Student Loans Paid Off

I have some very good news to report. A few days ago, I received official notification that my student loans have been forgiven. Although this is no surprise, I am very thankful that the process is over. It’s a tremendous accomplishment. Many Americans struggle with paying back student loans, in part due to the high cost of education. What’s worse is that it’s difficult (if not impossible) to discharge your student loans in bankruptcy. So, this is one debt that I am very thankful I was able to get rid of. This won’t be a long post, but let’s dive in to discuss.

How Much Student Loan Debt Was Forgiven?

The remaining balance on my student loans was about $5000. That may not seem like a lot, but my original balance was over $100,000. Through a combination of Government assistance and my own contributions, I was able to get the balance down to $5000 over many years. I incurred the student loan debt about 17 years ago and so they’ve been with me for a while.

The $5000 debt being eliminated is important because I am trying to get another loan to buy a condo. When I had my student loans, the banks were assuming a monthly payment of $50 and used that amount against me in their debt-to-income ratio calculations. So, bringing the balance down to $0 means that I could qualify for a little bit more. It’s not much, but every little bit helps in this rising interest rate environment.

Why Was My Student Loans Forgiven?

There is a program known as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. In a nutshell, if you work in the public sector for at least 10 years, and you have qualifying payments, you’re student loans can be forgiven.

Although I worked in the public sector for at least 10 years, I didn’t have any qualifying payments. However, for a limited time, there was a waiver process known as the limited PSLF waiver. According to Studentaid.gov, this waiver opportunity, which ended October 31, 2022, “allowed borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.” In order to qualify for this program, I had to consolidate my non-qualifying student loans into a direct loans and apply for the waiver.

Well, in a letter dated January 2, 2023, I received official notification that my student loans were forgiven.

I am beyond excited.

I don’t say this a lot, but thank you Federal Government.

Final Thoughts

2023 is off to a great start. I did receive some good news lately and one of those was the fact that the remaining balance of my student loans have been forgiven.

I know that there is a conversation that America is having about student loans, and whether the Government should be forgiving student loan debt. In fact, I believe there is a lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court on that question. All I can say is that I am glad that the PSLF waiver existed and I was able to take advantage of it.

Because my student loans have been forgiven, you can expect that the “What Expenses Would Dividends Cover” section of my monthly dividend reports will be updated accordingly.

Do you have any student loan debt? What do you think of this post? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.