Personal Finance

👜Surviving Unemployment: Strategies for New Graduates👨🏻‍🎓

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Recent college graduates are expressing ongoing frustrations in attempts to secure jobs.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/job-market-report-college-student-graduates-ai-trump-tariffs-rcna221693

To make matters worse, student loan collections started May 5th.  This comes after the initial pause of student loan repayment which resumed October 2023 after Covid-19 payment extensions expired.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/student-loan-collections-restart-explained-rcna204494

🏛️Student Loan Collections Vs Repayment🤌

So, what’s the difference between collections and repayment?

Debt collection occurs after a borrower fails to make payments after a certain time as agreed, also known in business terms as default.  The creditor-in this case the student loan company may attempt to recover the amount owed or involve a third party known as a debt collector or a collection agency. 

Debt repayment is the process of the debtor-the person(s) who borrowed money, paying back what is owed to the creditor.  Creditor is the person(s) or business to whom money is owed.  Debt repayment involves a payback schedule, also known as the amortization schedule.   Amortization schedule(s) give the amount, dates of repayment, and number of periods required to repay debt.

⏰Hard Times Won’t Last, Tough People Do🤕

I remember graduating from college in 2008 and not being able to find work.  I immediately made the decision to return for a master’s degree.  I won’t revisit the entire story, but if you care to know the backstory, check out the following blog posts below.

The American Dream: $85,308.07 In The Hole
Why? -$27,281.44 Paid, $58,026.63 Till Pay Off

Trust me, I have plenty of other blog posts.  Feel free to go down the rabbit hole by clicking on older links 😊.  The Lord got me through the years that followed battling unemployment.  I felt like a failure and my message to anyone who can’t find work is…

🧗🏼‍♀️Things will get better if you don’t give up🧗🏼‍♀️

I don’t know what it is like for you right now in 2025, but I remember the feeling of hopelessness in 2008.  Misery regardless of the date and time is a horrible experience and we all just want to get out of it.  Here is how I survived a recession with student loan debt.

  1. Consider moving back home with family.  I know, I know… no one wants to move back home with family but count yourself blessed if this is an option.  Your family wants what’s best for you.  Remember no family is perfect but take the help you can get while it’s available.   
  2. Connect with people you trust.  Let the people that love know how you feel.  Many times, people don’t know the pain we are going through, so we cannot assume people can readily understand our experiences.  Communicate with your loved ones; and pray for discernment on who best to talk to about struggles.
  3. Just find a job.   Yes, any job for the meantime will do because you still need to eat.  By providing your most basic needs, you’d be surprised how eventually others will feel compassion for you.  The help may not come quickly, but in working you are helping yourself, and to help yourself is to love yourself.   While I worked as a cashier after college, the blessing came in the form of improving my ability to small talk.

That’s it for this post!  Until next time everyone… Stay strong💪, fight on🥊💥🥊, and have No Debt But Love❤️. Peace and blessings!✌

It’s Been A Long Time Coming: $81,023.37 Paid, $4,284.70 Till Payoff

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First off, none of this would be possible without God. Jesus Christ!  Wow… I can’t believe it. This doesn’t feel real, someone slap me, pinch me because this can’t be real ya’ll. I have really paid off my Fedloan student loan account. When starting this repayment journey 8 years ago, I thought I would die with my student loans.  Below is an update of my student loan balance.

I would like to provide 7 tips that have helped me pay off Fedloan.  I’m not out the woods yet, as I have one loan left to pay… Nelnet.  Let’s get to the tips.

1. Grace Period is not a chill period.
Fedloan gave me 6 months of grace period.  A Grace period is the length of time you are allowed to go without making your first loan payment.  After securing my first job out of school, I didn’t think about interest accruing each month.  Boy was I sorry for not paying towards my debt sooner, as my loan balance grew.

relaxed homer simpson GIF

2. Get into a repayment plan that works for your situation.
I lost my job after 3 months and had a hard to finding work that matched that same pay. Quite frankly, no job have I had since has matched that pay. I’ve had to work multiple jobs to match it.
Therefore, my main jobs haven’t paid that well. So I’ve been in the IBR program for the last 8 years.
Your payment is reduced however you must renew year. Don’t forget to renew.

3. Pay as much as you can as often as you can. 
To do so I lived like a college student, I didn’t eat out much, and didn’t take frequent vacations, it’s been 2 years since my last vacation. Anyways…As for myself, I used my tax return to pay the remaining balance of $4,333.13 from my Fedloan account.  I count myself blessed to receive a tax return, as I know how difficult tax season can be for many people. My first year out of college, I owed 1,200. I cried for real yall. But I got through that uncomfortable time, and you can too. Please consult with an expert, because I am not a tax professional.

4. Pay every 2 weeks.
Don’t take my word for it, do an internet search for bi-weekly loan calculators. Use mortgage repayment calculators to see the impact of paying every two weeks.

5.Keep updated spreadsheet of balances.
Previous servicer ACS added an extra $200 in interest, instead of reducing my principal after 2nd payment of $200. You better believe I argued with them over the phone and email.
I may have said some nice so nice words. Forgive me….

numbers crows GIF by netflixlat

6. With that said…Keep contact info current and stay in contact with servicers.
You may move or your loan may get transferred (Brazos transferred my loan to Fedloan, adding to the total)
It can be scary not knowing what’s going on. Especially if you have a payment due and the servicer can’t reach you.

7. Be aware of processing speeds.
Fedloan usually takes 2-3 business days to process payments. So I never pay my accounts on near the weekend such as Thursday/Friday or on the weekends. Doing so will help you avoid late fees. Yes, loan servicers charge late fees.
My debt is paid always on a Monday or Tuesday to give the servicer more than enough time throughout the week to process my payments.

I also never pay a loan account during holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, or New Year Eve or Day.
We all just get lazy around these times and want to relax. Right before a holiday break is the best time to send a payment, the workers are in a mad dash to get out of town.

Bonus Tip: Celebrate! As you pay your debt down, take a day off, treat yourself to a meal. Before I was married, I took myself out to many dinners and movies. You must be able to celebrate and love yourself for your accomplishments first, before others can. Now that I’m married with kids, I celebrated my Fedloan payoff by taking my daughter to the movies.

Until next time everyone!  Stay strong…💪 fight on…🥊💥🥊 and have not debt but love! Peace and Blessings.