#343 Financial Aid and Student Loans with Kelly Peeler

Yes, this is still here, and it will be for a while longer to serve as a reminder that there's a new place for Jill on Money content - YouTube!  Seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes it takes a little outside help (h/t to JOM friend, Joe A!) to recognize the obvious.  So don't freak out.  Going forward, we're going to put all our radio and podcast content on YouTube! It'll be easier for you to navigate and listen to past shows, because everything will be in one place.  Just click any of the links below and you'll be able to listen to this week's show as well as anything else you see that might interest you, including all the Better Off podcast content if you haven't been listening. Let us know what you think by emailing us at askjill@jillonmoney.com.

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Sept 30 Download Hour One Here

I love when we get calls from young people who have their financial lives in order.  We started the show with James from Philadelphia who definitely falls into that category.  He and his wife are expecting their second child and they're also looking for a new house.  It's a lot of stuff happening at once and sometimes it can freak people out. James just needed some reassurance and guidance, which was easy to provide because he and his wife are doing a great job!

CLICK HERE FOR LATEST SHOW ON YOUTUBE

Sept 30 Download Hour Two Here

One of the goals of this program is to make the daunting seem doable. And there is no more daunting topic than college. From saving for it, selecting the right one and the heavy lifting of paying for it (whether out of pocket or through financial aid and student loans), the whole subject produces anxiety for students and their families.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to our guest Kelly Peeler, founder and CEO of NextGenVest, a free text message service to help students navigate the college selection and financial aid and student loan processes.

It’s the busy time of year for Kelly and her team, as October 1 marks the official start of FAFSA season. And that one single form is KEY. Can you believe that more than $2.7 billion dollars, yes billion with a B, of unclaimed financial aid money is left on the table every single year primarily because people don’t fill out the FAFSA form. That blows my mind.

By using NextGenVest, students and their families are connected with Money Mentors who will help coach them through the process and also provide key financial aid deadline reminders, form annotations, and on-demand help via text message to get more financial aid in high school and beyond. Mentors will also answer questions such as:

• How do I find scholarships I can actually apply to?
• Am I filling out the right FAFSA forms?
• Am I allowed to negotiate my college tuition?
• Is working during college a good idea?
• Can I still get scholarships even if I don’t have great grades?

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator in the World. Here's how to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Ep. 014 - Financial Aid and Student Loans with Kelly Peeler

One of the goals of the Better Off podcast is to make the daunting seem doable. And there is no more daunting topic than college. From saving for it, going through the selection process and the heavy lifting of paying for it (whether out of pocket or through financial aid and student loans), the whole subject produces anxiety for students and their families.

One of the goals of the Better Off podcast is to make the daunting seem doable. And there is no more daunting topic than college. From saving for it, going through the selection process and the heavy lifting of paying for it (whether out of pocket or through financial aid and student loans), the whole subject produces anxiety for students and their families.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to our guest Kelly Peeler, founder and CEO of NextGenVest, a free text message service to help students navigate the college selection and financial aid and student loan processes.

It’s the busy time of year for Kelly and her team, as college acceptances are rolling in and families are trying to figure what to do with all the various forms. And those forms are KEY. Can you believe that more than $2.7 billion dollars, yes billion with a B, of unclaimed financial aid money is left on the table every single year primarily because people don’t fill out the FAFSA form. That blows my mind.

By using NextGenVest, students and their families are connected with Money Mentors who will help coach them through the process and also provide key financial aid deadline reminders, form annotations, and on-demand help via text message to get more financial aid in high school and beyond. Mentors will also answer questions such as:

• How do I find scholarships I can actually apply to?
• Am I filling out the right FAFSA forms?
• Am I allowed to negotiate my college tuition?
• Is working during college a good idea?
• Can I still get scholarships even if I don’t have great grades?

Aside from discussing the dreaded but necessary forms, we also talked to Kelly about the student loan bubble and why she feels it could be the next financial crisis.

“Better Off” is sponsored by Betterment.

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College Money for the Taking

Given how expensive it is to attend college, here’s a mind blowing statistic: High school graduates left $2.7 billion in FREE federal grant money on the table over the last academic year. According to an analysis from NerdWallet, the primary reason that families are missing on this money is because they are not completing the most important step in the process: completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. FAFSA is the gateway to education money and it is now available on October 1, three months earlier than in previous years. FAFSA is used to determine how much students and their families will receive in terms of college grants, scholarships and loans, which is why it is so important that families take the time to work through it.

For years, people have complained that the form is arduous, but the Department of Education says, “The FAFSA takes most people 21 minutes to complete.” OK, maybe 21 minutes undershoots it -- it’s probably closer to an hour, once you gather all of the documents that you need. But now that the IRS has created a way to send your tax information seamlessly to the Department of Education, the process has become a bit easier. (The IRS Data Retrieval Tool automatically fills in the online FAFSA form with the necessary tax information).

I asked Kelly Peeler, founder & CEO of NextGenVest, a service that helps students navigate the financial aid and student loan processes, what we are overlooking in the college money treasure hunt. “The biggest mistake by far is that families do not submit their FAFSA because they think they might not qualify for aid or they don't want to share tax information or Social Security numbers.” Even those that complete the form are sitting on it too long. Peeler notes that there needs to be a sense of urgency, “because families will have a higher likelihood of receiving more financial aid if they submit their correct forms earlier.”

While states, colleges, and the federal government each have their own financial aid deadlines, some states have a limited pool of funds that may run dry if you wait until the last minute to apply. To maximize your potential aid, Peeler advises submitting the FAFSA as early as possible after October 1, even though the 2017–18 deadline for federal aid is June 30, 2018.

To those who say they won’t qualify for financial aid, “so why bother going through the drudgery of doing it?” The Department of Ed clearly states, “contrary to popular belief, there is no income cut-off when it comes to federal student aid.” More importantly, you never know how your situation might change. Some of the factors affecting rewards include: a change in family income, the student’s year in school, the cost of attendance and multiple kids in college at the same time. So even if you did not get money last year, you could still be eligible for other types of aid, like work-study and low-interest loans.

Finally, if you are worried that you have not yet determined which colleges are on “wish list”, know that you can still file your FAFSA as long as you list at least one school. The Dept of Education advises that you “add every school you’re considering, even if you haven’t applied or been accepted yet. If you’re on the fence about a particular school, add it anyway. Doing so will hold your place in line for financial aid in case you end up applying for that school. You can also add or remove schools to your FAFSA later.”

#288 New FAFSA Date: Oct 1

Kelly Peeler, the founder and CEO of NextGenVest is back on the show to discuss the NEW FAFSA availability date--October 1st! Considering that families leave $2.7 billion of unclaimed financial aid on the table, primarily because they don’t complete the FAFSA form, Kelly says it is important not to procrastinate! Her team at NextGenVest can help students make smart decisions around paying for college in an accessible way. One way they do so is to provide a "Money Mentor" (trained college students) for every high school or college student, who can make the process of applying for college and getting aid much easier…Just TEXT 646-798-1745 “I want help paying for college”

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NextGenVest will send you the list of documents that you need to assemble and will help you come up with your specific list of financial reach and safety schools. Kelly also explains that Financial Aid and applications are two separate tracks and details what families need to know about the merit aid/grant/loan process. Here are various sources of college money:

• Family savings/income
• Federal Grants: do not have to be repaid (Pell Grant-awarded annually, so you have to complete FAFSA every year)
• State Aid: TAP – access for in state
• Fed/State/Direct/PLUS loans
• Institutional grant from a specific college
• Private scholarships
• HELOC/Private loan

After graduation, you can go to student.ed.gov to learn about repayment options for federal loans and you can also check out the private student loan refinancing market from companies like SOFI, Common Bond or Earnest.

Check out Kelly’s TED Talk!

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator in the World. Here's how to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio