I just got off the phone with AES. I thought since I have this guy on the phone I can do something to bring my account up to date since I have been making payments on it. Oddly enough these people do not notice this when calling you numerous times during the week. So I asked them are they receiving my payments? Oh sure it shows you made the last one on the Jan 22, 2014! Ok find good you are getting paid! I was a few months behind so I figure I"ll take the opportunity to do something about this. I asked can that pass due payment be put on the end of my loan so then I'll be up to date and I'm making regular payments. Sure no problem. I agree to the terms, make sure they will send me something about this and then they are going to transfer me to another division about my pass due account? Well no answer and the original guy gets back to me and says there is nothing they can do for me because I have a delinquent account from 1996! Hello WHAT???? Now I bought a house around that year. I had to go though my credit report and take care of any past due account or provide proof that they was paid before we could get a mortgage on my house. I know we paid off all our student loans. Both my husband and I did. It was a good moment in our lives at that time to get them out of our hair. (I should of remember that before jumping into the nasty student loan ocean again) So I know I do not have any old loans. And that was 20 years ago! Like in that time what happen?? Now I have no proof that I paid these loans, nothing showing I ever had them in the first place. What the heck??? We was debt free at one point, I know I got us there, it was a good time in our lives. We was poor as shit but only had the utilities to pay. So where did this past due loan come from and now I wonder can I get rid of it. I"m not paying it I know that much. I said to the guy what do I owe now and he told me. I said I'm making payments on the current loans that is it. Now this is something I need to watch so they do not come back on me and try to collect this.
A new development in this stuff. As if this is not hard enough they try to pull out a loan that is over 20 years old and paid off and wants to collect on it. Bull shit that is I tell you.
Debt ticker
First student loan to pay off
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
I decided it would be best to tackle a project or two since I was staying in. Getting rid of clutter and cleaning up the place to move forward to bigger and better things in life. And one can not create, make extra money, and work on a budget with a bunch of clutter around and a dirty house. Because if your home is cluttered and dirty all you end up doing is looking at it and wishing you had more time to clean it up now. Except its impossible to do it all at once unless you had a team of people to come and help. I would say 99% of us do not have a team of people.
I made myself a goal and a promise for this year. To get my home back in order so that I can later work on either getting a second job or get an etsy shop going, sell more on ebay or all 3. I know myself well enough that I can not do any of the above until I get rid of the clutter that has taken over my home. I can not function any more than I am now. And if my time is taken up by another job or at home work then I have to do something about the clutter in order to keep myself sane.
The first thing is to clean a corner out. My husband had stuff tossed there also so we both went at it and cleaned it all out. It took all of 1/2 hr to get it done. Crazy I know but that one spot is clean of clutter and its so much nicer walking past it now.
The second thing is I cleaned my stove inside and out. Took the door apart and cleaned the glass and took the drawers out and cleaned those. I might want to cook more with a clean oven to put food in.
So two things that have been nagging at me for quite awhile is done now. Next weekend I'll work on something else. By spring I think I can have my home back in order and easier to take care of.
I also sat or rather talked with my husband about what we have to spend this week. Its not always easy to talk to your spouse about this stuff when they are used to one just taking care of the bills. But I did and we both understand what is left to spend. A small mile stone on the budget front. But this one small step was not as hard as I thought and I hope to do this ever week so that we are on the same page. Then I can move forward on paying off the debt. It does feel good to have a small plan in place for once.
Although I was more or less snowed in a lot of accomplished. I was reminded of the days where we was more tight with our money and more frugal. I remember its not all that bad, sometimes it was even fun.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Inspired by other people
To keep my motivation up and going because quite frankly its hard right now to keep a positive frame of mind with all this debt I go in search of inspiration. Reading how other people get out of debt. Oddly enough Dave Rasmey's name comes up in all kinds of blogs. I just might break down and find a class and take it. Until then my goal is to find his books and read them. And find any information online also. Because it seems like his method works and I want something that is going to work.
Until then I came across this blog post. That one time we paid off our house Now this family was younger than I was. But they had a goal and kept to it. What inspired me was that even though they did not have much money they would dyi on a small budget. Small as 25.00 at times. That is right up my ally! Because at times I only have 20.00 or so to do something with. And right now we are thinking about putting in a floor. So its a project we are going to save up for. And its going to be on the smallest amount we can afford. Its not like we are going to sell the house. We need it fixed up for us and if it works then that is how its going to be. I made up my mind that is how it is and that is that.
So there is hope out there in the universe.
I did discover a little something I can do. As silly as this seems and I came upon this idea quite by accident. When reviewing my bank statement on line and discovered something of error on well mine or my husband's part and it was not good either. I was trying to look on the screen and figure out where money was going, from where for what and on and on. I finally printed out this past months statement. I"m able to write on the paper where the money went. A aha moment. I have to sit down with the husband and we need to talk about this budget thing and get on the same page with each other. I can show him where I"m spending money and where he is spending money and how much we each end up spending. Since I do the bills I get it in my head there is so much in the account and pay the bills. He has not clue what is being paid and well hits the atm any time he needs money. Not good at all. So when we get a moment when we are both not tired and can talk in a calm manner we are going to look over this. Hopefully this weekend. So that we can see what is going on.
I"m determined to make this work one way or another. I am getting back into my coupons. I'm no crazy coupon lady but what I do find for a good price and we use it I pick up several. Right now I have about 3 or 4 months of dish detergent stocked up. :) So I will not buy any more until its .50cents or less, I have 4 months of StayFree stocked up. Those was 1.00 so I'll stock up on those when they are 1.00 again hopefully before I run out. lol. And other little things like that. We are small family so I do not need a stock pile the size of a room or a garage to keep us going. And I like that I'm not paying out a lot of money for cleaning stuff, and soaps and shampoos and what not. So its a start and once I get going again I will see the savings start to add up again. But it takes work like anything else.
So get inspired by someone. It will give you a boost to keep going on your own goals. It might be hard at first but do believe it will get easier as time goes on. And there are rewards as each bill gets paid off.
Until then I came across this blog post. That one time we paid off our house Now this family was younger than I was. But they had a goal and kept to it. What inspired me was that even though they did not have much money they would dyi on a small budget. Small as 25.00 at times. That is right up my ally! Because at times I only have 20.00 or so to do something with. And right now we are thinking about putting in a floor. So its a project we are going to save up for. And its going to be on the smallest amount we can afford. Its not like we are going to sell the house. We need it fixed up for us and if it works then that is how its going to be. I made up my mind that is how it is and that is that.
So there is hope out there in the universe.
I did discover a little something I can do. As silly as this seems and I came upon this idea quite by accident. When reviewing my bank statement on line and discovered something of error on well mine or my husband's part and it was not good either. I was trying to look on the screen and figure out where money was going, from where for what and on and on. I finally printed out this past months statement. I"m able to write on the paper where the money went. A aha moment. I have to sit down with the husband and we need to talk about this budget thing and get on the same page with each other. I can show him where I"m spending money and where he is spending money and how much we each end up spending. Since I do the bills I get it in my head there is so much in the account and pay the bills. He has not clue what is being paid and well hits the atm any time he needs money. Not good at all. So when we get a moment when we are both not tired and can talk in a calm manner we are going to look over this. Hopefully this weekend. So that we can see what is going on.
I"m determined to make this work one way or another. I am getting back into my coupons. I'm no crazy coupon lady but what I do find for a good price and we use it I pick up several. Right now I have about 3 or 4 months of dish detergent stocked up. :) So I will not buy any more until its .50cents or less, I have 4 months of StayFree stocked up. Those was 1.00 so I'll stock up on those when they are 1.00 again hopefully before I run out. lol. And other little things like that. We are small family so I do not need a stock pile the size of a room or a garage to keep us going. And I like that I'm not paying out a lot of money for cleaning stuff, and soaps and shampoos and what not. So its a start and once I get going again I will see the savings start to add up again. But it takes work like anything else.
So get inspired by someone. It will give you a boost to keep going on your own goals. It might be hard at first but do believe it will get easier as time goes on. And there are rewards as each bill gets paid off.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
New report on Sallie Mae. Interesting read.
Here is an interesting read. http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/wp-content/uploads/File/report-sallie-mae-saga.pdf
Its a long one so grab a hot cup of coffee and sit back and take a look. I myself do not know what to make of this. I sense a bit of hope in all the documents. But I do wonder if there will ever be a solution or a way out from under these loans. We can only hope. Until then I have a date later this week to fill out the income based repayment forms and see where that takes me. And still looking into other ways to make extra money. So far nothing is looking good. But I only just begun.
Its a long one so grab a hot cup of coffee and sit back and take a look. I myself do not know what to make of this. I sense a bit of hope in all the documents. But I do wonder if there will ever be a solution or a way out from under these loans. We can only hope. Until then I have a date later this week to fill out the income based repayment forms and see where that takes me. And still looking into other ways to make extra money. So far nothing is looking good. But I only just begun.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
A little article with good advise
I took a good look at my loans and I'm working on my game plan. In this article it explains how you can pay down those loans in a shorter period of time. And its just what I was thinking too. There is hope for me in this. If I can make it work. Like I said before and I'll keep saying this is going to take work. Its a job. Treat it like one.
Kick back grab a cup of something to enjoy and read. http://www.dailyworth.com/posts/427-Smash-Student-Loan-Debt
Taking a good hard look at your loans.
I finally got into the online web site of one of my loans though the American Education Services. For some reason I was locked out of my account and after much emailing and complaining they finally let me back in. I might of forgotten my user name and pass word. But it was not a simple request to have it all reset. So keep in mind write down your user names and pass words and keep them in a file easy to find so this does not happen to you. Its not easy to have them open up again and your loan information is trapped in internet jail.
I got in and found I have 2 loans though AES. And I am behind a few months too. Not good. But I did start making payments so that is good but not good since I am behind. I see I have 2 loans also. And it seems they take my payment and split it up between the two. Now this does not do much in paying down each loan when you are behind. So I will have to bit the bullet and call them and have this straighten out somehow.
Looking at these two loans one is only for 265.00 the other 3508.00 right now. This is just 2 loans out of the many I ended up taking out and did not realize it until it was too late. Yes it can happen even to the best of people. To get back to what I am saying. I see a smaller more manageable loan here. 265.00 They only put something like 3.00 toward that loan. That is not nearly enough to do anything in any amount of time. It will take 11 years to get this paid off. Yea not a good option. So while I"m on the phone with the nice people at AES I am going to find out how I can extra payments just toward that loan. Or if I can pay it off just by it self somehow. That would eliminate that one loan off my credit report too. So that is the plan. I'll let you know how it pans out.
But if I pick up an extra job. Sell enough on ebay or how ever I earn extra income this small thing can work if I do not get some kind of weird run around from the AES about how they can not figure out how to do this. I"m not sure how hard it work be to write a check for that amount and tell them to pay off that loan. But I have dealt with these people before and sometimes it can take 2 or 3 different people to figure out this task.
For now this is my goal. I"m going to look though the list of other loans though Sallie Mae and pick out the smaller ones and see if its possible to do the same thing. Its easier to pay off the smaller loans then to try to tackle all of them at once as much as possible. At least that is my thinking and logic. We all are looking at one huge number on these loans. I think we should break it down to more manageable numbers for now.
The only way to find out is it try it and see what happens right?
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Budget Help.
Its a new year and I am looking around to how to make a budget. I got my calendar, took a look at my bills, looked up my student loans and know what our income is. I need to get a detailed list of house hold expenses like grocery, gas, utilities, medications and entertainment.
One guy I hear of is Dave Ramsey. I came across this free down load http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/free-download-budgeting-guide/ A simple guide to tell me where to start and what to do now.
Dave Ramsey's method is simply pay off the smallest debt first and work your way up to the biggest debt. There is a few things in there along the way but in the simplest form this is his method. The idea is that when each bill is paid off its motivation to move onto the next one. Taking the amount you paid on the first loan and use it toward the next and so on. I have in a way tried this method before and it does work if you stick to it. But like I said there is more to his method as well. Since I do not have the extra money to purchase his books and DVD I'll be looking for you tube video's and online articles to read up on too see if what he suggest further on will help me get out of this student loan debt asap.
I love Pintrest!!! What does Pintrest have to do with debt?? I made a board with money saving tips and budget ideas! I can refer back to them when I want. And I do like to read things then go back and look further into what the suggestions are or refresh my memory. So here is the link. http://www.pinterest.com/buster3/money/ Feel free to look me up and I"ll be adding to this board when I see anything of interest.
When you do not know where to turn find an expert. That is why I looked up Dave Ramsey today. I know of one past due cable bill that I want to pay off this month. So it will be a start toward those student loans in the near future! How to tackle a loan that you know you can not make the monthly payment is scary. Its not impossible but scary. Nothing it impossible. Like I said before when selling stuff on Ebay and Amazon it takes work. The same is true when it comes to these loans. It is going to take work to get them paid off before I"m retired.
Monday, January 13, 2014
It takes work to earn extra money
Lets face it. If I did not get a degree there for I did not get that job that would pay me enough so I could pay back these loans. There for I have to find another way to earn money to pay off loans and it takes work. Any work any job at this point is going to be a second or third job.
I'm listing books on Amazon now. I"m not sure how they will do. They are books my mom read and there is a lot. So I"m going to see how this goes.
Ebay is going slow but I know I have to keep at it in order to gain a following and I'm learning what is good to list to make money.
Or I might have to find that second job. OR third.
I'm listing books on Amazon now. I"m not sure how they will do. They are books my mom read and there is a lot. So I"m going to see how this goes.
Ebay is going slow but I know I have to keep at it in order to gain a following and I'm learning what is good to list to make money.
Or I might have to find that second job. OR third.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Contacting Sallie Mae.
It took several emails, several attempts to reset my username and pass word, several calls and I finally got though to Sallie Mae. It took them 10 mins or so to fix it so I can redo my user name and pass word.
I got in. And saw the accumulation of debt for a useless degree that I never was able to get. Yea it pisses me off. But I do have to see what is going on and what I can do.
First find last years tax returns. In order to find out any of my options I need to know what we made last year. Yea and of course I put the tax returns in a place where I can find them and they are not there. Yep so its a project for this weekend to tackle.
What I did see is all the loans I took out during my stay at the Pittsburgh Art Institute online division. Looking back I wonder why I had to take out more in some loans than others. Seems to me if I had paid attention I might of save myself some money and questioned this. But I did not and how many students think to question this kind of thing? Not many I am sure. We trust the financial aid department and the government to know what they are doing and just go along with it. Stupid stupid thing to do.
Now all the loan amounts are not the same.And if taken one at a time instead of all at once it could be more manageable. But they clump all the loans in one lump sum and charge you one great big amount that you can not afford to pay back. Unless you got that degree and got the job and pay raise that would benefit you to be able to pay that amount. But if you do not get the degree because you was scammed in a way then guess what you are sitting here wondering how in the hell am I going to pay on this???
So I went and I saw. Now I need to find out what my options are. You can only do forbearance for so long so I do not want to use them up. I do not want to mess up my credit any more than I already have. After all the house needs repairs and I'll need another car in a few years. So having this will not do at all. My credit and life is suffering because of this and I have to review my options while I still have time with this first forbearance.
Hey I did get myself here. I did not expect this end result. I feel taken advantaged of and it sucks. But if I want to keep my home and life as it is now I can not ignore this.
If I can somehow each year raise enough money to pay off even 1/2 of one loan that would be progress in my book. 1000.00 or 1500 a year would knock off a big chunk of even one loan. Then work on the rest. This is going to take time. But as you see there is a bit of a goal. Work on 1000.00 extra a year and put it toward these loans. How to do that?? I"m not sure yet. A second job one or two days a week?? I'm thinking about it. I might see if I can work in a sign shop or something new. Got to keep thinking positive on this one folks. Its not going to be an easy decision to make in the end.
I got in. And saw the accumulation of debt for a useless degree that I never was able to get. Yea it pisses me off. But I do have to see what is going on and what I can do.
First find last years tax returns. In order to find out any of my options I need to know what we made last year. Yea and of course I put the tax returns in a place where I can find them and they are not there. Yep so its a project for this weekend to tackle.
What I did see is all the loans I took out during my stay at the Pittsburgh Art Institute online division. Looking back I wonder why I had to take out more in some loans than others. Seems to me if I had paid attention I might of save myself some money and questioned this. But I did not and how many students think to question this kind of thing? Not many I am sure. We trust the financial aid department and the government to know what they are doing and just go along with it. Stupid stupid thing to do.
Now all the loan amounts are not the same.And if taken one at a time instead of all at once it could be more manageable. But they clump all the loans in one lump sum and charge you one great big amount that you can not afford to pay back. Unless you got that degree and got the job and pay raise that would benefit you to be able to pay that amount. But if you do not get the degree because you was scammed in a way then guess what you are sitting here wondering how in the hell am I going to pay on this???
So I went and I saw. Now I need to find out what my options are. You can only do forbearance for so long so I do not want to use them up. I do not want to mess up my credit any more than I already have. After all the house needs repairs and I'll need another car in a few years. So having this will not do at all. My credit and life is suffering because of this and I have to review my options while I still have time with this first forbearance.
Hey I did get myself here. I did not expect this end result. I feel taken advantaged of and it sucks. But if I want to keep my home and life as it is now I can not ignore this.
If I can somehow each year raise enough money to pay off even 1/2 of one loan that would be progress in my book. 1000.00 or 1500 a year would knock off a big chunk of even one loan. Then work on the rest. This is going to take time. But as you see there is a bit of a goal. Work on 1000.00 extra a year and put it toward these loans. How to do that?? I"m not sure yet. A second job one or two days a week?? I'm thinking about it. I might see if I can work in a sign shop or something new. Got to keep thinking positive on this one folks. Its not going to be an easy decision to make in the end.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
No more Harvard debt.com
My grandmother says that God helps those who help themselves. I believe that. I feel that even though this is a fine mess I find myself in I do believe there is a way to get out of it. It takes work and research and seeing how other people did it.
This blog has some useful information. Kind of a person after my own heart. Selling off junk to make payments toward his loans. Also he has an interesting way of paying down the debt. It is something to research and see if any of his ideas can work for me.
Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and take a look. http://nomoreharvarddebt.com/
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Income repayment
Just got off the phone with Sallie Mae. Oddly their site has been down. hmmm. I wanted my user name. But since that was not going to happen today I asked about the income repayment plan. Seems as if we do qualify with the estimate income I gave them. But I did not give them the gross I'll have to do it again. But the payments will be much more manageable at least.
This is an option to look into at least. And instead of paying a 600.00 a month payment it will be around 80.00 -100.00. A little more manageable at least. But still it will take a chunk out of our budget. But it will keep them from calling me and attaching my pay checks, or putting a lien on the house. At least that is what I understand. I'll be researching this further to see if this is a good option for me.
This is an option to look into at least. And instead of paying a 600.00 a month payment it will be around 80.00 -100.00. A little more manageable at least. But still it will take a chunk out of our budget. But it will keep them from calling me and attaching my pay checks, or putting a lien on the house. At least that is what I understand. I'll be researching this further to see if this is a good option for me.
A simple calendar
To start off the new year I went to the dollar store and bought a calendar. There is lots of places you can pick up one of these and some are even for free. But I figure 1.00 is not much to spend for a simple house hold budget tool.
I realize there is lots of online forms, calendars, and stuff to keep track of your bills. I am one of those people who need to see it in writing right in front of me. I need to write things down and go over it. I have done this before with good results so I"m putting this into action once again.
Tonight I'll go thought my bills, take that deep breath and plan my attack on each and every one of them. Write it down where I can see it every day and make changes as they are necessary.
While this is a bit scary at times its not all that bad either. Knowing where you need to go and how to get there is most helpful. Also its helpful to have it written down in case you have to talk to someone on the phone and you have a good reference to look back on too.
I tend to write on my bills also, how much I paid and when it was sent and how much is owed. I like to use a big fat sharpie. I can check this stuff also in a moments notice when needed.
I have file folders I keep bills in. They have a place that I can find them when needed. Its not a perfect system but it works for me.
New year new Calendar. Time to mark it up and track debt reducing progress.
I realize there is lots of online forms, calendars, and stuff to keep track of your bills. I am one of those people who need to see it in writing right in front of me. I need to write things down and go over it. I have done this before with good results so I"m putting this into action once again.
Tonight I'll go thought my bills, take that deep breath and plan my attack on each and every one of them. Write it down where I can see it every day and make changes as they are necessary.
While this is a bit scary at times its not all that bad either. Knowing where you need to go and how to get there is most helpful. Also its helpful to have it written down in case you have to talk to someone on the phone and you have a good reference to look back on too.
I tend to write on my bills also, how much I paid and when it was sent and how much is owed. I like to use a big fat sharpie. I can check this stuff also in a moments notice when needed.
I have file folders I keep bills in. They have a place that I can find them when needed. Its not a perfect system but it works for me.
New year new Calendar. Time to mark it up and track debt reducing progress.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Paying off the most expensive debt first.
There are some articles that say you should pay off the smallest bills first the work your way up to the biggest. Some claim that if you pay off the biggest first that works too.
Its just a small decision that can make a huge difference in your finances. So choose the one that will work for you.
This article gives some good tips on what to do in order to reduce your debt. I"ll be putting some of these into practice. I have been frugal in the past and can do that again. I"m interested to see how far I can stretch my money. http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/01/02/how-one-family-paid-off-118000-in-debt
Its just a small decision that can make a huge difference in your finances. So choose the one that will work for you.
This article gives some good tips on what to do in order to reduce your debt. I"ll be putting some of these into practice. I have been frugal in the past and can do that again. I"m interested to see how far I can stretch my money. http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/01/02/how-one-family-paid-off-118000-in-debt
Friday, January 3, 2014
Graphic Art Degree, or almost a degree.
I attended the Pittsburgh Art Institute online division for 4 years. Only to get to the point that I ran out of funds. I was not at all prepared for this to happen, and when I only had 10 more classes to go. But here I am with 4 years of school and almost have a degree and to also find out the if I do have that paper in hand it could be worthless.
I could look at this in a number of ways. I could say to myself that I wasted those 4 years and just pitty myself and say how once again I failed. Or I could look back on those 4 years and use what I learned and do something with it.
Education no matter where you get it from is still an education. Let it be that you love to read, listen to talk radio, take free online classes, take advantage of community college classes, take advantage of classes offered though your job. No matter how you end up learning something you still can be a well educated person. For me my education is costing me 60,000 dollars and I have no paper to show my accomplishments from the school. So either I do something with it or let it ruin my life. I decide to do something with it.
I 'm not a great artist. But I did learn how to do quite a few things that I enjoy and I'm not too bad at. So my goal for this year is to take my experience in crafting, my schooling, my job, my life and anything I will learn online and make something of it. If having a debt at 45 that has put you over the edge of life does not wake a person up nothing will. But I look at this way, it is not impossible either to pay this back.
Next week I"ll start in looking into what I can do with these loans. From the income based repayment plans, to paying what I can to who knows what else. I have an inventory of sorts to sell on Ebay. Everyday I learn something new about what is good to sell and what I have and how to go about selling it. On the top of my list is glass ware that I did not think we could do anything with. But I found out that it is possible to find buyers for this stuff. So I"m taking the plunge and listing these pieces. Also clothing seems to be a big seller. I have some I do not ware, my daughter has lots she grew out of and does not wear. So why not make a few bucks toward the large goal and get rid of the clutter in the process. And I do not have to look for a second job just yet. I can do this from home and still work my full time job as a lunch lady.
I'm looking at ways to sell my art and crafts too. Last year before my mom got sick I was working on designing a table to set up at craft shows. As it happen I was unable to do it because of helping my dad with my mom. So I'll be looking for shows later this year. I'm making the plunge and making stuff I love and putting myself out there. Other people do it and I figure why cant I.
This student loan mess. I did get myself into it because I had a dream and wanted that job. But God did not see it that way. Plus I do think I have been scammed in the process. I had classes transfer from another school for one. And that should of cut my costs down. Second I did not see that it would cost me this much to attend the school. And I asked several times how many classes and how long. At times I could not get a straight answer from my advisers. Who ever it was that month. I should of paid more attention to what was going on but I was focused on my classes and trusted the financial aid people was doing their job. I did not question it. I should of questioned what was going on before it got to late.
So here I am, stuck with 60,000 dollars in debt at 45. This is just my student loans.
If there is a will there is a way. I believe it with all my heart. I just have to hang in there and hope that I can get this going fast enough to keep the calls from coming.
I could look at this in a number of ways. I could say to myself that I wasted those 4 years and just pitty myself and say how once again I failed. Or I could look back on those 4 years and use what I learned and do something with it.
Education no matter where you get it from is still an education. Let it be that you love to read, listen to talk radio, take free online classes, take advantage of community college classes, take advantage of classes offered though your job. No matter how you end up learning something you still can be a well educated person. For me my education is costing me 60,000 dollars and I have no paper to show my accomplishments from the school. So either I do something with it or let it ruin my life. I decide to do something with it.
I 'm not a great artist. But I did learn how to do quite a few things that I enjoy and I'm not too bad at. So my goal for this year is to take my experience in crafting, my schooling, my job, my life and anything I will learn online and make something of it. If having a debt at 45 that has put you over the edge of life does not wake a person up nothing will. But I look at this way, it is not impossible either to pay this back.
Next week I"ll start in looking into what I can do with these loans. From the income based repayment plans, to paying what I can to who knows what else. I have an inventory of sorts to sell on Ebay. Everyday I learn something new about what is good to sell and what I have and how to go about selling it. On the top of my list is glass ware that I did not think we could do anything with. But I found out that it is possible to find buyers for this stuff. So I"m taking the plunge and listing these pieces. Also clothing seems to be a big seller. I have some I do not ware, my daughter has lots she grew out of and does not wear. So why not make a few bucks toward the large goal and get rid of the clutter in the process. And I do not have to look for a second job just yet. I can do this from home and still work my full time job as a lunch lady.
I'm looking at ways to sell my art and crafts too. Last year before my mom got sick I was working on designing a table to set up at craft shows. As it happen I was unable to do it because of helping my dad with my mom. So I'll be looking for shows later this year. I'm making the plunge and making stuff I love and putting myself out there. Other people do it and I figure why cant I.
This student loan mess. I did get myself into it because I had a dream and wanted that job. But God did not see it that way. Plus I do think I have been scammed in the process. I had classes transfer from another school for one. And that should of cut my costs down. Second I did not see that it would cost me this much to attend the school. And I asked several times how many classes and how long. At times I could not get a straight answer from my advisers. Who ever it was that month. I should of paid more attention to what was going on but I was focused on my classes and trusted the financial aid people was doing their job. I did not question it. I should of questioned what was going on before it got to late.
So here I am, stuck with 60,000 dollars in debt at 45. This is just my student loans.
If there is a will there is a way. I believe it with all my heart. I just have to hang in there and hope that I can get this going fast enough to keep the calls from coming.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
A few good articles to read and consider the options available.
I'll be looking into the income based repayment plan this coming week. I hope it is an easy process like they say. I"ll let you know the out come.
Here are a few good articles to read.
COLUMN-Five ways do-gooders can erase student-loan debt
If your student loan debt is high relative to your income, you may qualify for the Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR).
From the little bit I read already you do end up paying more interest on the loans because you are making smaller payments for a period of time. So that is something to consider.
Also not all volunteer opportunities will be eligible for earning money toward your loans. So do your research before considering this option. But its is something to consider if you can do it.
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