It really happened!
On July 14th, I received an email from the U.S. Department of Education stating that I was eligible to have my federal student loans forgiven. All I could think was, “What?! Is this real?”
The Supreme Court had just squashed my hopes of student loan forgiveness and everyone was talking about how student loan payments and interest accrual would begin again this fall. I was upset, but thought possibly something might be happening in the background helping me.
Back in April, my new Nelnet account stated that student loan payments would be due September 20, 2024. At least I would have more than another year of breathing room. But then why did people keep saying that payments start again in the fall?
Why did I have a different payment date? Was it just me? Was this because maybe they would be forgiven? Last year, I speculated that astrology could support student loan cancellation. Could this be true?
Well, spring turned to summer and I heard nothing. Until July 14th. The email said people had until August 13th to opt out, but nothing else was needed. So I waited and tried not thinking about it. I hate to wish away precious summer days here in New England!
Needless to say, starting August 14th, I was frantically checking my Nelnet account for a zero balance. It was all still there. Since I realized the process could take a while, I would need to chill out a bit and stop looking so much. I checked the next morning and all still there. But that evening, it was zero and said the loans were all paid in full! Well, alright.
That looked great, but I still had not received a letter stating that it was really forgiven. I didn’t receive all the emails and letters stating it was official until last Saturday. It’s done!
Whew! What a relief!
Coincidentally, I also finally paid off the third of five private student loans last week. Yup. I still have private student loans. But now I can focus on paying down these last two student loans as quickly as possible. Forgiveness only applies to federal student loans, not private.
Student loans are horrible. Especially the interest that accrues. That conservative organizations continue trying to block this relief is appalling.
My student loan debt was forgiven because I was on an income-driven repayment plan (IDR) and paid for more than twenty years. And that was more than enough.
Wow! That is awesome Lisa! You are the second person I know to receive this grace, and GRACE is EXACTLY what it is! I paid off my student loans back in 2013. I borrowed $17000 through the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program and after a full 25 years of paying them after graduation, I relayed more than $53000 dollars so I definitely get how liberating this “forgiveness” must feel. Even though it came too late to help me personally, I am THRILLED for those receiving this relief, and it occurs to me that the wrong party to this process is being labeled as the ones who need “forgiveness”!
Sharon – Thank you so much! I had around $60k in federal loans that I took from law school, not counting private loans or the smaller amount from undergrad. I was paying, but it had only ballooned with interest to more than $250k. It felt so overwhelming. The loans were supposed to be automatically forgiven after 20-25 years anyway, but this adjustment made sure that it happened as was originally intended.
So glad for you! Seen you weighed down by them. But you always made your payments. Good news!
Xema – Thank you! Yes, you probably saw more than anyone.