Tag: student debt

Biden’s new student loan forgiveness plan could help 30 million borrowers. Here’s who would qualify.
Money

Biden’s new student loan forgiveness plan could help 30 million borrowers. Here’s who would qualify.

President Joe Biden once again is trying to deliver widespread student debt forgiveness, with a new plan unveiled on Monday that could help about 30 million borrowers erase some or all of their college loans. The latest attempt at broad debt relief comes less than a year after the Supreme Court blocked Biden's previous attempt to help student borrowers, when the court's June 2023 ruling denied up to $20,000 in forgiveness to roughly 40 million Americans. Biden, who had made student loan relief a major campaign pledge, unveiled the new plan on Monday, describing it as potentially "life changing" for millions of Americans. About 43 million people are carrying $1.7 trillion in student debt, a burden that some borrowers and their advocates say hampers their ability to buy a home or achieve ot...
What Is the Average Student Loan Payment? | Student Loans and Advice
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What Is the Average Student Loan Payment? | Student Loans and Advice

The average student loan payment is between $200 and $299, according to the most recent available data from the Federal Reserve. But considering the average debt among recent graduates who took out student loans is nearly $30,000, per an analysis by U.S. News, the monthly payment on a 10-year standard repayment plan would be on the higher end of that range – around $300. How much you pay toward your student loans each month will depend on a number of factors, such as the cost of your college program, the type of student loans you borrow and the repayment plan you choose.Find the Best Student Loans for You Lender Learn More Fixed APR Variable APR Loan Term Lender Learn More Fixed APR Variable APR Loan Term Lender Learn More Fixed APR Variable APR Loan TermHow Are Student Loan Payments Dete...
These were top campaign themes on GoFundMe in 2023
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These were top campaign themes on GoFundMe in 2023

Since launching in 2010, GoFundMe has become a widely used crowdfunding platform where people can solicit donations for a variety of causes, from help paying for cancer treatment to recovering from natural disasters. CEO Tim Cadogan also describes the company as a barometer of need that simultaneously functions as a sign of the times. "You do tend to see shifts — some cultural moments, responses to economic changes, policy changes in terms of how people are using the platform," he told CBS MoneyWatch in an exclusive interview. As GoFundMe's year-end report shows, the 30 million fundraising appeals on the platform this year reflect a range of everyday financial struggles that the usual yardsticks of how the U.S. economy is performing typically fail to capture. ...
Are Private Student Loans Worth It? How to Decide | Student Loans and Advice
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Are Private Student Loans Worth It? How to Decide | Student Loans and Advice

Paying for college can seem like an insurmountable feat for students and their families amid the rising cost of a university education – especially for those who can't afford to pay out-of-pocket after maxing out federal student loans, grants and scholarships. When federal aid comes up short, private student loans can be one way to bridge the college financing gap.While private loans can be a legitimate funding option after federal aid has dried up, borrowers should know the risks of taking on privately held college debt. Private student loans aren't eligible for federal protections like income-driven repayment, administrative forbearance and certain student debt forgiveness programs. Plus, private lenders determine eligibility and interest rates based in part on the applicant's credit sc...
More than 300,000 student borrowers given wrong repayment information, Education Department says
Money

More than 300,000 student borrowers given wrong repayment information, Education Department says

More than 300,000 people were given incorrect information about their student loan repayments as resumption of debt payments began this month, the Education Department said on Thursday. The agency has directed servicers to alert affected borrowers and place them into administrative forbearance until their correct payment amount is calculated in order to minimize the impact on them, the Education Department told CBS MoneyWatch. The issue is affecting some borrowers in the new income-driven repayment plan from the Biden administration, called the SAVE plan, including some that should have had $0 owed under the new structure, the agency said. The mistake adds to some of the problems facing borrowers this month as their payments are due for the first time in more than three years, including c...
Biden admin is forgiving $9 billion in student debt for 125,000 Americans. Here’s who they are.
Money

Biden admin is forgiving $9 billion in student debt for 125,000 Americans. Here’s who they are.

The Answer: What to know as student loan payments resume The Answer: What to know as student loan payments resume 01:16 The Biden administration said it is forgiving $9 billion in student debt for 125,000 borrowers, a move that comes as student loan repayments are starting up again this month after a hiatus of more than three years. The debt cancellation is the latest push from the White House to erase some student loans in the wake of the Supreme Court's June ruling. The ...
Astra Taylor’s Age of Insecurity
Entertainment

Astra Taylor’s Age of Insecurity

Astra Taylor has a résumé that defies the notion of résumé building. She is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and organizer, and, during the past couple of decades, her itinerant intellect has taken her cruising around New York in a Volvo with Cornel West (for her 2008 documentary on philosophers, “Examined Life”), interviewing Syrian refugees in Greece (for her 2018 film “What Is Democracy?”), and touring with the revered indie-rock band Neutral Milk Hotel (for love—the band’s songwriter and singer, Jeff Mangum, is her husband). Her wide-ranging curiosity animates her work, and her political commitments anchor it. She is one of the co-founders of the Debt Collective, an organization that has been at the forefront of the movement to cancel student debt—a cause that has particular urgency a...
How to Go Back to School With Defaulted Student Loans | Student Loans and Advice
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How to Go Back to School With Defaulted Student Loans | Student Loans and Advice

Defaulting on student loans can present an obstacle if you want to go back to school. Student loan default, which occurs after 270 days of missed payments on federal student loans, typically makes you ineligible for federal student aid. That means borrowers in default can’t access the grants, work-study programs and student loans that help make college affordable.However, the Department of Education is lifting this restriction for one year to give borrowers an opportunity to get their loans out of default through its new Fresh Start program. Through October 2024, one year after the payment pause ends, you can access Title IV funding even if your loans were in default prior to the payment pause that started in March 2020.This temporary relief gives the 7.5 million borrowers in default time...
How to Prioritize Your Debts When Student Loan Payments Resume | Student Loans and Advice
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How to Prioritize Your Debts When Student Loan Payments Resume | Student Loans and Advice

With federal student loan payments set to resume in October, you might be wondering how to rework these payments into your budget – and if times are tough, what priority they should take over other debts.It's a difficult question to answer: How do you allocate your money to make sure you are meeting deadlines without overdrawing accounts or racking up interest?"Prioritizing debt is not only about interest rate or amount," says Jack Wang, wealth advisor at Innovative Advisory Group. "Factors such as liquidity, emergency fund, cash flow and stability of income are also important." He adds, "Paying student loans is important, but depending on circumstances, paying other debt may still take priority."When Will Federal Student Loans Start Accruing Interest Again?The student loans pause will en...
More than 800,000 student loan borrowers are getting billions of dollars in debt forgiveness this week
Money

More than 800,000 student loan borrowers are getting billions of dollars in debt forgiveness this week

This week, more than 800,000 student loan borrowers with billions of dollars in debt will start to have their loans discharged.The one-time account adjustment comes after the Biden administration last month announced it would forgive student loans for 804,000 borrowers with a combined $39 billion in federal student loan debt. These borrowers have been in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans for more than 20 years and "never got the credit they earned" under IDR plans, the White House said in a statement Monday."Hundreds of thousands of borrowers weren't accurately getting credit for student loan payments that should have delivered them forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans," President Joe Biden said in the statement. They "will start to see their student debt canceled" this week....