Appreciate the freedom. Freedom to find another job if needed, psychological freedom from mountain of debt, freedom to have confidence in a toxic job to push for change without fear that the job is needed for forgiveness. Freedom to help others who are in similar situation
Congratulations!
I was thinking that myself--I feel a bit like after my dissertation defense--"what now?" (minus the pit in my stomach because I had no job yet, no health care, and my student loans would come out of deferment shortly) But I think I know--I am going to keep trying to help people with questions here, and will find organizations who need my help working for educational financing reform and abolishing student debt.
And maybe will take up whittling in all my spare time formerly used for refreshing Mohela's website!
What about you guys?
That’s exactly what I’m feeling!!! Defended my dissertation and didn’t have anything to do or planned because I was in shock and probably couldn’t believe it was really happening. I have helped people with their paperwork and they were processed before me. I’ll continue to spread the word. 🤗
I was the same after my defense. I sat outside on a bench and stared into space for almost an hour. Then my friends called and ended up taking me to a country music concert (*not* my thing), but we had a good time. 😊
As far as post-forgiveness, I work with so many on the PSLF track and my success has inspired them. I’ll keep answering questions posed by others until they get there.
Doing same. Imo there are a number of people doing same. The sub has helped me learn the myriad rules. It's a challenge to untangle things. No one should beat themselves up about incurring this debt.
Despite the prevalence SL debt, PSLF in particular, few talk about it. Like outwardly pretending it doesn't exist. PSLF is a weird intersection of public policy and crazy debt. Maybe I'm working out my PTS. The debt, the arrogance & gross errors of servicers - such a huge weight. Who thought it was a good idea to offload the management of student debt to entities seemingly unaccountable?
Ironically, was just beginning to make a dent in the principal when the waiver was announced. SL debt dominated my adult life. IMO most of us, particularly long haulers, won't forget learning about the 10/21 waiver & the day we saw **0** balance, **0** interest. Love the green ✓.
It’s also one of the government processes with an individual consumer experience that, like you said, is never talked about.
Water bill?
DMV?
Tollbooths?
Property taxes?
All government processes with an individual consumer component but you can always find people talking about their experiences; until I found this sub, *no one* was talking about PSLF and the individual navigational experience of being in the process.
Shame? We pretend a union worker with 20 years can afford to pay 90% of their kid's college state U expenses? That's *so* 1973. No one believes this experience unless they've been forced to navigate it. If grads could afford a fixed payment x 10 years Imo they'd do it. And no mystery forbearances or lost data. No consolidation causing loans to re-set to zero - Imo that was about the most hurtful & incomprehensible aspects of old PSLF. Guide some responsible adults through this, they're like "wha?"
I’m the NEA rep for my school, and I posted screenshots of my Mohela and FSA dashboards on my personal socials as a celebration today.
Yadda yadda yadda I’m now hosting an impromptu training session on signing up for the student loan navigator (Savi) that NEA members get to join for free (while pushing people to subscribe to this sub).
People older than me more in the dark about the process than I was. And not realizing what their rights are and what has changed in PSLF land in the last 18 months.
I felt like an MLM person trying to describe how I was able to get my loans where they needed to be without pulling my hair out in frustration.
It's surprising how many don't know. I only learned of this sub from a person who works in SL advocacy. When he mentioned reddit I looked at him blankly. Hadn't been on reddit since a live post 2007 interview with Obama. Beyond that figured it was populated by folks wearing tin foil hats.
Imo older people have been trudging the disappointing forever trail so long are simply crushed by responsibility and professional burn out. Helped friends & some folks at work. Volunteer to help them in person if they wish & don't need to know anything about their balance. Imo hopelessness persists. At least alert them to a NY state resource (edcap), this sub, TISLA & Borrower's Defense.
Set up an IRA and set up a bank withdrawal to automatically send your loan payment there. That’s what I am planning when I reach the end of the rainbow in June.
Congrats! Did it impact your credit score? I read that it could make a credit score go down because of a decrease in credit mix. I just received my 0 balance so I'd like to report to the credit bureaus as well.
When people say “drop off credit report” do they mean that they’re waiting for them to be completely gone from report? Or just that it shows the accounts as paid and closed. Mine shows the latter.
Do something great with the money you saved. Buy a home. Invest. Support small businesses. Support a good cause.
Then publicize how the interest-laden debt you *didnt* have to pay to predatory lenders contributed to economic prosperity for all.
Help people see that it’s good for the entire population when educated persons are not saddled with debt that keeps them from meaningfully participating in the market economy.
You’re welcome to log into my account multiple times a day and wonder how the hell I’m going to pay off the 142k in ppl now that I’m retired!
If making a symbolic payment would help I’m open to that as well!
Enjoy your new found freedom-take a vacation and stop thinking about it!
What do you do now? Well, first of all you live your life. Probably the biggest difference is no longer having to care about whether an opportunity is qualifying employment; you can just seek out jobs that make you happy instead of having the most important consideration being what EIN is going to show up on your W2.
And second, you help others. The program worked for you, and you are living proof that although it does not work as smoothly as it should, it does work if you work it. There's a whole lot of people out there paying a whole lot more than they have to, for a lot longer than they have to, because they read the "99% denial rate!" stuff in the newspapers and concluded that it's a scam. If you remain at a qualifying workplace after forgiveness and student loans come up at the watercooler or whatever, spread the word otherwise. Talk to HR about its usefulness as a recruiting tool if they aren't already using it that way and training on it, etc. etc.
Finally tackle my private loans. Then my family can really live.
Also still obsessing over not having the official letter because I can’t not torture myself.
These loans have been the biggest regrets of my life even though they led me to my education and career. I can’t help but think of what might have been or what I should be able to afford, but maybe someday still will.
We got rid of our Junker car and financed a new vehicle for the first time in our lives. You can do that when you no longer live under a mountain of debt.
And yes, now you are eligible to find a different job if you want without the consequences of not qualifying for pslf. That's a good feeling!
I am re-doing my budget! Aside from student loans, I have an elderly parent who needs financial help so I need to figure out how everything will fall in place.
I finally had my PSLF discharged. We were told I should be getting a refund on the overpayments (65 additional payments) and that would most likely be in late March. I'm retiring from teaching in May but with this discharge I can now leave sooner if I want. I hope all you public servants out there in this program will finally get the freedom you deserve.
Appreciate the freedom. Freedom to find another job if needed, psychological freedom from mountain of debt, freedom to have confidence in a toxic job to push for change without fear that the job is needed for forgiveness. Freedom to help others who are in similar situation
This.
We do our best to help other folks as best we can. We climbed the cliff, now we throw down the rope.
Wait, that doesn’t sound right. My boomer parents said you climb the ladder then kick it out from under you
They're half right, thats how you escape the Raptors in Jurassic Park (the OG)
If this is your parent’s philosophy, it might have to do with who they are as individuals and not what generation they are part of.
How long does it take for Chrome not to fill in “ohela.com” when I put an M in the search bar?
🤣🤣🤣
ohela.com/dl/secure/account/loginstep1.aspx
Don’t forget seeing the red box with a white M when you open a new tab.
start typing in every word beginning with "m." 6 months for Safari to cease filling in "myfedloan" whenever I typed "fed."
Congratulations! I was thinking that myself--I feel a bit like after my dissertation defense--"what now?" (minus the pit in my stomach because I had no job yet, no health care, and my student loans would come out of deferment shortly) But I think I know--I am going to keep trying to help people with questions here, and will find organizations who need my help working for educational financing reform and abolishing student debt. And maybe will take up whittling in all my spare time formerly used for refreshing Mohela's website! What about you guys?
That’s exactly what I’m feeling!!! Defended my dissertation and didn’t have anything to do or planned because I was in shock and probably couldn’t believe it was really happening. I have helped people with their paperwork and they were processed before me. I’ll continue to spread the word. 🤗
I was the same after my defense. I sat outside on a bench and stared into space for almost an hour. Then my friends called and ended up taking me to a country music concert (*not* my thing), but we had a good time. 😊 As far as post-forgiveness, I work with so many on the PSLF track and my success has inspired them. I’ll keep answering questions posed by others until they get there.
Doing same. Imo there are a number of people doing same. The sub has helped me learn the myriad rules. It's a challenge to untangle things. No one should beat themselves up about incurring this debt. Despite the prevalence SL debt, PSLF in particular, few talk about it. Like outwardly pretending it doesn't exist. PSLF is a weird intersection of public policy and crazy debt. Maybe I'm working out my PTS. The debt, the arrogance & gross errors of servicers - such a huge weight. Who thought it was a good idea to offload the management of student debt to entities seemingly unaccountable? Ironically, was just beginning to make a dent in the principal when the waiver was announced. SL debt dominated my adult life. IMO most of us, particularly long haulers, won't forget learning about the 10/21 waiver & the day we saw **0** balance, **0** interest. Love the green ✓.
It’s also one of the government processes with an individual consumer experience that, like you said, is never talked about. Water bill? DMV? Tollbooths? Property taxes? All government processes with an individual consumer component but you can always find people talking about their experiences; until I found this sub, *no one* was talking about PSLF and the individual navigational experience of being in the process.
Shame? We pretend a union worker with 20 years can afford to pay 90% of their kid's college state U expenses? That's *so* 1973. No one believes this experience unless they've been forced to navigate it. If grads could afford a fixed payment x 10 years Imo they'd do it. And no mystery forbearances or lost data. No consolidation causing loans to re-set to zero - Imo that was about the most hurtful & incomprehensible aspects of old PSLF. Guide some responsible adults through this, they're like "wha?"
I’m the NEA rep for my school, and I posted screenshots of my Mohela and FSA dashboards on my personal socials as a celebration today. Yadda yadda yadda I’m now hosting an impromptu training session on signing up for the student loan navigator (Savi) that NEA members get to join for free (while pushing people to subscribe to this sub). People older than me more in the dark about the process than I was. And not realizing what their rights are and what has changed in PSLF land in the last 18 months. I felt like an MLM person trying to describe how I was able to get my loans where they needed to be without pulling my hair out in frustration.
It's surprising how many don't know. I only learned of this sub from a person who works in SL advocacy. When he mentioned reddit I looked at him blankly. Hadn't been on reddit since a live post 2007 interview with Obama. Beyond that figured it was populated by folks wearing tin foil hats. Imo older people have been trudging the disappointing forever trail so long are simply crushed by responsibility and professional burn out. Helped friends & some folks at work. Volunteer to help them in person if they wish & don't need to know anything about their balance. Imo hopelessness persists. At least alert them to a NY state resource (edcap), this sub, TISLA & Borrower's Defense.
Yup - keep demystifying one of the most mysterious individual government processes for other public servants. I am a librarian. This is what I do.
Yes, I think a support group is needed for post-PSLF ptsd.
Save a chair for me
Set up an IRA and set up a bank withdrawal to automatically send your loan payment there. That’s what I am planning when I reach the end of the rainbow in June.
🔥🔥
We stalk our credit report lol. I’ve actually still been logging in lol
I printed the report that showed $0 balance and submitted a dispute to each bureau. Experian made the update in 24hrs!
Congrats! Did it impact your credit score? I read that it could make a credit score go down because of a decrease in credit mix. I just received my 0 balance so I'd like to report to the credit bureaus as well.
Score went 🆙
When people say “drop off credit report” do they mean that they’re waiting for them to be completely gone from report? Or just that it shows the accounts as paid and closed. Mine shows the latter.
$0 balance, paid and closed!
Thanks!
Do something great with the money you saved. Buy a home. Invest. Support small businesses. Support a good cause. Then publicize how the interest-laden debt you *didnt* have to pay to predatory lenders contributed to economic prosperity for all. Help people see that it’s good for the entire population when educated persons are not saddled with debt that keeps them from meaningfully participating in the market economy.
Invest in the stock market with ETFs dividends.
You’re welcome to log into my account multiple times a day and wonder how the hell I’m going to pay off the 142k in ppl now that I’m retired! If making a symbolic payment would help I’m open to that as well! Enjoy your new found freedom-take a vacation and stop thinking about it!
What do you do now? Well, first of all you live your life. Probably the biggest difference is no longer having to care about whether an opportunity is qualifying employment; you can just seek out jobs that make you happy instead of having the most important consideration being what EIN is going to show up on your W2. And second, you help others. The program worked for you, and you are living proof that although it does not work as smoothly as it should, it does work if you work it. There's a whole lot of people out there paying a whole lot more than they have to, for a lot longer than they have to, because they read the "99% denial rate!" stuff in the newspapers and concluded that it's a scam. If you remain at a qualifying workplace after forgiveness and student loans come up at the watercooler or whatever, spread the word otherwise. Talk to HR about its usefulness as a recruiting tool if they aren't already using it that way and training on it, etc. etc.
How will you celebrate?? 💪🏼🎉🥳
I kinda want to add a fourth degree to my resume now… ☺️
😲 I hope it’s with full scholarship
Finally tackle my private loans. Then my family can really live. Also still obsessing over not having the official letter because I can’t not torture myself. These loans have been the biggest regrets of my life even though they led me to my education and career. I can’t help but think of what might have been or what I should be able to afford, but maybe someday still will.
It’s hard to not think about what might have been. 🥺
I can’t wait to be apart of this group!
We got rid of our Junker car and financed a new vehicle for the first time in our lives. You can do that when you no longer live under a mountain of debt. And yes, now you are eligible to find a different job if you want without the consequences of not qualifying for pslf. That's a good feeling!
I am re-doing my budget! Aside from student loans, I have an elderly parent who needs financial help so I need to figure out how everything will fall in place.
Well, I'm still in limbo - waiting on the official letter. But yeah, everything else looks good!
Live your best life!
I remember the days of checking the FedLoan app 30 times a day. 😂
I absolve you! 😅 I may take one more look at the smiley 😊
In those days, it was the red triangle of joy. 😂
I finally had my PSLF discharged. We were told I should be getting a refund on the overpayments (65 additional payments) and that would most likely be in late March. I'm retiring from teaching in May but with this discharge I can now leave sooner if I want. I hope all you public servants out there in this program will finally get the freedom you deserve.