A little over a year ago, I was thrilled to refinance my student loans at 3.5% fixed with PenFed. Thrilled. The interest and payment abatement on student loans, instituted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, was supposed to come to an end early in the new year, and I was excited to complete my refinance while interest rates were still low. PenFed was a great lender and the application process was fairly simple.

My refinance fevor was slightly dampened after the Biden Administration extended the interest and payment abatement on student loans several more times. Had I declined to refinance my student loans, I would have saved a little more than $200.00 in interest each month. A year later, interest and payments still abated, and I would have now saved more than $2,400.00.

While I am thrilled that our society is having meaningful conversations about student loan debt relief, I have been feeling a bit bad for myself and what would appear to be my mistimed student loan refinance. At least I was until I received this email from PenFed earlier this afternoon…

It’s rare that good news follows “Important information regarding your student loan” and momentary panic set in when I read the email subject line. PenFed had been great up to this point and I was dreading whatever change was going to accompany this correspondence. However, after reading and rereading the email several times, I finally realized that this was likely the best news I had received about my student loans…ever. While the refund for the finance change overpayment is appreciated, on principle, the reduction of my interest rate “…by 0.999315% for the remainder of the loan” is a much bigger deal. A rough estimate suggests that if I only made minimum payments on my student loan for the remainder of the term, the reduction in interest rate alone would shave off seven months of payments and interest.

Now, I have not taken leave of my senses and I have every intention of returning to aggressive student loan repayment in the near future once I have stabilized my finances.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? Honestly, I don’t entirely understand why they responded in this wonderful way given that I have had my loan with them for a little over a year. Excellent customer service? Am I missing something?

UPDATE: So after Avery and my exchange in the comments, I just KNEW it was phishing. So I called PenFed at 9:10PM ET this evening, and after confirming my identity, I rambled a bit about how I thought I might have received a phishing email. The woman interrupted me mid-ramble to say, “Yes…” and I immediately took that to be confirmation that it was phishing and began to ramble some more. She then interrupted me and said, “Could you please confirm your address?” I did. She then said, “Yea, you hadn’t confirmed your address in a while so I needed you to do that. But otherwise, that was a perfectly legitimate email. Is there anything else I can help you with?” I thanked her profusely and then slinked off, 1% less indebted.

Okay, much like the weaker first Usher track (I said what I said), the confession in this post is a warm-up to a bigger confession. And we’ll get to that later, but for now…

In my recent return to the bloggerwebs, I shared that I had bought a new iPhone 14. I know that seems like a fairly banal purchase for many but for someone with an iPhone 8, almost $68,000.00 of student loan debt, who is not employed full time, it’s a big deal. While I was contemplating a new phone purchase, I was also reevaluating other monthly payments. I have had T-Mobile since I left my parents’ family plan and I had it prior to my stint abroad. Back then, it was $55.00 for unlimited everything with no contract and no one else was really offering that deal. However, fast forward several years and my monthly unlimited plan with T-Mobile is $70.00/month with auto-pay; which still isn’t terrible, but there are now quite a few other players on the scene. In addition to low-cost carriers who operate on larger service networks, even titans like Verizon now offer low-cost plans. After a bit of research, and a holiday deal, I decided to switch from T-Mobile to Mint.

Through the end of the year, Mint is essentially offering a buy-one, get-one on its service when you bring your own number. All Mint plans are prepaid, so if you buy 3 months of service, you get 3 months free, or 6 months of service, you get 6 months free. While my phone was old and freezing badly, it technically still worked, and I could have probably kept it for almost another year before Apple stops providing updates for iPhone 8s in 2023. The financial calculation broke down as follows:

1) Keep iPhone 8. Stay with T-Mobile. – Phone cost: $0.00. Service Cost: $840.00 for 12 months. Total Cost: $840.00.
2) Keep iPhone 8. Switch to Mint: – Phone cost: $0.00. Service Cost: $180.00 for 12 months. Total Cost: $180.00.
3) Purchase iPhone 14. Switch to Mint: Phone cost: $929.00. Service Cost: $180.00 for 12 months. Total Cost: $1109.00.

First, I decided to get a new phone. Even if my old phone wasn’t dead, it was on its last leg, Apple will no longer provide updates at some point in 2023, and I kept reading about production delays that will lead to an iPhone shortage soon due to supply chain problems. Yes, I could have bought a cheaper, non-Apple phone. I could have done that. Second, I decided to switch to Mint because the difference between choices one and three was so small, and would entirely be made up if I keep Mint, or another low-cost carrier, for a second year.

I know what you’re thinking. “Ummm, AP, this just sounds like a person reasoning through a financial choice that while not wildly frugal, isn’t wildly spendthrift either. How is this a confession?” The financing, my blogger friend, the financing.

A couple of months ago, it would have been nothing to drop a little more than $1,000.00 on a new phone. Nothing. However, times have certainly changed for your old pal AP and this choice was much more significant than I care to admit. First, I was not prepared to dip into my $5,000.00 emergency fund for this phone purchase. I was not. Not dipping into my $5,000.00 emergency fund is my only point of financial pride at this point. I also wasn’t prepared to finance the phone using Affirm as the interest rates were close to 8%. So then I wondered if there was a way to “self-finance” it. First, I checked to see which of my credit cards was offering a balance transfer. Discover had the best rate at a 2% transfer fee for 0% interest for 12 months. However, I currently bill several recurring bills (insurance, etc.) to my Discover card and was worried about mixing payments. Next, Chase was offering 3% balance transfer fee for 0% interest for 18 months. Not terrible but definitely more than I ever want to pay in interest on commercial debt. Then I remembered that Chase would allow me to balance transfer through a deposit to my checking account. Which meant I could pay for the phone/service with a cashback card like Citi Double Cash, which offers 2% cashback, and then immediately pay off the Citi card with the Chase balance transfer, creating an effective transfer fee of 1%. This is what I did.

So, my confession is that I am now carrying $1,145.20 in credit card debt. My current plan is to just pay this off over the next 12 months, much like I would a monthly phone payment unless I have a lump of cash I can devote to it sooner.

Why was this important enough to blog about it? First, I think it’s important for me to be transparent about what I am doing with my finances. I don’t want anyone to ever read this blog in the future and think that it was smooth sailing 100% of the time, or as though I didn’t have to get creative. Second, I think I have felt like I have regressed in my career at several points over the past few months, in different ways. This has been tough even if it was largely a choice of my own making (I still don’t regret leaving Organization C). The only thing I have been clinging onto is the fact that I am still in a better position financially than I was a few years ago, in terms of both my actual finances and my mindset, and I am desperate not to lose either of those…

Well…that’s a lie. In fact, as my family members and other fictive kin would say, “Yous a lie.” Instead of referencing the classic Babyface hit, I should have titled it, “Confessions, Pt. II.” …so, what are the secrets I have been keeping and the confessions I need to make?…we’ll get to that. First…

I would like to apologize for the disappearing act and for not being a better blogger friend to so many of you. While I have been sick and busy, I really had no excuse. I could have made time to respond to communications but I’ll also admit that I was a bit “lost” for a while and my focus was on just “performing” in real life. In any instance, I thank so many of you for sending me an email or leaving a comment. Your kindness was so very much appreciated and I will try to do better in the future.

I recently celebrated my birthday and looked back at my December posts from 2021. I was so excited and hopeful. I still am hopeful but my outlook is definitely a bit more cautiously optimistic than it was then…

Health – I have developed a new appreciation for those who experience chronic health issues and for those who work in service positions with the public. One of my biggest challenges in October and November was staying healthy. Gigging and volunteering means that I was come into contact with the public, and children, far more often than I have previously. Unfortunately, I got another cold and the flu, and the flu resulted in bronchitis. I was tired and constantly worried because being sick meant I couldn’t work. I was also a bit angry with myself…the reason I hadn’t gotten the flu shot this season is that without insurance it’s $40.00. After I got the flu, I investigated lower-cost options and found that Costco offered the vaccination for just under $20.00. I subsequently got the flu shot and have been more diligent about masking, washing my hands, taking my vitamins, and getting enough sleep. I’ve been healthy the last couple of weeks and very grateful.

Work – …has been all over. I didn’t end up getting that role at University B…and I’m not sad. Ultimately, I could have done the job but the person to whom I would have reported has a far different approach to the work of equity and inclusion than I do. Like, I understand we are in the south and that religion and spirituality are important aspects of the daily life for many folks…BUT they cannot be the basis or the lens through which you approach equity work. Full stop. I think there is a bit of generational tension between older folks who do this work (Baby Boomers and some older GenX) and millennials who are now slowly moving into more senior leadership positions behind GenXers. This is further complicated, particularly in the south, by cultural performances/expectations but…yea. I’m okay with how this shook out.

If I work a gig through Qwick and the manager/owner isn’t offering me a job, then I just haven’t worked hard enough. Fortunately, this has not been the case and every gig I have worked recently has resulted in them offering me a permanent position. Most of the time, I have not been too tempted but recently have been giving more thought to it. A more permanent gig in food service would not appropriately compensate the time and money I have invested in my education. However, it would just be for now and result in a more consistent income… A friend who works at Target also let me know she spoke about me to her store manager and that the store manager would be interested in hiring me as a “team lead.” Before you laugh, the team lead salaries start at $70K. Yea. What the hell was I doing at University B for three years?

I continue to be in contact with colleagues at Organization C. Another left and I was recently asked to complete a reference on behalf of another. Bad Leader (this is what I’m calling my former boss) continues to reach out to me. At first, I was entirely perplexed. These emails were super vague, and didn’t really ask for or share information. This guy doesn’t really talk to you unless he needs something/can get something from you. After my departure, Bad Leader collapsed my role with that of another amazing, departing colleague and replaced us with one of his “old friends.” Well…apparently this is her “ride out to retirement” role and she isn’t really interested in doing any work. She is disliked by both the few remaining staff, community partners, AND Bad Leader. Apparently, he wants to fire her but is worried about doing so given the recent staff turnover and what it would look like to the board. It was suggested that he is reaching out to me to see my interest in rejoining the organization in some capacity…

Career – Ummmm…this is a confession for a later post.

Money Out – November was an expensive month. I decided to cancel the expensive gym membership that I had been so excited about at the beginning of the year but never really used. While I had to pay a stiff penalty, it would still be cheaper than paying the monthly membership and then not going through June of next year. I know, “But AP, wouldn’t the cheapest thing just be to go?” Sure. But I wasn’t going to go. The lesson I am slowly learning in my 30s is to accept who I am and work with that instead of planning to become someone else. I realized what kind of gym classes I like and now I drive to University B twice a week to take those classes on campus for $15.00/month thanks to my ongoing part-time work at University B. I figure, if I do that and go for walks outside through the end of when my other gym membership would have expired (June 2023), canceling will have been the correct financial choice.

My iPhone 8 finally died. Well, it didn’t die but it continued to freeze for really long periods of time at inopportune moments (like for over an hour when I needed to clock in for a gig on Qwick). I got a new phone, an iPhone 14, I switched carriers, and I self-financed. How I did that is a confession for later…

Money In – Income in November was kinda spotty due to being sick and I used up what remained of my non-emergency fund savings to augment income for December 1st monthly expenses. Towards the end of the month, things picked up unexpectedly and I worked one opportunity for the county for an entire week but because payment is through the state, the money won’t be deposited until late December. That being said, between that money and the additional income I am earning in December, January 1st could see me possibly return to making student loan payments…or not.

Men – There were some wins and some losses here. The win is that shortly before my birthday, I cut off communication with Gentleman Avery. We had been chatting before the Thanksgiving holiday and I accepted for the millionth time that nothing is ever going to change and despite being a good communicator about most things, he’s terrible when it comes to relationships. And that doesn’t work for me. I don’t like ghosting/disappearing on people but in the past when I have tried to bring our connection to a close, he has not been respectful of my wishes. And the end of the day, I have to look out for AP.

My connection with Herr Philosopher came to an abrupt end. I was a bit sad at first…but it was for the best. I was not prepared to make the sacrifices that would need to have been made for that relationship to work. He is an amazing person, who has been through a lot, and I wish him nothing but the best.

I am currently talking to Mr. Trucker. We actually began talking back in April and I brought our connection to a close because I just wasn’t feeling it. We got back in touch over the summer and early fall, but it was just friendly and I was studying for the MCAT. Recently, he called me and we had a great chat. He persuaded me to have coffee/tea with him and we are going on a coffee/tea date tomorrow morning. He is nothing like the guys I usually date or express an interest…most guys hold graduate degrees, are highly cerebral, have traveled, and align closely politically. Mr. Trucker has never traveled abroad, is a picky eater, didn’t go to college, and isn’t particularly cerebral but is highly opinionated…and he watches Joe Rogan. However, he does seem reasonably happy with where he is at in life, owns a home, invests well, and generally knows what he wants. I have concerns about long-term compatibility given what I suspect are wildly different political views but for now, I’m just trying to have fun.

I owe you more. It’s coming. Thanks for sticking around…