I help therapists navigate every element of their financial lives: from understanding your practice P&L and building a personal budget to managing student loan debt and investing for retirement... and everything in between. But don't let my love of the tax code and spreadsheets scare you off! You're just as likely to find me with my nose buried in one of Pema Chodron's books as reading up on the latest financial planning techniques.
Student Loan Repayment Resumes this Month!
Hello Reader,
If you haven’t heard, student loan repayments are beginning again. This time it’s for real. Not kidding.
And I actually do believe that.
Interest began to accrue again on your Federally held student loans this month (September).
In October, you first payment (since early 2020!) will finally be due.
So this week I wanted to share with you a few tips from my friends over at Student Loan Planner.
If you’re managing your student loans by yourself, I’d strongly encourage you to sign up for their newsletter and consider signing up for one of their consultations to make sure you’re making the most of the student loan programs available to you!
Here are the 7 things to do now, before payments restart!
- Update your contact information with studentaid.gov – please check this right now!
- Ensure your email address, mailing address, and phone number are correct.
- Confirm your communication preferences – Email is recommended for faster correspondence.
- Did your name change? Make sure to update that too. This is pretty fast since they verify it electronically now. Once you’ve done that with studentaid.gov then do the same with your loan servicer. You may have moved around to different servicers during the COVID forbearance, so confirm who you’re with now. You may have to register an online account with the new servicer.
- While on your servicer’s website, set yourself up on autopay, even if you have a $0 payment. Autopay gives you a 0.25% discount on your interest rate. You’ll likely need to re-enroll if you enrolled in autopay before the payment pause.
- Don’t panic if your payment looks crazy high in your online portal right now. There have been getting reports of accounts showing the standard 10yr plan as the monthly payment. Servicers are actively working on updating accounts right now with your IDR info.
- Finally, ensure you’re on the best repayment plan or know what to switch to when you update your income in 2024. Here’s Student Loan Planner’s free calculator to help you navigate your options.
As always, if you have any questions about what I’ve covered today — or anything else happening in your financial life — HIT REPLY and ask away! I read and respond to every email.
Best,
Dave
Hi there! I'm a financial planner for therapists!
David W. Frank
I help therapists navigate every element of their financial lives: from understanding your practice P&L and building a personal budget to managing student loan debt and investing for retirement... and everything in between. But don't let my love of the tax code and spreadsheets scare you off! You're just as likely to find me with my nose buried in one of Pema Chodron's books as reading up on the latest financial planning techniques.
Hello Reader, Want the mindset that brings unlimited willpower? Keep reading and it could be yours! 👇 We’ve been taught that willpower is a limited resource. Many of us believe that willpower is like a battery – full at the start of the day, but depleted as the day wears on. And that this low battery leaves us vulnerable to poor impulse control and regrettable choices later in the day. And there is research seemingly backing up this limited view of willpower. The phenomenon came to be known...
Hello Reader, If you’ve been meaning to figure out a retirement plan for 2024, I’ve got just the webinar for you! Join Julie Herres and me as we guide practice owners through the maze of retirement options in this webinar. 👉 Click here to register! Whether you’re in solo practice or a group practice owner, we’ll break down the available choices, contribution limits, and help you figure out the best path for your future. It’s sure to be an informative session not to be missed if you’re...
Hello Reader, It wasn’t just a good day, it was a GREAT day. I was clear-headed, sharp, uber-productive. I was flying through my to-do list, and doing (IMHO) my best work, when I made a quick pivot to dispatch some emails. One email was from HR, announcing a change to the vacation policy. What? That’s interesting. Without hesitation, I click on the attached PDF to see if it was good news or bad. And just like that… I had been phished. I knew that clicking on a suspicious attachment could...