Category: debt

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In Spain, people who are owed…

In Spain, people who are owed a debt can hire men in top hats and black suits to “haunt” the debtor into paying up. The men stand silently near the debtor (outside of his/her house, next to the table in a restaurant where the debtor is seated, etc.) until the debt is paid.

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When You’re Stressed About Money, This Is What Happens to Your Body and Your Brain

I think a lot of us can say that we’ve felt this kind of stress before: stress about being broke or very close to it. But how does this stress affect us, physiologically speaking?

We all have a fight-or-flight response system in our bodies that developed when our ancestors were roaming the land trying to avoid the many threats that could literally kill them at any time. Stress hormones are released when we’re presented with what we interpret as these kinds of situations – times when we humans have to decide whether to stick it out and fight or to run for our lives.

Stressed

But there are fewer saber-tooth tigers these days, and your fight-or-flight reflex is much more likely to be triggered by social issues – including dealing with money problems. When it does happen, the fight-or-flight reaction is very hard on the body. It can tense up our muscles until they hurt and mess up how our immune systems work, leaving us more vulnerable to getting sick. It can also cause constant stomach aches and headaches.

Stress

Another bad side effect: you might make bad decisions, even though, deep down, you know better. Aimee Daramus, a clinic psychologist, said, “Under stress, blood flow and electrical activity are reduced in the frontal and prefrontal lobes and increased in the survival parts of the brain, such as the amygdala.”

Since the parts of the brain where blood flow is reduced influence impulse control and planning, your decision-making process might get thrown for a loop, causing you to do things you normally wouldn’t do. Basically, you start to feel the walls closing in, which pressures you to act in ways that actually hurt your situation.

Daramus added, “We act quickly and decisively, but not always as accurately as usual.”

Depressed

On top of that, frequent stress reactions – whether caused by money issues or not – may cause anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Chronic stress might even lead to long-term physical ailments such as heart disease and diabetes. Finally, the stress may lead you to take comfort where you can find it – and that can sometimes mean in alcohol and drugs, which may lead to substance abuse problems.

Money problems are hard – really hard – but try to take care of yourself.

Remember, your only real wealth is health.

The post When You’re Stressed About Money, This Is What Happens to Your Body and Your Brain appeared first on UberFacts.

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This Is What Happens to Your Student Loan Debt After You Die

A few decades ago, this isn’t a question that would have been on many people’s minds. Student loans were typically small and paid off shortly after graduation, leaving the students who needed them free to start their adult lives, debt-free and degree in hand.

Now, things are very different, with the majority of students exiting four years of college (or more) with debt that could literally take them the rest of their lives to erase.

But what happens to the loan if the person who signed for it does pass away before it’s paid?

If you have no idea, you’re not alone – a recent survey done by Haven Life revealed that almost 75% of borrowers aren’t sure what effect their death would have on their lines.

“The reason is because it is a scary thing to think about…losing a parent, most often the co-signer, or a parent losing a child. Most people don’t think about it until something happens,” says Barbara Ginty, a certified financial planner.

The answer is that it depends on what type of loan you have, along with a few other factors.

If you have a federal student loan in your name when you pass, the outstanding balance will be wiped out through a “death discharge.” All that needs to happen is a friend or family member remitting proof of your death (a death certificate, etc) to the servicer, and it will be cleared.

The same protections are in place for Parent PLUS loans, and recent changes to tax law through the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act (2018) mean those discharged loans are not taxed as income, which is significant.

If you have private loans, though, your situation could be a bit trickier. Discharges, even due to death, are considered on a “case-by-case basis,” says Elaine Griffin Rubin, a senior contributor for the financial aid site Edvisors.

That said, most lenders do have it in the fine print that death is a valid reason for forgiving the loan.

If your parent was a co-signer, and they pass away, though, the lender might not be as forgiving, says Ginty.

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“Often times, private lenders have a clause stating that the loan goes into automatic default if the co-signer passes away.”

That means that even if you have a payment plan and are current on your payments, a company could expect you to repay the loan in full immediately if your co-signer dies.

If you live in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, you could also be liable for your spouse’s loan balance, since those are community property states.

I mean, you’re young and healthy and you’ll probably never have to worry about any of this. That said, bad luck can strike anyone, so if you want to protect your loved ones, talk to them about your loans and your plans for paying your debts if something should ever happen.

Life insurance is a good idea for everyone, to be honest.

That’s your free tip for the day. You’re welcome.

The post This Is What Happens to Your Student Loan Debt After You Die appeared first on UberFacts.

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A Man Paid off the Entire School Lunch Debt for 400 Kids in His Town

Children should never go hungry in the United States, but the sad fact is that it happens every day to thousands and thousands of kids. And sometimes we forget there are actually things we can do to help – but there are.

Andrew Levy, a real estate agent in Jupiter, Florida, decided to take things into his own hands after he saw a list detailing the outstanding lunch debt owed by 400 kids in 9 schools in his area.

The debt totaled $944.34, which is not so much, all things considered. Levy decided to pay the entire debt off for the kids and their families.

One man in Jupiter, Florida, decided that he could make a difference in his town by paying off the lunch debt for every child in the system.

Posted by 5NEWS on Monday, October 14, 2019

A woman in Jupiter named Angie Vyas-Knight got the ball rolling when she shared a post on Facebook talking about the school lunch issue and how kids were going hungry. She then got the local stats from the Palm Beach County school board and compiled a list outlining the debts. This list eventually reached Andrew Levy, who said, “I thought that’s crazy. Food is something you shouldn’t have to think about. Children shouldn’t learn hungry.”

After he paid off the debt, Levy started thinking about the issue in a bigger context. Levy realized that many more kids in his area, not just in Jupiter, need help paying for their school lunches. In fact, students in Palm Beach County, a district with more than 180,000 students, currently have an outstanding lunch debt of $50,000 .

Levy said, “I’m going to do either a GoFundMe page or a fundraising page that can raise money every quarter, so lunch debt never accumulates so that children never have to worry about a hot meal and parents never have to worry about paying the bill.”

If you want to help out, visit the district’s website to get more information.

Unfortunately, this is a major issue that many school districts have to address. We can only hope that more people like Andrew Levy will step up to the plate to help out the kids in need.

It’s called thinking BIG!

The post A Man Paid off the Entire School Lunch Debt for 400 Kids in His Town appeared first on UberFacts.

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These Stories Illustrate How Powerfully the Student Debt System Negatively Affects People’s Lives

America’s student debt crisis is a hot-button issue not just for graduates and universities, but for politicians as well. Some are arguing for debt forgiveness and eventually free education, while others believe the system is working just fine the way it has been for years.

All of these posts will make you feel for these folks and it might even remind you of your own financial situation.

Take a look.

1. Sad, but true

2. Not the same

3. Yikes

4. In a nutshell

5. Mystifying

6. The short end of the stick

7. A trap

8. Doesn’t seem right…

9. Punished for success

10. Triggered

11. No way around the truth

12. That is unbelievable

13. F it all

14. Like a prison

What do you think about this incredibly divisive topic?

The post These Stories Illustrate How Powerfully the Student Debt System Negatively Affects People’s Lives appeared first on UberFacts.

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Billionaire Pledges to Pay off Student Debt for Morehouse College’s ENTIRE 2019 Graduating Class

Graduating from college is an incredible milestone in anyone’s life, but it’s sadly often marred by a lot of anxiety about what comes next. The looming shadow of trying to repay a seemingly endless amount of student loans for years to come is especially daunting.

Thankfully, the 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, won’t have to worry about that – during his commencement speech at Morehouse, billionaire Robert F. Smith announced that he would be paying off ALL the student debt for Morehouse’s class of 2019!

Smith said during his speech, “On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bus. This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.”

This guy’s reaction pretty much sums up the way everyone at the graduation felt about the news.

Take a look at the reaction from the graduating students.

A spokesperson for Smith said the billionaire is “thrilled to invest in these young people and their future.” Robert F. Smith made his fortune by founding a private equity firm called Vista Equity Partners that primarily buys and sells software firms. He graduated from Cornell and has a Master’s degree from Columbia.

Smith told the students, “You are responsible for building strong, safe places where our young brothers and sisters can grow with confidence. Watch and learn from positive role models, and believe that they too are entitled to the American dream.”

There’s no official confirmation of the size of Smith’s gift yet, but it’s believed to be in the neighborhood of $40 million.

What an incredibly generous gesture. Good luck, Class of 2019!

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