OUR HOSTS: 

Corinne Foxx - @corinnefoxx

Natalie McMillan - @nataliemcm and @shopnataliemcmillan 

What we're drinking: 2021 Bodega Garzón Reserva Albariño  



TOPIC: 

In the US alone, one in three adults under the age of 30 has student debt. It’s a major crisis not only here in the US, but also in the UK, Canada, and Australia. On today’s episode, we break down how student loans work, what to consider before taking one on, and ways to pay down your student debt if you have it. We get into the pros and cons of both private and federal loans and highlight loan forgiveness programs that are available in the US. Plus, we discuss how to avoid accruing student debt in the first place and make the right decision when it comes to investing in your education. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• The different federal loans, including Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct PLUS, and Direct Consolidation Loans
• How to decide between federal and private loans (or a mix of both) 
• The consequences of delinquent and defaulted loans 
• The ideal debt-to-income ratio and why you want to try and maintain it 
• Different tuition reimbursement programs 
• How to customize a repayment plan that matches your ability to pay

EPISODES MENTIONED: 

Episode 82 - Mortgages 101: A Basic Bitch's Guide to Buying a Home

Episode 41 - How to Have Less Shame and Guilt about Having Debt with Budget Expert Allison Baggerly 

END OF THE SHOW: 

Corinne and Natalie introduce Hottie of the Week: Gina Rodriguez

WINE RATING:

2021 Bodega Garzón Reserva Albariño   = 8 / Gina Rodriguez

WRAP UP:

To wrap up the episode, Corinne and Natalie play Unpopular Opinion. Corinne has a hot take about getting her blood drawn, and Natalie recently discovered that possums are her new favorite animal. 

We have a newsletter for our Am I community. You can sign up for the newsletter on our website: amidoingthisrightpod.com

You can email us for episode ideas or Random Advice: amidoingthisrightpod@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @amidoingthisrightpod 

Don't forget to rate and review the podcast! It really helps us grow!

Hey welcome back to another episode of am I doing this right? I'm Corinne Fox.

And I'm Natalie McMillan

and we are best friends confidants millennials and the hosts of am I doing this right? A life how to podcast from the perspective of non experts.

And each week we cover a new topic and we drink a new bottle of wine. Yes, we do, Nat and this week, we're gonna,

but it's okay. It's okay. It's okay. Because we all need to know about this. Yes, even us. Yes. So this is what was not applicable to directly, right. It's important that we know

about Yes, because I never understood. I mean, I understood it was a crisis but never knew like, what's going on? Right?

What is the crisis? Right? We're talking students who did loans, how student loans work, what are student loans, the types of student loans, how to avoid accruing student debt, and ways to pay down your student debt? If you do have it. Yes, we are here for you. This is a yes time coming this episode.

All these really like dense ones we always put off until we're like we have we have to

do it. So if you're driving a car right now, and you're like, I don't know, stick with us. We're your friends. We're holding your hand. We're gonna fight. We're gonna drinking. Why? And

once we research, I guess we're always like, Oh, we get it.

01:27

I feel so empowered.

I feel so much more empowered and knowledgeable. Yeah, so here we are. And

at the end of the episode, we're playing an popular opinion. You

still need a song. Let's see. I'm going to just enjoy our wine.

Yeah. What are we drinking?

We're drinking the gar zon Albarino.

Wow, that was really impressive.

Rest said Riva. 2021. Obviously, it's vanish in some ways from Uruguay. Okay, okay. Latin America. It's a white wine. It says it's a paired well with cod. Citrus prawn salad, or traditional grilled seafood.

I think I'm really gonna like this.

I'm excited to try it. Okay, because it looks a little like, sparkly and nervous. And yes.

So you said you had something you wanted to tell me? Or tell our listeners? Oh,

I just had the craziest fucking dream last night. I've been having insane dreams wonder why I have no idea. And last you were there. It was you me? I can't remember. It was like, one of my friends from high school. This guy that I never speak to anymore. It was like a random assortment. And we were on a campground. And dinosaurs had come back. Oh, and we had to like, forgiving Jurassic Park. It was really giving. And we had to, like flee for our lives, like running. Like I felt like a dog. You know, when when their dreams and they're like, like running. That's how I felt in my dream. And then all of a sudden, that was over in you, me, our friend Taylor and somebody else but I'm not I can't remember now. We're at a Jamba Juice.

I love Jamba Juice. That is a place you would find me.

I had a Jamba Juice with Chris Pratt. Which I guess came from Jurassic. Yeah. It's not like I was watching it recently. You know what I mean? It's so bizarre. But we were like friends with him. And he was like, Oh, I got a secret. Like, I have a secret for you guys. Oh, no, no, no. And he was like, I'm gonna ask Jenny to marry me. And we were like, Oh, cool. Man. Jenny's late walks in. Oh, and so then we are part of their wedding. This which was an obstacle course. And that's all I remember. Oh, my God. That's

a lot to remember.

But it was just like, This is so I have absolutely no idea. The wedding.

What have you been watching that? Maybe? prompted?

I haven't been watching anything. Honestly. YouTube videos. Um, oh, I was. Yes. Well, it wouldn't make sense. I was watching a documentary on what will happen when Queen Elizabeth dies. Oh. Which obviously is going to be crazy. Oh, really? Because isn't it just will know. Who everybody hates?

Yeah, but he cannot live much longer. Charles.

What is he? He's like 70 something, but she's like 100 He looks terrible for 70. So that's what happens with karma. He won't I mean, jiggidy jacked. I watched the there's a new Diana documentary on HBO. And it was like showing all the British people that were like we hate Charles like they really hate him for what he did because he did die and so scandalous. Wow, they do not want him to be king. Like full blown do not.

Oh, I just can't

wait to be king. Yeah. Anyways, also like they have to redo the money they have to. I mean, it's crazy. Oh, because her face is printed on. Yeah, Jesus, it's a whole thing. Well,

hopefully she'll hold out maybe she'll be the oldest person alive, though I would love that for her. Why not just 99 Now, right

96 or 96? Same age as my grandma. just kicking it here and wait, just to quays new coins, one literal and metaphorical.

Okay, that let's get into student loans. And why we chose the topic because it is so important to know about

right? Well, here we are summers coming to a close, which means school is back in sash. And a lot of times going back to school can feel like a fresh start. But when it comes to college, it might start to feel like more of a setback. We were both super fortunate to not have any student loan debt. But we know it is a absolutely major crisis not only here in the US, but also in the UK, Canada and Australia.

And just because something does not affect you directly does not give you the permission to not know anything about Yes. Okay. So we're on our edge of education

notating because there are a lot of factors and confusing terms. And so we were like, Let's just break it down. Let's just get into it.

Let's get into it. So what are some facts about student loans? Okay,

well, according to our baby daddies over at Pew Research Center,

What if one day we got to go to the Pew Research Center? Where is it? I don't know. We really should I feel like it would be like,

isn't it 75? nearby? Probably Probably with our luck. So here are some facts, about 1/3 of adults under the age of 30. Now this is for the United States has preference have student loan debt. Young college graduates with student loans are more likely to report struggling financially than those without loans. Student debt has more than doubled since 2008. However, the number of students attending college and taking out loans has actually decreased meaning that the interest rates on student loans has gone up steadily. In 1989, only 8% of households had a member of the family with student loan debt. But 30 years later, in 2019, that number was 41%. College has gotten less and less affordable through and less and less necessary, honestly.

Yeah, depending on the field. Now. You can learn a lot on YouTube.

You really can. You really can. I learned so much. Compared with young adults who don't have student debt. Student Loan holders are less upbeat about the value of their degree

being held over their head, or chained.

Right? And they're like, what, what did this even get me and final fact hear about a third, it's 36% of those aged 25 to 39 with at least a bachelor's degree and outstanding student loan debt, say that the lifetime financial costs of their degree outweigh the benefits. By comparison 15% of young college graduates without student loans, say the lifetime costs outweigh the benefits. So it's a much smaller group.

And as you were saying all that I was just thinking I wanted to look it up. What is the average amount of student debt in the US? Yeah, what is the median debt amount and 2021 was between 20,020 5000 and then I saw this tick tock. I wonder how long that is that like the initial? Well, that's the average. That's people who have started to pay it off. Who just had it? So it's like, you know, maybe they had 40,000. But now, right? The average of everyone still trying to pay it off, right? But then I was watching this tic toc. And it was these and this is where your degree really matters. Medical students Yeah. And they were all graduating and they were like, when you graduate how foreign debt will you be $500,000 A million in student debt. They all were like in between for under 1500 1001 Guy was $550,000 in student debt, and they are paying to learn how to heal us, right?

I literally pay them by that's why my sister and brother in law moved to Australia to be doctors over there because they were like We will never pay them off here.

I mean, doctors eventually do get paid very well and like Ryan, you can pay it off but it's just still like

still insane. It's just insane that we are these

people who are eager to help others and learn and sacrifice so much time of their life paying anyways

and they're in school for so long and school for like 15 Oh my god, but definitely here what by definition is a student loan.

So yeah, a student loan is a type of loan used to pay for post secondary education and is repaid over time. And there are two types of student loans, federal and private.

Okay, can you break? Are we gonna break these down,

we're gonna break it down. Okay, and we're gonna start with federal student loans. So these loans are available through the US Department of Education must submit a free application for federal student aid, also known as a FAFSA, the FAFSA, yes to access them. And most federal student loans with the exception of PLUS loans do not require a credit check, which becomes a big deal down the line, and we'll explain why not having a credit check is very beneficial. Their interest rates also aren't credit based. They're set by federal law and are typically lower than private loan rates. But even if you don't want to go through like a federal student loan, submitting the FAFSA gives you opportunity to receive federal grants, work study funds, and loans that can make it possible to afford college many state higher education agencies and schools will use your FAFSA to distribute financial aid to so sometimes you just have to submit the application. And even if you want financial aid through your school, they'll use that application. Yeah,

I remember doing that. Oh, really? Yeah, I

didn't, I didn't have to do this. So I was like, Oh, I didn't know that. Yes. So if you don't know what an interest rate is, because we like to do a little ding, ding, ding. This is going to be the rate that you're going to pay back on your loan. It can be anywhere from 2%, up to 8% or even higher, depending on what's going on one. But let's also get into private student loans if you don't want to go the federal route.

Yeah. Okay. So private loans. That's actually something you'd have to do research on yourself to see what the best interest rates are. So you'll have to apply to several different lenders like banks and financial institutions. For example, some of the private student loan institutions are assent. Sallie Mae, remember Sallie Mae, that was a whole other episode

that was Fannie Mae. Oh, Sallie

Mae, Sallie Mae,

student loan institution. Well, Fannie Mae is the mortgage woman. Right? Okay. Go back and listen to that. If you were curious about mortgage loans, why do we name them? What's way? What is man even trying to make them seem friendly? And like right approach? They like fuck you. Right? Yeah.

Literally. Other institutions are college and earnest. So they offer student loans at different interest rates based on credit history.

So that's the big thing is that they do credit checks and federal

does not does not okay. It's important to note that for FAFSA, you do not need proof of credit history. Now most people who are applying for student loans won't have credit history. So that means if you're applying for a private student loan, you'll probably need a cosigner, which will probably be your parent. And if that parent has good credit, you'll get a lower interest rate.

But if they don't, but if they don't, kid be Fichte.

It's true. And also, this is part of the systemic problem with the whole thing, because it shouldn't be based on your appearance.

It also shouldn't be based on credit. If you're 18 years old, no. Credit card,

it's insane. Some of these kids are 17. Yeah,

I'm saying like how could it How could it possibly be based on your credit history? When you're a child? It really make you don't have a guy we'd like most kids don't have a car loan? I don't think Oh, get one? No, that's

what I'm saying. It's a whole thing.

It's already starts off. Wow.

All right. Well, let's talk about the types because there were actual types of loan.

Yeah, so the first type of loan is the Direct Subsidized Loan. So they are available to undergraduate students based on financial need, the amount you qualify for depends on your year in school, and whether you're considered financially independent from your parents. So these loans are subsidized by the government, meaning interest doesn't accrue while you're in school or during periods of deferment. But it does begin to accrue when you graduate or you drop below halftime status. So that interest rate you're getting it's not being applied while you're in school, because how are you going to pay it? We're in school, right? So that's when the government decides like, Okay, well, we'll pause it, whatever rate you get, oh, we pause until after you graduate.

Right. And that's also what deferment, like, if you're like, Oh, I'm gonna go get a graduate program that's deferring it. Yeah. Yeah.

But this is usually for families who are making under $50,000 a year. And the reason they do this is because you've demonstrated the financial need in your FAFSA, they're going to see what your family is making. net worth, you know, like things like that. So the government would determine that you need the funds nancial aid to attend college and they would pay the interest for your loan for the duration of those four years.

So they're like on Celebrity net worth.com.

So inaccurate Oh, what did it say it was worth?

It was like I say our podcast makes like $80,000. Is it crazy? I

don't know what it said. But I think it says like, current Fox is worth $100 million. I might add.

That would be absolutely fatty. What, but where does it come from? Right.

Anyways, so there's more types of loans, right? Yes,

yes. So then there's the direct unsubsidized loan. This is available to undergraduate, graduate and professional students, regardless of financial need. Since these loans are unsubsidized interest accrues during all periods of you having it if you get a direct unsubsidized loan, by federal government standards, you'd haven't proven that there is a financial need for your loan. So this is a bit arbitrary, because a family could be making $100,000 and still really need it. Depending on a million different situations.

The whole thing is like, Oh, well, if you make under $50,000, for a family, like you deserve a subsidized loan, but people who make way more than that and have five kids, or whatever, they're taking care of it an ill, like all different reasons why maybe $100,000 Wouldn't stretch you to be able to pay for your kids in this economy. Exactly. So it's like. Another type of loan is the direct PLUS loans available to graduate and professional students and parents of dependent undergraduate students to cover costs, the other financial aid doesn't. For instance, if you receive some subsidized or unsubsidized loans, but need more money to fill in the funding gap, you could opt for Direct Plus loan. And if you get a PLUS loan, a credit check is required. So if your parents are going to cover the costs of college, they take out these loans, just know that your parents are going to get a much higher interest rate than if you took out a loan out in your name.

Why? Why do you think it's called plus? Oh, it's like,

I don't know. You what I was thinking of this is totally kind of 30. Plus, yeah, so yeah, the Comfort Plus, but then also, I was doing something I was like, read about our Clean Plus standards. And I was like, I think people just put plus next to things and make it seem better.

Am I doing this right? Plus,

right? You kind of maybe paid 299. for that. I know

what, it's not a bad marketing strategy. And finally, a direct consolidation loan. This option lets you combine multiple federal student loans into one loan with a single loan servicer and interest rate. This can extend your repayment term, lowering your monthly bill, but could mean paying more in interest over time. So if you have

like a subsidized loan, and M says, and you're going to be like, I just want to pay one thing. Yeah, you could do this. But then all I do, you might get a higher interest rate to do all that. Right. And just so you guys know, all of these types of loans are federal loans. Yes. Aren't through the private institution. And it's

a whole nother that's a whole nother a whole nother ballgame. But let's go into the pros and cons of both.

Yeah, so there are quite a few pros for taking out a federal loan. Though, obviously, taking out a loan in general is never really a pro. It's never something we're really excited about. And we don't want for you guys. But if you have to, here are some pros. So one, federal student loans offer access to direct loan forgiveness programs, such as public service, loan forgiveness, and teacher loan forgiveness. If you qualify for any of these programs, you could end up having 10s of 1000s of dollars in student loan debt forgiven once you meet the requirements. Another pro of federal student loans are few to no credit requirements. Most federal student loans don't require a credit check at all, which makes sense because you probably don't have credit history. For that doesn't really help you at all. Another pro of the federal student loan is that they're generally cheaper. For most students, federal student loans are likely cheaper than private student loans. This is especially true for undergraduate students who don't have a stable source of income or a long credit history, and which

that makes sense. Right? Their Students,

right children,

their children.

Another pro of federal student loans is access to income driven repayment plans. So the Department of Education offers several income driven repayment plans, which can reduce your monthly payment to as little as 10% of your discretionary income. If you end up struggling to make your monthly payments, these plans could be a huge lifesaver down the line. Mm hmm. So you have more protection. Yeah, federal student loan than the private because the private people can think and do whatever the fuck they want. Yes, but there are cons to federal loans. Yes.

Okay, so some cons here. Number one loan limits, undergraduate students are limited in how much they can borrow, which may require them to ultimately turn to a private student loans to bridge the gap. There's also upfront fees. The federal government charges an upfront loan fee on all of its loan products. The fee is relatively low for undergraduate students, but high for graduate and professional students as well as for parents.

What's the name of that one? We remember, we looked it up the name of this fee. Oh, guys have been Oh,

yes. Oh. It's basically like the fee that they take. Yeah, that the person that like fills out your paperwork is like now you gotta give me money.

Okay, anyways, if you guys see this fee, we did tell you, yeah, it starts

with an O okay. And then. The third con is that there's no choice of servicer. When you apply for federal student loans, the Department of Education assigns a loan servicer to you automatically. If you have a bad experience, you can consolidate your loans with another servicer, but the consolidation process can impact your access to certain benefits and protection. Okay, so let's do pros pros, a private loans, private, private public health,

because of private loans. Well, one, you can get higher loan amounts, loan limits can vary from lender to lender, but you can generally get up to the total cost of attendance, giving you more borrowing power than with the federal government. Also, like it's not just the cost of attendance, it's like also you have to live right, it's so much it's so much money. Yeah. Another pro of private loans is the chance for low interest rates. If you are a graduate or professional student or parent, it is possible to get a lower interest rate through a private lender than through the federal government if you have excellent credit, sometimes a rate three or four percentage points lower than the federal rate. But if you're an undergrad, if you're a child, that's not the case. It's really if you're a parent with amazing credit, right, another pro of a private loan is that there's no upfront fees, like we just said with the federal loan. private lenders typically don't charge upfront loan fees on private student loans giving you savings right off the bat,

right? So they're like, Hey, you don't have to give us an upfront fee. But we might fuck you over in the end. Right. We'll decide later.

Yeah. And so what are those kinds of private loans? Yes. So

like we're talking about lack of protections, private lenders don't offer student loan forgiveness programs, and most of them don't offer income driven repayment plans. You may be able to get on a forbearance plan if you end up struggling financially. But options for lowering your monthly payment on a permanent basis are scarce.

Yeah, you're like locked in. Yeah. And also,

they've got high interest rates, because private loans require a credit check. People with no credit history or a low credit score may end up with a more expensive loan than what federal government offers. And that's if you qualify for the private loan in the first place.

Yeah. So you know, make a choice. that's right for you. Yes. You

know what I mean? So because people are like, 18, and doing this, this can be dangerous, right? Like getting a loan can be dangerous. Yeah.

Like you want to just be very aware of of how loans work and how they can go wrong, because they do go wrong. And one of the worst things about student loans, is the fact that you'll always pay more than you originally borrowed. Yeah, thanks to interest. And I think I can imagine a lot of kids wouldn't understand that, right? You wouldn't understand. According to 2017 research from New America, the average interest rate across all student loans is 5.8%. But that can vary depending on the type of loan that you take out. That's how much you're paying more on your loan every year. And I mean, in like the worst case scenarios, you can't ever pay down your

No, it just it's like you got a $30,000 degree and you're paying like $200,000 for it.

Yeah. So it's like really, really doing your research to me and like calculating it out kind of Yeah, based on like what you've projected income to be in the future. I mean, it's impossible to do with 17 year old, but that's neither here nor there. Another reason that student loans can be dangerous is because if you don't make your payment on time, then your loan becomes delinquent. There's generally a grace period of 15 days before borrower ers will be faced with any late fees. But if the loan is still delinquent after 270 days, then it goes into default. And once your loan goes into default, there are many consequences including losing eligibility for additional federal student aid. Your wages will be garnished, meaning your employer may be required to withhold some of your pay and send it to the loan holder to repay the loan.

And gwad. Most importantly, your debt to income ratio is like it sounds the percentage of debt that you owe compared with your income. So the more of your income that's spent on debt payments, the higher your debt to income ratio will be. Ideally, this ratio should be under 36%. If it's much higher, it could affect your ability to get another loan down the road. For example, when applying for a home loan debt to income ratio is one of the major factors that determine eligibility.

Yeah, so like when I was applying for my loan for my mortgage, they looked at like, how much debt do you have? How much like are you liable for? And like, if you have so much debt, you can't get a home, you can't get

away? Like, well, and then boomers are like, no, no, millennials can't buy homes and they're not having children. Why do you think

are being slaughtered out here?

Right? Right. Y'all paid for a private education by working at McDonald's? Litter? My dad did that. That's literally what happened. Okay, doesn't happen anymore.

Okay, so what are some ways to avoid accruing student debt? Yeah, okay. So

some ways to avoid it. Number one, attend an online or hybrid College, a large portion of your student loan may be to pay for student housing on campus. By removing that aspect of your learning plan, you may significantly reduce your loan overall, I remember that when tuition was like do my housing was like three times tuition. Wow, it was crazy. Remember that? Secondly, go to a public university over private one. According to a 2021 study, getting a four year degree from a state school costs 73% lower on average than receiving one from a private university. How much

was it for you to go to Fullerton? A year? Do you remember

my tuition in state in state per semester? This is not including? Housing? Yeah, was like $3,600. So get out of town. So like seven grand for a whole year?

I mean, yeah, makes sense. That adds up. 73 was I can't remember what USC was, but it was somewhere around like 50,000 5000 a year. Is

that without housing? Oh, yeah. Without housing. Oh, my cool. Yeah, that's just tuition. And then they put you in the dorms, and it's like, Oh, my God. Another thing you can do is start at a community college for your prereqs and then transfer your credits to your school of choice. Community colleges are even more affordable than going to a state school and a lot of the time offer the same classes taught by the same teachers actually noticed that, like my professors, a lot of them taught at like, all of the private schools around my school and the community colleges. So I'm like you're paying for the city exact same class, you can also test out of classes. So you may be able to test out of certain general ed classes like math or like English one on one, and if you do, you'll have fewer classes that you need to pay for. And finally, you can apply for every form of aid that you can. So fill out the FAFSA and apply for as many local and state scholarships and grants as you can. Scholarships can be an absolute game changer when it comes to avoiding student loan debt. Yeah, I know there's people that get full rides and you're like, go you go, Joe. Oh my god, I knew that

Joe got a full ride. Alright, scholarship due to USC and to student loan debt. He has no student loan debt. Isn't that crazy? Yes.

USC Yeah. Which is like a quarter million dollars. Yeah. And he had it paid for Wow, that's what you get for hitting the books kids.

Those books you guys hit those books. But if

you do have student loan debt because let's get real majority of people do

a lot of our listeners listening right now like okay, I've already Yeah, guys. I already have.

Right so how do we pay it down?

Okay, so one is you could qualify for a federal student loan forgiveness program. The main loan program in the US is called the public loan forgiveness program, which offers student loan forgiveness to people who work in public service for at least 10 years. Public service not only includes government jobs, but it also includes many nonprofit jobs, education, jobs and service jobs like law enforcement or public safety. The other two common ways to get federal student loan forgiveness is to be a teacher, which has its own teacher loan forgiveness program, which doesn't cover as much as the public loan forgiveness probe. GRANT Okay, and military service loan forgiveness. I wonder if my mom My mom got a degree in the military, but like, probably,

but I guess they're phasing that one out. Oh, well, yeah there but they have it currently. Okay. Yeah. You can also find state assistance for your student loans. This was so interesting to me. 46 out of 50 states offer at least one program, with some states offering many different programs to cover a wide variety of loan types, employment and more. For example, Kansas offers student loan forgiveness of up to $15,000 Just for living in certain parts of the state. California offers student loan forgiveness for doctors, health professionals and dentists see at least we've got their back. Like again $500,000.

Texas offers student loan forgiveness for professors, speech therapists, nurses, doctors, teachers and lawyers. And get this Maryland offers loan forgiveness for buying a house in Maryland.

That's incentive. Right? If you need to, I wonder where in Kansas you have to live, right? Because it's only serving

you due to food can middle population before and one of those is a animal.

Another way to pay down your student debt is to find out if your employer offers tuition reimbursement, some companies like Starbucks offer their employees full degree programs as part of their employee benefits. Target does that too. They're really good about that. Even better, some companies are now offering their employees student loan repayment programs, where the company is paying off portions of their employees student loan debt. With that being said, sometimes this only applies if you are working at the company while actively in school. Okay, and a hot tip. If you start a new job somewhere when negotiating your salary, ask if there there are ways they can assist you in paying down your student loan.

Yeah, be like listen, I love the salary. But what can we do about all the education that it took me to get here? Let's talk about find a repayment plan that matches your ability to pay. So after you graduate, you're automatically enrolled in the standard repayment plan. This is 10 years of even payments, which may not work for all borrowers. The trouble is many graduates don't know that they can change that plan. They just assumed that they're stuck with that student loan payment. If you have a federal student loan, there are many repayment plans that could help you make your student loan debt more manageable, which in turn will help you eliminate your debt faster

and less interest you're paying Yes. And another way that you can pay down your student debt is to refinance your student loans, you could refinance much like a mortgage. If you have private student loans, the best way to start eliminating this debt is to refinance your private loans at a lower interest rate. This will not only save you money and interest over the time, the life of the loan, but it will also lower your payment upfront. And one of the best tricks is to refinance your loans at a lower payment, but continue paying your previous payment amount. This could potentially shave years off your loan saving you hundreds or 1000s or hundreds of 1000s of dollars yeah, that is smart. That is really smart skin out there do that the House refinance for a lower thing will then keep paying or you can always pay more than your mortgage payment

and then that would be would save major goin Hey y'all smart

now Hey knows what dreams are made.

Movies. Really? This is a nightmare. Much like my dinosaur chasing horrendous extravaganza.

All right, you guys. Well, we hope you learn more about student loans, the different types of loans and ways to pay down your student debt. We feel more empowered and you're driving your car, you're like, Oh, I know. I gotta do that. I'm gonna do that bet Bada bing bada boom, I'm gonna tell my niece about this and then tell us about it. Tell us about how you interact with us. So now Should we circle back on the wine we've been drinking. I've actually have been drinking. I normally don't drink. I have like a sip but like I'm you

know why? Because it's a hot day. And it's it's very refreshing kind of situation.

Should we intro our hottie? Yeah. Why don't

you intro her.

So our Heidi this week is if you are a fan of the show, Jane the Virgin. She was the lead, Gina Rodriguez. And we chose her because she didn't pay off her student loans until the day she was nominated for her second Golden Globe. So a woman who was a lead on a television show could not pay down her student loans until she was nominated for a Golden Globe. Time second time, not the first time.

I remember in high school, my teacher like was crying almost like he was like teary eyed. He was like 42 or something. And we were like, are you okay? And he was like, I just realized I paid off my student loans. And he was like, it's been like 25 years or whatever.

35:21

Oh, bless. Oh

my god. Oh, I forgot to mention this is the gars on our body, Neil Resava 2021

Okay, one two, Miss Gina Gina. I'd give it a solid eight for me. I really liked it. I'll give it an eight eight very light very light drinking see why

they said like seafood.

I put some ice cubes in this empty by a pool and like be totally happy.

You know? What is blasphemous? What would be really good? Ice cubes and animal Sprite?

You always suggest that it's a wine cooler. Oh,

a wine. Yeah, a wine cooler a little wine spritzer if they did it in the 80s Oh, wow. Like rich suburban moms would be like I'm gonna have a wine. Right? Yeah

All right. This is the part of the episode where we play a little wrap up game and this week, it's, um, pop

up in Yang. A crowd fave?

fave. Natalie, do you want to mine is mine is crazy. No, I really don't like something might be wrong with me.

I don't know. I would like to know. Well, I

only bring this up because they just had to do it like two days ago. And I realized I think this is not normal. Okay. I kind of like getting my blood drawn. I knew

you were gonna say that. I

so we're we why literally.

No, I literally knew you were gonna say

that. That's the most random thing

for you to know, said I had to have this done the other day. I thought she's gonna say I like having my blood drawn. That's crazy.

I knew I don't like like, I'm not getting like off on it. Right. But I'm not like, you know,

they're like, ooh, kind of cool. I'm

just like, what's fun?

See, for me, I cannot look I have to look away or I start graying out.

Yeah, I asked the lady on when I was there. I was like, do people like faint a lot? And she said, Oh, yeah. All the time. Oh, yeah. All the time. She said it's a lot of young people, like a lot of people in their early 20s. Like, just drop. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm so unbothered by this. Oh, no, you would think I would, because I like have to like prick yourself. Yeah. And like,

I remember the first time I had to do I was 14. And I looked because I'd never done it. I'm like looking at it in the blood comes out so fast into the dark mind is really dark. Yes. And it's just like, just like into the thing. And I was like, Oh, I don't like it. And then now literally, even if I think about it too long while they're doing it, I'm like, like, I have to turn complete. And I'm like, Hey, how many more are there because they have to take so many for me too.

I did do a lot. My last one to hire my endocrinologist. Oh, do you get tired afterward? I get so tired. Really? Because it takes so much blood. I will say the one part. I'm just I'm sorry for anyone who's super squeamish about blood. But the one part that you don't like is when you hit like when they put the new one.

Oh god. I know. Like, oh, my brother has literally fainted from like a drop of blood.

I'll never forget drew Cole fainted in high school when we had the blood drive. And it was a it was the talk of the day. Everyone's like, oh my god, Drew fan fainted at school

that happened to my friend Taylor Hale. We had the blood drive and everybody we were in English and they looked over and she was white as a ghost completely white. And somebody was like Tilly and like she just like fell over. Yeah, they should not be having children.

Give blood at school. That's weird. Come

on. I mean, every I think back on just like the things that we were expected to do as like teenagers. Like this since we were children. Yeah, it was weird. Well, what's your mind? Okay,

I think possums are cute. That's like a whole thing right now. It is possum culture. Yes, it's huge with Gen Z. You are Gen Z I had absolutely no idea huge right now possum possum like is not on my for up awesome culture. possums are cute possum possum take thing

online. I owe them why. What is what is that mean? What does it mean to be a possum?

I don't know. I don't understand. Gen Z has been a lot of time with my sister just trying to understand what she's talking about. But I know possums are Gen Z, that sloths were two millennia. Okay, I still like there might be like a little a little possum mug, fitters right now when they're feeling a little sloth one. But like, you have your finger on the pulse,

I guess so.

Okay, we'll go further into your thing. Sorry.

I just think that they're cute even though I've had horrible experiences with Have you ever seen has ever did I ever tell you about when my parents really did me? Scandalous when I was like four and I told them there were monsters in my closet. And now they put a possum in there. No. I kept telling and we go downstairs and be like, hey, there are monsters in my closet. Can you just come look at them and they come up? They're like, No, there aren't like, No, there's nothing here. And then finally one day. I don't remember who my dad or my mom they came up and they're like, Okay, like they laid in bed with me for like a couple of minutes and they heard like and they were like, Oh, shit. There was a full family of possums living above in the air vent. My Yeah, like in the like, crawl space above my Yeah. And then one of them was dead. Yeah, I'm like, Fuck you guys. Nobody believed me. And they're like, and then another time are like, you guys, they're up there. They're like, No, they're gold up and my dad says he still feels bad like to even think you're Yeah, I'm like four. I'm like, um and then another time there was one in my backyard that my dog was barking at not Zeplin barking barking barking and it did the thing where it pretends to be dead. I was like, I don't know what to do. Oh, you thought it was dead? I thought it was dead. And I'm like, There's no way I'm getting near that thing. But then it ran away. But I think they're cute. I didn't know Gen Z was a part of this. But hey, if you agree with me, cool. They're the only the only marsupial in the United States and all of Northern America

and a marsupial is half what rat half

have no they're things that put their babies in a pouch like a kangaroo. Yes, yes. Yes sir. marsupial's. Interesting,

unpopular for me. And you guys, if you liked this episode, we have similar episodes. One is our mortgages one on one. A basic bitches guide to buying a home a different type of loan, but alone we must know about and if you do have student debt, we have episode 41 which is how to have less shame and guilt about having debt with a budget expert Alison Baggarly. So you can go back and listen to that one as well. And if you liked this episode, feel free to share it and rate and review we love reading your reviews. And we will be back next week with another episode. Love you Bye Love you. Bye