Author: No Debt But Love
Colorado would repay first 2 years of student loans for grads who stay in state under “Get On Your Feet”
January 30, 2020
By Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post
A bill in the works for Colorado’s upcoming legislative session would mandate the state pay for the first two years of student loans for new graduates of the state’s public colleges who commit to stay in Colorado and enroll in an income-based repayment program.
Students who qualify would have their monthly payment — determined by an income-based repayment program — paid in full by the state for their first two years out of college, relieving them of the financial responsibility as they get introduced to the workforce.
Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat, Rep. Leslie Herod, a Democrat representing District 9, and Rep. Julie McCluskie, a Democrat representing District 61, plan to sponsor the “Get On Your Feet” bill, modeled after a program established a few years ago in New York.
“Students are graduating with so much debt that it’s, frankly, overwhelming,” Fenberg said. “People are going down a path or a career that isn’t what they even went to college for to start paying these off. They don’t have a chance to take a breath and figure out what they want to do. The concept is to give them two years of breathing room to actually be able to pursue the career they want to pursue.”
More than 761,000 Coloradans are repaying $27.7 billion in student loan debt, according to household debt statistics from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In 2018, 56% of Colorado graduates with a certificate or associate degree left school with debt — the average debt amounting to $13,300. For a bachelor’s degree during the same time frame, 69% of graduates ended their academic career with debt, averaging $25,500, according to statistics from the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
Gov. Jared Polis’ budget earmarked $14 million to advance-fund the program for three years, “serving approximately 5,300 Coloradans who graduate from a state institution of higher education, live in Colorado and participate in a federal income-based repayment plan.”
Charley Olena, an advocacy consultant with the left-leaning organization New Era Colorado, is helping with the “Get On Your Feet” bill this session.
“One of the reasons why this is so exciting for Colorado and the reason why the governor’s office has been so enthusiastic is because students’ loans are depressing entrepreneurship,” Olena said. “The total percentage of people under 30 who own their businesses has fallen about 65% since the 1980s. Millennials were overwhelmingly citing student loan debt as the thing holding them back from starting their own business. As Colorado’s economy continues to grow, entrepreneurship is something we want to be able to foster.”
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New Year, Same Good Fight: $74,735.31 Paid, $10,572.76 Till Payoff
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do
These are the lyrics to one of my daughter’s favorite worship songs. This past holiday season was tough for me. I refused to delight in the Lord and trust that he would give me the desires of my heart as found in Psalm 37:4-5.
The Backstory
We had our first born after our fifth year of marriage and I wouldn’t have it any other way. To be frank, I miss the alone time we had, and our uninterrupted sleep. We are approaching 9 years of marriage; diaper changes and potty visits rule the night. 
Praise the Lord for our son’s healthy lungs and daughter’s early taking to potty training. I understand this is just the season we are in.
With all these blessings, I was still unhappy. Dear Lord, I am sorry. I complained about the daycare costs, the cost of diapers, and rising medical bills. There are people out there who literally impersonate medical staff to kidnap newborns. Check out a story of such catch provided through the link below.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/08/us/florida-kamiyah-mobley-kidnapping/index.html
Blessed, Just Not Always Feeling Like It
I’ve been blessed with two little lives who share my DNA. Now comes the desire to leave property and wealth for my children in the event I pass. My belief is we are all going to die if the Lord doesn’t come get us first. It would be unfortunate to leave my children empty handed; with the parting gifts of funeral and burial expenses. So off to work I go to pay off debt, and to have something to invest after what remains after monthly expenses.
I’m fortunate to have made it this far in my student loan debt repayment. I do wonder what I could’ve done with $85,308.07. The total amount is $106,811.84 when accounting for interest. This is INSANE. Below is an update of my Fedloan and Nelnet accounts.
I hope to have this saga of debt completed by the end of April this year. As a society we must stop buying into the lie that if you grew up poor, then getting an education at all costs will get you out of poverty. My financial situation was made worse after college graduation than after high school graduation. Be wise parents in what decisions you allow your children to make.
Chasing After Something Else
An education will NOT get you out of poverty alone. It takes discipline, sacrifice, and being okay with going without for a period of time-contentment. What got me in this whole student loan mess was wanting what others had (houses, cars, fancy clothes). Not knowing that, “Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple” -Job 5:2.
My true desire is peace in my household. I refuse to sell myself for things others say I must have. I’m only chasing what God has for me. He doesn’t want me to worry, I trust him with my future. On a lighter note, the Lord can take our mistakes and work it out to bring Him glory. But please everyone, let’s be obedient haha. There’s nothing our God cannot do!
Until next time everyone! Stay strong…💪fight on…🥊💥🥊 and have no debt but love! Peace and Blessings.
This Man Got $221,000 Of Student Loans Discharged In Bankruptcy
January 16, 2020
By Zack Friedman, Forbes
Can you now discharge your student loans in bankruptcy?
Here’s what you need to know.
Student Loans: Bankruptcy
A Navy veteran will have $220,000 of his student loans discharged, even though he is not unemployable, not disabled or wasn’t defrauded. A U.S. bankruptcy judge in New York, Cecilia G. Morris, ruled that Kevin J. Rosenberg will not have to repay his student loan debt because it will impose an undue financial hardship.
According the Wall Street Journal, Rosenberg borrowed $116,500 of student loans between 1993 and 2004 to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a law degree from Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University. He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2018 and asked the court last June to discharge his student loan debt, which had grown to $221,400, including interest. At the time of filing, Rosenberg’s annual salary was $37,600, and after living and debt expenses, his monthly net loss was $1,500.
Traditionally, unlike mortgages or credit card debt, student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. There are exceptions, however, namely if certain conditions regarding financial hardship are met.
The Brunner Test: Financial Hardship
Those conditions are reflected in the Brunner test, which is the legal test in all circuit courts, except the 8th circuit and 1st circuit. The 8th circuit uses a totality of circumstances, which is similar to Brunner, while the 1st circuit has yet to declare a standard.
In plain English, the Brunner standard says:
- the borrower has extenuating circumstances creating a hardship;
- those circumstances are likely to continue for a term of the loan; and
- the borrower has made good faith attempts to repay the loan. (The borrower does not actually have to make payments, but merely attempt to make payments – such as try to find a workable payment plan.)
There are variances across federal districts, but that’s the basic framework. To discharge student loans through bankruptcy, an Adversary Proceeding (a lawsuit within bankruptcy court) must be filed, where a debtor claims that paying the student loan would create an undue hardship for the debtor.
So, Can You Now Discharge Student Loans In Bankruptcy?
This is only one legal ruling. That said, federal judges and Democrat and Republican members of Congress are open to changing the law to make it easier for borrowers to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy. While these tactics may be welcomed by some student loan borrowers, critics may question whether judges should actively try to circumvent the existing law (suggesting that Congress, and not judges, should make the law.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/01/10/student-loans-bankruptcy/
👻 The Ghost of Christmas Past | From Ho Ho Ho to Owe Owe Owe 🦌
🎅 How to Overcome Holiday Stress Student Loan Update🎅 | $12,233.69 Original Balance $85,308.07
University of Phoenix to cancel $141 million in student debt
December 12, 2019
By Scott Olson, NBC News
The University of Phoenix and its parent company have agreed to pay $50 million in cash and cancel $141 million in student debt to settle allegations of deceptive advertisement brought by the Federal Trade Commission.
The deal, announced Tuesday, settles a dispute over an ad campaign the for-profit college launched in 2012 touting partnerships with companies including Microsoft, Twitter and Adobe. It suggested the school worked with those companies to create job opportunities for students, even though there was no such agreement, investigators found.
The Federal Trade Commission said the settlement is the largest the agency has ever obtained against a for-profit college.
“Students making important decisions about their education need the facts, not fantasy job opportunities that do not exist,” said Andrew Smith, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The University of Phoenix said in a statement that much of the dispute focused on a single ad campaign that ran from 2012 to 2014. It said it agreed to the deal “to avoid any further distraction from serving students.”
“The campaign occurred under prior ownership and concluded before the FTC’s inquiry began. We continue to believe the University acted appropriately,” the company said.
Apollo Education Group owns the University of Phoenix. The Arizona-based for-profit college chain has 55 campuses across the nation and teaches thousands of students through its online programs. It’s the nation’s largest recipient of GI Bill tuition benefits for military veterans.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-phoenix-agrees-cancel-141-million-student-loan-debt-n1099681
‘I’m working until I’m 75’: Factory worker describes family’s student debt nightmare
December 2, 2019
By Aarthi Swaminathan
Student debt isn’t just a student problem. Across the U.S., many parents also struggle with the burden of student loans.
A recent survey by Freedom Debt Relief found that 37% of 1,506 American adults said their children’s college education cost has made them feel financially overwhelmed. And 20% said that the stress has contributed to mental or emotional health issues.
More than 40% said education costs impacted their retirement plan, with 31% indicating that they had “given up retiring when they initially desired.”
Yahoo Finance spoke with one parent in a particularly difficult student loan situation: a 60-year-old factory worker from Scranton, Pa., who had cosigned a loan for his son. (The man, whom we’ll call Frank, asked for anonymity to protect his son.)
Frank’s student debt experience began when his son got into a college. As a “middle-class working family” that brings in about $75,000 a year, Frank and his son started borrowing.
The son fell seriously ill after attending the school for one-and-a-half years and dropped out. After his health improved, the son decided to resume his education at a different school. All the while, both father and son continued to borrow.
The expenses began mounting: The family had a refinanced mortgage and credit card debt, as well as home and car insurance to pay. On top of that, they had recurring medical bills. And there was the possibility of more kids going to college.
“[With] some of my bills, I was in no position to barely help myself,” Frank said.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/student-debt-family-burden-175514385.html
❄️November 2019 Student Loan Update | From Sweepstakes to Snowflakes ❄️
U.S. Education Dept. Cancels Loans for 1,500 Defrauded Students
November 11, 2019
By Stacy Cowley, The New York Times
About 1,500 students who attended two art institutes that were part of the sudden collapse of a career-school chain this year will have their federal loans canceled, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said on Friday.
It was a rare victory for borrowers seeking debt relief from a department that, under Ms. DeVos, has frozen or curtailed relief programs for students who claim that schools defrauded them. Borrowers who attended the two schools, the Art Institute of Colorado and the Illinois Institute of Art, sued the department last month, seeking to have their loans eliminated.
“Students were failed and deserve to be made whole,” Ms. DeVos said. Students who attended the schools from late January 2018 through the end of last year, when they shut down, will have their loans for that period canceled, the department said.
Borrowers will still generally owe on federal loans they took out before Jan. 20, the department said in an email sent to borrowers on Friday. Some people, however, may qualify to have all of their loans eliminated through the department’s closed school discharge program.
The decision was the latest twist in the messy unraveling of the chain, Dream Center Education Holdings, which owned dozens of campuses under the Art Institutes, South University and Argosy University brands.
Dream Center was owned by a Christian nonprofit that acquired the troubled group of for-profit schools in late 2017. It closed some schools within a few months, and the entire chain abruptly shut down barely a year later after millions of dollars in federal financial aid funds that were owed to students went missing. The money has still not been recovered.
The accreditation for the Art Institute’s Colorado and Illinois campuses was removed by the Higher Learning Commission in January 2018, around the time Dream Center took them over. The loss of certification meant that students risked being unable to transfer their credits to other schools or have their credentials recognized by employers.
Officials at the Art Institutes never told students that the campuses had lost their accreditation, according to court filings and the Higher Learning Commission.
By law, the Education Department is not allowed to release federal student loan funds to for-profit schools that are not accredited. But the department sent more than $10 million to the two schools and, according to emails and other records, told Dream Center officials that it was working to allow schools to become retroactively accredited.
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No Debt But Love 