Building a Bad*ss Credit Score: A Silver Lining Playbook for Student Loan Borrowers
I may not have two dimes to rub together, but my credit score is through the roof! How’d I do it? By borrowing young, borrowing a lot, and making zillions of teeny, tiny payments. On time. Every time. Ever since. (BTW, a better plan is to minimize your borrowing and pay back debt quickly to avoid higher interest fees and lower your costs over time. Um. If you can afford that). Credit Report vs. Credit Score Your “credit report” is a history of your credit accounts that includes…
Income-Driven Repayment Options for Gay or Lesbian Couples (Post DOMA)
On Wednesday, June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the federal government to recognize marriages between same-sex couples. Equal protection for my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters! What does the DOMA decision mean for gay and lesbian student loan borrowers? Same-sex married couples with student loans will find that having one’s marriage recognized by the federal government makes for some mighty tricky tax decisions. The income-driven repayment plans (like Income-Based Repayment and Pay-As-You-Earn) limit a borrower's…
Doubled Rates - What Does It Mean For You.
Beginning Monday morning, interest rates for new federal subsidized Stafford loans doubled from 3.4% to 6.8%. Unable to reach a bipartisan solution before their Independence Day holiday recess, Congress must now decide whether it has the political will to produce an elusive bipartisan compromise bill to return interest rates to 3.4% (or some rate lower than the present 6.8% and apply it retroactively to July 1st) or let the change stand and cost a "typical borrower" an additional $3,000 over the course of a standard 10-year repayment plan.…
The Clock Ticks On
Time's up!. As expected, interest rates for new subsidized federal student loans rose this morning from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent as Congress adjourned for its Independence Day break without reaching a compromise. Despite missing the deadline, Congress still has time to fix the issue before students begin classes in the fall and apply the fix retroactively. However, if Congress fails to find a solution prior to its August recess, significant problems for students could be the result. So how did we get here and which proposed…
Politics as Usual in Washington Hurts Students and Families
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), joined by fellow Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Angus King (I-Maine) will introduce a proposed compromise plan today tying the rate for undergraduate Stafford loans (both subsidized and unsubsidized) to the 10-year Treasury bill plus 1.85 percentage points. As an advocate for student borrowers, I don't like it. Any student loan interest bill that reduces the deficit (including this latest version), does so by adding additional costs for students…
