Giddy and Grateful!

I paid off my student loans yesterday! After 19 years, I finally have a zero balance. I always planned to repay the loan I took out to complete the last year of my doctorate. I started repaying it in 2007, but by 2020, I still owed the original plus interest. I paid what I could through the years, but never touched the principal. Over that time, I paid off a house and several credit cards, but the interest kept growing on the student loan. I owed about $10,000 more than I borrowed!

During the Biden years, I sought a repayment plan that I could afford. However, with the change in administrations, the payment went to over $500 a month, which is a lot for someone on Social Security and a small pension. I did not qualify to have my loans forgiven because I taught at a private Jesuit university. So, my husband decided that it was best to sell some of his stocks and pay the loan off, to avoid possible garnishment of my Social Security benefits.

I want to tell you that I am grateful to my husband for such a wonderful gift. Seeing a balance of zero on the website of my loan servicer made me giddy. I am free of the debt, and the young man who took my final payment congratulated me.

My heart goes out to people who try to pay the loans, but the way the interest is calculated means that unless you can pay more than the monthly amount due, you keep getting deeper in debt. I think most people are like me, sincere in their desire to pay. My FICO score is over 800 points, because I believe in paying my bills. This was the debt from hell that was impervious to efforts to clear it. So, I thank God for this excellent demonstration of love from my husband.

I also received my permanent crown yesterday on the tooth that died as a result of my fall in Vienna. I will need more work done, but on Saturday, we can finally go to Longhorn for a steak to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary! I will be able to use my whole mouth to chew! So, now with the pain subsiding, I can begin to write again. I forgot how pain exhausts you so much that you just want to rest. I am giddy and grateful today. To God be the glory for the victories in our lives.

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