Take Advantage of Student Loan Relief Extension – Detroit Free Press
- February 1, 2021
- By: Greenpath Financial Wellness
Excerpt from the Detroit Free Press highlights options for those impacted by recent student loan payment extensions, and features GreenPath CEO Kristen Holt.
The Detroit Free Press highlights what people who are juggling federal student loan debt along with other bills can do with extended relief.
Those who lost a job during the pandemic and now need to decide whether to pay their student loan debt or buy groceries can hold off making federal student loan payments through Sept. 30, 2021.
The temporary pause for federal student loan payments had been set to end Jan. 31 for more than 42 million borrowers.
The move means that the interest rate on many federal student loan payments stays set at 0% for another eight months. (But remember, millions of private student loan payments and some federal student loans weren’t covered by this deal.)
LEARN MORE ABOUT STUDENT LOAN COUNSELING
If you have student loans, GreenPath may be able to help. Student loan counseling is available as part of GreenPath’s standard counseling sessions.
Insight from GreenPath
“It really gives people options to get their financial life in order,” said Kristen Holt, CEO of GreenPath Financial Wellness, a Farmington Hills-based nonprofit that offers various services nationwide, including a debt management program and financial counseling on student loans.
Some families, Holt said, may be able to use this time to pay off high-rate credit card debt or other bills. Others, if able, might try to set aside extra cash to create or beef up an emergency fund.
Taking care of some other financial headaches, Holt said, will put many families on a better footing once payments on student loan bills must resume later this year.
Consider Income-Driven Plans
Holt shared in her interview that many borrowers should consider signing up for income-driven repayment plans even now while the pause is in place.
That’s because the months when they’re not required to make a payment will count in their favor with some income-driven plans that offer loan forgiveness at the end of a 20-year or 25-year period.
Read the entire article from the Detroit Free Press.
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Our financial counselors are available to talk. They can help you figure out a plan to manage student loans, now that payment pauses have been extended again. Our trusted NFCC-certified student loan counselors will walk through your whole financial picture to help you identify options that can relieve stress and make it easier to bounce back.
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Kristen Holt is president and CEO of GreenPath Financial Wellness based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. GreenPath is a national nonprofit that supports lifelong financial wellness for everyone.