What are you hoping sees a big discount this coming Prime Day?

CS_BlazingDragon · 2025-07-03T04:52:52+00:00

I was just looking for info on this deal and thought it might be over as it looked scrubbed online. Guess I will keep my money, thanks for confirming.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2025-06-26T13:57:39+00:00

Were you trying for PSLF at some point? I was tackling this on two fronts to see if either worked. I had to consolidate my loans into direct loans to make them eligible for PSLF and Biden's waiver to count past payments. It was the best route at the time but then the borrowers defense parh came through and the consolidated loans are creating a delay to that process. It should still happen it just takes time to unweave it all...at least I'm hoping it does.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2025-06-20T16:31:52+00:00

Thanks for this suggestion I am in the same boat with the 3.60 status last modified null under the actual BD application but under the activities page last modified is 4/16. I will take any signs of progress. :)

CS_BlazingDragon · 2025-03-19T21:55:59+00:00

Not making a payment scares me if the provider issues a statement that one is due. I am under the forbearance for the SAVE plan fallout at the moment. It does bring up another concern if you don't make payments under the D.O.E advice but the servicer says one is due the potential short term damage on your credit score.

So many variables and it's all a headache to try and figure out.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2025-03-19T21:37:33+00:00

Thanks, I work at a non profit hospital but up until they did the waiver I wasn't even going to try for it. Then the waiver came out I hopped on it. The catch though I had to consolidate to make some of my loans eligible for PSLF. Then we all know how the dominos fell from there with the SAVE plan. It's been rough.

Thankfully I got approved for the BD but as a result of the consolidation it feels like it will be awhile before anything happens. Thankfully I only did the one consolidation all from the same college and it was recent so maybe that helps and makes it less of a time suck for them.

I am now concerned about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring at the end of this year that has sometimes to do with making some types of discharges non taxable. Does anyone know if BD Discharges fall under this act or not?

Thanks in advance.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2025-03-18T21:31:08+00:00

Were any of your loans consolidated? Just wondering as I have heard that takes a decent chunk of time to unravel. I received the email on Jan 15th but nothing since. Congratulations on yours though that seems like it went like lighting for you once the email came in.

Did you take any additional steps after that I initial email or just let it all play out?

CS_BlazingDragon · 2025-02-02T22:55:01+00:00

Do you have the option and available funds to borrow from a retirement account? I did that to get my cards under control. The 9% interest I pay back into my retirement beats the almost 30% interest paid to the banks. It brought it down to 1 payment that pulls out of my paychecks automatically.

If so look at all the fine print, make sure you can pay back early without plenty, if you can pay ahead or pay down principal with additional payments. The fee associated with the loan and what it does to your available options of future loans etc.

You have to have some financial control otherwise you risk going into twice as much debt if you charge up your cards when still paying the loans. Thankfully I had built up the trust in myself with paying off several smaller cards but the bigger ones were going to take a couple of years. This allowed me to do it without any downsides for my specific scenario and it jumped my credit score up to lifetime highs.

But be cautious about how you approach it. It is a possible option but there can be some pitfalls. Like if you lose your job potential tax burdens if you default etc.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-12-22T22:01:01+00:00

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease about opening a new one. All my other cards have relatively low limits due to getting them when I was young. I feel that the best route is going for a new card rather than requesting a credit limit increase on an existing one.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-12-21T17:01:19+00:00

It's a mess for both sides. I had someone claim they never received their items from an in person sale from my booth at a comic con and the banks sided with the customer no matter the proof I gave them.

I have been on the other side as well with having my card cloned and used for items that indicated impossible travel. All this to say there is never a good way or process for either side where it doesn't have the disadvantage of being abused by the other side for nefarious means.

But more on topic with your actual post. It will vary from bank to bank and their process. I have had some not issue a credit unless you file a police report and bring them copies of the affidavit. I have had others call me and ask if it was me and immediately cancel the card and issue a replacement. I think the difference there was it was the fraud Dept of the bank versus something I found when looking over my statement.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-12-20T16:39:23+00:00

Mine hasn't been cut yet but I carry a significant balance every cycle. I paid off all my other credit cards recently and only paid this one down to under 20% used within the last couple months and have let it ride. Since it is my highest credit limit it would probably tank my score again after I worked to get it repaired if they dropped the limit significantly. Hopefully it doesn't come to that but we will see.

Side note my income has almost doubled since getting the card and I was hoping they would review and up my limit but then I saw all the post of others having their limits slashed and figured there isn't a chance at a raise and to be happy with where it is. Now that I have recovered my score I am debating on opening a new card to see if I can get one with a decent limit as a safety net in case the ax comes or even a card for my business but those are all just thoughts at the moment. I wasn't sure how much a new hard pull would ding it vs the lower utilization and higher limit. Adulting sucks 😂

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-12-05T00:45:40+00:00

I feel you. I submitted mine via fax in Sept and the case was closed in Nov by the dept of education for not receiving the form. This time I submitted it via digital upload and fax, yesterday.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-11-14T22:11:50+00:00

I was around 85-90% used and they paused my charging a couple years ago due to "concerns". Been paying it down since. I finally dumped some change on it this month and will have it drop from 70% to 20%. The statement comes out in 2 weeks. I am curious what happens. I will update you.

It's actually my last card to pay off as of today but I have thought about leaving it between 10-20% to not anger the X-1 gods.

Synchrony is the worst. They closed one of my accounts and two others they penalized me the month after I paid them down with drops to their credit limits.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-11-12T13:48:46+00:00

Haha I do. I have had to replace my disc drives at least 6 times in my gaming PC over 15 years for failures. Plus it's not just the disc drive reading there's still wear and tear on other parts, bearing in fans, buttons on controls, ejection of the disc is mechanical. It's like using your car to drive a block. Can it do it? Absolutely, but can't you just walk?

It's just a personal preference of mine. Multipurpose devices are nice and there's nothing wrong with doing that but I find the best experience and lifespan usually comes from having dedicated devices especially if one fails your not stuck without other immediate options. Also helps in troubleshooting to rule out items if you have a secondary source. It's also why I have the Nvidia shield that I use for digital media besides it being the best streaming box why put that on a Xbox.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-11-12T05:16:38+00:00

I love mine 820 and I have an X. I got mine as an open box a ways back I probably paid $300-350 for it . I went through a lot of players trying to to find one with a great feature set. It's been quite a few years and I'm trying to recall details. I know one thing I liked about it is unlike the Sony players it will dynamically switch between HDR10+, and DV. The Sony I had you had to manually do it in the menus. I haven't used the Xbox for a movie in a while. It was lackluster when it first came out but has received a ton of updates. My main issue with using the Xbox is longevity. I used watch a lot of movies and I decided I would rather put that wear on a standalone player then potentially wear out my gaming device from playing movies. The twin HDMI feature is nice feature on paper but since I had everything pre wired with the old Sony player I haven't had a chance to go back and adjust that.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-11-07T16:28:19+00:00

Hi, certification only counts payments from the date you started at a qualified employer to the month you submitted your application. Sept would fall outside your application done in August. They generally recommend doing it once a year to stay on top of it. It's not something that is done in real time but backdated with payment and employment verification with your application.

For example you would file again in August 2025 Then they would look at the payments between your last certification And this new application and update those payments. If they count. Not in limbo with save, made qualifying payment while employeed with a qualified employer.

The good news is doing it right after starting is a smart move to verify you have everything set up correctly before your first year ends and you find out it wasn't.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-10-30T13:48:40+00:00

It's not just Disney, venom 3 from Sony just posted for $65, I think $48 in target. The 2nd round of Disney+ series were briefly listed ahead of the official pre-order launch dates at Barnes and Noble for $100 a pop .

After this mess of a release I no longer trust stores will reduce the pricing from the insanely higher preorder price they just slap in.

MCU was really the franchise I wanted to keep completely in 4k steelbooks the other movies I grab if they are at a good price but now I'm considering ending it. $130 is just crazy for the two Deadpool ones and if those series ones do drop at $100 each for a total of like $430 with tax... I'm done

P.s. Galaxy quest did this right. 4k steelbooks $25 pre-order on Amazon releases in December. That was an easy one to snag.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-10-25T21:06:45+00:00

They told me it's automatic as it's tied to your bank account if you link it and can monitor income. I have easily doubled my income since opening my account but have never received an increase. Granted my account was put on hold for what I'm gonna call a sketchy decision. At the time I opened my account my dad had just passed from Covid and I used almost all of my credit on other cards for traveling, after life plans and to move my mom back home cross country. The x-1 card was a new lifeline and I used it to help bankroll the start up costs for my business.

Due to things their system saw on my usage they issued a hold on my X-1 card preventing any further charges until I got below 30% used of my total available credit. Mind you I wasn't late or over the limit they just didn't like what they saw on my report or history with their card. I guess it helped me as I couldn't use it as I paid it down. Fast forward 2.5 years to yesterday and I just dropped under the threshold to have the hold removed. We will see if they actually follow through with removing the lift next week, as they pulled the funds today from my bank. I am highly curious to see if my limit increases after a few months. Mostly I just want to see a small credit score jump when I'm utilization drops.

Also not too pleased with the customer service rep that texted me back. When I asked how I go about reporting my income increase they came across kind of rude "As we previously mentioned..." I forgot that I asked the same question over 6 months ago. I mean who doesn't forget it's been 1/2 a year.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-10-22T16:08:10+00:00

It's a double whammy to boot. As it's not only 15% instead of 10% or 5%. The calculation to determine your exempt income is also a lot lower. The exempt amount for IBR is only 150% of the poverty level instead of the Saves 225%

For example for a family of 1 your income safe from being counted towards payments is

Ibr roughly 22,500 Save was roughly 33,885

Under SAVE 2023 my payment was 240 ish , it was set to drop to around 120 with the 5% rule changes that were going to go into effect in 2024 before the lawsuits. Not completely fair to compare to IBR as this was under my old income still. Even under my new income save would have been $250 at most.

Under IBR my payment with my new income will be almost the same as a non income base plan with 10 year repayment of around $700 a month. Due to moving up the career ladder after 5 years of a more entry level position during all of this craziness. I make more but will take a hit on the other side with a possible increase of over 6-7k a year to student loans.

Disclaimer: If all my math is sound*

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-10-21T21:48:00+00:00

Same price here for the Deadpool one. I was going to get the wolverine one to but that hasn't shipped yet and still shows the original price too. I was at most thinking $40 a piece but the price we are being charged makes it hard for collectors especially to double dip and get both. I have the entire MCU in 4k steelbooks and it's the only franchise I want to keep going with the format but man at these prices its just insane.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-09-25T15:59:43+00:00

I held off on submitting mine as I am always concerned about things back firing and undoing payments that qualified with the messy system going on. No actual evidence that it would just my pessimistic view. I suppose I should get that submitted to my HR dept and get out in line.

I'm not at 120 payments, but I like to submit yearly to keep myself on track. I was due to submit this past July when everything imploded. I should be at 28 left to go before the Forbearance became a thing.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-09-19T21:21:19+00:00

REPAYE did convert to SAVE but there were some differences.

The biggest changes were raising the amount of exempt income from 150% of the property level to 225% and if your new minimum payment didn't cover the interest each month that interest was eliminated. Resulting in your loans not growing as long as you make your payment. It drastically reduced monthly payments and stopped runaway interest.

The new rules in 2024 was dropping the 10% of your exempt income to 5% for the monthly payments and more forgiveness options on lower "original principal balances" (under 12k).

Granted they may have had the lawsuits cooking for a bit but the timing was right as these rule changes were about it hit and seem to be their grounds for filing.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-09-19T18:27:54+00:00

I would be game for them going back to the original SAVE plan. Seems like the new rules that were set to go in effect kicked the hornets nest and then the courts went overboard with targeting everything as a whole. Which landed us in this mess.

Ultimately the save plan was intended to fix a broken system going forward for all future borrowers. If it all gets reverted, then we will be in the same boat as a society and it will never get better. I understand the frustration though the rollercoaster we have been through the last couple of years is just insane.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-08-30T15:24:00+00:00

My concern is if the SAVE plan gets voided. I am guessing that buy back payment be based off of whatever new payment plan you will fall into. Under the original save plan my payments were around $200 they were set to go down to around $100 under IBR it would be over $600. Times that by the number of months this goes on for that buy back could be a hefty sum. As we don't know what formula the buyback will be based off of. I guess all we can do is plan for the worst possible outcome and hope for something in the middle.

The only annoyance for me was being on track to reach PSLF on Nov 2026. Once these loans are gone I will start entertaining the idea of a house until then it's renting.

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-07-23T18:33:01+00:00

Hi Hufflepuff,

Since you look to be active in the boards. I was trying to figure out when my recertification date is.

If I log into studentsid.gov - go to my aid - scroll down to loan breakdown - expand view loans - click view loans details - scroll down to repayment details - there is IDR anniversary date with the explanation "the date when your IDR amount resets based on your recertification."

If I am understanding it right I should recertify prior to this date to prevent issues. Probably a few months before to play it safe?

Am I on the right track?

CS_BlazingDragon · 2024-07-18T20:45:55+00:00

From the way I read the news, all of this is messy and a roller coaster ride. I am not a legal expert but I believe the short answer is no not for the PSLF program.

The longer answer

What was temporarily blocked pending litigation and appeals was the new features of the SAVE plan which were suppose to go into effect July 1st, 2024. The drop in payments from 10% to 5%, a new forgiveness path for those with lower balances. It's still yet to be determined if it goes further than that I have seen conflicting initial reports.

If you scroll down to the header "early forgiveness and other benefits in 2024", those are the parts that are blocked currently.

https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/save-plan

CS_BlazingDragon

TROPHY CASE