I don't think you're "dumb" for not knowing these things about your loans. You don't know what you don't know. I'm just happy to see you're working towards fixing the problem! I was able to pay off $82,000 in debt in 4 years so it's possible to make this happen. Just keep chipping away at it consistently and your financial future will be bright. Good luck Aja! You got this! :)
@@Moreeelifeee Probably makes 6 figures and swears to god he's "struggling". All these people making 6 figures are the ones who can afford to pay them off so quickly. We all would be Gucci, too, if we made 6 figures.
It makes me so mad that you're opening up and being honest and people wanna judge. I LOVE that people who seem to have it all together are starting to be like, look this is real life i'm figuring it out too. THANK YOU. This helps so much. I know so many people just graduating from grad school that this could benefit. We're all learning and we need people to talk about their own experiences. THANK YOU
I think people feel the need to superior so they judge and name call when someone is real and honest. As someone with six figure student loan debt, I thank you for your honesty because it has helped me feel so less alone and as if I can conquer this monster. We often hear the stories afterward of how someone paid off debt, but it helps to see someone going through the process. Anyway, I am so glad you were able to get some major help and consolidate your loans in a way that will help you pay them off quicker. You're doing an amazing job.
Honestly watching your budget videos are eye opening! I'm a student with student loans and you're definitely revving me up to start thinking about plans about paying them off!
I never comment on videos because i never feel like they make a difference or that anyone I watch would reply but this video and video series you are doing is amazing. Honestly, coming from someone who was private school educated and grew up comfortably, thanks to my hard working parents, I had the luxury to understand personal finance and how to budget, but the majority of my friends didnt. Ive watched countless friends ruined by financial woes only find out after the fact because they felt ashamed or embarrassed to admit they needed help. Aja I've now reached out to a lot of my friends and sent them your link to this video series and they loved it. Its refreshing to find someone real enough to show there 'vulnerable' side on a topic that effects most adults. Please keep making these kinds of videos, they are helping a lot of people. Love Alex
I'm at the point in my life where I need to be in control of my financial responsibilities and I wasn't because I felt like everyone my age was so responsible and I couldn't talk about it with anyone. But watching you since earlier this year has made me feel like I can grow together and progress with you!! Thank you!!
Ignore the haters!! You got this! Also, thanks for being so open and honest about your journey! Money can be a weird topic for so many people so I appreciate you sharing! Also, I had Nelnet too and they did suck. Lol
I'm not sure but ,if anyone else trying to find out credit repair canada try Magonsi Credit Magic Expert (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some great things about it and my m8 got cool success with it.
Aja, you are doing a good job!!! I've watched your first budget planning video this year and you are SO BRAVE to share your struggle with the internet. Not only finance problem, I feel when it comes to OUR OWN PROBLEMS, most of the people are too scared to face it, but what they don't know is that, they don't have to face it alone! KEEP UP WITH THE GOOD WORK!!! Sending you positive vibes~
I'm not sure you realize how helpful this is for everyone - I LOVE that you are sharing your financial story so openly and honestly! The world needs this. Thank you, Aja!😁
i love this series. I never really had anyone to give me real-life financial advice or warn me on what's to come. As a senior in college, this is extremely helpful as I prepare to begin paying off my student loans.
How is it even legal to do what they do? I'm shocked people in the US get an education at all. I live in Sweden and all universities are free (unless you're an international student) however most people still take loans to be able to pay for all living costs and there is one governmental authority that gives out those loans, and it has the best interest on the market. Don't understand why a country wouldn't want their habitants to be educated. Anyways, you're doing great! Soon you'll be debt free! xo
Jandi Heart Eco they pay their way into the government to make laws letting them become debt collectors when you finish school. You cant choose which company you get and they each have their own fraud.
We should see reductions in enrollments for 4 year colleges and more people choosing not to go to college at all, or just go to a trade school. It seems corporations have really tried hard all these decades to keep wages stagnant, why bother going into debt for a degree just to get a shitty salary and still have to live at home? I'm generalizing here but, you all get my point.
You’re a blessing so glad to have a “resource” and friend like you to turn to and learn from when my parents can’t be that for me. Hearing this today gives me hope that I can finish my degree and work out a budget that’s manageable one day.
I'm with nelnet and your video has really got me thinking. I might have to take a deeper look into my loan like you did. 1 advice to you, if you haven't already started doing that, put in additional payments and pay them into the principal. Best of luck 😊
Thank you for your openness, realness, and transparency!!! I've had quite a few nights recently (including last night) where I couldn't fall asleep because I was so overwhelmed with how to pay my loans monthly, who to talk to, or where to start especially with being a first generation student. I got teary eyed watching your video! Keep up that hard work! 🎉
Aja, I've only recently discovered your channel, and I wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to look at my student loans debt. I'm' from the UK and finished my degree in 2012, so very different situation, BUT I was completely ignoring and thoughts of paying it back until I was earning enough money, and couldn't face looking at out of fear. From a few days of watching your Budget journey, I now feel very different and want to start tackling it. So a great big THANK YOU from me in London! Keep up the good work, you're doing amazingly well. Massive hugs, Jo xx
Girl you have been killing it. It takes a huge amount of effort to admit you don't know something and take steps to educate yourself. Especially as we get older. Thank you for showing everyone it is never too late to get on track with your finances. :)
Lol! Girl at first I thought this was your work outfit... from Sephora. Haha, but I love these videos so thanks a bunch (: you have such great insight.
Aja, you are such a boss! I’m so thankful that there’s people out here on YT like YOU that are willing to share such personal and REAL information about the truth of reality. This stuff is real and no one in college tells you about this crap. I’ve been worrying about debt as well and this was immensely helpful. Bless your soul girlfriend!
Girl, I did something very similar. Ignored my student loans for almost 2 years and watched it grow to $62,000. Had my freak out moment. Consolidated my loans and got more aggressive on my payments and now I’m sitting at $43,000 4 years later. I can’t go too aggressive because I have small children and one going off to high school, so they have needs too. But if I stick to my plan I should be student loan debt feee in 3 years.
You can do it!!!! Get out of that debt, girl!! Imagine how in TWO YEARS you could be paying that 6,500 to YOURSELF. All that matters is that you’ll be debt free. Thank you for sharing!
You’ve inspired me to start using a budget spreadsheet, not just to keep track of how long it will take to pay off my loan but also to track my savings for future travel plans!!!
So so glad you were able to save so much money! Thats incredible. Im still on my debt journey trying to pay off $80,000 in credit card and auto debt in one years time so you help to keep me motivated.
Thank you for sharing your story. It reminds me that I’m not the only person in the world with six figures of student loan debt. I’m not the only one struggling. My repayments start in a few days and this is the encouragement I needed. ♥️ I’m looking into refinancing options so this video was super informative!
Thank you for sharing your financial experiences. I am from Hawaii attending college in Arizona and I took your budget sheet and tweaked it a little bit to favor college students but it has helped me understand my situation much better.
Yasssssss!!!! Aja I’m so proud of you! It was so hard to see you go through trying so hard to pay this off knowing that you were dropping $10k into a black hole because of interest. This is how we were able to get out of debt too - so happy for you! 💕
I don't understand how people are expected to survive on rice and water and any sort of luxury/ indulgence is frowned on but honestly having a debt shouldn't mean that we can't also enjoy ourselves (moderately) so I really appreciate how you disclose how you splurge properly here and there. Your videos have given me a new perspective and confidence to enjoy my life and treat myself responsibly even on a budget. Thanks again!
Thank you for posting...I'm in a similar situation...watched your video last night...clicked on the link you provided and got a call this morning...Joshua is awesome...I'm on my way to having financial peace...Thanks again
Thank you for being so open and honest about your journey! You have started a discussion that most of these people talking in the comments were too scared to even bring up! I myself am on my own journey with Nelnet (luckily not as bad thanks to going to a CSU lol), but I hope you know that you're monthly videos are inspiring me to stay motivated and accountable. WE GOT THIS AJA!!
I have one semester left of college and I've started on the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover and I'm so happy that I've found this information super early! Thank you for the informational and inspiring videos!!
I recently graduated from university and I didn't even know loan consolidation was possible until I saw this!!! So thank you!!! Side note, don't be afraid to go to community college first, I saved a sh*t ton of money there and had the most amazing professors! After I transferred to a university I was fortunate enough to have my tuition paid for by the state, but all of the loans accumulated from my 2 years there were all from housing on and off campus (almost $20,000).
I love these student debt videos. As a grad student, I NEED to start budgeting ASAP & it’s something I’ve been putting off.. your videos talking about debt and budgeting has been such a great series. Keep it up aja 💕. So real, raw, & helpful.
GIRL!!!!! Autopay can make me uneasy too. I've literally been screwed so far as to my gas being turned off because a credit card was stolen and after replacing it, I forgot to update on my socal gas account. The notices never got to my house or email for some reason until it was too late! Something to keep in mind. Seriously so inspiring to watch these videos. I don't even have student loan debt but all the finance videos have helped me in my major transition to having an adult relationship with money. THANK YOU!!
I didn't do autopay at first because I didn't want them to take out money that I didn't have lol. But now I know I can at least pay the minimums. I also have a spreadsheet of all the companies I need to change my address/cards with when that needs to happen. It's been really helpful
I LOVE these budgeting videos and really appreciate you being so open and honest with us as this is something that a lot of us are going through! Keep up the great content, Aja!
Great job! Love the candidness. We all make mistakes but you learn. I'm on the same boat too. Just chipping away. Celebrate the small victories. I know how you feel. I recently paid off my car so that's something! Congrats on your car payment!
I love your finance themed videos and I honestly wish you'd do more of them. THANKFULLY I live in a country where higher education is free so I don't have any student loans/debt and I've always been relatively good with my money. However, there were some money that were basically disappearing from my account each month and now I'm able to trace most of it. Thanks to you, I've started making my own excel spreadsheet and it's opened my eyes to the stupid shit I waste money on.
Aja! You’re an incredible person and these videos have helped me so so much regarding my student loans... I’m going into my 4th year of college and my parents haven’t helped me at all throughout this journey so I’ve taken 2-3 jobs a quarter and even then I’m taking out loans and breaking even each month which is stressful. Thank you for sharing your finances ❤️ Also, I know a lot of people are saying your shirt looks like a Sephora employee uniform, you still look gorgeous in it! 😊🙌🏼
I love that you talk about the big elephant in the room that everyone usually ignores (aka DEBT). It’s so great that you openly talk about the struggle that we all go through especially since most youtubers usually only show their glamorous life. I definitely feel the same way about NELNET though.. they definitely are screwing me with the interest rates that keep fluctuating🤦🏻♀️
I consolidated Nelnet and Sally Mae 5 years ago at $98.000 with FED LOAN picking up the ball!. I went on IBR..which was $0.00 for 3 years, forbearance and deferrals in 2019 and 2020 into the pandemic forebearance. I filed for total and permanent disability on March 23rd with my physician and was approved on April 27, 2021. My total student loan forgiveness is the exact amount I consolidated in 2016. It’s gone. It’s completely wiped out and tax free until 2025...i made it by 2 years.
thank you having the courage to be so open about your experiences with student loans. I can absolutely relate to being scared to look and feeling so out of control with just the thought of my loans. this video is helpful and encouraging
The haters don't know what they are talking about! It can be so discouraging to earn a steady income each month and still see none of it so I'm so appreciative of you being so brutally honest about your debt free journey! I actually started budgeting because of you and slowly but surely am beginning to understand how so much of my money keeps getting spent. I'm glad that you got a better solution to the problem. You got this, keep plowing on!
Just contacted josh through your link. I am in the same position of frustration right before your consolidation. I appreciate your brutal honesty with cuss words and all cause it’s that same feeling and words I now realize ion myself. Thanks much for this vid.
Thank you for your videos on debt/student loans/ finance. Just found your channel and I can't tell you how valuable your videos are for me right now. Keep up the awesome work! So looking forward to your upcoming videos on these topics.
Aja, you're doing great! Hope you get out of debt soon but even if it has to take a longer time to do that, you're gonna be out of that pit eventually. I'm cheering for you ! You can do this. Praying for you ❤💪
What an interesting video you have put up. I do have some suggestions if you would like to hear me out. I'm not positive why you dislike Nelnet so much. Sure, you didn't look into the details of your loans and then an expert pointed out the things you have missed such as the interest that has accumulated. You then considered consolidating your loans so you have one payment to deal with instead of nine. However, did you take a look at the payment terms? What interest rate are they charging you to consolidate? Also, how much longer are they giving you to pay off your debt? I would caution you that lower interest rates with longer payment terms would end up COSTING YOU MORE depending on the circumstances. Same thing applies for higher interest rate and a short payment term. I would suggest that you calculate it to see which one is more beneficial even after already consolidating. Also, does it say fixed or variable rate for the interest? That is a huge factor... Lastly, just something to think about but when you consolidate your debt, you lose your benefits you had from Nelnet such as being able to defer payments, loan forgiveness and income based payment options. For example, let's say you lose your job today and because your loans are consolidated by another lender, you still have to pay the fix amount each month. Let's say you owe $1,000 each month. How will you pay your student debt with no income? There are advantages to keeping your loans with Nelnet because they can adjust the monthly payments based on your income or lack of income. Also, I noticed people have mentioned about defaulting on student debt. You cannot escape your student debt. In fact, if you stop making payments, they will garnish your wage at will. They will continue to collect payments as long as you work until the day you die. Granted, you will need to work to live and the government will continue to collect until they collect every penny you owe them. As morbid as that sounds, it's the truth. You cannot default on your student loans except for very special circumstances. That being said, I hope this had shed some light onto your situation. If you can, I highly highly suggest that pay off your loan quickly. As you already know, interest adds up quickly and it can only snowball from there. I really do hope to see future videos of you where your loan will become manageable. Good luck.
Im so happy for you Aja, All my good vibrations i'm sending your way, and for some reason I feel like your gonna be done with this in 2.5 to 3 years. Completely done with this debt and your going make an awesome video holding two champagne bottles and weill all be here to watch you and celebrate with you.
Hello, did you end up using the service through Nationwide student loans? Just wondering because I myself requested a consultation through Aja’s link but didn’t personally speak to Joshua but with a different representative.. I’m debating if I should use their service because they have a service fee of $799..
I'm in the same boat. Thanks for being honest and educating us I have about 200,000 in debt from school loans. I just graduated with my masters and now real world is hitting me hard. I will be following your vids! Thank you
Girl I am obsessed with these videos you make!!! I’m on the Dave Ramsey train too. I recently consolidated my credit card debt and have 18 months interest free to pay it off which is totally doable. I also refinanced my car and my APR went from 15% to 5%. I want to be more aggressive and pay everything off in 2 years (total about 25k) but I’m in SoCal making $35k take home. But WE GOTTA LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE SO YOU CAN LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE. U got this girl! 50 told me, go 'head, switch the style up And if they hate then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up 👍🏼✨💪🏼
I pay very close attention to this because we have a daughter in 9th grade and college is definitely going to be a bitch to pay for. Nothing but hard work on your part that is pulling you out of debt! You're doing a great job!
The fact that he charged you a fee of 600 dollars is laughable. Consolidation can be done FOR FREE through the Department of educations website. While it can be confusing, there are representative that can help you with the application. Not everyone has 600 dollars to throw around.
I'm confused...The Dept of Ed. doesn't handle loans directly, instead they have a list of loan servicing companies that do it: Nelnet and Mohela both being on the list. However, as far as I understand, you don't get to choose who your servicer is...it's assigned to you by the Dept of Education. It sounds like you consolidated your loans with a different loan servicer than you had originally...is that a loophole to get your loans moved to another servicer? Did you lose any of the federal protections that come with government backed loans? (It sounds like you didn't, because Mohela is another servicer of government loans) I'm just clarifying that you didn't refinance with a private lender.
I was looking for a comment like this. I wish Aja knew what she was talking about because obviously she didn't. And it sounds to me like she's just blindly trusting the numbers that the guy has given her or she is confused. If she made a video with the guy himself, there's no way this is how he would explain it. So many inaccuracies in this video and there's no way he saved her $200,000.
If you do a Federal loan consolidation, you do have the option of choosing your lender. When you fill out the application (online), there's a drop down where you can keep your current lender or switch. I had Nelnet ;-( and switched to Great Lakes ;-) I don't think you can do a Federal consolidation with private loans though, none of my loans were private.
Thank you for this!!!! I'm not under student loan debt but I'm literally learning so much from you cause I'm also really terrible with money. Usually the way other people would explain it to me I never understood but all your monthly budget explaining has helped me learned a lot.
Yassssss tell em aja! Getting out of debt takes REAL honesty with yourself and it fucking sucks sometimes, but hey, thats what it takes! You are kicking ass!
I refinanced with Sofi as well. I had 55k with Nelnet and the interest rates were 12-16%. That should be illegal!!!!! Sofi gave me an interest rate of 4.25%. I lowered my monthly payment by 250$ and shortened the term. I was also lazy and finally JUST DID IT!! So happy. Only 4 months with Sofi now, hopefully it’s a good relationship.
Hah, I’m so glad that I watched this before someone reported it for too much cursing 😂😂😂 First of all, I’m angry to hear to trolls are insulting you for your spending decisions...2nd - congratulations on your conquer of the student loan loans! 3rd - your personal advise has truly helped me. I’m following along with your procedure - try to spend down our checking account, but add to savings (need a new car) and it’s great to “commiserate?” with someone struggle with debt. Another note, I can imagine that people are giving you criticism along the lines of “How can you be in debt? You made $10,000 a month???” Viewers need to understand that we all have varying levels of debt and income...my student loans were a 1/16 of yours, and I make less than you, but they are finally paid off!!! Yipeee! I’m so happy that you found a better rate for your loans. I live in PA, and went through PHEAA, where rates are 3-5% and fair.
Thank you for your honesty! People are usually clueless about money because they were never taught how to manage money. The usual expectation is to have parents teach their kids about money. However, not every parents know how to manage money. So wish school put a focus on personal finance
Thanks for this video Aja! I made the EXACT same mistake ... being scared/lost, ignoring the debt for years and then letting interest accumulate. I defaulted and accrued about $12,500 worth of interest and penalties over at least 5-7 years while my head was in the sand. Hearing your story makes me not feel so alone/stupid. Barring catastrophe, ::crossing fingers:: ::praying fervently:: I will make my final payment later this month! We got this! Keep swimming!
I am really proud of you. And I totally get the fact of being afraid to look into number, this is a normal human beeing behaviour, a way to protect us, so well done that you managed to into your biggest fear! Well done, really good Aja! You are going to make it.
I'm glad you found a way to make paying your student loans easier. I recently paid off my Nelnet student this month, the total amount accumulated to $94,758.39 with $76,463.63 original taking out. This loan was particularly awful because it was a Parent Plus loan. I was so glad to get out of the grips of both Nelnet and the pressure of have a loan under of my Parents name. I couldnt even consolidate that loan with my own loans. So I decided I would pay that off as fast as i could, It took me a little over 3 years of working to do it but im so glad to be done with it. I wanted to let you know I thought I couldnt do it, but it happened and it will happen to you. One thing that helped me is a debt journal, it helped me get my feeling on my debt and keep me sane while I chipped away at the debt. Hope you continue to be diligent and get pushing on.
"They rode that goddam train" Lmaooooo. Thank you for sharing such struggles with real numbers-makes life a little less scary knowing there are other people sharing the same frustrations.
Great decision on moving that money and getting rid of that other company. Knowing how much you owe and the interest rates can really go along way. Glad to hear you took control of your financial situation and saving a ton of money in the long run.
Lol I thought you're wearing the Sephora uniform. I just wanna say how amazing and even brave to be sharing something so sensitive. Wish you luck girl, you can do it w/ ur drive.
Im with Nelnet too and I had never looked in to consolidating my loans....NOW I may have to!! Your ending loan balance difference from 300k to 170k is going to make me pursue consolidating!! Thanks AJA!! #AJAtheMVP
Watching this video right now, because couldn't keep myself till morning and my husband said (out of nowhere) that this Nelnet is a piece of sh*t. Couldn't agree more! Love your videos) It's like an original series about being an adult! I really appreciate your honesty! You go, girl!
aja, i wish you knew that debt worked like that. i am so glad you know now that tha'ts how debt works! sounds like consolidating the debt will help you further. i'm rooting for you and thank you for courage and bravery in sharing your journey so that others may be able to do the same. i paid off my loans quick after i graduated college because i understood the nature of debt. but, now am having trouble figuring out how to make money. i'm wondering if you could do a video on your journey into youtube and how you make a living out of it. i love seeing your budget spreadsheet along with how much youtube is paying you out every month.
YAAAAASSS!! The same thing happened to me! I wish someone had told me what was happening to my loans while they were in forebearance (I feel they conveniently forget to tell you). Now my poor husband is helping to pay these monsters down and we're looking at 5-6 years going gangbusters on this horrible debt. You go and get it, girl!
Big fan of your channel, just found you. But I did want to point out with Nelnet, any payments over your monthly minimum, you can decide which loans you want to apply payment too! I paid off my student loans in 3 years, by being aggressive with paying down the high interest loans. Would’ve been SUPER helpful for you when you consolidated too (lower average rate). Yes, hindsight is 20/20 but just want to help anyone else reading this later! Nelnet isn’t terrible - deferment or forbearance is terrible!
Aja I also have a 6 figure student loan debt. Thankfully this year I decided to take control of them. Like you, I was just too damn scared to face it. Once I've got the defaulted ones cleared I'm going to look at consolidating also. 1 payment is better than 6 or more. Thank you for the brutal reality and honesty. People should be this open and to the haters....they are just losers! Ignore them. The honesty is refreshing for the rest of us struggling but feeling like we are alone in it. We aren't...here's proof! And as for the swearing...that's my number one reason for my thumbs up!!! LOL. Second of course for the honesty!
Thank you for your video, cause I truly appreciate the information on this situation...I regret my decision to even go to school and not only that my school wasn’t accredited and sued as well as the collections that was dealing with my loans as well...
So cool! Way to get after paying off debt! My husband and I are in the process of paying off his student loans right now, too, so I know the feeling of what you’re going through, totally sucks. Also, you’re hilarious the way you tell stories on here lol :)
This was very informative. I think Google Docs didn't add up your column Q correctly. When I added it up it came out to 668.67, but yours is 697.67. You are also doing A LOT better than you think you are. Why do you only add up the things you overspent on, but don't take into account the money you saved and were underbudget? You could just make column Q = col O - col P, then total it at the bottom like you did. I ended up with you saving (or were under budget) $1707.15 in June. So you are doing great money wise.
I don't think you're "dumb" for not knowing these things about your loans. You don't know what you don't know. I'm just happy to see you're working towards fixing the problem! I was able to pay off $82,000 in debt in 4 years so it's possible to make this happen. Just keep chipping away at it consistently and your financial future will be bright. Good luck Aja! You got this! :)
Did you live alone?
@@Moreeelifeee Probably makes 6 figures and swears to god he's "struggling". All these people making 6 figures are the ones who can afford to pay them off so quickly. We all would be Gucci, too, if we made 6 figures.
4 years??? How many banks did you rob? Otherwise, how did you really manage to do that?
It makes me so mad that you're opening up and being honest and people wanna judge. I LOVE that people who seem to have it all together are starting to be like, look this is real life i'm figuring it out too. THANK YOU. This helps so much. I know so many people just graduating from grad school that this could benefit. We're all learning and we need people to talk about their own experiences. THANK YOU
I'm obsessed with your budget videos! Inspired me to start my own monthly budget! Clicked SOOO fast when you came up on my sub box!
congrats on budgeting!
I think people feel the need to superior so they judge and name call when someone is real and honest. As someone with six figure student loan debt, I thank you for your honesty because it has helped me feel so less alone and as if I can conquer this monster. We often hear the stories afterward of how someone paid off debt, but it helps to see someone going through the process. Anyway, I am so glad you were able to get some major help and consolidate your loans in a way that will help you pay them off quicker. You're doing an amazing job.
Honestly watching your budget videos are eye opening! I'm a student with student loans and you're definitely revving me up to start thinking about plans about paying them off!
start thinking about it before you graduate!
I never comment on videos because i never feel like they make a difference or that anyone I watch would reply but this video and video series you are doing is amazing. Honestly, coming from someone who was private school educated and grew up comfortably, thanks to my hard working parents, I had the luxury to understand personal finance and how to budget, but the majority of my friends didnt. Ive watched countless friends ruined by financial woes only find out after the fact because they felt ashamed or embarrassed to admit they needed help. Aja I've now reached out to a lot of my friends and sent them your link to this video series and they loved it. Its refreshing to find someone real enough to show there 'vulnerable' side on a topic that effects most adults. Please keep making these kinds of videos, they are helping a lot of people. Love Alex
I replied twice :)
Thank you, appreciate it
I'm at the point in my life where I need to be in control of my financial responsibilities and I wasn't because I felt like everyone my age was so responsible and I couldn't talk about it with anyone. But watching you since earlier this year has made me feel like I can grow together and progress with you!! Thank you!!
Ignore the haters!! You got this! Also, thanks for being so open and honest about your journey! Money can be a weird topic for so many people so I appreciate you sharing! Also, I had Nelnet too and they did suck. Lol
I'm not sure but ,if anyone else trying to find out credit repair canada try Magonsi Credit Magic Expert (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some great things about it and my m8 got cool success with it.
Aja, you are doing a good job!!! I've watched your first budget planning video this year and you are SO BRAVE to share your struggle with the internet. Not only finance problem, I feel when it comes to OUR OWN PROBLEMS, most of the people are too scared to face it, but what they don't know is that, they don't have to face it alone! KEEP UP WITH THE GOOD WORK!!! Sending you positive vibes~
I'm not sure you realize how helpful this is for everyone - I LOVE that you are sharing your financial story so openly and honestly! The world needs this. Thank you, Aja!😁
i love this series. I never really had anyone to give me real-life financial advice or warn me on what's to come. As a senior in college, this is extremely helpful as I prepare to begin paying off my student loans.
How is it even legal to do what they do? I'm shocked people in the US get an education at all. I live in Sweden and all universities are free (unless you're an international student) however most people still take loans to be able to pay for all living costs and there is one governmental authority that gives out those loans, and it has the best interest on the market. Don't understand why a country wouldn't want their habitants to be educated. Anyways, you're doing great! Soon you'll be debt free! xo
Jandi Heart Eco they pay their way into the government to make laws letting them become debt collectors when you finish school. You cant choose which company you get and they each have their own fraud.
We should see reductions in enrollments for 4 year colleges and more people choosing not to go to college at all, or just go to a trade school. It seems corporations have really tried hard all these decades to keep wages stagnant, why bother going into debt for a degree just to get a shitty salary and still have to live at home? I'm generalizing here but, you all get my point.
America is a business
its "free"-->you/your parent pay the universities with taxes.
That is the grand question, isn’t it?
You’re a blessing so glad to have a “resource” and friend like you to turn to and learn from when my parents can’t be that for me. Hearing this today gives me hope that I can finish my degree and work out a budget that’s manageable one day.
I'm with nelnet and your video has really got me thinking. I might have to take a deeper look into my loan like you did. 1 advice to you, if you haven't already started doing that, put in additional payments and pay them into the principal. Best of luck 😊
Thank you for your openness, realness, and transparency!!! I've had quite a few nights recently (including last night) where I couldn't fall asleep because I was so overwhelmed with how to pay my loans monthly, who to talk to, or where to start especially with being a first generation student. I got teary eyed watching your video! Keep up that hard work! 🎉
Aja, I've only recently discovered your channel, and I wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to look at my student loans debt. I'm' from the UK and finished my degree in 2012, so very different situation, BUT I was completely ignoring and thoughts of paying it back until I was earning enough money, and couldn't face looking at out of fear. From a few days of watching your Budget journey, I now feel very different and want to start tackling it. So a great big THANK YOU from me in London! Keep up the good work, you're doing amazingly well. Massive hugs, Jo xx
i've been loving your monthly budget series! it honestly takes so much to open up about your finances like this and i really appreciate it
Girl you have been killing it. It takes a huge amount of effort to admit you don't know something and take steps to educate yourself. Especially as we get older. Thank you for showing everyone it is never too late to get on track with your finances. :)
Lol! Girl at first I thought this was your work outfit... from Sephora. Haha, but I love these videos so thanks a bunch (: you have such great insight.
You go girl. Sharing your life problems is a real eye opener.
Could you do a video with Joshua about taking out student loans and what you should and shouldn’t do!!!!!!!!
Sarah Gortler yes I agree please do this aja!!!
Please please. I start university next year!
Yes please!!!
watched the ads in full... helping with what I can! Sending all my best!
Aja, you are such a boss! I’m so thankful that there’s people out here on YT like YOU that are willing to share such personal and REAL information about the truth of reality. This stuff is real and no one in college tells you about this crap. I’ve been worrying about debt as well and this was immensely helpful. Bless your soul girlfriend!
Girl, I did something very similar. Ignored my student loans for almost 2 years and watched it grow to $62,000. Had my freak out moment. Consolidated my loans and got more aggressive on my payments and now I’m sitting at $43,000 4 years later. I can’t go too aggressive because I have small children and one going off to high school, so they have needs too. But if I stick to my plan I should be student loan debt feee in 3 years.
It’s 3 years later and I’m running across your comment hoping you are debt free
I am running into this comment four years later and I am also hoping you are debt free!!
You can do it!!!! Get out of that debt, girl!! Imagine how in TWO YEARS you could be paying that 6,500 to YOURSELF. All that matters is that you’ll be debt free. Thank you for sharing!
oh my god! THAT WILL BE SO AMAZING
@@AjaDang You have that now and I'm SO happy for you! (Rewatching all your video's, I keep thinking: she's freeee now!)
It's sooo nice to see someone like you going through this journey. It makes me feel less alone! Thanks Aja!
It's great to see this video and know that you paid off this loan much earlier than you expected. Great job!!
You’ve inspired me to start using a budget spreadsheet, not just to keep track of how long it will take to pay off my loan but also to track my savings for future travel plans!!!
Random viewer here.. So happy to see you making great moves! Keep it up! You’re an inspiration to everyone here working with our student loans 👍🏼
So so glad you were able to save so much money! Thats incredible. Im still on my debt journey trying to pay off $80,000 in credit card and auto debt in one years time so you help to keep me motivated.
Thank you for sharing your story. It reminds me that I’m not the only person in the world with six figures of student loan debt. I’m not the only one struggling. My repayments start in a few days and this is the encouragement I needed. ♥️
I’m looking into refinancing options so this video was super informative!
Thank you for sharing your financial experiences. I am from Hawaii attending college in Arizona and I took your budget sheet and tweaked it a little bit to favor college students but it has helped me understand my situation much better.
so glad you did that!
Yasssssss!!!! Aja I’m so proud of you! It was so hard to see you go through trying so hard to pay this off knowing that you were dropping $10k into a black hole because of interest. This is how we were able to get out of debt too - so happy for you! 💕
I don't understand how people are expected to survive on rice and water and any sort of luxury/ indulgence is frowned on but honestly having a debt shouldn't mean that we can't also enjoy ourselves (moderately) so I really appreciate how you disclose how you splurge properly here and there. Your videos have given me a new perspective and confidence to enjoy my life and treat myself responsibly even on a budget. Thanks again!
Thank you for posting...I'm in a similar situation...watched your video last night...clicked on the link you provided and got a call this morning...Joshua is awesome...I'm on my way to having financial peace...Thanks again
Wow, there are so many people going through this. Thank you for speaking on this publicly. I'm sure it'll help others.
Thank you for being so open and honest about your journey! You have started a discussion that most of these people talking in the comments were too scared to even bring up! I myself am on my own journey with Nelnet (luckily not as bad thanks to going to a CSU lol), but I hope you know that you're monthly videos are inspiring me to stay motivated and accountable. WE GOT THIS AJA!!
I have one semester left of college and I've started on the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover and I'm so happy that I've found this information super early! Thank you for the informational and inspiring videos!!
I recently graduated from university and I didn't even know loan consolidation was possible until I saw this!!! So thank you!!! Side note, don't be afraid to go to community college first, I saved a sh*t ton of money there and had the most amazing professors! After I transferred to a university I was fortunate enough to have my tuition paid for by the state, but all of the loans accumulated from my 2 years there were all from housing on and off campus (almost $20,000).
I love these student debt videos. As a grad student, I NEED to start budgeting ASAP & it’s something I’ve been putting off.. your videos talking about debt and budgeting has been such a great series. Keep it up aja 💕. So real, raw, & helpful.
Thank you for being open about such a sensitive topic. As someone with student loan debt up to my ears, I really appreciate videos like these!
GIRL!!!!! Autopay can make me uneasy too. I've literally been screwed so far as to my gas being turned off because a credit card was stolen and after replacing it, I forgot to update on my socal gas account. The notices never got to my house or email for some reason until it was too late! Something to keep in mind. Seriously so inspiring to watch these videos. I don't even have student loan debt but all the finance videos have helped me in my major transition to having an adult relationship with money. THANK YOU!!
I didn't do autopay at first because I didn't want them to take out money that I didn't have lol. But now I know I can at least pay the minimums. I also have a spreadsheet of all the companies I need to change my address/cards with when that needs to happen. It's been really helpful
can u do a video about how to consolidate from nelnet?
Did you ever consolidate?
I LOVE these budgeting videos and really appreciate you being so open and honest with us as this is something that a lot of us are going through! Keep up the great content, Aja!
Great job! Love the candidness. We all make mistakes but you learn. I'm on the same boat too. Just chipping away. Celebrate the small victories. I know how you feel. I recently paid off my car so that's something! Congrats on your car payment!
Aja...OMG...you have moved mountains financially in the last 8 months. You are the bomb.com Congratulations on saving $200,000 this month!!!!
I love your finance themed videos and I honestly wish you'd do more of them. THANKFULLY I live in a country where higher education is free so I don't have any student loans/debt and I've always been relatively good with my money. However, there were some money that were basically disappearing from my account each month and now I'm able to trace most of it. Thanks to you, I've started making my own excel spreadsheet and it's opened my eyes to the stupid shit I waste money on.
Aja! You’re an incredible person and these videos have helped me so so much regarding my student loans... I’m going into my 4th year of college and my parents haven’t helped me at all throughout this journey so I’ve taken 2-3 jobs a quarter and even then I’m taking out loans and breaking even each month which is stressful. Thank you for sharing your finances ❤️
Also, I know a lot of people are saying your shirt looks like a Sephora employee uniform, you still look gorgeous in it! 😊🙌🏼
I love that you talk about the big elephant in the room that everyone usually ignores (aka DEBT). It’s so great that you openly talk about the struggle that we all go through especially since most youtubers usually only show their glamorous life. I definitely feel the same way about NELNET though.. they definitely are screwing me with the interest rates that keep fluctuating🤦🏻♀️
I consolidated Nelnet and Sally Mae 5 years ago at $98.000 with FED LOAN picking up the ball!. I went on IBR..which was $0.00 for 3 years, forbearance and deferrals in 2019 and 2020 into the pandemic forebearance. I filed for total and permanent disability on March 23rd with my physician and was approved on April 27, 2021. My total student loan forgiveness is the exact amount I consolidated in 2016. It’s gone. It’s completely wiped out and tax free until 2025...i made it by 2 years.
thank you having the courage to be so open about your experiences with student loans. I can absolutely relate to being scared to look and feeling so out of control with just the thought of my loans. this video is helpful and encouraging
The haters don't know what they are talking about! It can be so discouraging to earn a steady income each month and still see none of it so I'm so appreciative of you being so brutally honest about your debt free journey! I actually started budgeting because of you and slowly but surely am beginning to understand how so much of my money keeps getting spent. I'm glad that you got a better solution to the problem. You got this, keep plowing on!
Just contacted josh through your link. I am in the same position of frustration right before your consolidation.
I appreciate your brutal honesty with cuss words and all cause it’s that same feeling and words I now realize ion myself. Thanks much for this vid.
hope he can help!
Thank you for your videos on debt/student loans/ finance. Just found your channel and I can't tell you how valuable your videos are for me right now. Keep up the awesome work! So looking forward to your upcoming videos on these topics.
Aja, you're doing great! Hope you get out of debt soon but even if it has to take a longer time to do that, you're gonna be out of that pit eventually. I'm cheering for you ! You can do this. Praying for you ❤💪
What an interesting video you have put up. I do have some suggestions if you would like to hear me out. I'm not positive why you dislike Nelnet so much. Sure, you didn't look into the details of your loans and then an expert pointed out the things you have missed such as the interest that has accumulated. You then considered consolidating your loans so you have one payment to deal with instead of nine. However, did you take a look at the payment terms? What interest rate are they charging you to consolidate? Also, how much longer are they giving you to pay off your debt? I would caution you that lower interest rates with longer payment terms would end up COSTING YOU MORE depending on the circumstances. Same thing applies for higher interest rate and a short payment term. I would suggest that you calculate it to see which one is more beneficial even after already consolidating. Also, does it say fixed or variable rate for the interest? That is a huge factor... Lastly, just something to think about but when you consolidate your debt, you lose your benefits you had from Nelnet such as being able to defer payments, loan forgiveness and income based payment options. For example, let's say you lose your job today and because your loans are consolidated by another lender, you still have to pay the fix amount each month. Let's say you owe $1,000 each month. How will you pay your student debt with no income? There are advantages to keeping your loans with Nelnet because they can adjust the monthly payments based on your income or lack of income. Also, I noticed people have mentioned about defaulting on student debt. You cannot escape your student debt. In fact, if you stop making payments, they will garnish your wage at will. They will continue to collect payments as long as you work until the day you die. Granted, you will need to work to live and the government will continue to collect until they collect every penny you owe them. As morbid as that sounds, it's the truth. You cannot default on your student loans except for very special circumstances. That being said, I hope this had shed some light onto your situation. If you can, I highly highly suggest that pay off your loan quickly. As you already know, interest adds up quickly and it can only snowball from there. I really do hope to see future videos of you where your loan will become manageable. Good luck.
Im so happy for you Aja, All my good vibrations i'm sending your way, and for some reason I feel like your gonna be done with this in 2.5 to 3 years. Completely done with this debt and your going make an awesome video holding two champagne bottles and weill all be here to watch you and celebrate with you.
Thank you so much for sharing! I just requested a consult with Joshua!!!! I’m with Nelnet now. I can’t wait to say what you said!
Hello, did you end up using the service through Nationwide student loans? Just wondering because I myself requested a consultation through Aja’s link but didn’t personally speak to Joshua but with a different representative.. I’m debating if I should use their service because they have a service fee of $799..
Thank you for sharing and helping others!
I'm in the same boat. Thanks for being honest and educating us I have about 200,000 in debt from school loans. I just graduated with my masters and now real world is hitting me hard. I will be following your vids! Thank you
Girl I am obsessed with these videos you make!!! I’m on the Dave Ramsey train too. I recently consolidated my credit card debt and have 18 months interest free to pay it off which is totally doable. I also refinanced my car and my APR went from 15% to 5%. I want to be more aggressive and pay everything off in 2 years (total about 25k) but I’m in SoCal making $35k take home. But WE GOTTA LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE SO YOU CAN LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE. U got this girl!
50 told me, go 'head, switch the style up
And if they hate then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up 👍🏼✨💪🏼
I'm so happy that you've found away to pay your debit and not be a slave to Nelnet. Also ignore the haters, they aren't worth your time.
OMG I absolutely love ur monthly budget series -- super informative and real. plus ur personality is just awesome :)
I pay very close attention to this because we have a daughter in 9th grade and college is definitely going to be a bitch to pay for. Nothing but hard work on your part that is pulling you out of debt! You're doing a great job!
Thank you!!
The fact that he charged you a fee of 600 dollars is laughable. Consolidation can be done FOR FREE through the Department of educations website. While it can be confusing, there are representative that can help you with the application. Not everyone has 600 dollars to throw around.
So happy for you that you finally freed yourself from them!! And thank you for always being so open about debt and budgeting. ❤️
I'm confused...The Dept of Ed. doesn't handle loans directly, instead they have a list of loan servicing companies that do it: Nelnet and Mohela both being on the list. However, as far as I understand, you don't get to choose who your servicer is...it's assigned to you by the Dept of Education. It sounds like you consolidated your loans with a different loan servicer than you had originally...is that a loophole to get your loans moved to another servicer? Did you lose any of the federal protections that come with government backed loans? (It sounds like you didn't, because Mohela is another servicer of government loans) I'm just clarifying that you didn't refinance with a private lender.
I was looking for a comment like this. I wish Aja knew what she was talking about because obviously she didn't. And it sounds to me like she's just blindly trusting the numbers that the guy has given her or she is confused. If she made a video with the guy himself, there's no way this is how he would explain it. So many inaccuracies in this video and there's no way he saved her $200,000.
YES! Both of you are spot on! She has no idea what she is talking about. She tried, but either didn't understand or was misinformed.
If you do a Federal loan consolidation, you do have the option of choosing your lender. When you fill out the application (online), there's a drop down where you can keep your current lender or switch. I had Nelnet ;-( and switched to Great Lakes ;-) I don't think you can do a Federal consolidation with private loans though, none of my loans were private.
L Powell I’m just made that after the pandemic hit .. us dept of edu and Nelnet are both own my credit report smh reporting negatively wth...
Thank you for this!!!! I'm not under student loan debt but I'm literally learning so much from you cause I'm also really terrible with money. Usually the way other people would explain it to me I never understood but all your monthly budget explaining has helped me learned a lot.
Yassssss tell em aja! Getting out of debt takes REAL honesty with yourself and it fucking sucks sometimes, but hey, thats what it takes! You are kicking ass!
Eye opening, informative and admirable all in one. Great video and mad props for being so brave in sharing
I refinanced with Sofi as well. I had 55k with Nelnet and the interest rates were 12-16%. That should be illegal!!!!! Sofi gave me an interest rate of 4.25%. I lowered my monthly payment by 250$ and shortened the term. I was also lazy and finally JUST DID IT!! So happy. Only 4 months with Sofi now, hopefully it’s a good relationship.
Hah, I’m so glad that I watched this before someone reported it for too much cursing 😂😂😂 First of all, I’m angry to hear to trolls are insulting you for your spending decisions...2nd - congratulations on your conquer of the student loan loans! 3rd - your personal advise has truly helped me. I’m following along with your procedure - try to spend down our checking account, but add to savings (need a new car) and it’s great to “commiserate?” with someone struggle with debt. Another note, I can imagine that people are giving you criticism along the lines of “How can you be in debt? You made $10,000 a month???” Viewers need to understand that we all have varying levels of debt and income...my student loans were a 1/16 of yours, and I make less than you, but they are finally paid off!!! Yipeee! I’m so happy that you found a better rate for your loans. I live in PA, and went through PHEAA, where rates are 3-5% and fair.
🙌🙌 Yay for progress! Cant wait to see that number go down every month with you!
Thank you for your honesty!
People are usually clueless about money because they were never taught how to manage money. The usual expectation is to have parents teach their kids about money. However, not every parents know how to manage money.
So wish school put a focus on personal finance
Thank you so much for your transparency and honesty through this whole process. This series has helped me so much!
i'm so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!! can't wait to see the rest of your journey, please continue to share it
I was just about to use Nelnet to help pay for my tuition but I guess not anymore. I also just subscribed because I love your energy.
Thanks for this video Aja! I made the EXACT same mistake ... being scared/lost, ignoring the debt for years and then letting interest accumulate. I defaulted and accrued about $12,500 worth of interest and penalties over at least 5-7 years while my head was in the sand. Hearing your story makes me not feel so alone/stupid.
Barring catastrophe, ::crossing fingers:: ::praying fervently:: I will make my final payment later this month!
We got this! Keep swimming!
I am really proud of you. And I totally get the fact of being afraid to look into number, this is a normal human beeing behaviour, a way to protect us, so well done that you managed to into your biggest fear! Well done, really good Aja! You are going to make it.
I love her budget videos. She so real and she don’t have to be
I'm glad you found a way to make paying your student loans easier. I recently paid off my Nelnet student this month, the total amount accumulated to $94,758.39 with $76,463.63 original taking out. This loan was particularly awful because it was a Parent Plus loan. I was so glad to get out of the grips of both Nelnet and the pressure of have a loan under of my Parents name. I couldnt even consolidate that loan with my own loans. So I decided I would pay that off as fast as i could, It took me a little over 3 years of working to do it but im so glad to be done with it. I wanted to let you know I thought I couldnt do it, but it happened and it will happen to you. One thing that helped me is a debt journal, it helped me get my feeling on my debt and keep me sane while I chipped away at the debt. Hope you continue to be diligent and get pushing on.
you paid that off in 3 years? THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
"They rode that goddam train" Lmaooooo. Thank you for sharing such struggles with real numbers-makes life a little less scary knowing there are other people sharing the same frustrations.
Great decision on moving that money and getting rid of that other company. Knowing how much you owe and the interest rates can really go along way. Glad to hear you took control of your financial situation and saving a ton of money in the long run.
Lol I thought you're wearing the Sephora uniform.
I just wanna say how amazing and even brave to be sharing something so sensitive. Wish you luck girl, you can do it w/ ur drive.
🔥 🔥 🔥I love that you are done with Nelnet, you are destined for success with this!
Im with Nelnet too and I had never looked in to consolidating my loans....NOW I may have to!! Your ending loan balance difference from 300k to 170k is going to make me pursue consolidating!! Thanks AJA!! #AJAtheMVP
Watching this video right now, because couldn't keep myself till morning and my husband said (out of nowhere) that this Nelnet is a piece of sh*t. Couldn't agree more!
Love your videos) It's like an original series about being an adult! I really appreciate your honesty! You go, girl!
aja, i wish you knew that debt worked like that. i am so glad you know now that tha'ts how debt works! sounds like consolidating the debt will help you further. i'm rooting for you and thank you for courage and bravery in sharing your journey so that others may be able to do the same. i paid off my loans quick after i graduated college because i understood the nature of debt. but, now am having trouble figuring out how to make money. i'm wondering if you could do a video on your journey into youtube and how you make a living out of it. i love seeing your budget spreadsheet along with how much youtube is paying you out every month.
YAAAAASSS!! The same thing happened to me! I wish someone had told me what was happening to my loans while they were in forebearance (I feel they conveniently forget to tell you). Now my poor husband is helping to pay these monsters down and we're looking at 5-6 years going gangbusters on this horrible debt. You go and get it, girl!
I am so happy for you!!!! Not even my loans but damn, felt your pain Aja!
Big fan of your channel, just found you. But I did want to point out with Nelnet, any payments over your monthly minimum, you can decide which loans you want to apply payment too! I paid off my student loans in 3 years, by being aggressive with paying down the high interest loans. Would’ve been SUPER helpful for you when you consolidated too (lower average rate). Yes, hindsight is 20/20 but just want to help anyone else reading this later! Nelnet isn’t terrible - deferment or forbearance is terrible!
Aja I also have a 6 figure student loan debt. Thankfully this year I decided to take control of them. Like you, I was just too damn scared to face it. Once I've got the defaulted ones cleared I'm going to look at consolidating also. 1 payment is better than 6 or more. Thank you for the brutal reality and honesty. People should be this open and to the haters....they are just losers! Ignore them. The honesty is refreshing for the rest of us struggling but feeling like we are alone in it. We aren't...here's proof! And as for the swearing...that's my number one reason for my thumbs up!!! LOL. Second of course for the honesty!
You're on your way! Knowledge is power...if you use it and that's what you're doing sister! You got this and thank you for sharing your story!
Congratulations for taking the first step toward getting control of your finances. Well done!
I'm thankful for these videos! and for you to have the guts to share what your going through!
Isn't the total burden of your direct plus graduate loan at 6:20 the sum of the principal+interest? Not the disbursed+principal+interest??
Thank you for your video, cause I truly appreciate the information on this situation...I regret my decision to even go to school and not only that my school wasn’t accredited and sued as well as the collections that was dealing with my loans as well...
So cool! Way to get after paying off debt! My husband and I are in the process of paying off his student loans right now, too, so I know the feeling of what you’re going through, totally sucks. Also, you’re hilarious the way you tell stories on here lol :)
You’ve put things in perspective for me. I’m definitely going to consolidate.
This was very informative.
I think Google Docs didn't add up your column Q correctly. When I added it up it came out to 668.67, but yours is 697.67. You are also doing A LOT better than you think you are. Why do you only add up the things you overspent on, but don't take into account the money you saved and were underbudget? You could just make column Q = col O - col P, then total it at the bottom like you did. I ended up with you saving (or were under budget) $1707.15 in June. So you are doing great money wise.
I was thinking about that today when I was doing my budget but i think it's because it holds me accountable for my overspending.
Aja You can't just punish yourself when you do bad. You also have to reward yourself when you do good.
But it’s always better to take an aggressive approach when tackling these kinds of things IMO