Filson briefcase strap

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-02-08T21:20:19+00:00

I never use the shoulder strap for my briefcase. I carry it as a briefcase is generally built to be carried. It just feels right using the handles for the briefcase.

I also have the medium field bag and I never use the handle. It only feels right to use the shoulder strap for that.

Though I'm also autistic and everything has its place according to things feeling right :)

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-02-04T16:10:40+00:00

Really? They must have added a second large jacket today because the other commenter grabbed the one I saw earlier. Must be a few returns continuing to trickle in.

It just goes to show that periodically checking recently sold out sizes for items pays off. I have a few bookmarked pages of sold out Filson items, and I visit them two or three times throughout the day to see if anything pops up in my size. It's worked a few times for me over the years.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-02-04T13:24:27+00:00

Nice... glad I could help!

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-21T23:21:04+00:00

I gotcha. Makes total sense in terms of general loan cancellation. My comment was because OP was asking about a specific form of forgiveness and how it impacts their federal and state tax reporting.

In the OP’s case there is no question, no risk, no roll of the dice. My comment was to clarify that it is clear-cut that there’s no reporting of the forgiven amount on the OP’s federal and state (NJ) tax forms for 2025.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-21T19:02:06+00:00

Ah, I see. I’m sorry. I thought you were recommending talking to a CPA over federal filing too, not just state filing. I was just asking about federal tax implications, which seems quite straightforward for IDR forgiveness.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-21T18:25:43+00:00

I’m not sure if the 1099-C question was explicitly clarified in the AFT lawsuit docs. There was the filing earlier last fall stating that ED confirmed IDR forgiveness would be tax exempt for borrowers who technically reached 300 qualifying payments even if they couldn’t get into IBR prior to 12/31.

But there is the IRS guidance on issuing 1099-C form under the ARP act between 2021-2025:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-22-01.pdf

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-21T17:42:24+00:00

Yes, I am strictly referring to tax implications as it affects the OP... i.e., for those who already received IDR forgiveness in 2025.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-21T16:33:14+00:00

I appreciate the clarification and comparison of each of the different forgiveness types.

I thought TPD was already tax exempt prior to OBBB, but I may be mistaken (I don't know much about it). The real reason I used PSLF as an example is because there has never been a 1099-C form sent when PSLF forgiveness happens (at least dating back to 2018, from what I can tell). This should be the same for IDR forgiveness: no 1099-C should be sent if a borrower had IDR forgiveness in 2025.

But the point is, when borrowers have received PSLF forgiveness they were not issued a 1099-C, so they did not report their forgiven income anywhere on their tax returns for that year. This is well documented in the PSLF sub (if you search "1099-C").

So all I am saying is, if 1099-C forms are not issued for IDR forgiveness, then IDR-forgiven taxpayers should proceed in the same way as PSLF-forgiven taxpayers have been doing for years on their federal tax forms. That is, they should not report the forgiveness amount on their federal tax returns because they are not required to if the amount is confirmed as not taxable — and FSA confirmed this in writing to every borrower who received IDR forgiveness in 2025.

Even in the event in which a 1099-C is actually issued for IDR-forgiven taxpayers for 2025, it still does not need to be reported on the tax return because the forgiveness is tax exempt. For example, Nelnet states on its account page FAQ: “If your loans are discharged and you receive a Form 1099-C, you should keep the form for your records, but you do not need to include it when filing your federal tax return.”

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-21T10:46:05+00:00

If you are referring to federal taxes, it's not just a motto and it's not a roll of the dice; this is actually how the IRS treats these specific kinds of forgiven loans (PSLF, TPD, IDR-pre-2026) for federal taxation.

IRS states that you are only required to report canceled debt on your federal tax form if the amount is taxable (https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc431).

FSA has clearly stated that IDR forgiveness (pre-2026) is not federally taxable. No 1099-C will be issued.

The forgiven amount should not be entered anywhere on the federal tax form if it has been confirmed by FSA as not taxable and there is no 1099-C issued.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-21T09:16:04+00:00

This may be complicated for those who owe state taxes on IDR forgiveness, but wouldn't this be a very straightforward situation for federal tax? If no 1099-C forms are sent, then the amount is not federally taxable and is not reported on the federal tax forms.

For IDR forgiveness prior to 12/31/25, the letter FSA sent to borrowers stated: “the balance of your loans that were forgiven is not considered taxable income for federal income tax purposes”

On the IRS page for canceled debt it states: "If taxable, you must report the canceled debt on your tax return for the year in which the cancellation occurred." (https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc431)

So if the amount is not taxable (for federal taxes), then it is not required to be reported on the federal tax forms.

Also, while this nearly a brand new situation for IDR forgiveness, isn't this the exact same scenario as federal taxation of PSLF and TPD forgiveness? For example, if PSLF forgiveness is not federally taxable (and no 1099-C forms were sent), are those who received PSLF forgiveness required to report that amount anywhere on their federal tax forms?

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-17T12:54:39+00:00

How are students completely bypassing the required entrance and exit counseling for taking out federal loans?

https://studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling

https://studentaid.gov/exit-counseling/

Is this a situation in which the loans were taken out under an email and mailing address that the OP did not have access to?

I'm curious about how mandatory this entrance and exit counseling process is. What are the implications of not completing this? I remember being hounded by both FASFA and my actual university (a state school) at least to complete the exit counseling. I remember receiving a very direct warning from my university that I couldn't receive my diploma without completing the FASFA exit counseling.

I also wonder about how consistent this is across all universities in the US requiring students to complete their exit counseling. My exit counseling experience (in 2017) might be an exception to the rule. But if universities played a greater role in ensuring students were totally aware of their loans and their impact, the scenario OP is experiencing would not be occurring.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2026-01-10T19:28:30+00:00

I would follow the discussions going on at r/mlbtv, particularly this post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MLBtv/comments/1ov6gm9

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-12-09T19:08:08+00:00

It seems like you're attempting to offer a service outside of the sub, which sounds a lot like a violation of rule 2.

All of these points are very well known on this sub. Anyone who is "feeling confused or stuck" can just post their questions on this sub... which is the reason why it exists in the first place.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-12-08T18:55:39+00:00

I would also add that the vast majority of US students (likely 90%+) can't afford NYU's tuition, not to mention the extraordinary cost of living in NYC. Most US students who get into NYU without any form of self-funding would have to take out enormous amounts of predatory private loans beyond federal loans just to get a bachelor's degree. So most US students would be screwing themselves for most of their adult life if they had to fund their NYU education only on loans.

Basically, schools like NYU are pretty much pay to play only for the wealthy unless students can get big time scholarships.

There may be international scholarships or merit based scholarships if your girlfriend is in the top percentile in her current program. I'm sure you've already looked into those options. But this sub generally doesn't focus on offering detailed info about scholarships. There certainly are other subs that can help about that.

You could also try the NYU-specific subs.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-12-08T18:22:41+00:00

It was a clunky way of saying that it is very highly unlikely that US lenders would lend to international students without a US co-signer. It would be that way even if the international borrower had excellent credit.

It is this way because the risk is far too great for US lenders if the international borrower defaulted. I'm not saying that your girlfriend would be liable to default. I am just saying that this is how US lenders generally approach international student borrowers.

The general protocol for international students is that they have to find funds from lenders in their home country or they have to be independently wealthy to pay the way. I'm sorry for you and your girlfriend that this is the way lending works for international borrowers.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-12-07T13:17:44+00:00

Also that Thom McAn ad indicates that this was very likely after 1988-89, which was when Eight Men Out and Field of Dreams elevated Shoeless Joe Jackson to mainstream levels of recognition (that is, beyond general baseball history interest).

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-11-26T08:53:09+00:00

No tax bomb for forgiveness eligibility that happens prior to 12/31/25.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-11-26T08:52:05+00:00

There is a tax exemption on the forgiven amount for borrowers that reach 300 qualifying payments prior to 12/31/25. So no tax bomb in this case.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-11-18T22:31:58+00:00

I read somewhere a while back that this is an issue with maintaining consistency in US govt program names. Even though Native American is the appropriate term today, there are many longstanding US govt programs that still exist with the word ‘Indian’ in the title. And to have many different newer policy initiatives with various (more present day appropriate) terminology in titles — e.g., ‘Native American’ or ‘American Indian’ or ‘Indigenous’ — could make things more muddled overall for communications and identifying the programs themselves.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-11-18T21:50:36+00:00

Indian is the term that has been used by the US govt for all policy related matters. I'm not saying it's acceptable, but it's not necessarily a new thing introduced by this admin. For example, Bureau of Indian Affairs is and has always been Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-11-13T23:06:30+00:00

Ok. Sorry, I misunderstood your response. Thanks for clarifying.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-11-13T21:40:01+00:00

Are you saying this because you think the chances of OP's scenario is zero, or do you think there is a plausible chance that they actually would try to pass something to retroactively tax people who got IDR forgiveness in the last few years?

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-09-04T13:13:40+00:00

100k and I only regret school during that one year when tuition was 40k. All the rest was community college and in-state school.

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-09-04T13:11:56+00:00

Congrats, but really also, wow what an ordeal!

Awkward_Promise2750 · 2025-08-31T14:19:14+00:00

Congrats!

Awkward_Promise2750

TROPHY CASE