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Today is alllllll about Student Loans. Peter and Damian throw words back and forth to hand out critical information on the sad realities of student loans!

Don’t forget! HEY MONEY is your new secret weapon for advice in your personal finances.

No time to listen? BUMMER. Here’s some of what happened:

Show Notes:

Mailbag Question 1:

• “We came o the USA as refugees in 2004, and my son was 19 years old. We had no money, no friends, no computer, and no knowledge of English. We sent our son to study and believed that he would be provided with work so we wouldn’t be afraid to take out student loans. There was no interpreter, and no one explained to us how interest works, but actively informed that we should not start paying before graduation. As a result, our debt is $260,000 plus huge interest. Five other Limited English Proficiency families are in disastrous situations as well. We get bills of almost $4,000, my son did not find a job from 2011-2014 as promoted, banks do not offer a relief plan, lawyers are not willing to help us. What’s our way out?“
• Damian: This is an experience that you don’t have to be a refugee to experience, sadly. It’s horrible. Let’s find out if these are private, federal or Parent PLUS loans. There may not be an easy solution here.
• Pete: “Past performance is not indicative of future performance.” I feel like this mantra did not make its way to higher ed. Try graduating in 2008-2009. Jobs just weren’t there; universities were pushing a message of a future that just didn’t pan out.

Student Loan Refinancing:

• “When the CARES Act became a thing, it pushed off the obligation to may a payment on federal student loans until the end of September, now the end of 2020 through Executive Order. No accumulation of interest for the time frame, and no payment. There’s now a giant group of people who refinanced their student loans through very popular, trendy, consumer student loans debt services. Why is that? Why, when you consolidate your debt, did what happened in the CARES Act mean nothing to you?“
• Damian: Timing is everything. If you have taken your federal loans, consolidated them into a private loan with one of those companies, all of these benefits are no longer applicable to you. You are now on a payment schedule with a private lender and that is your lot in life.
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