that the public health emergency did not end after a few months.  And neither did the loan repayment pause.  The pause has been extended several times.  It really looked like repayment (and the accrual of interest) was going to resume in January 2023.  It was supposed to coincide with the processing of loan relief in the form of up to $20,000 in forgiveness for qualifying borrowers.  But that loan forgiveness program got all tangled up in law suits and we’re really not sure when that will be resolved.  So the pause was extended yet again.  And this time the end date is a moving target.

Last week the U.S. Department of Education announced that the payment pause would end sixty days after a) they are allowed to implement the debt relief program, or b) the litigation is resolved.  If neither of these things happens by June 30, 2023, then repayment (and the accrual of interest) will resume 60 days after that.

Clear as mud?  Yep.  I have long thought that the federal student loan programs are too complicated for the average borrower to understand thoroughly.  There are too many different repayment plans.  There are origination fees deducted from loan amounts that make borrowing less transparent than it ought to be.  Loan servicers have a known history of not being up front with borrowers when they call with questions.  Loans come with something called a “variable fixed” interest rate, so each year brings a new loan with a different interest rate from prior loans.  And these interest rates are much higher than rates on car loans or home mortgages, which is very discouraging. It’s hard for me to keep up with all of the details, and I spend my whole life living in the student loan world.  I can’t imagine how intimidating it must be to a brand new college freshman.

But here we are.  Student loans were complicated enough before our country started using student loan borrowers as political punching bags.  Borrowers are now caught in the crossfire of arguments about many different policies.  I’m still not sure how I feel about the proposed debt relief program currently tied up in the courts.  But I feel very strongly that student loan borrowers shouldn’t be made to suffer because of the political battles of others.  And I guess that’s why the payment pause was extended yet again.

Will this be the last extension of the pandemic payment pause?  Only time will tell.  But if there is something to know, you can be sure I’ll share it here when that time comes.

Giving Thanks

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This week most of the United States takes a pause to celebrate the things we are thankful for.  And while I’m definitely grateful for turkey and pie, there are so many more things that make me grateful for what I have.  I’d like to make it my tradition to recount my blessings each year.

My family is just as dysfunctional as anyone’s.  My sister and I don’t see eye to eye politically.  My brother and sister don’t particularly like my husband.  My parents don’t manage well when things are different in any way from how it’s always been done.  In short….it’s a bit chaotic.  But we’re all going to be together on Thursday.  I know my parents don’t have many holidays left, so it’s important that we all gather together when we are able.  We’ll fight a little.  We’ll talk about how my brother hates pie.  And we’ll put our own brand of fun in the dysfunction.  I’m grateful that we’ll be together.

My house is small.  It needs a good cleaning as well as quite a few repairs.  But it’s cozy and meets my needs perfectly.  When I’m there with my husband and our cats, I know that I’m truly home.

My cars are old.  They’re far from perfect.  My 14 year old Prius is in the shop right now.  I’m hoping to get another year or so out of it, but today’s diagnosis will help me make that decision. My Subaru is 10 years old and required some work to pass inspection this year, but it’s always ready to tackle snow or mud or a camping trip to anywhere.

I’ve never jetted off to Europe or taken a cruise.  But this year I had the chance to spend some time camping with my husband.  We enjoyed the beauty of the Midwest and of the Appalachian mountains by way of Subaru and tiny camper, and I’m so grateful that we were able to do that.

I’ve had the same job for almost 20 years.  It’s not always perfect.  I haven’t advanced my career in a very long time.  But that is by choice. I love what I do.  I can’t imagine doing anything else for a living.  How many people get to spend their entire career helping people to achieve their dreams?

A wise friend once told me that there are two ways to be rich.  One is to have everything you want.  The other is to want what it is you have.  And this week as we celebrate the things we are thankful for, I feel very rich indeed.

Road Warrior Hydration

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I’ve been traveling a lot lately.  Some for fun.  Some for work.  Some for family obligations.  And when I travel—whether it be by car, bus, train, or airplane—there are two things I always bring along:  my travel coffee mug and my re-usable water bottle.  For air travel (as I’m doing while I write this) they have to go through security empty.  For a car trip they always start full.  But I’m always glad I have them—not just for the travel itself, but also for the time I am away from home.

When in a hotel, there is often free coffee available.  I’m partial to hotels that offer free breakfast, so that’s always a chance to fill my travel mug.  Some hotels offer a coffee pot in the room, so that’s another chance to fill that cup.  Hotel doesn’t have any free coffee options?  That happens, but when you bring your own mug, a cup of joe costs less than if it comes in a disposable cup at most places (including Starbucks, Sheetz, Panera, and many others). And it’s much better for the environment not to be using all those single use cups!  While I’m at my conference this week I’ll fill my 20 ounce cup at the conference breakfast each day, and that caffeine fix will keep me going through the morning sessions for sure.

Hotels always have a water source as well.  And I’m not just talking about the tap in your room’s bath.  One of the best kept secrets in hotel life is the water cooler in the exercise room.  Whether or not you choose to lace up for a treadmill run, you still have access to that nice, cold water to fill your bottle.  Fancy hotels may have a cooler of cucumber or fruit laced water in the lobby. And I’ve started noticing water integrated into the juice dispenser or a stand-alone bottle filler at those hotels with the free breakfast.  Bottle filling stations have been popping up in more and more places over the last several years.  I started seeing them in airports about ten years ago—long before the one you know best was installed in the Katz Building.  But I’ve run into them in malls, convention centers, and arenas.  I expect that upward trend in filtered bottle fillers will continue, as the world tries to steer itself away from single use plastics.  I’m pretty certain that my conference this week will provide me with coolers of ice water from which I can keep my bottle filled this week.  Hydration is important!

Do you have a go-to travel mug and refillable water bottle?  If not, it’s probably time to look into it.  They’ll save you money as well as keeping you hydrated and caffeinated!

 

Online Banking Safety

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The Internet can be terrifying.  It’s often frightening how your information travels so quickly.  For example, last week I traveled to Ohio.  And ever since I’ve been receiving emails full of political ads for the Ohio Senate race.  How does that even happen?  I wasn’t receiving Ohio political ads before my trip, but now I am.  How do they know?!?!?!

But the one area where I generally don’t fear my information being snagged up by the wrong party is with my banking information.  Which probably sounds strange to many.  For years I’ve been trying to convince my Dad to do his income tax online, but he just doesn’t see it as safe.  I can’t convince him otherwise. But I’ve been doing my taxes and all of my banking online for many years.  The reality is that banks use high level encryption in addition to multifactor authentication.  When I’m logging into a bank account, it’s nearly as difficult as logging into LionPath (but not near as difficult as Department of Education systems).  If it is that hard for me to get in, with all the proper info at hand, how hard would it be for an outsider?  And if worse comes to worst, my money is protected by the FDIC.

You do have to be careful with the Internet though.  When doing banking online, you should always make sure you are working through a website that starts with HTTPS rather than just HTTP.  That S stands for secure, and that is important.  Make sure you change your passwords now and then.  Use passwords that are complicated (easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess).  And always watch out for phishing emails and texts.  If you get an email that looks like it came from your bank, don’t just click on the link in the email.  Log into the bank website on your own, just to be safe.  If it’s a real message, you’ll find it on the bank’s website.  And set up alerts with your bank.  If I have a large or unusual transaction my bank sends me a text message about it.  They let me confirm that it was me, or send the red flag that my account has been compromised.  It’s a good idea to review your financial accounts online every few days.  That way if something is weird, you’ll see it and be able to notify the bank right away, without waiting for the next monthly statement.

The Internet can be a scary place.  But I’m pretty confident that it is safe to bank online.  Your mileage may vary.  This is definitely a personal decision.  But it’s one that I feel ok about.