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.
Debt ticker
First student loan to pay off
Friday, January 10, 2014
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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