#how to apply for student loan forgiveness

[lovelylifecents]

How to Apply for Student Loan Forgiveness: A Complete Guide (Only 8 STEPS)

Student loan forgiveness is a lifeline for borrowers struggling to repay their loans. If you’re burdened by student debt and wondering how to apply for student loan forgiveness, this guide is for you. We’ll demystify the process, outlining key steps and insights to help you navigate the journey to debt relief. Understanding Student Loan ForgivenessTypes of Student Loan Forgiveness ProgramsPublic…

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #13

April 5-12 2024

President Biden announced the cancellation of a student loan debt for a further 277,000 Americans. This brings the number of a Americans who had their debt canceled by the Biden administration through different means since the Supreme Court struck down Biden's first place in 2023 to 4.3 million and a total of $153 billion of debt canceled so far. Most of these borrowers were a part of the President's SAVE Plan, a debt repayment program with 8 million enrollees, over 4 million of whom don't have to make monthly repayments and are still on the path to debt forgiveness.

President Biden announced a plan that would cancel student loan debt for 4 million borrowers and bring debt relief to 30 million Americans The plan takes steps like making automatic debt forgiveness through the public service forgiveness so qualified borrowers who don't know to apply will have their debts forgiven. The plan will wipe out the interest on the debt of 23 million Americans. President Biden touted how the plan will help black and Latino borrowers the most who carry the heavily debt burdens. The plan is expected to go into effect this fall ahead of the election.

President Biden and Vice-President Harris announced the closing of the so-called gun show loophole. For years people selling guns outside of traditional stores, such as at gun shows and in the 21st century over the internet have not been required to preform a background check to see if buyers are legally allowed to own a fire arm. Now all sellers of guns, even over the internet, are required to be licensed and preform a background check. This is the largest single expansion of the background check system since its creation.

The EPA published the first ever regulations on PFAS, known as forever chemicals, in drinking water. The new rules would reduce PFAS exposure for 100 million people according to the EPA. The Biden Administration announced along side the EPA regulations it would make available $1 billion dollars for state and local water treatment to help test for and filter out PFAS in line with the new rule. This marks the first time since 1996 that the EPA has passed a drinking water rule for new contaminants.

The Department of Commerce announced a deal with microchip giant TSMC to bring billions in investment and manufacturing to Arizona. The US makes only about 10% of the world's microchips and none of the most advanced chips. Under the CHIPS and Science Act the Biden Administration hopes to expand America's high-tech manufacturing so that 20% of advanced chips are made in America. TSMC makes about 90% of the world's advanced chips. The deal which sees a $6.6 billion dollar grant from the US government in exchange for $65 billion worth of investment by TSMC in 3 high tech manufacturing facilities in Arizona, the first of which will open next year. This represents the single largest foreign investment in Arizona's history and will bring thousands of new jobs to the state and boost America's microchip manufacturing.

The EPA finalized rules strengthening clean air standards around chemical plants. The new rule will lower the risk of cancer in communities near chemical plants by 96% and eliminate 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year. The rules target two dangerous cancer causing chemicals, ethylene oxide and chloroprene, the rule will reduce emissions of these chemicals by 80%.

the Department of the Interior announced it had beaten the Biden Administration goals when it comes to new clean energy projects. The Department has now permitted more than 25 gigawatts of clean energy projects on public lands, surpass the Administrations goal for 2025 already. These solar, wind, and hydro projects will power 12 million American homes with totally green power. Currently 10 gigawatts of clean energy are currently being generated on public lands, powering more than 5 million homes across the West. 

The Department of Transportation announced $830 million to support local communities in becoming more climate resilient. The money will go to 80 projects across 37 states, DC, and the US Virgin Islands The projects will help local Infrastructure better stand up to extreme weather causes by climate change.

The Senate confirmed Susan Bazis, Robert White, and Ann Marie McIff Allen to lifetime federal judgeships in Nebraska, Michigan, and Utah respectively. This brings the total number of judges appointed by President Biden to 193

[drdemonprince]

Any recommended reading for a newbie to anarchism?

David Graeber truly is the best entry point into the pipeline i feel. Reading his work doesn't feel like "reading theory", it feels like learning more about a specific aspect of the world from an engaging, open-minded author who makes history and anthropology accessible, and then simply realizing somewhere along the line that you've become a lot more radical than you realized you'd always been.

Bullshit Jobs is his easiest and most approachable read -- start with this if you're not a big reader of dense books, or if my book Laziness Does Not Exist particularly spoke to you. It's about how the majority of reasonably well-paying jobs today are completely meaningless, and why important, fulfilling jobs that are actually necessary to run society are so often thankless and poorly paid.

If you have student loan or credit card debt out the ass or you grew up hearing the myth that the earliest human societies relied on trading and bartering, pick up Debt: The First 5000 Years. This one is a bit of a tougher read than Bullshit Jobs, but still approachable, talking about the history of human commerce, debt forgiveness, enslavement, and where that history has left us today. You'll learn a lot about history but Graeber will also always lead you back to the present.

If you were a follower of the Occupy Wallstreet movement and wonder why it failed (or whether it failed), pick up The Democracy Project. This is a slimmer, faster read! And it focuses a lot more on the practical tactics and bylaws of Occupy organizing. In it, Graeber illustrates how human groups can be run without hierarchy and just how well that can work! It's perhaps the most explicitly anarchist book of his in that sense at least, yet it's also very conversational and easy to follow, with lots of lessons learned and specific examples from real-life organizing meetings.

If you hate rules and bureaucracy, pick up Utopia of Rules. What Debt is for bursting basic, widespread myths about economics, Utopia of Rules is for challenging mainstream knowledge about the role of the state. This one is actually an essay collection, and that makes it a quicker, easier read than many of the others -- in each chapter, Graeber tackles one specific aspect of irritating modern-day bureaucracy, and its full of relatable gripes about going to the DMV or applying for unemployment, but then it zooms out to make a larger point about how societies now function (and fail to function).

If you're interested in Indigenous cultures and how various human societies have approached governance, start with Dawn of Everything, which he co-wrote with David Wengrow. Now this is a MUCH denser book that I recommend taking chapter by chapter, pausing to savor all the new information and paradigm-busting that they've just showered you with. A chapter before bed each night and then some time laying down and simply reflecting about the diversity of human social potential is a great way to slowly work your way through it.

If you read any of these, you'll be left with a lot of ideas as to where to look next -- Graeber was widely read in a great many fields himself, so he'll leave you a trail of breadcrumbs to follow.

The Anarchist Library online is also a great place to find shorter, more explicitly anarchist theory work, once you're ready to delve in. The r/debateanarchism subreddit is also something you should subscribe to and thumb through every once in a while!

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Do you have any advice for someone who has most of an archaeology degree, but following some health problems during covid foricng me to withdraw from some classes, I didn't meet pace of progress and lost my financial aid and now owe my university $13k for the semester i didn't complete. I'm a 3.8gpa student and was deans list, but I have an enrolment and transcript hold until I pay them back. I will never have $13k at my disposal to pay that off without haivng my degree to make me employable, so I'm not sure how I can ever go back and finish my degree.

Do you have any advice for how someone in my position should proceed? I thought about merit based financial aid/scholarships with my high gpa, but I've never had any success finding those.

This is a tough one, since I don't really have any direct experience with a similar situation. If anyone has specific advice, please let me know.

Education loans/debt are special legal creatures, and perhaps the most important thing you can do is educate yourself on the legalities of your particular situation and what options are available to you. Here's a page I found that talks about the legal precedents for certain types of education loans. From what little I understand, the school is not looking for you to pay the $13k back all at once. There may be payment plans or settlements available to you.

The first thing that comes to mind is to contact your school's ombudsman. This is an office whose single purpose is to help students navigate institutional bureaucracy and pursue grievances against the institution. They are probably the best bet for finding ways to mitigate this debt, set up options for payment, etc.

Similarly, I would recommend making an appointment to talk with someone in the financial aid department if you haven't already. It might be painful and embarrassing, but I can guarantee you that you aren't the first person who has had this exact issue, and you won't be the last. They might also be able to help you navigate ways to deal with this debt.

Some schools have policies that if you have to withdraw for health reasons before X point in the semester, you can get your tuition refunded. This is what my family was able to do when I had to drop out during my sophomore year. Whether that would be an option for you depends 1) on your school, and 2) on if you have to apply for that forgiveness within a certain window. Still worth a shot though—this is something you can ask the ombudsman about.

If you were registered with your school's disability services (provided that you're in the US, which is where my experience comes from) before you had to withdraw, they may also be able to help you advocate for yourself based on having a disability. If this is something that applies to you, it's possible that you have some protections based on the ADA, although this will depend on the nature of your financial aid, and whether you were registered beforehand. Accommodations are not retroactive.

Finally, I hate to say it, but working in archaeology—with or without a college degree—is going to make it difficult to pay off these loans. Entry level archaeology jobs pay notoriously poorly, and other positions generally require some sort of postgraduate degree. You are employable without a degree, but it may not be in your chosen field. That's shitty news, I know, but it's something you need to consider in order to start dealing with this.

Best of luck, -Reid

[yutafrita]

AN ANGEL, MY ANGEL, AND ME- PT. 1

*ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆❀*ੈ✩‧₊˚ * ੈ✩‧₊˚ * ੈ✩♡ ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆❀*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Fallen Angel!Sungchan x Reader (she/her) Teaser // Preview // 1 // 2 // 3

[Feat.] Soyeon from (G)i-dle, Shotaro from Riize, and BoA

Chp. Word Count 5.7k Synopsis Finding out your best friend is a guardian angel is pretty mind numbing. It only gets worse when you find out a Fallen Angel has been hiding in your apartment for two years. You think your life can’t get any weirder, until you start lying about being married to keep your new job. Genre Low Fantasy, Romantic Comedy, Ridiculously Fluffy, some angst, fake dating Chapter Warnings Swearing, Food/ Eating, cops/ fictional police force, Catholic Religious imagery, HR interview violation

CHAPTER ONE- THE BLACK CAT CONSPIRACY

ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆❀*ੈ✩‧₊˚ * ੈ✩‧₊˚ * ੈ✩♡ ੈ♡⸝⸝🪐༘⋆❀*ੈ✩‧₊˚

You uncomfortably picked at your cuticles, anxious by the lack of activity in your email. It had only been a week since you started applying for jobs, and yet already you had begun feeling discouraged. The candle you lit in your room a few hours ago filled your lungs with eucalypts, and you still had not been able to calm down. You knew the candle couldn’t exactly work miracles, but still! Your cat sat on your lap, and you quietly dusted off the cuticles that blemished his black fur.

“Sorry, Eerie,” you muttered. You scratched his ear delicately, and he leaned against your hand to show his forgiveness.

“Hey! I’m gonna order a pizza, do you want to split it?” your roommate walked in through your open door, plopping herself on your bed with her eyes on her phone. Your cat turned its head as if to glare at her before placing himself back down.

“Sure,” you responded dryly, still tugging at the loose cuticle. Soyeon looked up from her phone to see your bright computer screen.

“Not this again,” she grumbled. She stood up from your bed and kicked your chair away. Your cat leapt out from your lap and scampered to the corner of your room, hissing at your roommate.

“Hey! You scared Eerie!” you sat up to move her away but she was quick to close all of your computer tabs.

“You need to chill the fuck out. We still have a month left before graduation,” Soyeon reminded before snatching your hand to hold in front of your face, “you are out of cuticles,” she then tossed your hand down and turned her gaze to the cat that hissed at her, “and that cat is always scared.”

You sighed in defeat, “my brain knows objectively that you’re right, but can’t help it. I have to start paying back these student loans soon..”

“I’m ordering the pizza, and we’re watching something.”

You and Soyeon sat on the couch eating your pizza as Ouran High School Host Club played on your living room screen. Eerie sat next to you on the couch, cuddled up against your side as he seemingly watched the screen.

“How many times have we seen this show?” Soyeon asked. The pizza had long been finished, and the empty box sat in front of you on the coffee table, covering the extensive bridal and wedding magazines you had been taking notes on.

“I lost count after the seventh rewatch,” you shrugged, “I think Eerie’s seen it like four times at this point.”

“That cat is fucking weird,” she muttered this sentiment for the one millionth time since you brought the cat home.

“He’s just a little eccentric,” you defended. You scratched the cat behind the ears, and you felt him lean closely into your hand.

“He’s like… I swear he’s like a person,” Soyeon hissed.

“If he was, then he would have to pay his own pet rent.”

_____

“Remember your final exam will be cumulative,” your professor reminded your class the following morning. You rubbed your temples, hoping the motion would stifle the headache you were nursing to no avail. 

You were stuffing your backpack as the rest of the lecture hall emptied. You had another lecture in about two hours, so you weren’t in much of a rush all things considered. Running up through your mental to-do list, you figured you’d get some extra studying done before lecture, and afterwards you’d grab some more kitty litter. Leaving the hall, your pace was followed by someone you had only seen in class and never spoke to outside of that.

“Hey, do you get anything the professor has been going on about?” 

“Oh… yeah it’s a bit complicated.”

“My name’s Shotaro,” he smiled brightly despite his seeming distress. “I noticed you’re the only one the prof doesn’t call on, and I figure it’s because they know you know your stuff.”

He did have a point. In your undergrad years, you were a pretty intense student and always visited all of your professors' office hours. While you weren’t as obsessive as a graduate student, you still submitted all of your coursework on time with excellent grades.

“I’m y/n,” you nodded. There was an awkward pause before Shotaro asked the question you were dreading- if he could pick your brain before the next lecture.

Sitting next to him in the library, you sat for about an hour, the young man scooched a little closer to you than you would have liked.

“So, these two would be contrasting then, yeah?” he asked, pointing between two choices.

“Yep!” you nodded before glancing back at the time. “Ah, I’ve gotta go.”

You turned towards your backpack that sat between the two of you before glancing back up. In an attempt to help, Shotaro had shut your notebook and held it in his hand, extending it towards you. Maybe he was a bit strange, but he didn’t seem harmful, at least.

You returned home later that day, exhausted, the kitty litter bag heavy on your arm as you entered. 

You shut the door behind you, Eerie immediately wrapping himself around your ankles. You smiled, crouching down to pet the cat behind his ears. He seemed unbothered, continuing to rub his scent between your now outstretched hand and ankles.

“I didn’t see any animals today, buddy,” you chuckled. Eerie scrunched up his face as if to respond to you. You stood up, and made your way to your room with Eerie following closely behind you. You began the process of taking your laptop out so you could start up on more job applications when something slipped out of your backpack onto the floor of your room.

“Huh?” you frowned, bending down to pick it up only to hear Eerie hiss and scramble out of your room. “What the fuck?” you shook your head, picking up the small black string bag that you had no recollection of ever owning. Carefully undoing the string, you dropped its contents into your hand- a small, smooth, green and silver gemstone. You heard the front door open, but instead of greeting Soyeon you stayed in your room, holding the gemstone high above your head and towards the light to try and see if you could figure out what it was.

“Hey, why is that stupid cat cowering behind the couch?” Soyeon asked.

“I have no idea, this rock fell out of my bag and he-,” you looked over at Soyeon and froze. Your eyes widened, and your grip on the rock tightened in fear as you tried to make sense of the image of your best friend of several years before you.

“Hey, is everything okay?” she took a step towards you, and you hesitantly took a step back. Her white wings were protruding from her back and were massive- how could you have never seen something like this? No- was this even real?

You squeezed your eyes tightly shut before opening them. Nothing changed besides the worry on Soyeon’s face.

“Soyeon, what the fuck is that on your back?” you cried. You watched the wings expand slightly as if you had ruffled them with your words.

She glanced back, ignoring the wings before looking back at you. 

“What are you talking about?”

“Dude, you have fucking wings!” you yelled, waving the stone in your hand as if to gesture to the giant wings she had. Her eyes widened before she stepped forward as if to speak to you in a more hushed tone. You panicked, and rushed past her and out of your room and into the living room, hoping to put some distance between the two of you.

“How long have you had those things!? What the fuck is going on? Oh god I’m losing it,” you shut your eyes again, massaging your temples with an aggressive pressure as you tried to sift through your memories. You met Soyeon over ten years ago, and while she was more outgoing than you, and was always there for you, she had never had wings or seemed abnormal in any way. You had met her family for heaven’s sake! 

You opened your eyes again, now with your back to your couch as you sood your ground. Soyeon entered the space slowly, hands extended to show that she was no danger to you.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” her voice was soft, her head hanging low.

“I know that! I know you won’t hurt me, Soyeon! But what the fuck is going on?” you were a little insulted that she thought you were scared of her. You weren’t! You  were more shocked than anything else!

“Can… can I see that rock?” she squinted, and extended an open palm. Nervously, you took a small step forward. You heard Eerie hiss angrily behind the couch, so once you placed the gemstone in your roommates hand, you moved to dig the cat out from his hiding spot, the area between the wall and the couch.

“Seraphinite…” Soyeon muttered as you looked over the back of the couch. Eerie was shaking, his brown eyes staring up in fear as you went to reach out towards him before Soyeon sprung out next to you, grabbing the cat by his scruff and yanking him out of his crevice.

“Soyeon!” you shouted, going to take the cat out of her grasp before you watched in horror as she solved the gemstone between the cat's bared teeth. 

That was when, the cat you adopted over two years ago, transformed from a black cat into a man that was a foot taller than Soyeon and with dark, black wings.

“I knew it! I knew you weren’t a normal fucking cat!” Soyeon cheered, yanking the stone out of the mouth of the man that suddenly stood in your living room.

“I… I’m gonna be sick,” you muttered, leaning on the couch for support. 

“See? Now you spooked her,” the man spoke. You heard a thud before a set of small arms wrapped around you to help you sit down on the couch. Your stomach turned as you looked before the two beings now standing before you- Soyeon’s bright white wings absorbing most of the light in the room, and the being formerly known as Eerie the cat’s wings were pure black.

“Fuck off! I should have the troops called on your ass so I can collect the bounty,” she hissed. 

“Who the fuck are you?” you asked, trying to rack your brain for anytime Eerie seemed to, y’know, not be a cat.

“Well,” he sat down on the floor in front of you, as if he had been waiting to be asked, “I have a lot of names-.”

“Asshole,” Soyeon cut him off, earning a glare before he continued.

“But, you can call me Sungchan. I’m a fallen angel.”

“An-angel,” you repeated this word to test it out, still reeling. He nodded, reaching back to scratch a spot on his wings.

“He’s had a bounty on his head for three years… I never imagined you would have accidentally adopted a fallen angel disguising himself as a shelter cat.”

“She didn’t exactly adopt me from a shelter,” Sungchan spoke, and your eyes widened.

“Shut up! Don’t change the subject!” you jumped in. You had sort of found the black cat wandering on your college campus, and the cat had taken to following you around so much- and you were so lonely at the time. You told Soyeon you adopted Eerie from the shelter, but it was more like you adopted him directly off the streets. “Soyeon, are you an angel too?”

She nodded, “yes- but I’m not a fallen angel, I’m actually a guardian.”

“Oh, so original. Posing as a normal best friend,” Sungchan teased, earning a punch in the arm from Soyeon. 

You blinked, “you're my guardian angel?”

“Duh,” she chuckled.

You were reeling, placing a hand on your forehead as you tried to understand the goddamn nightmare occuring before your eyes.

“Oh my god, you’ve seen me change! And- and get out of the shower!” you shouted, leaping up from the couch. 

“Hey! Hey! I always looked away!” he defended, raising his hands in defense. 

“Why would you pretend to be my cat for so long? You ate cat food and pissed in a litter box,” you argued, now just irritated by the amount you’ve spent on cat litter for seemingly no reason.

“Listen, I don’t know why, but being around you has prevented people from catching me! Plus, I got free room and board,” he shrugged.

“Soyeon, you can’t sense other angels?” you asked, waving your hands wildly. For her being your guardian angel, you couldn’t fathom her not knowing about the fallen angel living as a cat with you this whole time.

“I normally can, I also can typically sense charms… I don’t know why I couldn’t sense him,” she seemed upset before adding, “I’m sorry I let you down.”

“Typical guardian,” Sungchan scoffed. You sent him a glare before softening your gaze to Soyeon.

“You didn’t let me down… maybe that charm was just stronger than usual.”

“It’s not, but like I said, being around you has made it so I don’t get noticed,” Sungchan jumped in. “You’re a bit of a freak for a human.”

“I am not a freak. I’m a grad student in a large amount of debt with apparently two angels for roommates.”

“That is pretty abnormal, though,” Soyeon frowned, “I’m gonna need to do some research.”

“At the library of Alexandria, right?” Sungchan stood up, and maneuvered to the kitchen as if he owned the space. “It was always too packed for my taste.”

“We’re kicking him out, right?” Soyeon asked the obvious question as Sungchan rifled through your pantry and took out your chips.

“Oh my god I thought Soyeon was the one eating all of my chips,” you groaned. While, on the one hand, it would make sense to kick the mooch to the curb, you couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the guy. “Who are you running from?”

“The troops are the cops for angels basically. I may have… tried to sell some ancient artifacts to humans,” Sungchan scratched the back of his neck before adding, “but I wouldn’t steal from you! I swear!” He continued munching on your chips then with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’m highly considering it,” you looked back at your roommate with a frown. The former cat jumped, leaving the chips in the kitchen before rushing back in front of you.

“Please let me stay! I can transform back into a cat and we can pretend like nothing ever happened!”

You and Soyeon both scoffed, crossing your arms.

“Please! I’ll… I’ll do the dishes! Neither of you two like doing those.”

“Hey, we’re both busy,” you defended.

“Plus, I don’t even need a new bed or anything! I can stay where I always sleep!”

“Which is on my bed, you perv!” You snapped, throwing the couch pillow at his head.

He caught it easily before continuing, “then I’ll sleep on the floor. Please! I’ve taken care of all the rodents and bugs that keep trying to come into this apartment!”

“I can’t knowingly harbor a fugitive,” Soyeon insisted, running her fingers through her hair. 

Sungchan looked at you with big, pleading eyes, his hands folded together in a prayer pose. You shut your eyes tightly, frustrated beyond belief. These past two years though, having a cat around really has made things less painful. Those late study nights where he would sit on your lap, the multiple failed first dates where he tried to never leave you alone. 

You already had to deal with the change of realizing Soyeon was not organically your best friend, you weren’t sure if you could handle job hunting on top of not having a third being around.

“Oh my god you’re gonna keep him.”

“What- does being my guardian angel mean you can read my mind?”

“No dumb ass it means I can read your face like a book,” she stood up and shoved a finger against Sungchan’s chest, “if you hurt her, I will call the troops on you so fast-.”

“Why would I want to hurt the only reason I’m not currently locked up?” he countered, furrowing his brows.

Soyeon loudly groaned before turning back to face you, “I… I’m sure you have a lot of other questions.”

“How come I can… see you both now?”

Soyeon extended her hand and placed the rock on your lap. “Seraphinite. It’s a rock that’s used to identify Angels… how did you even get this?”

“I bet it was that dude you were with earlier,” Sungchan muttered, his face downturned. 

“Dude… oh my god is that why you were trying to scent my legs when I got home?”

Soyeon slapped her forehead, muttering her frustrations before taking a deep breath. “Now, you’re going to see… all of the angels that co-exist on this plane of existence… unless…”

“Unless?”

“I… could wipe this from your brain,” she offered. You were frozen for a moment before you stood up, your eyes never wavering from Soyeon’s.

“You’ve done that before?”

“No! Oh my god, no never!” she stood up, grabbing your shoulders, “I swear, I never have. I just-.”

“I’m going to bed,” you broke from her grip, your feet padding on the floor quietly as Sungchan began laughing loudly at Soyeon.

You didn’t sleep much. Between the realization that Angels were real, that your best friend was not really the person you thought she was, and the fact that your cat was actually also an angel, you weren’t wired to sleep well if at all.

In the morning, you were greeted by a snoring Sungchan on the couch, and a note from Soyeon on the dining room counter.

“Giving you space. Love you bestie, and I am always there for you. Getting info, will be back asap,” you read aloud as your coffee heated up. You sighed, leaving the note on your counter as you continued mixing your coffee before starting your day.

“What are you doing today?” Sungchan’s voice made you jump, nearly dropping your mug.

“Ah! Fuck, I’m used to your bell so you don’t sneak up on me,” you defended, placing a hand on your chest to calm yourself down. “I’m going to class.”

“Take me with you!”

“Are you crazy?” you responded, taking a sip of your coffee in hopes that you’d regain some energy to deal with this.

“Please? The only time I’ve left this apartment is whenever you would take me to the vet! I promise I won’t draw any attention! Plus… your actual guardian angel isn’t here!” “I don’t need a guardian angel,” you spat.

“Fine, your best friend isn’t here. I’ll be the person you can talk to after class during lunch!” his eyes were wide and his wings were tucked closely to his body, as if he was trying to keep his energy and nerves bottled up. You didn’t understand the logistics, but it seemed that staying at your apartment was just as safe as being out and about with you. He was likely desperate to move around somehow.

“Fine… but I have a job interview after class, so I’m gonna have to bring you back here before that.”

He nodded excitedly, the restrictions seeming to have no weight on him at all. So, now you sat in the back of the full lecture hall with Sungchan, who wore a smile the whole time despite not knowing a single thing the professor said. You, however, were glaring at the several apparent guardian angels in the class. 

You learned that most Angels were blocked from human observation due to a charm that settled onto the world. Whenever anything atypical occurred (like, an angel knocking something over with their wings), the charm would make it so it appeared it was something normal. So, to the humans, the Angels appeared like any other average person. Sungchan explained that despite him being hunted down by several Angels, that being near you strengthened the charm enough that other Angels saw him as a normal human if they didn’t look too hard.

Convenient for him. Weird for you.

You were surprised to see that Shotaro was not one of the guardian angels in your class. Considering he was the only person physically close enough to you to drop the seraphinite in your bag, you expected him to also have those large, white, Angel wings. Instead, he seemed perfectly normal.

Lecture ended, and you sat still as everyone piled out of the class, all except for Shotaro who stared back at you two expectantly.

“So, you can see him now,” he had a bright grin, and you frowned.

“What the hell are you?” You asked, standing tall from your seat.

“Same thing as you,” was his reply before bounding out of the classroom.

“God dammit,” you muttered. You didn’t have time to chase after the weirdo- you needed to go back to your place to drop off Sungchan and change for your interview.

On your walk back, you decided to air some more of your questions.

“So, how come fallen angels are also just allowed to wander around?” you had noticed that while there were definitely a few more guardian angels around, there was still a substantial amount of fallen angels with their darkened wings wandering around without a second thought.

“Fallen Angels are all former Guardian Angels. They could at some point be forgiven and become Guardians again, but the only difference is that they don’t have a task directly from the man upstairs. Troops are technically Fallen Angels too, since they aren’t directly God’s task force, but rather are led by Saint George.”

“So, do most guardians assume Fallen Angels they see are Troops?”

“Yeah. Most Fallen Angels that choose to wander the surface are Troops, anyways,” he nodded. You were approaching your apartment complex now, mulling over this new found information.

“What kind of charm lets you turn into a cat, anyways?”

“What? You can believe in angels but not in witches and warlocks?”

You forced a groan, “of course.”

“Thanks again for taking me with you!” Sungchan chirped once you returned to your apartment. “And y’know… thanks for letting me stay with you.”

You stopped your path to your bedroom to glance back to Sungchan who was now perched on your couch.

“Don’t mention it.”

-----

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat. The slacks you wore had a wrinkle that you missed when ironing, and there was a small chip on your nails. You cleared your throat awkwardly, looking over your clean resume to hand to the interviewer. Your rings sat on your right hand, glistening in the overly bright office lights. The secretary was tapping away at his keyboard, and had hardly paid you any mind when you checked in fifteen minutes early for your interview. 

The secretary’s office line rang and he swiftly picked it up. You straightened your back when he glanced your way before he hung up the phone.

“Director Kwon will see you now,” he gestured to the large oak door behind him before returning to his work.

“Thanks,” your voice was soft as you passed his desk before entering the Editor-in-Chief of the largest bridal magazines office. The office walls were a soft pastel pink, all lined with different covers the magazine had printed during its one hundred years in existence. The fresh peonies scent was attributed to the several vases of the flowers in different colors and arrangements all organized throughout the space. Director Kwon’s desk, though, was a mess. It was filled with papers, magazines, and framed photos of what looked like her family.

“Welcome! Please, sit,” Director Kwon gestured to the emerald chairs directly in front of her glass desk. She turned her swivel chair to face you, and smiled. 

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” you returned the smile, doing your best to keep calm before you stretched your hand, handing over your resume.

The interview went surprisingly well. Director Kwon was energetic, humorous, and was incredibly responsive to your answers and questions. Everything was perfect- until…

“Now, I know HR says I can’t ask this anymore,” her voice lowered, and you felt like you were being let in on a secret, “but, you don’t have the best wedding source from people who aren’t at least engaged,” she rolled her eyes before looking back. “So, honey, are you married?”

You panicked. You really wanted this job. Plus, they always say to fake it ‘til you make it, right? Without missing a beat you seamlessly moved a ring from your right hand onto your left ring finger.

“Is it obvious?” you giggled, lifting your hand to show Director Kwon the ring. She slapped the desk excitedly, writing down a note on your resume. You could pretend to be married- easy enough.

“What’s their name? Pretty gal like you needs to be with someone just as beautiful- I bet the wedding was gorgeous.”

Their name? You panicked. Fuck. You were backed into a corner of HR violations already- you couldn’t not reply. 

“S-Sungchan. My husband’s name is Sungchan,” you forced your smile, and in the silence you could not stop talking, “we met on a blind date two years ago and just decided on a whim to get married a few months back!”

The train ride back home after the interview was full of shame and regret. Why did you even respond? Director Kwon should not have ask you that, but fuck, you really wanted this job. Your feelings only festered when you got back home and smelled something burning in the kitchen. You threw your bag down, walking in to see Sungchan spraying the fire extinguisher at the inflamed pan on the stovetop. You stood in shock as he ran through the living room to open the windows to the night sky in an attempt to help the smoke dissipate after the flame died, then proceeded to rush in front you to explain everything.

“I left the tortillas on the stovetop just for a second… I was going to make you dinner… I’m so sorry!” he seemed like he was crying, and he was wailing in sorrow about his slight error. 

You sighed, “it’s okay, Sungchan.”

He wrapped you in a giant hug, his wings enveloping you too in the process. How was someone so soft and excitable a fallen Angel? Especially one that was on the run from people that wanted him locked up.

The following week was when you got the call that you got the job. You were so excited, and Sungchan seemed to be in incredibly high spirits for you. Sure, in the office you would have to pretend that a Fallen Angel/ your Former Cat/ your Current Roommate was your husband, but a little lie can't hurt, right?

______

You were finishing your breakfast as you texted Soyeon. Your messages weren’t going through as normal, and you were unsure at this point if she was even getting them. Defeated, you set your phone down and stared aimlessly ahead at the kitchen before a thud called your attention.

“Damn,” Sungchan muttered, now on the floor. He didn’t fit well on the couch, something you had been noticing as of late. He was tall already, and his large wings weren’t helping. While he could transform into a cat, you had learned that it wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world. Begrudgingly, you got up from the counter and slightly nudged the angel with your foot.

“Go sleep on my bed. I’m about to leave for work,” you offered. It wasn’t like Sungchan had never slept on your bed before. In fact, when he was just Eerie to you, he usually slept either on the foot of your bed or under the sheets with you.

“Are you sure?” his voice was groggy, and he sat up with his eyes still shut.

“Of course,” you affirmed before checking the time on your phone. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll see you later. Are you gonna come with me to do groceries?”

“Of course,” he nodded before standing up and hobbling into your bedroom. 

Sungchan and you had formed a healthy routine. In the mornings, when you were still in school, you would quietly step out for class having already grabbed the lunch the man had put together for you. When you got back, you would either fully engage in questions with Sungchan, or run errands with him. He enjoyed sitting quietly in the same room as you, but since he hadn’t been able to speak to anyone for quite a while, he was elated to have your ear when you gave him the time.

Your job, however, was more convoluted than you had initially planned. As it turned out, your boss had disseminated the information that you were married to everyone- and the concept of marriage was the only thing your coworkers would speak about beyond actual job duties.

“Do you and Sungchan want to renew your vows?”

“Does Sungchan snore? My wife snores.”

“Do you and Sungchan want kids? Or lots of pets?”

Fuck! Doing your job would be a cinch if not for the constant lies and avoiding you had to do to get by. 

Sure- Sungchan was otherworldly attractive, but he was also an angel. Sungchan was also very sweet- but he was also likely terrified of being kicked to the curb and fed to the troops. 

You groaned to yourself, burying your face in your hands as you took the short train ride back home.You had been in this spiral since Soyeon left and since you started this job. You could really use your best friend- even if she was only your friend because she was your guardian angel.

“Do you think the character someone plays as in super smash brothers indicates what kind of person they are?” Sungchan asked as you both made your way through the grocery store isles together. He had taken to playing on your nintendo switch as well as leafing through your old psychology textbooks in his downtime and it was really showing.

“Um… I guess it depends on the smash game,” you mulled over, grabbing the bag of chips off the shelf. Sungchan was wrapped in an obnoxiously large coat despite the gross summer heat. It helps keep his wings more tightly pressed to his body and less likely to accidentally bump into something.

“They’re not all the same?” he was leaning against the cart, his head tilting as if this information never occurred to him.

“Yeah. Meta Knight was almost banned from competitive play for Super Smash Bros Brawl because he was way too overpowered.”

“... interesting,” he muttered, his gaze focused now on the ground beneath him as if he was mapping out a plan of action. You chuckled to yourself, moving ahead with the cart as Sungchan began asking you several questions about the differences in the smash franchise.

“... honey?” this voice made you freeze, although Sungchan continued speaking until he saw the fear in your eyes.

“Gr-Grandma,” you tried to keep your voice still, but your stutter gave you away.

“Honey, you look lovely,” she stated as if she did not just see you last week at your Mother’s place. Much to your dismay, she made eye contact with Sungchan and smiled sweetly, “and who is this… very tall young man?”

“Oh, it is you!” This new voice nearly brought you to your knees. No way. This had to be a sick joke- you were sure of it. There was no way this was both your grandma’s and boss’s grocery store of choice. This had to be an act of God themselves you felt- how else could this even happen?

“Boa, what are you doing here?” your grandmother spoke to your boss as if… as if they knew each other. 

“Are you okay?” Sungchan’s whisper unfroze you, and you met his gaze in terror, sending a look of puzzlement across his own face.

“D-Director Kwon,” you spat out, forcing a smile, “how do you know my grandmother?”

Director Kwon looked between you and your grandmother, and then chuckled to herself. “You two do look alike! Although, I don’t know why, but I thought you changed your last name.”

“Why would she do that? And how do you know my very sweet neighbor?” your grandma asked.

Neighbor. Fuck. Your Director was neighbors with your grandmother- good ones at that, it seemed. You were going to be sick at this revelation.

“I’m Sungchan!” his voice cutting through the wild tension made you nearly faint on the spot.

“Because of her husband here, of course!” Director Kwon stated. She said it. She said it. She said it to your grandma and now it was gonna get back to your Mom unless you denied and potentially risked your work. God- the labor violations kept adding up and there was nothing you could do about it.

“My sweet granddaughter isn’t married,” your grandma was raising her eyebrow at you, waiting for an answer. Director Kwon crossed her arms, staring at you for a response of any kind.

“Ah… did she not mention that there was no ceremony?” Sungchan scratched the back of his neck, feigning sheepishness. 

“Sweetheart… you weren’t even planning on telling your family?” your grandma interjected, and you immediately wanted to throw up.

“I’m so sorry ma’am, I wanted to be able to sing it from the rooftops, but we didn’t think it would be wise to announce such a thing so close to her cousin’s engagement. We wouldn’t want to steal the spotlight from her since she’s been trying to get married for sooo long,” Sungchan spoke so smoothly, that for a second even you believed it. You would talk on the phone pretty often with your mother, and oftentimes you did so with Eerie nearby- so of course he heard you gossiping about your cousin and her absolute hunt to be married.

“Y-yeah. You know how they can be,” you joked, hoping your grandma would buy it. 

“Oh my… I can’t wait until you do have your ceremony, I’ll get you in contact with my wedding planner,” Director Kwon interjected, leafing through her handbag before handing you a business card. “I’ll get going- I’ll see you Friday for the Barbeque!” she waved at your grandma before disappearing down the aisle.

“I hope you plan to tell your mother soon,” your grandma sighed before reaching forward and dusting off Sungchan’s shoulders, “I can’t wait to have you over young man. Welcome to the family.”

Continue? —> WHY DID I GET (fake) MARRIED?

Tag list!

@nini0620 @enhazen @cherriruto @deonuism @90s-belladonna @lesserahyuck

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Biden administration is launching a beta website for its new income-driven student loan repayment plan today, officials told CNN, allowing borrowers to begin submitting applications for the program as federal student loan payments are set to resume in October.

The SAVE, or Saving on a Valuable Education, plan was finalized after the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness initiative in June. It marks a significant change to the federal student loan system that could lower monthly loan payments for some borrowers and reduce the amount they pay back over the lifetime of their loans.

“Part of the President’s overall commitment is to improve the student loan system and reduce the burden of student loan debt on American families,” a senior administration official said, previewing the beta website first to CNN. “The SAVE plan is a big part of that. It is important in this moment as borrowers are getting ready to return to repayment.”

Federal student loan borrowers can access the beta website at https://studentaid.gov/idr/. The enrollment process is estimated to take 10 minutes, and many sections can be automatically populated with information the government has on hand, including tax returns from the IRS, administration officials said.

Borrowers will only need to apply one time, not yearly as past systems require, which officials said would make this plan “much easier to use.” Users will receive a confirmation email once the application is submitted, and the approval process, which can be tracked online, is expected to take a few weeks.

Those already enrolled in the federal government’s REPAYE, or Revised Pay As You Earn, income-driven repayment plan will be automatically switched to the new plan.

The full website launch will occur in August, and applications submitted during the beta period will not need to be resubmitted. The beta period will allow the Department of Education to monitor site performance in real time to identify any issues, and the site may be paused to make any necessary updates, officials said.

The SAVE plan, which applies to current and future federal student loan borrowers, will determine payments based on income and family size, and some monthly payments will be as small as $0. The income threshold to qualify for $0 payments has been increased from 150% to 225% of federal poverty guidelines, which translates to an annual income of $32,805 for a single borrower or $67,500 for a family of four. The Education Department estimates this means more than 1 million additional borrowers will qualify for $0 payments under the plan.

Some borrowers could have their payments cut in half when the program is in full effect next year and see their remaining debt canceled after making at least 10 years of payments, a significant change from previous plans.

With the new plan, unpaid interest will not accrue if a borrower makes their full monthly payments.

But the new plan does come at a cost to the federal government. Estimates of the program’s expense have varied depending on how many borrowers sign up for the new plan, but they range from $138 billion to $361 billion over 10 years. By comparison, Biden’s student loan forgiveness program was expected to cost about $400 billion.

The Education Department has created similar income-driven repayment plans in the past and has not faced a successful legal challenge, officials noted.

The beta site launch comes as borrowers will need to begin making federal student loan payments again in October after a pause of more than three years because of the pandemic.

Since the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s effort to cancel up to $20,000 of student debt for millions of borrowers, the administration has taken a number of steps aimed at helping federal student loan borrowers in other ways.

Earlier this month, the Education Department announced that 804,000 borrowers will have their student debt wiped away – about $39 billion worth of debt – after fixes that more accurately count qualified monthly payments under existing income-driven repayment plans.

[sedoretu]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/07/05/chevron-doctrine-overturned-regulations-vulnerable-supreme-court/

8 policies that could be vulnerable to new legal challenges [after Chevron]

The Supreme Court jettisoned longstanding precedent that helped the federal government make regulations. Now broad policies could be determined by judges.

“No policy is at greater risk than the administration’s student loan forgiveness efforts, which spend hundreds of billions of dollars without congressional authority,” said Michael Brickman, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former senior adviser in the Education Department under President Donald Trump. Republican attorneys general in 18 states have sued to stop the Saving on a Valuable Education program, which lowers monthly student loan payments and offers a shorter path to loan forgiveness. They argue that Congress never envisioned anything as expansive as the program in the law underpinning the regulation.

...

A new Biden administration regulation protecting transgender students and laying out how schools must respond to accusations of sexual assault and harassment was already being challenged, and the new ruling gives opponents further ammunition to stop it. The regulation is the administration’s interpretation of the half-century-old Title IX law, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded K-12 schools, colleges and universities. The administration, citing a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, included discrimination based on gender identity in its definition of sex discrimination, meaning schools might be required, for instance, to allow transgender students to use pronouns and bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The provision was celebrated by LGBTQ+ advocates and derided by conservatives.

...

The Supreme Court ruling almost immediately put a check on the Labor Department’s authority. Hours after the ruling came down Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in eastern Texas cited the decision in an order to block the federal overtime expansion from applying to Texas state employees. The rule went into effect Monday and makes millions more workers eligible for overtime pay nationwide. But labor and employment attorneys say the Texas judge’s decision signals that another court will probably block the rule.

... The Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule could be newly vulnerable: The Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to boost sales of electric vehicles while slashing emissions from gasoline-powered cars and trucks. Republican attorneys general from more than two dozen states had already sued the EPA over the Biden administration’s most consequential climate rule, a sweeping attempt to transform the U.S. auto market. The top trade association for the U.S. oil and gas industry, which could see demand for its products decline as consumers shift to EVs, has also challenged the regulations in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Opponents say the agency has overstepped its authority.

[fuck-customers]

I’ve been at my job for a little over 4 years now and I’ve hated it ever since day 1 because the job I had gotten isn’t anything like the job I applied for. I couldn’t complain at the time because I needed the money but I’ve been mad ever since. Just recently I got an email from a university saying they would like to speak to me about their masters program. It’s a legit email, except I had no intention of going back to school. I hate my first 4 years, my degree has been useless to me, and I just got approved for student loan forgiveness so I don’t want to be in debt again. But after thinking about how if I do get in this program, my company would either fire me for not being able to work full time or I can quit to focused on my school work. It’s sad that I’ve gotten to a point where I hate my job enough to do something else I hate just to replace it

[fatfemme-inist]

Okay, I know we're all disappointed that Biden didn't forgive all the student debt like we had hoped, but I just finished applying for my updated income-driven repayment plan after finishing Round 2 of grad school, and the SAVE plan is life changing.

Prior to grad school, I was making $62K per year, and my student loan payments were around $500 per month. Income driven repayment plans were calculated based on 15% of your "discretionary" income, which was counted as anything over a certain amount relative to the federal poverty level for your household size. I had basically stopped contributing to my retirement accounts at work because I couldn't afford it.

On the SAVE plan, I recorded my current income of $67K per year, and my student loan payments are estimated at $150! Despite making $5000 more per year, my payment has gone down significantly! The calculator takes into account money spent on health insurance premiums and money saved towards your retirement, lowering your payments accordingly. The new plan also requires you pay 10% rather than 15% of your discretionary income.

That $350 per month is an absolute life saver for me. It also means that once I'm at my new job, I can set my retirement savings at an actually comfortable level instead of worrying about how much my student loan payments will eat into it.

[bitchesgetriches]

I thought I understood credit, but I must have been wrong. I have two loans: student and auto, I've never missed a payment (though have been on various deferments for student loans from grads school to COVID) in over four years. I had (according to my budget app) a 704 credit score. This time last year, I applied for two credit cards with the thinking that that's a thing 30-somethings should have just in case. I was denied, and my credit took a hit, down to like 660. It's still only at 679. I have no idea what to do, because the things I would think might help (establishing more good credit practices) would tank my score again. I'm about to be done paying off my car, so that will be one less account, too. I am not idea what to do about my credit score.

The first thing to do is to forgive yourself because credit is a racist, classist system that none of us can opt into or out of but which rules our lives nonetheless.

Your homework is to read these articles, which explain both how credit works and why your credit score took a hit from those credit card applications. It's not fair, but hopefully the knowledge will help you recover:

Dafuq Is Credit and How Do You Bend It to Your Will? 

Ask the Bitches: What's the Difference Between Credit Checks and Credit Monitoring?

[thepioden]

are there any real options for people who borrowed private loans? Idek how my family made that mistake (I think we just only qualified for a certain amount of federal aid?) but I just feel so defeated knowing what minimal aid is being put out will only apply to less than a quarter of my nearly 3 figure debt. I guess I'm mostly curious whether there's any way whatsoever to refinance/consolidate/other financial process to get my private loans to be applicable to the same forgiveness or repayment plans etc that everyone else is hoping for.

As far as I know, if you have private loans, you're outta luck. Private student loans are treated the same as any other personal loan. You can try an refinance them to a lower interest rate, but that would be still be a private loan and not eligible for federal programs. Sorry friend.

That said, if you have old student loans (disbursed prior to 2010) you MIGHT be in luck. Some of these were FFEL commercial loans, which were originated by private lenders, but guaranteed by the federal government and may be eligible for some Federal programs. You can usually consildate FFEL loans into a federal direct loan, which is then eligble for federal programs. You'd have to check with the owner or servicer of your loan, though, pre-2010 student loans are kind of the wild west.

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #27

July 12-19 2024

President Biden announced the cancellation of $1.2 billion dollars worth of student loan debt. This will cancel the debt of 35,000 public service workers, such as teachers, nurses, and firefighters. This brings the total number of people who've had their student debt relived under the Biden Administration to 4.8 million or one out of every ten people with student loan debt, for a total of $168.5 billion in debt forgiven. This came after the Supreme Court threw out an earlier more wide ranging student debt relief plan forcing the administration to undertake a slower more piecemeal process for forgiving debt. President Biden announced a new plan in the spring that will hopefully be finalized by fall that will forgive an additional 30 million people's student loan debt.

President Biden announced actions to lower housing coasts, make more housing available and called on Congress to prevent rent hikes. President Biden's plan calls for landlords who raise the rent by more than 5% a year to face losing major important tax befits, the average rent has gone up by 21% since 2021. The President has also instructed the federal government, the largest land owner in the country, to examine how unused property can be used for housing. The Bureau of Land Management plans on building 15,000 affordable housing units on public land in southern Nevada, the USPS is examining 8,500 unused properties across America to be repurposed for housing, HHS is finalizing a new rule to make it easier to use federal property to house the homeless, and the Administration is calling on state, local, and tribal governments to use their own unused property for housing, which could create approximately 1.9 million units nationwide.

The Department of Transportation announced $5 billion to replace or restore major bridges across the country. The money will go to 13 significant bridges in 16 states. Some bridges are suffering from years of neglect others are nearly 100 years old and no longer fit for modern demands. Some of the projects include the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River which connects Portland Oregon to Vancouver Washington, replacing the Sagamore Bridge which connects Cape Cod to the mainland built in 1933, replacing the I- 83 South Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Cape Fear Memorial Bridge Replacement Project in Wilmington, North Carolina, among others.

President Biden signed an Executive Order aimed at boosting Latino college attendance. The order established the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are defined as colleges with 25% or above Hispanic/Latino enrollment, currently 55% of Hispanic college students are enrolled in an HSI. The initiative seeks to stream line the relationship between the federal government and HSIs to allow them to more easily take advantage of federal programs and expand their reach to better serve students and boost Hispanic enrollment nationwide.

HUD announced $325 million in grants for housing and community development in 7 cities. the cities in Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Nevada, New York and New Jersey, have collectively pledged to develop over 6,500 new mixed-income units, including the one-for-one replacement of 2,677 severely distressed public housing units. The 7 collectively will invest $2.65 billion in additional resources within the Choice Neighborhood area – so that every $1 in HUD funds will generate $8.65 in additional resources.

President Biden took extensive new actions on immigration. On June 18th The President announced a new policy that would allow the foreign born spouses and step children of American citizens who don't have legal status to apply for it without having to leave the country, this would effect about half a million spouses and 50,000 children. This week Biden announced that people can start applying on August 19, 2024. Also in June President Biden announced an easing of Visa rules that will allow Dreamers, Americans brought to the country as children without legal status, to finally get work visas to give them legal status and a path way to citizenship. This week the Biden Administration announced a new rule to expand the federal TRIO program to cover Dreamers. TRIO is a program that aims to support low income students and those who would be the first in their families to go to college transition from high school to college, the change would support 50,000 more students each year. The Administration also plans to double the number of free immigration lawyers available to those going through immigration court.

The EPA announced $160 million in grants to support Clean U.S. Manufacturing of Steel and Other Construction Materials. The EPA estimates that the manufacturing of construction materials, such as concrete, asphalt, steel, and glass, accounts for 15% of the  annual global greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA is supporting 38 projects aimed at measuring and combatting the environmental impact of construction materials.

The US announced $203 million in humanitarian assistance for the people of Sudan. Sudan's out of control civil war has caused the largest refugee crisis in the world with 11 million Sudanese having fled their homes in the face of violence. The war is also causing the gravest food crisis in the world, with a record setting 25 million people facing acute food insecurity, and fears that nearly a million will face famine in the next months. This aid brings the total aid the US has given Sudan since September 2023 to $1.6 billion, making America the single largest donor to Sudan.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put forward a new rule that would better regulate popular paycheck advance products. 2/3rds of workers are payed every two weeks or once a month and since 2020 the number of short term loans that allow employees to receive their paycheck days before it’s scheduled to hit their account has grown by 90%. the CFPB says that many of these programs are decided with employers not employees and millions of Americans are paying fees they didn't know about before signing up. The new rule would require lenders to tell costumers up front about any and all fees and charges, as well as cracking down on deceptive "tipping" options.

[superfluouskeys]

Do you have any advice for someone who will be applying to grad school soon? I want to eventually get a PhD and teach, but it's so scary to think about organizing myself enough to do the applications and I also barely know where to begin. Any advice is welcome!!

Also p.s. i love your fics <3

Thank you so much!! I will try my best! Disclaimer: I only know how it is in the U.S., but I do have a fair amount of friends/acquaintances who have gone to grad school in various fields, so I think I have a pretty wide range of experiences to go off of besides my own.

BIG first thing: find programs that will either pay for your degree or otherwise offer you some kind of excellent financial aid situation. It is almost never worth it to get yourself into some kind of hellish student loan situation. If you want to teach there might be some kind of government forgiveness thing but even those can be unwieldy, so just watch out and stay on top of it.

But, going off of that, and this is just my personal opinion, but don't bother applying anywhere you don't actually want to go just because the money is good or it's prestigious or whatever. You're already going to be mildly miserable a lot of the time while doing your PhD, you might as well do it in a place you can tolerate. Figure out what's most important to your own success--for me, I absolutely have to like my professors or I will really struggle. Other considerations fall below this.

Someone will probably have a suggestion specific to your field for how many schools you should apply to to maximize your chances, so you can build a list of schools you're interested in based on that vague estimate to start looking into, but I also think there's something to be said for drawing the line at a certain point where it's not worth it, and you might be better off getting some kind of work experience for a year or two and then trying again. I actually applied to graduate school right out of college, which would have been a DISASTER if I had gone LOL.

BIG second thing, just based on my personal foibles, reach out to some professors/mentors/employers/whatever with whom you've had a good relationship in the past (if you haven't spoken recently), ask them how they're doing, and update them on what you've been up to and that you're thinking about pursuing your PhD. This is especially important if you've been out of school for awhile, but it's good to get into the habit of periodically touching base with professional contacts even if you're still in school. You're going to need letters of recommendation, AND you're going to keep needing references for various things, and it's good if you don't have to cold call people you haven't spoken to in a long time once you already need something.

Note that calling up esp. professors you haven't kept in touch with is usually fine! People generally want to help you! It will just make you feel less awkward if you've kept in touch ahead of time. It's great if the person has some connection to your field, but IMO it's better if the person just knows and likes you and can speak honestly to your merits.

I also personally had a huge issue just wrangling the people who agreed to write me letters of recommendation to like, do it, and use the website submission thing correctly, in time for the submission deadlines LOL, and I felt SO awkward reminding them about it but was also going INSANE as the deadlines approached. This was honestly one of the most stressful parts of the whole process for me, and you might find you want to apply for an internship or grant or something early on before you've really connected with your new profs and need these references AGAIN, so my advice is just try to get some people who are willing to help you lined up ASAP so perhaps you can avoid this particular nightmare. 2 minimum, but 3-5 is ideal.

As for organizing everything, it's definitely time-consuming, but there's also something kind of gratifying about it. When you go through the trouble of gathering together every mildly relevant or impressive thing you've ever done in your life, you'll be like, wow, I did some cool stuff actually :). Note that you never know what admissions will find interesting about you, so don't count anything out right off the bat--my school loved that I have a background in music, while my German degree continues to be pretty much irrelevant LOL. If you're still in or just out of school there's probably someone whose job it is to help you with e.g. how to put together a grad school resume or read over your personal essays or w/e, so definitely take advantage if that exists, but you can absolutely do it yourself if not, no sweat!

Though I would recommend finding someone, like maybe one of those past profs/mentors/etc. I mentioned, to look over your personal essays for you just so there's another pair of eyes on them. Personal essays were the SECOND most stressful part of the whole process for me because I HATE writing personal essays LOL! But having someone tell me what kind of narrative law schools are looking for helped me to refocus my writing and feel slightly less insane about it.

Finally, always remember, don't sell yourself short!! In any application process you want to play up your strengths and minimize your weaknesses, but don't hold yourself back based on the weakest points in your application. Apply for things you really want to do or that would be really beneficial for you even if you don't think you'll get them--you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, and this applies to every aspect of your life btw!

I hope some of this was at least mildly helpful! I wish you all the best in your journey! Grad school is great and such a rewarding--

[persofina]

How to Pay Off These 4 Types of Debt

Getting and staying out of debt is tough. Many people try and fail, or they succeed only to become ensnared the vicious cycle over and over again. Eliminating debt takes lots of grit and determination, and strategically attacking your debt will save you time, energy, and money. Before you get started, you should know that each type of debt requires a slightly different strategy. Here's how to tackle different types of debt, and get rid of it once and for all. Credit card debt The best way to attack credit card debt is by using the debt snowball. With this method, you begin by attacking the smallest debt while paying the minimum on everything else. Once one debt is paid, you take all the money you were paying on the first card and apply it to the second biggest balance. Rinse and repeat. You may be tempted to attack them based on interest rate, which is also known as the debt avalanche. And that will work. However, you must keep in mind that debt is more mental than it is logical. You probably didn't use a ton of logic to get into debt. And logic won't inspire you to get out of debt. The debt snowball approach allows you to get quick wins by conquering smaller debts before taking on the larger ones, which require more time and patience. Winning becomes a contagious habit that helps you build momentum. You also may want to contact your credit card companies and request that they lower your interest rate. Some will and some won't, but it doesn't hurt to ask. (See also: 2-Minute Guide: How to Use Balance Transfers to Pay Off Credit Card Debt) Car and personal loans Auto and personal loans are a little different from credit card debt. However, they follow the same principle for repayment. First, make sure you understand the repayment terms and then contact the lender and ask them to reduce your interest rate. In addition to using the debt snowball, a great repayment strategy for this type of debt is to call the lending agency and set up bi-weekly payments instead of paying monthly. The minimum payment doesn't change, you just make 26 payments a year versus 12. This lowers the total amount of interest you will pay over the life of the loan. When you pay more than the minimum payment, you'll slash months — even years — off the total repayment time. Student loans Despite how it may feel, paying off student loans is possible. You just need some discipline, patience, and a plan. For most folks, student loan debt is one of the most significant debts owed — second only to a mortgage. The first thing you want to do is determine the total amount owed. You can do this by visiting the National Student Loan Data System or contacting your lender. From there, visit the Federal Student Loan Website to see if your loans can be consolidated, if your interest rate can be lowered, and if you qualify for any loan forgiveness programs. The Department of Education offers eight different repayment plans that may be able to assist you if you're considered low income or have special circumstances. They also provide repayment calculators and a host of other information and resources that can assist you in repaying your loans quicker. Once you know the total amount owed, and have found a repayment plan that works for you, it's time to get busy. You want to throw ever extra dollar you have at this debt and make multiple payments a month, if possible. Mortgage The term "mortgage," translated from old French, literally means "death pledge." How fitting. There are several schools of thought on whether you should pay off your home early. For some people paying it off early makes sense, for others it doesn't. If you do want to knock the mortgage off your debt list, there are a few things you can do to expedite repayment. Make bi-weekly payments By simply splitting your monthly mortgage payment into equal parts where it's paid every two weeks, you can shave years of payments off a 30-year mortgage. If you pay more than the… http://dlvr.it/T3qJwX As seen on Wisebread.comsincerely yours Persofina: Personal Finance Hacks

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

I'm calling it now, student loan debt forgiveness is gonna be struck down 6-3 with a majority opinion written by Brett Kavanaugh. Who better to say student loan forgiveness is unconstitutional than the guy who had all his debts paid off by an anonymous bribe donation the second he was appointed to the bench? This is all about symbolism, theatrics, culture war bullshit. The court will say that the law in question was an overreach of power, that forgiving debts to those affected by national emergencies is unconstitutional; I'm not even gonna guess at their reasoning, because they don't need any. They can rule however they want and that's final, no matter how flimsy the justification. Their decisions define what the constitution means, so they could turn any amendment around on a whim and we'd be powerless to stop them.

Oh, and now that Biden has ended the covid national emergency they could very well say that the point is moot. "Debt forgiveness under this law only applies to people affected by emergencies, but now there is no emergency so there's no grounds to forgive anything, fuck you POORS!"

It was always a pipe dream, I knew it was, but this still stings.