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Speaker 1: Hey, hey va fam, what's up? And welcome back to

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Speaker 1: Brown Ambition. It's your girl, Mandy Money, and I'm so

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Speaker 1: excited to be here at iHeart Studio. I'm in the

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Speaker 1: red room, y'all. Like I think the chair I'm sitting

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Speaker 1: on many a famous butt has been on it, not

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Speaker 1: just you know mine. I'm so so happy to be

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Speaker 1: here with y'all. Ba fam, It's to be AQA. This

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Speaker 1: is where I take your questions and I give you

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Speaker 1: my lowercase a answer. So let me get this out

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Speaker 1: of the way. Do not come for me. Do not

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Speaker 1: try to sue me. I have children to put them

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Speaker 1: through college. Okay, when I'm giving y'all my advice is

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Speaker 1: my best take as a longtime business and financial journalist,

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Speaker 1: personal finance expert, career coach, queen all the above. All right,

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Speaker 1: so again, don't sue me. Get out your salt shakers,

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Speaker 1: and let's get into y'all's questions now before I get started,

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Speaker 1: please send me your questions. You can hit me up

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Speaker 1: at Brown Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com, or you

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Speaker 1: can slide into my DMS Brown Ambition Podcast on IG.

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Speaker 1: I love actually getting y'alls voice notes, and I'm going

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Speaker 1: to share one today from a listener, So if you

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Speaker 1: want to just get it off your chest, go ahead,

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Speaker 1: drop me a voice note in ig or if you

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Speaker 1: know more of an analog girly, then you can hit

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Speaker 1: me up via email. I so look forward to hearing

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Speaker 1: from y'all. I love love answering y'all's questions. I'm going

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Speaker 1: to try to get through a bunch today, but let's

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Speaker 1: start with a really juicy one from listener Sydney. Sidney says, hey,

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Speaker 1: friend in my head, I am a thirty four year

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Speaker 1: old full time nurse, married with no children, currently managing

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Speaker 1: a student loan balance of roughly thirty thousand dollars with

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Speaker 1: a monthly payment of five hundred dollars. Based on my calculations,

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Speaker 1: I've got about three years of payments left before I

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Speaker 1: qualify for public service loan forgiveness. I am also starting

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Speaker 1: my master's degree, and by securing in state tuition, I

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Speaker 1: was able to reduce the total cost of tuition from

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Speaker 1: sixty five thousand to twenty thousand dollars. Yes for in

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Speaker 1: state with employer tuition reimbursement of five thousand, two hundred

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Speaker 1: and fifty dollars per calendar year. My remaining out of

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Speaker 1: pocket costs should be relatively small. My husband and I

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Speaker 1: currently own a home, but we are planning to sell

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Speaker 1: and purchase a new one that's closer to work, as

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Speaker 1: my current commute is thirty three miles each way out.

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Speaker 1: Earlier this year, I had to purchase a new car

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Speaker 1: due to commute demands, resulting in a monthly car payment

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Speaker 1: of nearly six hundred dollars. Both my husband and I

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Speaker 1: have excellent credit. He carries about fifty grand and student

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Speaker 1: loans but no car payment. Okay, what a man. We

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Speaker 1: maintain just under three months of savings in a high

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Speaker 1: yield savings account as we navigate these financial and life transitions.

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Speaker 1: So here's my question. Since my loans are currently in

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Speaker 1: deferment due to being a student again, do I stop

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Speaker 1: making payments and focus on the hopeful move and new

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Speaker 1: mortgage payment or do I push forward and keep making

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Speaker 1: that five hundred dollars payment to get closer to loan

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Speaker 1: forgiveness because who knows if that will go away with

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Speaker 1: the current administration. I've already delayed my public service loan

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Speaker 1: forgiveness by not making payments during another ferment period working

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Speaker 1: toward my second degree. As well as during the COVID pause.

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Speaker 1: So I'm kicking myself for not being done by now.

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Speaker 1: Any in suggestions you may have to improve my financial

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Speaker 1: situation are welcome, okay, miss thaying Well, First of all, congratulations,

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Speaker 1: I'm being married with no children. Enjoy it. So get up.

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Speaker 1: You're so rich and you don't even know what you

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Speaker 1: don't even know it's Sydney, Okay, But it sounds like

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Speaker 1: you and your husband are actually in a really great

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Speaker 1: financial situation. I know that the pressures of student loan

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Speaker 1: would weigh on anybody, but the fact that you're making

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Speaker 1: these really savvy financial moves and thinking things through strategically

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Speaker 1: just tells me that you're actually well positioned to get

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Speaker 1: this debt paid off. But let's talk about it, because

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Speaker 1: you've got a lot going on, all right. So you're

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Speaker 1: three years away from potentially qualifying for Public service Loan forgiveness.

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Speaker 1: And for those who don't know, public Service Loan Forgiveness

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Speaker 1: or PSLF is a very fraught student loan forgiveness program

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Speaker 1: where if you are a public service employee, so you

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Speaker 1: work for the government for a qualifying public role like

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Speaker 1: a nurse, for example, or a teacher, you potentially are

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Speaker 1: qualified to have your remaining student loan balance forgiveness after

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Speaker 1: making ten years of qualifying payments. We're going to come

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Speaker 1: back to this, but the keyword here is qualifying. All right,

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Speaker 1: So you're going for your Masters, which is mostly covered

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Speaker 1: via in state tuition and your five thousand dollars employee reimbursement.

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Speaker 1: I love that you're about to do a home upgrade

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Speaker 1: to get rid of that brutal thirty three mile commute.

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Speaker 1: You have a new car that's costing you six hundred

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Speaker 1: bucks a month, and you have just under three months

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Speaker 1: of saving. So the tension is real here. You're asking yourself,

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Speaker 1: do I keep on paying these student loans while they

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Speaker 1: are deferred just to stay on track for PSLF, or

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Speaker 1: should I press pause to shore up my life in

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Speaker 1: my savings. So here's a key key nuance. I remember

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Speaker 1: I said qualifying payments when it comes to PSLF. So

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Speaker 1: for PSLF only payments may while you are in a

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Speaker 1: qualifying repayment plan and working full time for a qualifying employers.

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Speaker 1: A lot of qualifying there count toward that. Ten years

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Speaker 1: of payments or one hundred and twenty months of payments.

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Speaker 1: Payments that are made when you are in school deferment

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Speaker 1: typically do not count as qualifying PSLF payments. So if

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Speaker 1: your loans right now are in an in school deferment

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Speaker 1: period and you just keep voluntarily throwing five hundred dollars

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Speaker 1: a month at them, you are essentially reducing your balance,

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Speaker 1: which is great, we love that, but you're actually not

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Speaker 1: buying yourself any extra credit towards your goal of getting

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Speaker 1: public service loan forgiveness. Those payments that you're making are wonderful,

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Speaker 1: but they're not considered a qualifying payment. Okay. That means

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Speaker 1: they're not getting closer to forgiveness, although of course you

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Speaker 1: are getting closer to paying down your debt and paying

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Speaker 1: less interest, which is also great. Now that debt may

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Speaker 1: be forgiven in about three years if you stay the course.

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Speaker 1: But given that and you have other priorities, it's not

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Speaker 1: about writer or wrong situation. It's more about what makes

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Speaker 1: the most sense for you in this moment. So think

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Speaker 1: of it this way, like, if those PSLF payments are

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Speaker 1: not getting you credit towards your goal of that loan forgiveness,

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Speaker 1: it could potentially be reasonable to redirect that five hundred

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Speaker 1: dollars like you were saying toward your savings goal, toward yeah,

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Speaker 1: any goal that you may have, even you know, taking

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Speaker 1: care of that car payment that you now have. So

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Speaker 1: here's where that Like, let's just say, hypothetically, you've got

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Speaker 1: five hundred extra dollars, Like, let's talk about how we

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Speaker 1: can make that money work harder for you. So if

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Speaker 1: you pause that extra student loan payment while you're in deferment,

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Speaker 1: you could use that five hundred bucks a few different ways.

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Speaker 1: First of all, about three months of an emergency fund

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Speaker 1: is wonderful. And if this worth ten years ago and

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Speaker 1: I was a baby business reporter, you know, hitting those

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Speaker 1: streets that business Insider and y'allho finance and trying to

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Speaker 1: give great personal finance guidance for millennials, I'd be all

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Speaker 1: about that three month emergency savings goal. The honey, we

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Speaker 1: are not in those times anymore. Unfortunately, three months is

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Speaker 1: a drop in the bucket. So you could use that

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Speaker 1: five hundred dollars to try to get even higher with

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Speaker 1: that saving school, you know, get that emergency fund even

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Speaker 1: that six month mark. So you're in a season of transition,

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Speaker 1: you want to buy a new house, you got that

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Speaker 1: big commute, got the card note grad school. So think

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Speaker 1: about what that buffer of six months can give you

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Speaker 1: in terms of peace of mind if anything were to happen,

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Speaker 1: if you were to, you know, think about changing career paths.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I know we need our nurses, and I'm

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Speaker 1: sure you love what you're doing, but you never know, right,

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Speaker 1: the more cash you have on hand, the more tempted

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Speaker 1: you'll also be to rely on, you know, those I

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Speaker 1: don't even want to say it, credit cards, Okay, loans,

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Speaker 1: we don't want to talk about those. So that's your

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Speaker 1: first option. Put that money toward an emergency fund. Try

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Speaker 1: to hit that six month savings mark. Now your next

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Speaker 1: option is, you know, use that money to prepare for

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Speaker 1: your move. Moving is expansive, Okay, five hundred dollars. That's

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Speaker 1: like what maybe two hours if you're lucky mover's time.

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Speaker 1: It doesn't sound like you're making a huge move, but still,

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Speaker 1: I mean, you know what cardboard boxes cost this time,

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Speaker 1: like this time, this day and age like it's it's

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Speaker 1: the little nuts. So you could set that cash aside

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Speaker 1: for moving cost Maybe you have inspections, you got to

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Speaker 1: pay for an appraisal, closing costs. I'm trying to take

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Speaker 1: myself back to twenty eighteen when little baby Mandy was

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Speaker 1: buying her first house. I mean there's so much. I mean,

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Speaker 1: let's just not even talk about going into home goods

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Speaker 1: thinking you're going for one little stack of paper paper towels,

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Speaker 1: one little stack of wash claus and walking out with

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Speaker 1: like an entire living room worthless stuff. So those expenses

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Speaker 1: can pop up as a new homeowner. So you could

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Speaker 1: set that aside, and like I said before, you got

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Speaker 1: that extra five hundred dollars in your pocket, much less

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Speaker 1: likely to put those expenses on a credit card or

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Speaker 1: dip into your already you know, respectable but not truly

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Speaker 1: pop in savings fund right now. Next option is you

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Speaker 1: could attack that car payment now in this interest rate environment.

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Speaker 1: I know, when I got my card, which, oh my god,

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Speaker 1: thank goodness, I'm about to pay off my car this tune,

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Speaker 1: I could not be more excited. I hate car notes. However,

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Speaker 1: my interest rate is like two percent interest rates today

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Speaker 1: for a you know, even great credit on a car

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Speaker 1: a lot more than that. So you could take that

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Speaker 1: extra money and pay down, you know, work toward paying

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Speaker 1: down your car note. That's one option I think when

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Speaker 1: it comes to car notes, I mean it's a personal preference.

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Speaker 1: They are not typically the highest cost loan for a

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Speaker 1: lot of people unless you have poor credit, and then

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Speaker 1: that could be a very different case. So it could

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Speaker 1: just be like me personally, I don't like having a

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Speaker 1: car note over my head. It thinkes me feel rich.

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Speaker 1: I don't care what kind of car I'm driving. If

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Speaker 1: I'm driving around and I know that I own it outright,

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Speaker 1: I'm not making any payments. I just feel better. So

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Speaker 1: for me, that's something that I may do, but that

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Speaker 1: for you may not be the case. So it's a

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Speaker 1: personal preference. Hey, ba fam, we got to take a

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Speaker 1: quick break, pay some bills, and we'll be right back,

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Speaker 1: all right. So let's get to the idea of public

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Speaker 1: service loan forgiveness and will they kill it? So here's

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Speaker 1: what I'll say PSLF. I've been covering that ever since

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Speaker 1: it was it was rolled out, I want to say,

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Speaker 1: in the early twenty teens, maybe during the Obama administration,

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Speaker 1: the first one, but regardless, it has survived multiple administrations,

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Speaker 1: even the one of he who must not be named. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so is it likely that the program is going to

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Speaker 1: get asked? I would say, like any other you know,

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Speaker 1: federal program. There's a chance that it could change if

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Speaker 1: the wind changes, or if I don't know, someone tweets

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Speaker 1: about it, or you know, our current administration suddenly has

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Speaker 1: a vendetta against someone in the DOE. But right now,

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Speaker 1: it's it's not looking like it. So I think the

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Speaker 1: angst about it, you know, is it going to be

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Speaker 1: taken off the table? Is there a point in continuing

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Speaker 1: to make these payments, these qualifying payments to qualify I

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Speaker 1: think yes for now. I'm I mean, there's it's just

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Speaker 1: impossible to predict, so I think, why worry. Additionally, there's

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Speaker 1: so much else to be concerned about right now. Also, like,

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Speaker 1: look at it this way. You're a nurse, So I

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Speaker 1: think politically, we love our healthcare workers. And I'm trying

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Speaker 1: to think. I think of all the you know, the

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Speaker 1: doge of it all, and the different groups that this

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Speaker 1: administration seems to target, I think we can all agree

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Speaker 1: that we need our healthcare workers. So even if they

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Speaker 1: were to alter the PSLF, I just can't imagine a

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Speaker 1: world and this is just my assumption, my prediction. I

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Speaker 1: can't imagine a world where they're going to take it

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Speaker 1: away from our healthcare workers. And if they do. It's

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Speaker 1: just one more reason to get them with out of here.

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Speaker 1: I need a passport, another one and another I need

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Speaker 1: another citizenship asap. Okay, because if they take away for

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Speaker 1: goodness from nurses like I just, I don't know if

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Speaker 1: I want to raise my kids here anymore. But for now,

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Speaker 1: I think you're good. If you're not sure about your

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Speaker 1: qualifying payments for PSLF, and this is for anyone who's listening,

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Speaker 1: here are a couple of things you should do right now.

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Speaker 1: So the first powerful thing you can do is make

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Speaker 1: sure that every qualifying payment you make is currently logged

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Speaker 1: and certified. Submit your employment certification annually once a year,

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Speaker 1: and any time that you change employers once you're out

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Speaker 1: of deferment. So again, when you're in deferment, payments that

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Speaker 1: you make toward that loan are not a qualifying PSLF payment, right,

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Speaker 1: So if you get out of deferment, you can get

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Speaker 1: back into a qualifying income driven repayment plan as soon

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Speaker 1: as possible, so that every monthly payment you make counts.

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Speaker 1: So don't starve your life and your safety net to

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Speaker 1: pay on loans that really aren't even earning credit towards

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Speaker 1: your PSLF. Forgiveness right, but do treat it as like

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Speaker 1: probable a program that's probably going to be around, not guaranteed,

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Speaker 1: but probably going to be around. So let's continue making

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Speaker 1: sure that our ducks are in a row, that our

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Speaker 1: paperwork is completely taken care of and pristine, and that

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Speaker 1: you're back in a qualifying repayment schedule. Okay, so where

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Speaker 1: do you actually go to check? You can confirm with

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Speaker 1: your loan servicer. You can go to www dot studentaid

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Speaker 1: dot gov to find out who your student loan servicer is,

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Speaker 1: get your contact info and just ask them straight up,

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Speaker 1: while I'm in school deferment, do my payments counterward PSL

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Speaker 1: left qualifying payments? And if the answers know which it

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Speaker 1: probably is, give yourself permission to pause those extra payments

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Speaker 1: while you're in deferment. Then you can redirect that extra

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Speaker 1: money that you have coming in for the next six

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Speaker 1: to twelve months while you complete your master's degree, so

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Speaker 1: the priority list for you and maybe topping off that

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Speaker 1: emergency fund, getting it up to six months of savings.

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Speaker 1: And let's not forget the extra expenses of being a

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Speaker 1: homeowner that you may have, So maybe it's even setting

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Speaker 1: up a separate fund just for those maybe unexpected costs

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Speaker 1: of a new home. Putting that extra money toward just

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Speaker 1: your moving expenses as well, and then if you're comfortable,

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Speaker 1: you can send none of you don't have to do

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Speaker 1: even do all the five hundred dollars towards your savings

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Speaker 1: and toward the moving expenses goals. You could break it

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Speaker 1: up and do a little bit toward the car note

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Speaker 1: again if that feels good for you, or a future

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Speaker 1: car note savings fund to pay that down. Now, when

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Speaker 1: you finish school and we're all I'm rooting for you,

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Speaker 1: You're won't finish, You're gonna get that degree, you can

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Speaker 1: immediately make sure that you are in rolling in a

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Speaker 1: qualifying income driven repayment plan that's going to put you

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Speaker 1: in a position where the payments you're making are going

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Speaker 1: to count toward your public service loan forgiveness. This is

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Speaker 1: the best part. You can turn that muscle that you've

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Speaker 1: now been exercising of that five hundred dollars per month

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Speaker 1: going toward a goal. You can use that muscle put

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Speaker 1: that money towards your student loan payment or toward any

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Speaker 1: extra principle on that student loan payment. If for any reason,

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Speaker 1: public service loan forgiveness falls through, the debt is still there,

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Speaker 1: so you'd still be putting a debt in your debt,

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Speaker 1: which is a worthy goal any day of the week.

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Speaker 1: All Right, Sidney, thank you so so much for your question.

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Speaker 1: That was really fun and juicy and I wish you

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Speaker 1: all the best. Good look on finding your new home.

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Speaker 1: And again, you ain't got no kids, girl, You rich,

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Speaker 1: You're rich, have fun, stay up late. What do you

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Speaker 1: do like? What do you do after get home from work?

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Speaker 1: In school? Do you like watch TV? You have energy

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Speaker 1: for that. That is rich, honey. I am so happy

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Speaker 1: for you and a little jealous. Sund help for me.

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Speaker 1: All right, Va Fam, thank you so much for listening

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Speaker 1: to this episode of the BAQA. Again. Send me your questions.

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Speaker 1: I would love to tackle them. Personal finance, investing, career,

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Speaker 1: whatever the case may be. I'm here for you. Hit

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Speaker 1: me up. I'm Brown Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com

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Speaker 1: or you can slide into my DMS with a voice

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Speaker 1: note or message at Brown Ambition Podcast on IG Until

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Speaker 1: next time by BA Fam And before I go, BA Fam,

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Speaker 1: I want to shout out the team that helps make

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Speaker 1: Brown Ambition possible. Huge thanks to my fam at iHeartRadio

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Speaker 1: Katrina Norvel and Jenna Cagel, my worker bees, behind the scenes,

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Speaker 1: booking assistant Brittany Laie and virtual assistant Cameron McNair who

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Speaker 1: keep you organized, and of course my editor Courtney Dean.

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Speaker 1: Thank y'all so much for supporting the show. If you

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Speaker 1: love Ambition, share it with a friend, tag us on

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Speaker 1: social and don't forget to leave a comment or review.

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Speaker 1: Until next time. By ba Fam