I logged into my Fedloan account to get my student loan tax info last night as my final loan out of an original 12 was paid off in May of 2020. I then saw that 8 of my 12 original loans, all of which had been listed as PAID IN FULL and had been listed as 0 dollars balance (some of which for nearly 2 years) suddenly had a small balance each.
After arguing with Fedloan on the phone this morning for an hour, they realized there was some truth to my claim that these loans had been paid off once I pointed out that some of the final payoff payments on these loans had been made prior to the pandemic, and therefore had never been marked delinquent in the months or year before the nationwide forbearance, and that they had the "paid in full" PDFs in their system for these loans, even though they now somehow are showing a balance.
These loans were marked as $0 for more than a year, in some cases nearly two. I know this because the only way I was able to pay them off was by putting my life on hold and throwing 90% of my paycheck at them for more than two years and staring at the balances every day like a crazy person. Despite using the "calculate payoff" option for each of them and having the "paid in full" notifications to prove it, it took an hour for FedLoan to mark my account as "under review" and it will be another 2-3 weeks before said review is finished.
Double check your student loans even once they're paid off, you can't trust FedLoan.
Monday, January 10, 2022
What to do with a big 600k windfall? (2022 edition)
Can I just point out to everyone that nobody should ever unexpectedly receive a 600k inheritance. We have to start talking with family about money. Anyone could have been much better prepared if they knew this was coming. We do a big disservice by treating money as taboo and not talking about it.
Ok off my soapbox, here is your game plan - what I would do (in order):
Take the 600k and put it in a high yield savings account like Ally/Schwab
Read the book The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read - it is a super easy read, breaks concepts down into small chunks and will allow you to be educated on what to do. Never just blindly trust an "advisor". You want to understand basics and this book will help you do that: The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read
From the 600k you need to establish your emergency fund. Add up all your costs to live for a month and multiply by 6. You are to keep 6 months worth of living expenses in this high yield savings account from now until you die.
Do you have any debt? Student loans / car loans / credit card loans? If yes, pay them off in full.
Next priority is saving for retirement. Open a Roth IRA at Vanguard/Fidelity/Schwab. You can still contribute 6k for 2021 until April 18. Do this. You can also contribute 6k for 2022
Within the Roth IRA, take the 12k and invest in a target date retirement fund that matches the approximate year you would retire
I don't know how much money will be left because I don't know size of your emergency fund or how much debt you are going to pay off, but your general priorities after 1-6 should be:
Down payment for house if you want to buy (aim to put at least 20% down)
Can invest any remaining money in a non-retirement brokerage account -use the same company you used for your Roth IRA and invest in similar target date fund or total stock market index fund (like VTI)
After 1-6, help family members if you want, but don't feel obligated to get them out of bad financial situations they have created. Under no circumstance should you co-sign a loan for a family member or put your name on any of their assets (like house/car). Your grandma wanted you to have this money. You are honoring her wishes by taking care of yourself.
Try to avoid the urge to go spend on expensive items like fancy cars. In general you want to continue living like you did before you received the 600k.
Ok off my soapbox, here is your game plan - what I would do (in order):
Take the 600k and put it in a high yield savings account like Ally/Schwab
Read the book The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read - it is a super easy read, breaks concepts down into small chunks and will allow you to be educated on what to do. Never just blindly trust an "advisor". You want to understand basics and this book will help you do that: The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read
From the 600k you need to establish your emergency fund. Add up all your costs to live for a month and multiply by 6. You are to keep 6 months worth of living expenses in this high yield savings account from now until you die.
Do you have any debt? Student loans / car loans / credit card loans? If yes, pay them off in full.
Next priority is saving for retirement. Open a Roth IRA at Vanguard/Fidelity/Schwab. You can still contribute 6k for 2021 until April 18. Do this. You can also contribute 6k for 2022
Within the Roth IRA, take the 12k and invest in a target date retirement fund that matches the approximate year you would retire
I don't know how much money will be left because I don't know size of your emergency fund or how much debt you are going to pay off, but your general priorities after 1-6 should be:
Down payment for house if you want to buy (aim to put at least 20% down)
Can invest any remaining money in a non-retirement brokerage account -use the same company you used for your Roth IRA and invest in similar target date fund or total stock market index fund (like VTI)
After 1-6, help family members if you want, but don't feel obligated to get them out of bad financial situations they have created. Under no circumstance should you co-sign a loan for a family member or put your name on any of their assets (like house/car). Your grandma wanted you to have this money. You are honoring her wishes by taking care of yourself.
Try to avoid the urge to go spend on expensive items like fancy cars. In general you want to continue living like you did before you received the 600k.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Taylor Swift to Kanye West: No Thanks!
Remember a few weeks ago when Kanye tweeted that he wrote a song for Taylor Swift and that he wants her to perform it? Well, too bad for Kanye because it's not going to happen.
Taylor is apparently NOT going along with his plans to promote his new album. A source told PopEater:
'Taylor writes her own sounds and has been very successful at it. Why would she want to sing one of Kanye's songs? The last thing she wants to do is give him any more attention or make him any money. It's just another insult that..
..this fool thinks she would sing a song he wrote. His ego is out of control. If anything, Kanye should be singing a song that Taylor wrote, not the other way around. As far as Taylor is concerned, he can take his song and shove it.'
Taylor is apparently NOT going along with his plans to promote his new album. A source told PopEater:
'Taylor writes her own sounds and has been very successful at it. Why would she want to sing one of Kanye's songs? The last thing she wants to do is give him any more attention or make him any money. It's just another insult that..
..this fool thinks she would sing a song he wrote. His ego is out of control. If anything, Kanye should be singing a song that Taylor wrote, not the other way around. As far as Taylor is concerned, he can take his song and shove it.'
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Draco Malfoy Spotted With Girlfriend in Vancouver
Enjoying some quality time with his girlfriend Jade Olivia, Tom Felton was spotted out and about in Vancouver, Canada yesterday (September 1).
The “Harry Potter” hunk and his lovely lady looked to be a bit lost as Jade pulled out a map and Tom asked a taxi driver for directions before just hopping in the cab and speeding off to their destination.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Pretty Little Liars resumes filming!!
They resumed September 1st, excluding Ashley Benzo who is filming a movie with Christina Millian.
Lucy Hale and Shay Mitchell
Lucy Hale and Brant Daugherty
Lucy Hale and Ian Harding's shoes.
Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benzo and Shay Mitchell in Nylon Magazine:
Lucy Hale and Shay Mitchell
Lucy Hale and Brant Daugherty
Lucy Hale and Ian Harding's shoes.
Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benzo and Shay Mitchell in Nylon Magazine: