August, 2009

A Story of Survival

On tomorrow’s show, Jean talks with Norman Ollestad about his bestselling memoir “Crazy for the Storm.” Join Jean tomorrow at 12pm EDT on XM 156 or SIRIUS 195.

The Allowance Project, vol. 1

A confession: I am one of those parents guilty of not always giving my kids their allowances.  I know the disturbing lesson this teaches them — that when they grow up and eventually have bills and debts of their own they really don’t have to pay them on time. They can slide. Little will happen.  Of course, when the mortgage or utility company and not your teens are the creditor, that’s absolutely not the case.  

For the past two years, I have “promised” that this year will be different.  It hasn’t been. Instead, there will come a week when one of my kids (or both) will say, Mom, you owe me 4 (or 5 or 7) weeks allowance.  And not knowing if they are right or — perhaps — giving themselves the benefit of the doubt (that’s parental guilt working in their favor) — I pay up.   More…

Talking Cars

On tomorrow’s show Jean talks with auto expert Barbara Terry about the relationships we have with our automobiles. Tune in at 12pm EDT on XM 156 or SIRIUS 195.

On Friday’s Show…

Jean chats with religious leader Rabbi Irwin Kula about how you can use “global wisdom,” to take what is working in your life to the next level and leave what isn’t working behind. Join Jean tomorrow at 12pm EDT on XM 156 or SIRIUS 195.

Ask Jean Thursday: Student Loan Stress

I read your student loan article in the Daily News and am very grateful for the information you provided. I have recently graduated with my doctorate in clinical psychology. In addition I have earned over $150,000 in loans. I don’t know where to begin. I believe I have private and federal loans but I’m not even sure to be honest with you. Is there anywhere I can get assistance with this? I seem to get bounced back and forth between the National Student Loan Data System and my school. The income based repayment plan sounds like a good option for me but I’m wondering if I should consolidate my loans first?

-Marissa, San Francisco, CA

You’re not alone. With everything that a goes along with college–the classes, the exams, the post-college job hunt–many students fail to pay attention to their loans until their caps have been thrown and the diploma is in their hands.

To get a handle on how much you borrowed and from where you borrowed, you’ll want to visit the National Student Loan Data System, which you mentioned in your question. NSLDS is the definitive resource for finding out about your federal loans. “The only caveat is if the school is a Direct Loan school they might not have finished reconciling their records with NSLDS,” warns FindAid.org’s Mark Kantrowitz. This could be the explanation for the complications you’re experiencing now. Private loans are another matter. You’ll need to get a list of the private lenders you borrowed from and call each to determine the loan amounts.

Once you’ve determined what portion of your loans are private and which are federal, it’s time to start looking at your options for repayment. If you’re doing any postdoctoral internships or residencies, income-based repayment may not More…