Student Loan Payments: Here's How This Florida Couple Paid $190,000 Student Loan Debts in 2 Years
The cancellation of student loan payments is one of the most-talked-about topics right now, with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration just canceling $5.8 billion in student loans.
Fox News reported that the student loan debts cancellation applies to all those who attended schools operated by the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges, which is one of the largest for-profit education companies.
Florida resident Sherman Merricks spoke about his student loan debts worth $203,000, saying that he had no financial plan to go to college. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in psychology from a private university before earning his master's degree in biomedical science.
Currently, the Florida resident is a small business owner and was paying a $300 minimum each month of his loans and expected to continue paying that for the rest of his life.
Merricks and his wife, Cristina, have owned and operated a CrossFit gym in Gainesville, Florida for about 10 years.
They also opened a sales marketing firm just months before the COVID-19 pandemic and it took off.
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Florida Couple Student Loan Payments
Merricks noted that when there was a paused interest rate increase for student loans during the pandemic, they allotted everything toward paying down the debt.
The family had a tight, strict budget, saving everything they could.
The Florida couple also took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course starting their marriage, which they credit for understanding debt and how to get rid of it.
Merricks said that he is a "checkbox, motivated type of person," adding that he could actually see the student loan balance going down.
The Florida couple also involved their three children in the project.
They said they paid the $203,000 in debt in just 27 months, crediting it to their faith, and said they were "extra blessed during this time."
The Florida couple recommended making a strict budget and findings ways to further increase family income.
Merrick also commented on conversations about the wide student loan forgiveness from the Biden administration, saying that he believes it is "simply talk."
He claimed that American taxpayers will be the one who will pay for it if the government chooses to forgive student loans.
Student Loan Debts
CNBC News noted that the Biden administration is unlikely to announce a decision on student loan forgiveness until later this summer.
The White House's announcement on the matter would likely come in July or August.
A quarter of borrowers were already behind on their payments before the pandemic health crisis.
Biden said he was in support of clearing $10,000 from borrowers' accounts, which would mean a cost of around $321 billion.
Forbes reported that not everyone will qualify for student loan forgiveness despite the term "wide-scale student loan forgiveness."
Some progressive members of Congress want all student loan borrowers to qualify for student loan forgiveness. However, the Biden administration has introduced the idea of income caps – meaning one must earn below a certain income threshold to qualify for the loan forgiveness.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
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