Every time I look back on the time that was spent paying off my student loans, I’m always in complete awe of how things came together in the ways that did. Especially when I think about how, in the beginning, I calculated out a 5 year plan to steadily pay off my debt and to have paid it all off in 2 years and 3 months.
I honestly did not think I could pay off $45,000 of debt in just over 2 years and instead was hoping for 4 years or something like that. I can tell you all that did to earn some extra money to have made this possible, but every bit of it was a miracle in my mind.
There are some notable things that I feel made a really big difference in how I was able to make so much progress in a short amount of time:
Not Getting Sick So I Could Donate Plasma Was A Miracle
You might donate plasma yourself, of you’ve talked with someone who does and I’ll bet that you’ve heard some pretty unsettling stories that make you cringe. You might also know that there isn’t a lot of toleration for illness, dehydration, eating fatty foods and not enough protein. Meaning, not drinking enough water or a quick trip through the McDonalds drive through before your donation will disqualify you. All of these little things become a big deal when you start relying on this extra money. I was earning $200 a month doing this. That required me to go twice a week, every week. And I did it for 2 years. That puts me in the neighborhood of $4,500 for that time and that was the easy money.
The miracle here was that I never got sick or have something come up that would prevent from donating every week. I’ve met several people who could never maintain that cadence, making me feel even more grateful that I was able to.
Steady Stream of New Clients Needing Photos Was A Miracle
It was no secret to my family and friends that I was a photographer, and was good at what I did. After I lost my first job, I shifted my focus and started putting myself out there more for client work. Before I knew it, I was taking all kinds of engagement photos and photographing weddings to bring in some extra cash.
The miracle here was that people came to me for their photos, rather than me chasing down the work. Doing this kind of work on the side takes a lot of time and if you’re not constantly filling your pipeline, it runs dry. That wasn’t the case while I was diligently working to pay off my loans as fast as possible.
Becoming A WordPress Designer Was A Miracle
I had some decent experience working with WordPress and building websites that I opened myself up to some gigs building websites for a few people. I wasn’t too sure how much I wanted to go down this path because I was really enjoying the photography I was doing, but, I had a goal and I’m not above any job.
The miracle here was that people came to me asking if I could help build their website. I never advertised my website building skills, but everyone seemed just know that I was a designer too and I had my own website. Little did I know at the time, but these types of gigs have led me to building WordPress sites full-time… for a company that I own.
Praying and Paying Tithing I Think Brought The Miracles
I tried really hard to not falter on the spiritual side of things. Not only for balance in my personal life, but because I firmly believed that I needed divine help if I was going to make it up this mountain of debt. I prayed for things I felt I needed and for the people that I loved. I payed my tithing because I’ve met people in worse shape then me that could benefit from the generosity of my church. More importantly, this helped me grow a lot as an individual and closer to my God.
The miracle here would be all of the unanswered prayers and the blessings the came in the most unexpected of ways. How humbling it is realize that everything was an answer to some prayer. That everything came together in ways I couldn’t have even imagined and better than I was even hoping for.
What are the tax implications? Answer: If a friend or family member pays your student loans off, it is probably a non-taxable gift to you. However, your friend or family member may be responsible for filing gift tax returns and for paying any applicable gift tax on the payment.
In most cases, you'll get a refund for any overpayments beyond 20 or 25 years. The extra payments made on forgiven loans will be refunded back to the most recent of these three dates: The date you reached the required number of payments for IDR forgiveness – 20 or 25 years of monthly bills.
Higher student debt was correlated with higher stress. In short, “if you have more student debt and you feel like things are unstable, you have higher levels of stress and anxiety,” Lindgren explains.
The IRS allows every taxpayer is gift up to $18,000 to an individual recipient in one year. There is no limit to the number of recipients you can give a gift to.
For purposes of this calculation, debt payments are regular payments that you are obligated to make to repay money that you have borrowed. They include student loans, auto loans, credit card debt and mortgages, for example. Other monthly expenses, like utilities and grocery bills, are not included in this calculation.
All borrowers on SAVE receive forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on whether they have loans for graduate school. The benefit is based upon the original principal balance of all Federal loans borrowed to attend school, not what a borrower currently owes or the amount of an individual loan.
Once your student loans are paid off, you just want to confirm it. First, you should receive a letter from your lender congratulating you and confirming that the loans were paid off. Save this letter forever. It's important to be able to show you're debt free should anything happen with the lender in the future.
Borrowers should generally avoid putting their loans on default, or being 270 days past payment, to avoid seeing their tax refund garnished. However, the Biden Administration's 12-month on-ramp to repayment program currently prevents borrowers from facing a penalty if they don't make loan payments through Sep. 30 2024.
Let's say you have $200,000 in student loans at 6% interest on a 10-year repayment term. Your monthly payments would be $2,220. If you can manage an additional $200 a month, you could save a total of $7,796 while trimming a year off your repayment plan.
What is considered a lot of student loan debt? A lot of student loan debt is more than you can afford to repay after graduation. For many this means having more than $70,000 – $100,000 of total student debt.
It's perhaps no surprise, then, that 24% of Americans with student loan debt say it's their biggest financial regret, according to a survey from personal finance site Bankrate.
Difficulty concentrating, sleepless nights, and a change in eating habits are just a few physical symptoms in which debt stress can manifest, and this phenomenon has given rise to what is often referred to in medical circles as “debt stress syndrome.” Researchers have documented the health effects of debt, and ...
43.2 million borrowers have federal student loan debt. The average federal student loan debt balance is $37,088, while the total average balance (including private loan debt) may be as high as $39,981. Less than 2% of private student loans enter default as of 2021's fourth financial quarter (2021 Q4).
You can't pay student loan debt directly, but you could always gift money to cover the debt to your grandchildren. Again, because the FAFSA has a two-year lookback, grandparents should wait until after the grandchild's sophom*ore year or after the grandchild graduates to help pay student loans.
The primary way the IRS becomes aware of gifts is when you report them on form 709. You are required to report gifts to an individual over $17,000 on this form. This is how the IRS will generally become aware of a gift.
You make a gift if you give property (including money), or the use of or income from property, without expecting to receive something of at least equal value in return. If you sell something at less than its full value or if you make an interest-free or reduced-interest loan, you may be making a gift.
Hobby: Web surfing, Rafting, Dowsing, Stand-up comedy, Ghost hunting, Swimming, Amateur radio
Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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