Student loan debt on Black college students & graduates...

I wanted to share this tweet with you. Perhaps there are some graduating seniors or even high school juniors trying to figure out what next after four years of high school. Is college in your future? 

 This tweet from Charlane Oliver - who is running for a state senate seat in Tennessee - shares a number of graphics with regards to the latest action by the Biden-Harris admin. How does student loans affect Black students? How much debt does Black students carry compared to white students? 

Dave Ramsey: Why credit scores are completely bogus

 

[VIDEO] Dave Ramsey discusses with a caller how a credit score works. What is the process to getting your credit score to zero? Why do a salesperson - say when you get your iPhone from AT&T - might do a credit check ✅ although you're paying cash? How long does any item - student loan, credit cards, car note, etc. - remain on your credit report?

Dave Ramsey's LIFE ADVICE will leave you SPEECHLESS

 

[VIDEO] I can't get over watching this video and seeing Dave Ramsey's old pics of him with hair.

He talks about how he was making good money taking vacations, buying expensive cars, owning a lot of real estate and then he became bankrupt. His marriage was hanging by a string even joking that his wife would've left long ago but she had no car.

Anyway, if you're struggling right now I hope his message helps you. His philosophy which he often expresses on his radio program (or you can follow The Ramsey Show YouTube channel) he might tell you to cut up all your credit cards, start paying off your bills, live on a budget or just live within your means. And of course he closes on generosity.

Hey I would like having more money in my pocket, however, I do wonder if one message rings true. Money makes you more of what you already are. If you're a jerk, you become more of a jerk. If you're a generous person now you're a philanthropist.

Here's hoping as Ramsey did once he hit rock bottom that you too will make a change in your life. It doesn't have to be financial but then it's a great start since Ramsey Solutions is about personal finances.

Navient settlement

 I wanted to share this story when I first heard about it since this blog has a few posts about student loan debt. 

From the Delaware News Journal:

Thousands of people with student loan debt will have their debt canceled or receive a one-time check as part of a multistate settlement with one of the nation's largest student loan servicers.

Navient, the Wilmington-based company, was accused of encouraging borrowers to pause payments through forbearance rather than directing them to lower-cost repayment plans tied to their income. Although Navient denies the charges, the settlement ends probes by multiple states into the company's practices and will affect thousands of people whose loans are serviced by Navient.

The loans in question were mostly originated by Sallie Mae between 2002 and 2014 before Sallie Mae spun off its student loan services as Navient in 2014. The agreement will result in the cancellation of $1.7 billion in student loans. Another $95 million will be distributed in restitution payments worth about $260.

How do I find out if I will benefit?

Those who will have private loan debt canceled will be notified by Navient no later than July. They will receive a refund for payments made after June 30, 2021.

Borrowers who are eligible for the $260 restitution payment will receive a postcard from a settlement administrator this spring.

With this said if you're currently making payments continue to do so, especially if there is a possibility that you might not be eligible for the student loan cancellation. At the very least wait until you get official notification by Navient.

If you want more information I would suggest going to https://www.navientagsettlement.com/  to find out as much info as possible. The Attorney General of Illinois was one of four state Attorney Generals who led this settlement. And of course 35 other states are party to this settlement.

From that website:

Under the terms of the settlement, Navient will cancel the remaining balance on $1.7 billion in subprime private student loan balances owed by more than 66,000 borrowers nationwide. In addition, Navient will pay $142.5 million to the attorneys general. A total of $95 million in restitution payments of about $260 each will be distributed to approximately 350,000 federal loan borrowers who were placed in certain types of long-term forbearances. Borrowers who will receive restitution or debt cancellation span all generations: Navient’s harmful conduct impacted everyone from students who enrolled in colleges and universities immediately after high school to mid-career students who dropped out after enrolling in a for-profit school in the early to mid-2000s.

As stated you will be notified of whatever resolution to your debt that you are due. 

Ramsey: Steve Harvey Said Debt Freedom Is Impossible?

 

[VIDEO] Steve Harvey hosts the game show Family Feud - Dave Ramsey said he last watched the show when the late Richard Dawson hosted that's almost late 1970s to early 1980s. Anyway the current host Harvey comments to an answer by a young contestant who answers about milestones worth celebrating. The young man answers something along the lines of being debt free, not exactly what he says but basic gist.

So this gets Ramsey and his co-host to talking about what Harvey said. The key to being rich is "other people's money" according to Harvey. "Debt is good" says Harvey. Being debt free "isn't going to happen" says Harvey.

Well Ramsey doesn't like that and noted that Steve Harvey owed $25 million to the IRS, so for being a dream killer to this young man Ramsey and his co-host beats him up a bit. The advice he gives to Harvey is don't be a dream killer and stay in your lane and not give any financial advice.

For me I wish someone pulled me aside and said about my own debt, what are you doing? Are you sure you'll be able to pay these loans off? Why don't you just quit while you're ahead?

It's a laudable goal for that young man to want to be debt free. Getting rich isn't possible with other people's money. When you own your income you have freedom, and this is what I'm working towards.

Two Cents: How social media keeps you poor?

 

[VIDEO] I found this at random recently Two Cents is a PBS web series you can follow on YouTube. Basically they look at issues of personal finance and would very much like to share other editions with you and hopefully you will learn something new as far as what to do with your money.

To start social media has gained prominence since the 2000s. I can never imagine world without Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or even Instagram. You would think the user who signs up for those sites would be the customer but in reality the customers are the advertisers. 

With YouTube some popular YouTubers who are over say half-million subscribers often make money by taking on a sponsorship. For example it seems that I can't get away from a YouTuber pitched Raid Shadow Legends on the regular. Also in general if you make at least a thousand subscribers this is when YouTubers will get to make money and it will not be via sponsorships it will be the ads that run at the start, end, or even during their videos. Often a YouTuber doesn't have the ability to control when these ads run although they can control usage of these ads. If they opt out then they have a far more difficult time monetizing their YouTube channels.

Anyway aside from that sidetrack, what Phillip & Julia Olsen they will talk about how social media causes users to spend more money. You might follow someone who seems to have this amazing life. They dress well, eat at a posh restaurant, go on amazing vacations, etc. What if you see them and then you try to be like them. You try to up your fashion, find a posh restaurant, or even go on an amazing vacation.

Perhaps there's a feedback loop going on here and what happens is that you begin to spend money as a result. Very interesting video.

How to avoid student loans?

This advice, from Dave Ramsey is good advice. Taken from his ig stories. It’s advice I could’ve used many years ago. If you take some time off to slow down instead trying to do it in four years you might be better for it. 

 

You can go to college DEBT FREE

[VIDEO] Dave Ramsey does a radio show on personal finance and he does this video recently to help explore families paying for their children's college education. He speaks with Anthony O'Neal and Rachel Cruze. It's possible with some effort to go to college debt free.

A few things to take away. It's great to have a dream school (and I certainly went to mine) however it's OK to go to a school you can afford. You don't have to go to a more prestigious and expensive school (realize that there aren't any guarantees with that) to accomplish the goal of a baccalaureate degree.

I wish I had really made more of an effort to work while in school or better yet start my own business or side hustle. If only I understood using a blog to make money for example. Aside from this blog I had been blogging and got some notice for it during my college years. Undergrad becomes much harder if you have little to no money coming in at all.

Also this is related to working, perhaps you take on a job that helps you pay for college. Perhaps your industry has a trade organization that offers competitive scholarships. Perhaps your company offers tuition reimbursement if you achieve a passing grade in a course. These are some things worth looking into as you figure out college finance.

If you want to cut the cost of college consider staying home and going to school. Of course, not everyone has this option and I can understand if a young person just out of high school feel the need to leave home. If you do leave home room and board is a major expense.

Angela Rye to Host BET News Town Hall Addressing Student Debt

I just got wind of this today so I wanted to share this with you all. Besides while I had branded this blog as a neighborhood blog it has touched upon issues within higher education. Black college studetns unfortunately have been especially vulnerable to student loan debt, unfortunately. As always I often express that we need a new goal for our young people as they graduate from high school.

TODAY, BET announces it will broadcast a new primetime news special examining student loan debt and its disproportionate impact on African American students. The special is the first nationally-televised hour-long town hall aimed at the hot button student loan crisis. Hosted by political strategist and advocate, Angela Rye, this Town Hall looks to sound the alarm and pose solutions toward affecting change to what has become an American crisis. “YOUNG GIFTED AND BROKE: Our Student Loan Crisis” airs Sunday, September 15, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on BET.

For all students of color, especially African Americans, obtaining a college education can become financially crippling from high levels of unmanageable student debt. Our experts blame many causes, ranging from expensive for-profit colleges that aggressively market to poor students of color, to a widespread lack of financial literacy among first generation college students. Currently, the total outstanding student debt amount in America exceeds $1.5 trillion, mainly held by students from middle and lower-income households. Without a plan of action, this issue will only get worse for African Americans.

This one-hour Town Hall will feature analysis and commentary from policymakers in the CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS (CBC), experts in the education field and student borrowers impacted by this crisis.

I hope you check out this program this coming Sunday. And as often happens here I would like to share with you all anything with regards to student loan debt.

Dave Ramsey Rant: Is college worth it?

[VIDEO] Dave Ramsey is a radio host who does a program on personal finance. I know that he's done many segments on whether or not college is worth it. Student loans has been an ongoing public policy issue especially since the "great recession" during the late 2000s. Also another issue related to that is the increase in the cost of getting an undergrad degree.

Ramsey finds himself chuckling at the idea of a woman who graduated with her bachelor's degree, but the salary at her job doesn't pay enough to cover the cost of student loans. I get what he chuckles about, she wasn't smart enough to pick a field that would offer a return on investment (RoI). In his mind the person he's talking about made a bad decision as far as her chosen subject, however, he doesn't just blame her. He blames her parents....

With this said do I think this country got crazy over going to college? Yes I do. It was ingrained in my head that you need a college degree it would get you a better job and you'd make more. Of course what even I failed to realize is that getting a college degree is fine but you need to have a plan. Especially what you plan to do when you get out. It's a lot like studying, the sooner you get ahead of the game as far as finding a job once you graduate the sooner you can find that good job once you pay your loans.

Either way this is a telling segment that was uploaded to YouTube on December 15, 2015. Whatever news story Ramsey was reading said that Goldman Sachs believes getting a college education isn't worth it. Especially as far as a financial RoI.

My thing is, college has become the thing you must do. It's the new high school diploma, gone are the days where you were set if you got a bachelor's degree. It's devalued if everyone and their mother seems to have one. Now you have to do more than go to college, to really have something of great value you must go to graduate school.

Everyone isn't meant to go to college and I do believe at one point that was one goal of a disgraced CPS CEO. Instead of prepping our kids for college which they may not be able to complete at least, why not prepare them for the workforce also?

Let me know what you think of Ramsey's rant?

CPS offering financial literacy in curriculum

Sun-Times:

Passing algebra, geometry and calculus is one thing. Mastering the skills needed to pay bills, balance a checkbook, make car and mortgage payments is quite another.

Chicago's 113,166 public high school students may soon get a steady diet of both.

Schools CEO Ron Huberman disclosed Tuesday that "financial literacy" would be worked into the curriculum at Chicago's 116 public high schools in time for the start of school next fall.

Huberman made the announcement after joining City Treasurer Stephanie Neely to highlight the 45 minutes of financial education instruction being given this week to 71,000 students in 2,500 Chicago classrooms.

Before I left the 8th Grade we took a minimum skills proficiency test. If I recall correctly this test was to see if we could make change, read a map, or balance a checkbook. That's to name a few things I can recall.