You’ve been waiting.
Waiting on forgiveness.
Waiting on the next announcement.
Waiting on something that makes this go away.
And in the meantime you’ve been paying the minimum, or nothing, and treating the balance like weather.
STOP!
Not because you’re wrong to be mad about what college costs. Be as mad as you want. But anger isn’t a repayment plan, and the balance doesn’t care how you feel about it.
And not even Jesus can forgive a student loan.
(Don't come at me, that's just fax.)
So stop praying and do the work instead.
First, find out what you have.
Federal or private? Which servicer? What’s the rate on each loan? An embarrassing number of people carry this debt for ten years without knowing the answers.
You can’t make a decision about something you refuse to look at.
Real quick!
In a few days, I'm launching the biggest update to Dollarwise yet.
I still can't tell you everything about it, but know it's something everyone's been asking for, basically since we launched the app.
AND!
There'll be a way for you guys to win some cool stuff during the launch.
Keep your eyes open for an announcement!
Second, if they’re federal, read your income-driven repayment options before you do anything else. Those plans exist and plenty of people who qualify never use them.
Third, if you’ve got private loans at a bad rate, refinancing is on the table.
Today’s sponsor MoneyLion has a student loan refinance marketplace where you can compare offers from partner lenders in one place.
Now hear me, because this part matters more than anything else in this email. If you refinance federal loans, they become private loans. You give up income-driven repayment. You give up federal forbearance. You give up any forgiveness program you might have qualified for. That is permanent.
There’s no undo button, no appeal, no “I didn’t know.”
Refinancing private loans at a lower rate is often a smart move. Refinancing federal loans is a decision you make slowly, with your eyes open, after you’ve written down exactly what you’re handing over.
Go pull up your loan details tonight. Not next month. Tonight.
