December 10, 2025 • 32 mins
Dr. Sonia Lewis: RAP Plan, Reclassified Degrees & How Student Loans Hit Your Credit
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Angela Ye for our wealth Wednesday. I'm here with Stacy Tisday.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Happy Wealth Wednesdays, everybody, and we are going to talk
about something today that is near and not so dear
to all of us, and that is student loan debt.
And we are so very happy to have doctor Sonya Lewis,
who is a CEO and founder of the Student Loan.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Doctor what you'll hear all about.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
But let's just jump right in the government canceled the
Save plan and what is that going to mean for people?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Officially canceled as of this Tuesday, right, So this is
exciting because a lot of people were in limbo in
terms of what to do. Now there's no more limbo.
You now know that this administration is just not playing there,
not for an easy repayment. Let's go and make some decisions.
(00:53):
So when I say exciting, I literally been telling my
community for over a year, please do not get comfortable here.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
This is a trap.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Your interest is dropping one hundred points and now to
see it in black and white, I'm like, this.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Is what we were preparing for.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So people thought they didn't have to make a plan
or a repayment plan anything for like until twenty twenty eight.
Now we know they have to start in like the
next two months.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I saw the Secretary of Education said, for four years,
the Biden administration so to unlawfully shift student loan debts
onto American taxpayers, many of whom either never took out
a loan to finance their post secondary education or never
even went to college themselves, simply for a political win
to prop up a feeling administration.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
That's their reason.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah, and they're saying this is going to affect over
seven million borrowers.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Oh, it's big.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So the thing is, nothing's illegal about what the Biden
administration was proposing with the SAVE Plan. Every administration can
create or change repayment plans, and so the SAVE Plan
is just not favorable to people because a lot of
the loan forgiveness aspect would fall on the American people,
and people felt like, well, if I don't have a
student loan, why is our money's going towards this? But
(02:06):
this is bigger than one person getting loan forgiveness is
really it is to really help an economy that's burdened.
One point seven trillion dollars are burden. People need help,
and so this Safe Plan was to help people out,
and our money goes to a lot of stuff that
I would ride exactly, student loan forgiveness, then some of
the other things.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And like you were saying, those people could be so
much more productive for the economy if they weren't burden
with us.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Home ownership is on the line here. You know, the
reason why we see certain people leave or or graduate
to a new economic class is because they don't have
student loans and now with no plan out, necessarily they're
not moving to the next class. And these are people
that have high degrees, high titles. They can't go to
(02:52):
the next level because of this debt. Yeah, imagine you
go to college and you're like, Okay, I'm gonna go
to law school and medical school, you know, graduate with
school and that is all really expensive.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Like oh, beyond it.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I mean, so the average person we serve has six
figure that like, we get people forgiven all the time
with three thousand, four hundred thousand just last month, nine
hundred and ninety seven thousand. There's people walking around that
look like you and I that have nine hundred thousand
dollars in student loans. That's why you don't know when
you look at a person how much they owe. Well,
doctor Sonya is so important that you're here today because
(03:27):
we want to talk about what should what should somebody
do now?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Because this news just broke. Yeah, this is major.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So all right, So if you're listening to the show
good News, there's hope. So, but you do need to
be aware that the Trump administration is proposing something called
the rap Plan Repayment Assistance Plan. It looks really pretty,
it looks like the safe Plan, but it's really bad.
And so if you want to read further in the article,
they're like literally pushing this plan on people. They're like
(03:54):
going to it now. So the problem with that plan
is that because people don't read the fine print, but
they've got the cliff notes, if they were to sign
up for that plan, it changes their loan forgiveness from
twenty years minus like being in any public service. And
oh a lot of people don't know that when you
make a certain amount of payment cerain amount of years,
you get your loans forgiven. So in this case, right,
(04:15):
people don't know that it would go from twenty years
to thirty.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Do you have twenty years that they're changing it to
thirty with.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
The new plan that everybody's going to run to because
it's more affordable, right, because you have less payments every month.
But it's just but now do you have ten more years?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Not? Nobody has that. That's like a mortgage.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
So we're like screaming from our platform, like the RAP
is not a good plan. You know, it would be
better to pay like a fifty dollars extra payment and
the IBr plan in come base for payment versus going
into the RAP plan. But when people don't know better,
way they're going to choose you. You would choose the cheaper.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
One, like YP the ones that's less money out of
my house.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, the minimum payment is going to be ten dollars.
So when somebody sees ten dollars versus one hundred, let's
just say, what would you choose?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Ten domes? Right? But do you have ten more years? Right?
Ten dollars?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
It's like mortgage in your future. Yeah, everybody take a
deep breath. And I know the Teamwealth wednesdays dot com.
We have a free tool that will help you figure
out what to do next on your student loans. It's
at Teamwealth wednesdays dot com. Doctor Sonya is gonna give
us some more tips on how you can work with her.
But all of this comes on the heels of a
crazy reclassification of professional degrees. Oh tell us about that.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
That's another When I tell you I stay busy, I
can't take it take a day off, all right?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
No, truly.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
So the reclassification of degrees, people are in an uproar
because it sounds really like huge. But it is in
the financial a sense, not taking away that you're a
professional nurse.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
I want to put that out there.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So from a financial aid perspective, they are now saying, hey,
we're not going to give you this amount of money
or you're not going to have this amount of time
for repayment if you study these following degrees. The problem
with that is who do these degrees mostly effect. Well,
when you look at it, it affects women, it affects
African Americans, and it really affects people from all over
that are from underserved populations.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Before you get into that more, let's break down a
little bit more what they did.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So there were.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Degrees, yes, and you could get student loan assistance for
them to get like a nursing degree, and there were
several other degrees. But now the administration has reclassified those
as non professional.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Masters in nursing, Masters in Education NBA. How many people
do we know the NBA right, All of that is
like off the table in terms of giving a good
amount of financial weight. The problem with this is that
when we encounter students like today, we would meet an
eighteen year old like, what do you want to be
when you grow up?
Speaker 3 (06:50):
I want to be a nurse. Amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
We had to say, hey, Sarah, did you know that
you can only go to this point with financial weight?
Do you have an extra fifty six thousand around Because
now we're telling people they can only go to a
certain level in these fields with financial ad That's a
big deal because a lot of people aren't aware. They're
probably in the middle of their program. Because imagine you're
(07:12):
in the middle of your program and then first it's done, and.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
That's a department of education that's gutting that out.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Yeah, okay, So the problem is and just because I
really love statistics and data, what they could have done
better was they could have shared the default rate and said, hey,
people in these fields default more. Hey, people in these
fields have a harder time pay. Hey, if you go
into this field making eighty thousand a year you borrow
(07:40):
two hundred thousand, is it a good returnal investment? But
a lot of times the borrowing doesn't correlate with the
reternal investment. That's why they didn't publish the data because
remember what I just said. So if women and minorities
who needs the most support to go for these graduate programs,
what are they taking out extra money?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Refunds? Check? This is what they call them back in
the day.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
To pay for their living while they're in school. Now
someone's going to have to go to school part time,
be there longer because they can't focus.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
On just work. Yeah. And I'm not trying to be funny.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
The person that I want to be a nurse or
a doctor, I don't need her working while in school.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I need her focused in school.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Exactly because you know, I have longer to graduate. You
have to work and take your classes when you can.
You know, doctor Sonya, this is all like, first of all,
you're so passionate about it. Oh, it's been your experience,
because I know that's where this stems from. Yeah, okay,
so let's just go back. I know that it looks
super youngest.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
To the overdraft cloud.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
So this started because I used to work in higher education,
and I had a perspective of adult learners.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I was enrollment and financial.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Way, and I would just say like I just used
to feel passionate, like I just got to make sure
Angelae news before she leaves what this looks like, because
she's an adult already. I was working with and I
wanted her to borrow wisely be able to for her mortgage,
like did you see picture? And then from a doctoral level,
I studied this as well, how STU loons affect African
American women. So I say all that to say I
am passionate about it because I am an African American
(09:09):
woman who has student loan.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Dad well had been paying it off right.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
And I said, nobody's talking about this. This is the
thing that is like the silent financial killer. And the
problem with that is, no matter how much I compete
with my peers, I used to see this. And when
I used to work in the workforce, let's save me
and you worked same place, made the same salary. I
(09:33):
found out that you had support with college, You're financially
ahead of me, you live in a different zip code,
you drive a better car. I'm over here with beans
and rice at the same job.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
What is it African Americans like twenty years after fifteen
or twenty years after graduating, their levels are higher.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Well, the problem is interest.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
This is a little baby loan when it starts off,
but then the interest and it's even I think that's
illegal house the interests of cruise on a student loan
before anything. And you know, I want to say, even
aside from all of that, the financial burden of these
student loans. Think about like internships, how important that is
in college and a lot of times we may want
(10:14):
to do an internship somewhere or get our foot in
the door somewhere. But if we can't afford to get
housing in a different city and also not make like
a certain salary, then.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That's off the table for us too.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Well, I think the thing is where it really showed
up for me at what's homeownership? So do you know
how many people come to us because we're in the
middle of their home purchase literally and we can't do
anything in the middle.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We can help you.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Before if you're going to buy a home, they're looking
at everything you have to your name. The student loan
looks like you already have a mortgage, So why would they.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Give you another one?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Oh, and please don't have the fault it on your
student loans. Now you look like you're going to do
what the fault on your federal mortgage? And then people
don't know this that and I'll tell you so this
never happens to you. This happened to one of my
good friends. He defaulted on a student loan. He came
from me to me for help after he lost his
ability to get federal clearances moving forward.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
He cannot have a.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Job that requires a federal security clarity because it looks
like you do what you're not a responsible citizen.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
That's crazy. I thought that was wild.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Now it was one thing I always say because when
I have my student loans, I kept having to defer them.
But you have to do that, Like you can't just
default or not do anything. Yeah, that's wild to be
ignoring loans.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Yeah, you can't because you know some people.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I think also, there was so much confusion around student loans.
Some people were like, I'm just not going to because
they you know, I'm hoping that this is going to
have your caids.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
It's a hope spring on student loans. And it was
like half forty percent of people with student loans weren't
doing anything about them.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
It was absolutely no.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I know I would have gotten so complicated.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
The whole thing is just okay. I would love for
you to sit in on a class that I do.
I do it every Monday night. It's free, we're together
for two hours. I have my little coffee prior to
and you know what we do. We log in a
student a dot gov.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
We're logging in and you're on your screen. I'm on
my screen. Sometimes we get a volunteer and I'm just
literally walking through the portal. And then while I'm doing that,
I'm teaching and educating on what they can get in
terms of forgiveness for payment. But then I do a question,
when's the last time you logged in?
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Three years? Never six years? Nobody ever logged in last month?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Like you can pull the data from my zoom and
we have hundreds of people on there, sometimes thousands and
they've never logged in. Or it's a fear factor. What
am I gonna find when I go in here? So
what I had to tell people in my community is
we have to log in right now because this tax
season they're taking tax returns so if you log in
and see default, well what's today?
Speaker 3 (12:51):
We're right?
Speaker 1 (12:52):
No, remember, right, so you can get some December. See
I'm still gonna let you wrong.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Well all right, I mean I'm not.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You will get your return taken if you go to
file it in next month.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
You know, we got plans for our returns. The plans
is going right over to the Department Education. And guess what.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
That money never even gets to your student loans that
you owe. It goes to the interest in the fees
of the collection agency. What's how for thing with student
loans and credit reporting? Now, all right, so a couple
of things. Well, we're seeing a couple of things. The
Save plan is really dropping people's credit by one hundred points.
So if you're listening and you're like, oh my god,
that's why my credit drop is because they have people
(13:33):
in this forever Forbearan's plan until recent and people were
actually like a couple lawsuits spending we were talking about,
because the lenders are not letting people out if they
were in the Save Plan. You literally have to pull
teeth to get out of the plan. If not, your
credit is dropping as a result of it. Yeah, I say,
you saying that there were some lawsuits. Yeah, that happens
(13:54):
now ne Navia and Mohelia. So Navian already got approved
through the CFP Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for one hundred
and twenty million.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
But that is not a big number.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
I want everybody to know that that's not a big
one hundred and twenty million is not an relative to
how many people Navian has served.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
But this is what they did. Angelus is crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
If you were a client and Navian and they knew
that they were the lawsuit was going to go through.
One day, you woke up and now you had Advantage
and you're like, oh my god, I never I don't
even know how to log in. I don't have them.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Yes, you do.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
They off boarded and sold without telling people. You just
literally got a letter from Advantage a month later. So
if you're listening your ones like, oh my god, that's
why got switched. Yes, certain lenders and Mohelia's next on
the list have to off board quickly so that when
the judgment of this lawsuit goes through like it did
for Navient, they don't want to have that many people.
They have to notify the pay. Does that make sense yes,
(14:48):
So what we have been doing is telling people because
this came out through the CFPB, and I only report
and say things that I have actual proof on. They said, hey,
if you actually had Navian as a lender, please send
us a complaint to let us know because they're probably
gonna go back to court to revise the current lawsuit,
which hadn't been dispersed yet.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Wow. See, good things to know if you had no idea,
because you do have.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Some power you do, you have to say something. Nobody's
gonna knock on your door. And if this is a scam,
nobody's not gonna do to give you some money. So
be careful because right now that's at an all time high,
like oh click.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Here, do this. And then we've got like a lot
of trendy people.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Being influencers and like oh for just pay me ten
dollars and do I'm like, oh my god. Like, there
was this one thing that was flowing around on the internet.
It was driving me wild. Was about like filing some
FURPA complain. Did y'all hear about that one?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Oh lord? And I was like stop sending it to me.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I put a response video like please stop, because that's
not a way to get your loans.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Forgiven.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
What I'm concerned about, because these things are so crafty now,
is that people are looking.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
For shortcuts to get out of their loan debt.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
But yeah, well people just also are over it and
they're just trying anything that works for ten dollars, So
you just have to be careful. Why would this ten
dollars situation work?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
And you ow one.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Hundred thousand, like, let's just put a little math to it.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Yeah, and you're right.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
One of the first steps is to log in literally
with the student a dot gov.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Say let's start there.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And then people are finding when they log in some
of this is not correct, Like I have seen where
people have had.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Incorrect loans on their account.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Oh damn, I am not taking nobody else's yeah, because
nobody's checking, or you'll get a notice that you've gotten forgiven.
But the administration and do anything that's common too. So
then you got to send a complaint inside the student
a dot gov asking like, hey, can.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
We go ahead and wrap this up.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I have a letter here that says I was awarded
from the Biden administration. So then the Trump administration just
was told in court like release these funds. I call it,
because they were I make up because the Trump administration
was trying not to give the loan forgiveness that was
pre awarded to people that deserved it through the Biden administration.
(17:02):
So millions of people are held up over this, and
so they literally have to get this done within like
the next three months. They lost in court over that.
Good it's crazy. Wow, I'm not, but it was honestly
like divine that you came in today because I do
feel like with all of this news that just broke,
(17:22):
it's important for people to understand and like we said,
not just do nothing. Oh that's the worst thing you
could do. I mean, here's the thing. You you don't
want to lose a hundred credit points. It's like you
can't clean it up and get that back. You might
can get some of your points back, but one hundred,
y'all think.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
About the fight go score.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
It ain't that many hundreds to the fight gos seven hundred,
you know, eight hundred that greatest.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
So a whole hundred can take you back a tier, and.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Then you're going to affect your interest rates or even
your ability to.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Get a loan and get a job, to get a
job in.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Some situation, credit scores are not created equal. Something I've
learned from having bad credit to really good credit is
that you are still a minority with credit. I'm let
you know right now, I have had a seven seventy
and I was treated like I needed to give a
blood test to get approval for things, even with high
income with I said, y'all treating me like I still
(18:13):
got bad credit, like I almost snapped out one time.
And the thing is is because it goes why do
you have that?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
What's going on? How do you get that score? Or
when you have bad credit you can't get that.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I remember buying a buying car talking. I was looking
at buying a really nice car. So they ran everything
and they came out and they were like, you have
a really good credit score, son, And I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
You know what I found because I have brought all
type of nice cars. I really lived at Barbie Life
and Miami Head Lamborghini. It's crazy. I don't live like
that anymore on financial content, but everybody has ball that moment,
and if you're judging me in these comments, judge yourself.
So here's what I would tell people. When I went
to get that car, I literally had I know the strategy.
I befriended my dealership.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I let my.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Deviship know who they worked with prior that I know
before going to get the car, so that the dealership
could advocate for me on behalf of Lamborghini. That is
what I'm about to come and spend some money with you,
and I got to make sure that you're willing to
take my money.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
I went up there, and I can't make something. I
went up there three times.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Shout out to Bamborghini and Miami Florida. I went up
there three times and I just talked and just wanted
them to know me.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
And then I named Drop and I know that's so everything. Yeah, no,
I'm so serious. I courted the divership.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Do you know that they called those people that I
said I knew and asked for a character reference to
make sure that the credit score and the money matched
with And they also get really mad if you sell
the car like they want you to keep it. They
don't want people because people will buy those if they're
like in demand, hard to get and then resell it.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
I had Mines for three years.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
But what I will say is because I had a
good relationship with that team, they called me and said, hey,
you ready to let.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Them the yours go. I was like, well, where's she
gotta go yours? And I was like, I don't want
to I like her.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
He said no, he said, sell it to New York today.
He said, because right here in Florida is taking a
fifty k drop tomorrow like he was. I said, oh,
I said, do We got some friends in New York
and he helped me get it sold.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Say and I was spy.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Doctor Solia, what would you say to people who are like,
the investment in education isn't worth it?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
No, no, No, That's why I'm so concerned with all
of these reclassifications and changes and just the whole landscape
of suit loans. Like we still need teachers, we still
need nurses, we still need doctors. I don't know what
AI they thought it was going to do, but we
still need people to go to college.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Now, does everybody need to go to college? Angela?
Speaker 1 (20:49):
No, I think that what we're finding because we're now
having to look at the economy, we're having to look
on return on investment.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
I will be the first to tell you everybody.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Should not go to school because some people will be
saddled with without a way out right, But in these
cases that the especially some of the degrees that they're
trying to touch, I'm really concerned that now people are
not gonna want to go into those fields.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Who're gonna teach the kids? Who's going to help you
in terms of nursing, which is already a shortage in
the field.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I think this administration is so crazy. They're not thinking
through the long term. But I hate us. What about
the next administration? Though this is something they can come back.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
And everything is undoable. The problem is.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Before we can vote again for that two three lot
before we can vote, but then three more until So
that's not how many years of a gap in the
workforce workforce, because that's arias if we don't do things.
So here's what I will tell you. I'm really thinking
about this, angel, I'm not like smoking mirrors. I'm thinking
(21:54):
about how as even people like myself, like how can
we give and do more scholarships? How can we assist
with grants? Like how Because it's going to have to
be the collective community, it's going to have to step
up to fill the gap that this administration is taken away. Yeah,
and so I am doing scholarships by the way, Okay,
get to that. Yes, oh yeah, so I don't know
(22:15):
in this areas, but I'm excited that. But my high school,
my senior year, my mom was really sick and was
in a coma and we missed the financial a window.
That's also why I'm probably passionate about all this stuff.
I had to learn it at like eighteen, and my
principal was like, where are you going to college? And
I was like the class president, school president, I'm like nowhere.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
She's like you, what do you mean.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I was like, oh, we don't have the money. We
missed the financial way. I was like, you know, my
mom's lacoma and she was like no, So my school
gifted me sixteen thousand. So now listen, I'm a hustler,
Like I knew that when I got to school. I'm
here on this sixteen y'all don't know what other money's
coming from yet. So when I got there, I literally
got a full ride when I got there, but somebody
(22:57):
had some money. And I'm old school. I had to
knock on every door and ax, who has scholarship money?
Speaker 3 (23:02):
So you can't come to me?
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So somebody don't know about applause. Scholarshis girl.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
I had my money's alread knocked on every door, but
this was just at the institution. I was knocking on
the art department. I was gonna be art major. I
was knocking on I was gonna be that.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
But you said I needed to become a stay in college, right,
I'm from Philly and I wasn't going back home.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Sorry, y'all shout out to Philly.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
And but at the time it was so bad. It
was all this violence, and I was like, I gotta stay.
And I told everybody that would listening to my story.
So I did get a full ride as a result
of it. Now fast forward, I think back to this moment.
I'm in a position to give. I'm giving my high
school sixteen thousand oh next to me, so I'm really excited.
They don't know what's coming. It's a surprise to the seniors.
And I'm like, I just think that you should start
(23:42):
with local. I think you should start with who helped
you first, Like I have a helpless wishless of who
I want to support, which would be my high school,
my college, and my church.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
That's where my giving will be. And I tell you
paid your mama's mortgage on.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Oh, you gotta help your mama first. So let me
tell you true story. My mom is a very prideful woman.
She went to college, did all the right things. One
of her students got her sick with meningitis, one of
the first cases in the US, and she lost her
hearing and had to retire. So she's on her retirement
and her social security. But you know, cost of living
is going up, and her base is here, and she's
(24:16):
rarely really a pride for woman. So I always ask, like,
mommy need anything with just a little cash hap here
in here?
Speaker 3 (24:21):
But she had. She kept saying, no, I'm good, I'm good.
I'm like, oh no, like I did the math for
your math and good.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So one day I go to the house and I
see a red overdue notice for the mortgage and I'm like, no, no, no,
wait a minute, that's kes to be driving Lamborghini's on
in your arm. Mortgage is overdue. I'm like, now, oh,
this is this is ghetto. And I said, I said,
is this accurate my mom's death, by the way, now
is this accurate? It's just that And then you know
(24:49):
you gotta take a step back because she could snap
on you. I guess she's prideful anyway, she says. She
was like, I'm gonna be all right, I'm gonna figure
it out.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
And I'm like, what.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Money, you know? And then she's like she's like, she
was like, the Lord will provide. So I said, well,
I guess I'm provided.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
He's the Lord.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So I said, can I look because remember, you can't
like look at your mom goes, I don't know how
y'all was raised.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
But you can't be in a business like you was
abud to be in your mom business. I'm not supposed
to have got my hand cut off. Yeah, that's what
I said. Can I open it? You know because I
can see it? And she's like, actually, you ask her, right,
you asked her. I begged my mom to let me
see her credit and all of that. That's what I'm
I just signed on to do it. It was it
took me like months for her to allow me to.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Do because it's the thing people don't understand, like, I
don't know how y'all was raised, but you were just
not looking at your parents stuff. So right to pray,
Oh but my god, I got flashback, got hit, So
anyway to stay focused so I opened it and I
look and I'm like, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
So it was like twenty seven thousand or something, and
I'm like, I gotta do this. I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
I have a stash, but the stash is for like
the business stash and these other things. And I'm like,
but and I just remember I prayed on I'm like, God,
I'm like, this got to be the Mother's Day gift.
I'm like, and it will be done. And then all
I remember is that we had an influx in business.
I'm like, oh, this is the done the sick and
on Mother's Day, she thought I was giving her one
mortgage payment, right, That's why if you watched the video,
(26:12):
she and you can see she's deaf. She didn't understand
the numbers. Oh, she has an issue with numbers after
the stroke. So that's not like her being fake about
the numbers. She's really trying to comprehend, right. And I'm like,
and I said, no, what does this say? And she's
like twenty seven she said what this is? The watching
world out? I'm like in full and she like and
then it hit me, Please, ma'am, do not have a
(26:34):
heart attack. I'm not Aqui this because she started I
had to cut the video off. Started like and I said,
oh god, I said, I don't have Hella here. So
she got it together, I said, no, no, no, er no.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
What a great feeling. Though she got it together.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
We go to the bank and she's like crying and
like screaming in the bank and I'm like, crew, they
will arrest you. Stop hey, this second little comedy. And
the lady was like putting two and two together and
she's like, are you painting this off? And then the
lady behind the windows starts shouting and I'm like, oh
my god, we're the camera poo. But it wasn't really
for that. I think it's a good moment. I think
(27:15):
you should be a good giver if you are blessed
to do so. And I do think it starts at home. Yes,
and she needed it, Like this wasn't just a ball
out on my mom. Like I don't know what everybody
else got going on, as that's in the world of entrepreneurship.
But I know I needed to help her with that.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Did you know that she's nicer as a result honestly?
Financial stress? Oh gosh, I did?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I did?
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Did that started this business? I didn't did it first?
If I didn't know, she come to the door. Well,
she had some cookies. I'm confused, what's going on.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I didn't know you baked. I mean literally, it's like
signs when the house of some smile no mortgage, Like
I wish I had pictures of it. I'm like, I
have a fear. But I said, I'm concerned about her.
She said, no, this is just her. It's aid, smile,
no more eage in like a few rooms. And I said, Mom,
what is it? She was like, it's just it's nothing
(28:11):
that bad, right, And.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
You learned all this giving from your grandmother?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yes, yes, So my grandmother was the first to graduate
college in our family, which set this whole tone.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
So she was a one of seven out of South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
There's no financiate at the time, y'all, So I guess
you went to school in the fifties and her her
uncle said, you guys have to choose out of the
seven of you, who's going to be the one to
go to college because I only have enough save for one.
And they voted her. Wow, which really it does give me,
like you know, goosebumps. They changed the trajectory of our family.
So my grandmother is rule, and I'm not making this own.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
I say rule.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
You had to either go to college or military in
her home, or you you just not invited to. Like
she had a strong cutoff game, and I'm so bad
all out, but like she she was not going over
or being over back rooms for you. If you didn't
do one of the two. You had to have a
professional degree or military. I told her, And I was
(29:11):
the beloved grandchild. I told her I was gonna stop
school so I could work because I was making a
lot of money at Seers or something.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
I was like like two thousand. I was like nineteen.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
You know, every two weeks, you can't tell me not
a child. I had no bills and ILL sign her
some money and everything. And I told her and she said,
oh no, baby, she said, she said, my favor and
my home is only for those that are in school
or graduating after school.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
You go. So now I got to hang up and
call back the advisor and ex for my classes. Back
shoe story. So I'm glad she let me quit.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
And you've paid that forward. You've helped over fifty thousand people,
saved half a million dollars. Everybody out there wants to
know how they can work with you. How do people
do that?
Speaker 1 (29:52):
So Instagram is where we have the most fun. That's
why I put all the updates our website. Doctor please
help me dot com, but really don't pay us.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
Doctor's stop aga, please help me dot com.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Don't pay me. Don't pay anyone unless they can help you.
And for us, what does help look like? We teach
every Monday night and then we have a community that's
really just about education classes zooms out the yzoo, so
people would then roll into that. That's what payment would
look like. And it's really affordable. It's like a couple hundred.
We're not trying to rob anybody here. Like when we
got the guy forgiving nine hundred and ninety seven thousand,
(30:23):
he only paid us a couple hundred. He sent us
all this money for lunch.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Oh wow, he said, I don't know what to do.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
He said, I feel like I robbed you, and I said,
you didnied. I said, we're blessed and we have volume.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
You're good.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
He said, I don't feel good about only paying you
a couple hundred. Because he couldn't see his way out
of his student loan debt, he's a neurosurgeon.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Wow, yeah, he said, I'm up here saving lives. He said,
I don't know have time to this. I don't know
how to log in.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And so when we helped him work it through, we
had to clean up his loans and his two parent
plus loans and then help them get forgiven once.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
We cleaned it up. So it was like doing surgery.
I guess it's our version of surgery, right. I know
that donate for the scholarship fund.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Yes, so we are going to be starting a scholarship
because what my big wish, and it's actually easy for
me to do what I would like to do on
a bigger scale. I would like for people that are
connected to our trib or community to receive money towards
a student loan payment a month, Like I want to
be able to say, Angela, this month, we want to
pay your suit loans. We want to pay your's so manageable. Yeah,
and I think that we could do that as an
(31:23):
an organization right now. Not to be funny, I was
just waiting for people to actually get a repayment situation
set up. But after the news we just dropped. We
will be very busy y'all. Like, as I was just
saying in the break room, he walked in my faces
like I was like, this would happen right before.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Well I'm glad it did, though. I know how big
your reaches.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
You really helped us, and as far as breaking everything
down and the importance of us going on with this
administration and how it affects us the everyday person.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
So thank you for that. Thank you guys for this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
To go too far because you know we're having you
back on very soon.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Listen, we could be I'll fly in every time. This
stuff is going to be such a big part of
our world in twenty twenty six. Yes it is. I'm
not trying to be funny. I just didn't think they
were going to start this soon. This is aggressive. We're
not getting it those until July.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Okay, doctor Sonya Lewis aka the student loan doctor.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
Till soon. Thank you so much, Thank you, We appreciate you.
Angela Ye for our wealth Wednesday. I'm here with Stacy Tisday.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Happy Wealth Wednesdays, everybody, and we are going to talk
about something today that is near and not so dear
to all of us, and that is student loan debt.
And we are so very happy to have doctor Sonya Lewis,
who is a CEO and founder of the Student Loan.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Doctor what you'll hear all about.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
But let's just jump right in the government canceled the
Save plan and what is that going to mean for people?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Officially canceled as of this Tuesday, right, So this is
exciting because a lot of people were in limbo in
terms of what to do. Now there's no more limbo.
You now know that this administration is just not playing there,
not for an easy repayment. Let's go and make some decisions.
(00:53):
So when I say exciting, I literally been telling my
community for over a year, please do not get comfortable here.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
This is a trap.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Your interest is dropping one hundred points and now to
see it in black and white, I'm like, this.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Is what we were preparing for.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So people thought they didn't have to make a plan
or a repayment plan anything for like until twenty twenty eight.
Now we know they have to start in like the
next two months.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
I saw the Secretary of Education said, for four years,
the Biden administration so to unlawfully shift student loan debts
onto American taxpayers, many of whom either never took out
a loan to finance their post secondary education or never
even went to college themselves, simply for a political win
to prop up a feeling administration.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
That's their reason.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah, and they're saying this is going to affect over
seven million borrowers.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Oh, it's big.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So the thing is, nothing's illegal about what the Biden
administration was proposing with the SAVE Plan. Every administration can
create or change repayment plans, and so the SAVE Plan
is just not favorable to people because a lot of
the loan forgiveness aspect would fall on the American people,
and people felt like, well, if I don't have a
student loan, why is our money's going towards this? But
(02:06):
this is bigger than one person getting loan forgiveness is
really it is to really help an economy that's burdened.
One point seven trillion dollars are burden. People need help,
and so this Safe Plan was to help people out,
and our money goes to a lot of stuff that
I would ride exactly, student loan forgiveness, then some of
the other things.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
And like you were saying, those people could be so
much more productive for the economy if they weren't burden
with us.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Home ownership is on the line here. You know, the
reason why we see certain people leave or or graduate
to a new economic class is because they don't have
student loans and now with no plan out, necessarily they're
not moving to the next class. And these are people
that have high degrees, high titles. They can't go to
(02:52):
the next level because of this debt. Yeah, imagine you
go to college and you're like, Okay, I'm gonna go
to law school and medical school, you know, graduate with
school and that is all really expensive.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Like oh, beyond it.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I mean, so the average person we serve has six
figure that like, we get people forgiven all the time
with three thousand, four hundred thousand just last month, nine
hundred and ninety seven thousand. There's people walking around that
look like you and I that have nine hundred thousand
dollars in student loans. That's why you don't know when
you look at a person how much they owe. Well,
doctor Sonya is so important that you're here today because
(03:27):
we want to talk about what should what should somebody
do now?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Because this news just broke. Yeah, this is major.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So all right, So if you're listening to the show
good News, there's hope. So, but you do need to
be aware that the Trump administration is proposing something called
the rap Plan Repayment Assistance Plan. It looks really pretty,
it looks like the safe Plan, but it's really bad.
And so if you want to read further in the article,
they're like literally pushing this plan on people. They're like
(03:54):
going to it now. So the problem with that plan
is that because people don't read the fine print, but
they've got the cliff notes, if they were to sign
up for that plan, it changes their loan forgiveness from
twenty years minus like being in any public service. And
oh a lot of people don't know that when you
make a certain amount of payment cerain amount of years,
you get your loans forgiven. So in this case, right,
(04:15):
people don't know that it would go from twenty years
to thirty.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Do you have twenty years that they're changing it to
thirty with.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
The new plan that everybody's going to run to because
it's more affordable, right, because you have less payments every month.
But it's just but now do you have ten more years?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Not? Nobody has that. That's like a mortgage.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
So we're like screaming from our platform, like the RAP
is not a good plan. You know, it would be
better to pay like a fifty dollars extra payment and
the IBr plan in come base for payment versus going
into the RAP plan. But when people don't know better,
way they're going to choose you. You would choose the cheaper.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
One, like YP the ones that's less money out of
my house.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, the minimum payment is going to be ten dollars.
So when somebody sees ten dollars versus one hundred, let's
just say, what would you choose?
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Ten domes? Right? But do you have ten more years? Right?
Ten dollars?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
It's like mortgage in your future. Yeah, everybody take a
deep breath. And I know the Teamwealth wednesdays dot com.
We have a free tool that will help you figure
out what to do next on your student loans. It's
at Teamwealth wednesdays dot com. Doctor Sonya is gonna give
us some more tips on how you can work with her.
But all of this comes on the heels of a
crazy reclassification of professional degrees. Oh tell us about that.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
That's another When I tell you I stay busy, I
can't take it take a day off, all right?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
No, truly.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
So the reclassification of degrees, people are in an uproar
because it sounds really like huge. But it is in
the financial a sense, not taking away that you're a
professional nurse.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
I want to put that out there.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
So from a financial aid perspective, they are now saying, hey,
we're not going to give you this amount of money
or you're not going to have this amount of time
for repayment if you study these following degrees. The problem
with that is who do these degrees mostly effect. Well,
when you look at it, it affects women, it affects
African Americans, and it really affects people from all over
that are from underserved populations.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Before you get into that more, let's break down a
little bit more what they did.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So there were.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Degrees, yes, and you could get student loan assistance for
them to get like a nursing degree, and there were
several other degrees. But now the administration has reclassified those
as non professional.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Masters in nursing, Masters in Education NBA. How many people
do we know the NBA right, All of that is
like off the table in terms of giving a good
amount of financial weight. The problem with this is that
when we encounter students like today, we would meet an
eighteen year old like, what do you want to be
when you grow up?
Speaker 3 (06:50):
I want to be a nurse. Amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
We had to say, hey, Sarah, did you know that
you can only go to this point with financial weight?
Do you have an extra fifty six thousand around Because
now we're telling people they can only go to a
certain level in these fields with financial ad That's a
big deal because a lot of people aren't aware. They're
probably in the middle of their program. Because imagine you're
(07:12):
in the middle of your program and then first it's done, and.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
That's a department of education that's gutting that out.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Yeah, okay, So the problem is and just because I
really love statistics and data, what they could have done
better was they could have shared the default rate and said, hey,
people in these fields default more. Hey, people in these
fields have a harder time pay. Hey, if you go
into this field making eighty thousand a year you borrow
(07:40):
two hundred thousand, is it a good returnal investment? But
a lot of times the borrowing doesn't correlate with the
reternal investment. That's why they didn't publish the data because
remember what I just said. So if women and minorities
who needs the most support to go for these graduate programs,
what are they taking out extra money?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Refunds? Check? This is what they call them back in
the day.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
To pay for their living while they're in school. Now
someone's going to have to go to school part time,
be there longer because they can't focus.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
On just work. Yeah. And I'm not trying to be funny.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
The person that I want to be a nurse or
a doctor, I don't need her working while in school.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
I need her focused in school.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Exactly because you know, I have longer to graduate. You
have to work and take your classes when you can.
You know, doctor Sonya, this is all like, first of all,
you're so passionate about it. Oh, it's been your experience,
because I know that's where this stems from. Yeah, okay,
so let's just go back. I know that it looks
super youngest.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
To the overdraft cloud.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
So this started because I used to work in higher education,
and I had a perspective of adult learners.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
I was enrollment and financial.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Way, and I would just say like I just used
to feel passionate, like I just got to make sure
Angelae news before she leaves what this looks like, because
she's an adult already. I was working with and I
wanted her to borrow wisely be able to for her mortgage,
like did you see picture? And then from a doctoral level,
I studied this as well, how STU loons affect African
American women. So I say all that to say I
am passionate about it because I am an African American
(09:09):
woman who has student loan.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
Dad well had been paying it off right.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
And I said, nobody's talking about this. This is the
thing that is like the silent financial killer. And the
problem with that is, no matter how much I compete
with my peers, I used to see this. And when
I used to work in the workforce, let's save me
and you worked same place, made the same salary. I
(09:33):
found out that you had support with college, You're financially
ahead of me, you live in a different zip code,
you drive a better car. I'm over here with beans
and rice at the same job.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
What is it African Americans like twenty years after fifteen
or twenty years after graduating, their levels are higher.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Well, the problem is interest.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
This is a little baby loan when it starts off,
but then the interest and it's even I think that's
illegal house the interests of cruise on a student loan
before anything. And you know, I want to say, even
aside from all of that, the financial burden of these
student loans. Think about like internships, how important that is
in college and a lot of times we may want
(10:14):
to do an internship somewhere or get our foot in
the door somewhere. But if we can't afford to get
housing in a different city and also not make like
a certain salary, then.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
That's off the table for us too.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Well, I think the thing is where it really showed
up for me at what's homeownership? So do you know
how many people come to us because we're in the
middle of their home purchase literally and we can't do
anything in the middle.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We can help you.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Before if you're going to buy a home, they're looking
at everything you have to your name. The student loan
looks like you already have a mortgage, So why would they.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
Give you another one?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Oh, and please don't have the fault it on your
student loans. Now you look like you're going to do
what the fault on your federal mortgage? And then people
don't know this that and I'll tell you so this
never happens to you. This happened to one of my
good friends. He defaulted on a student loan. He came
from me to me for help after he lost his
ability to get federal clearances moving forward.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
He cannot have a.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
Job that requires a federal security clarity because it looks
like you do what you're not a responsible citizen.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
That's crazy. I thought that was wild.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Now it was one thing I always say because when
I have my student loans, I kept having to defer them.
But you have to do that, Like you can't just
default or not do anything. Yeah, that's wild to be
ignoring loans.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Yeah, you can't because you know some people.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I think also, there was so much confusion around student loans.
Some people were like, I'm just not going to because
they you know, I'm hoping that this is going to
have your caids.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
It's a hope spring on student loans. And it was
like half forty percent of people with student loans weren't
doing anything about them.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
It was absolutely no.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I know I would have gotten so complicated.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
The whole thing is just okay. I would love for
you to sit in on a class that I do.
I do it every Monday night. It's free, we're together
for two hours. I have my little coffee prior to
and you know what we do. We log in a
student a dot gov.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
We're logging in and you're on your screen. I'm on
my screen. Sometimes we get a volunteer and I'm just
literally walking through the portal. And then while I'm doing that,
I'm teaching and educating on what they can get in
terms of forgiveness for payment. But then I do a question,
when's the last time you logged in?
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Three years? Never six years? Nobody ever logged in last month?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Like you can pull the data from my zoom and
we have hundreds of people on there, sometimes thousands and
they've never logged in. Or it's a fear factor. What
am I gonna find when I go in here? So
what I had to tell people in my community is
we have to log in right now because this tax
season they're taking tax returns so if you log in
and see default, well what's today?
Speaker 3 (12:51):
We're right?
Speaker 1 (12:52):
No, remember, right, so you can get some December. See
I'm still gonna let you wrong.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Well all right, I mean I'm not.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You will get your return taken if you go to
file it in next month.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
You know, we got plans for our returns. The plans
is going right over to the Department Education. And guess what.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
That money never even gets to your student loans that
you owe. It goes to the interest in the fees
of the collection agency. What's how for thing with student
loans and credit reporting? Now, all right, so a couple
of things. Well, we're seeing a couple of things. The
Save plan is really dropping people's credit by one hundred points.
So if you're listening and you're like, oh my god,
that's why my credit drop is because they have people
(13:33):
in this forever Forbearan's plan until recent and people were
actually like a couple lawsuits spending we were talking about,
because the lenders are not letting people out if they
were in the Save Plan. You literally have to pull
teeth to get out of the plan. If not, your
credit is dropping as a result of it. Yeah, I say,
you saying that there were some lawsuits. Yeah, that happens
(13:54):
now ne Navia and Mohelia. So Navian already got approved
through the CFP Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for one hundred
and twenty million.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
But that is not a big number.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
I want everybody to know that that's not a big
one hundred and twenty million is not an relative to
how many people Navian has served.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
But this is what they did. Angelus is crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
If you were a client and Navian and they knew
that they were the lawsuit was going to go through.
One day, you woke up and now you had Advantage
and you're like, oh my god, I never I don't
even know how to log in. I don't have them.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Yes, you do.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
They off boarded and sold without telling people. You just
literally got a letter from Advantage a month later. So
if you're listening your ones like, oh my god, that's
why got switched. Yes, certain lenders and Mohelia's next on
the list have to off board quickly so that when
the judgment of this lawsuit goes through like it did
for Navient, they don't want to have that many people.
They have to notify the pay. Does that make sense yes,
(14:48):
So what we have been doing is telling people because
this came out through the CFPB, and I only report
and say things that I have actual proof on. They said, hey,
if you actually had Navian as a lender, please send
us a complaint to let us know because they're probably
gonna go back to court to revise the current lawsuit,
which hadn't been dispersed yet.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Wow. See, good things to know if you had no idea,
because you do have.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Some power you do, you have to say something. Nobody's
gonna knock on your door. And if this is a scam,
nobody's not gonna do to give you some money. So
be careful because right now that's at an all time high,
like oh click.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Here, do this. And then we've got like a lot
of trendy people.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Being influencers and like oh for just pay me ten
dollars and do I'm like, oh my god. Like, there
was this one thing that was flowing around on the internet.
It was driving me wild. Was about like filing some
FURPA complain. Did y'all hear about that one?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Oh lord? And I was like stop sending it to me.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I put a response video like please stop, because that's
not a way to get your loans.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Forgiven.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
What I'm concerned about, because these things are so crafty now,
is that people are looking.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
For shortcuts to get out of their loan debt.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
But yeah, well people just also are over it and
they're just trying anything that works for ten dollars, So
you just have to be careful. Why would this ten
dollars situation work?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
And you ow one.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Hundred thousand, like, let's just put a little math to it.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Yeah, and you're right.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
One of the first steps is to log in literally
with the student a dot gov.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Say let's start there.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And then people are finding when they log in some
of this is not correct, Like I have seen where
people have had.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Incorrect loans on their account.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Oh damn, I am not taking nobody else's yeah, because
nobody's checking, or you'll get a notice that you've gotten forgiven.
But the administration and do anything that's common too. So
then you got to send a complaint inside the student
a dot gov asking like, hey, can.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
We go ahead and wrap this up.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
I have a letter here that says I was awarded
from the Biden administration. So then the Trump administration just
was told in court like release these funds. I call it,
because they were I make up because the Trump administration
was trying not to give the loan forgiveness that was
pre awarded to people that deserved it through the Biden administration.
(17:02):
So millions of people are held up over this, and
so they literally have to get this done within like
the next three months. They lost in court over that.
Good it's crazy. Wow, I'm not, but it was honestly
like divine that you came in today because I do
feel like with all of this news that just broke,
(17:22):
it's important for people to understand and like we said,
not just do nothing. Oh that's the worst thing you
could do. I mean, here's the thing. You you don't
want to lose a hundred credit points. It's like you
can't clean it up and get that back. You might
can get some of your points back, but one hundred,
y'all think.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
About the fight go score.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
It ain't that many hundreds to the fight gos seven hundred,
you know, eight hundred that greatest.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
So a whole hundred can take you back a tier, and.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Then you're going to affect your interest rates or even
your ability to.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Get a loan and get a job, to get a
job in.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Some situation, credit scores are not created equal. Something I've
learned from having bad credit to really good credit is
that you are still a minority with credit. I'm let
you know right now, I have had a seven seventy
and I was treated like I needed to give a
blood test to get approval for things, even with high
income with I said, y'all treating me like I still
(18:13):
got bad credit, like I almost snapped out one time.
And the thing is is because it goes why do
you have that?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
What's going on? How do you get that score? Or
when you have bad credit you can't get that.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
I remember buying a buying car talking. I was looking
at buying a really nice car. So they ran everything
and they came out and they were like, you have
a really good credit score, son, And I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
You know what I found because I have brought all
type of nice cars. I really lived at Barbie Life
and Miami Head Lamborghini. It's crazy. I don't live like
that anymore on financial content, but everybody has ball that moment,
and if you're judging me in these comments, judge yourself.
So here's what I would tell people. When I went
to get that car, I literally had I know the strategy.
I befriended my dealership.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
I let my.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Deviship know who they worked with prior that I know
before going to get the car, so that the dealership
could advocate for me on behalf of Lamborghini. That is
what I'm about to come and spend some money with you,
and I got to make sure that you're willing to
take my money.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
I went up there, and I can't make something. I
went up there three times.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Shout out to Bamborghini and Miami Florida. I went up
there three times and I just talked and just wanted
them to know me.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
And then I named Drop and I know that's so everything. Yeah, no,
I'm so serious. I courted the divership.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Do you know that they called those people that I
said I knew and asked for a character reference to
make sure that the credit score and the money matched
with And they also get really mad if you sell
the car like they want you to keep it. They
don't want people because people will buy those if they're
like in demand, hard to get and then resell it.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
I had Mines for three years.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
But what I will say is because I had a
good relationship with that team, they called me and said, hey,
you ready to let.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Them the yours go. I was like, well, where's she
gotta go yours? And I was like, I don't want
to I like her.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
He said no, he said, sell it to New York today.
He said, because right here in Florida is taking a
fifty k drop tomorrow like he was. I said, oh,
I said, do We got some friends in New York
and he helped me get it sold.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Say and I was spy.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Doctor Solia, what would you say to people who are like,
the investment in education isn't worth it?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
No, no, No, That's why I'm so concerned with all
of these reclassifications and changes and just the whole landscape
of suit loans. Like we still need teachers, we still
need nurses, we still need doctors. I don't know what
AI they thought it was going to do, but we
still need people to go to college.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Now, does everybody need to go to college? Angela?
Speaker 1 (20:49):
No, I think that what we're finding because we're now
having to look at the economy, we're having to look
on return on investment.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
I will be the first to tell you everybody.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Should not go to school because some people will be
saddled with without a way out right, But in these
cases that the especially some of the degrees that they're
trying to touch, I'm really concerned that now people are
not gonna want to go into those fields.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Who're gonna teach the kids? Who's going to help you
in terms of nursing, which is already a shortage in
the field.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
I think this administration is so crazy. They're not thinking
through the long term. But I hate us. What about
the next administration? Though this is something they can come back.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
And everything is undoable. The problem is.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Before we can vote again for that two three lot
before we can vote, but then three more until So
that's not how many years of a gap in the
workforce workforce, because that's arias if we don't do things.
So here's what I will tell you. I'm really thinking
about this, angel, I'm not like smoking mirrors. I'm thinking
(21:54):
about how as even people like myself, like how can
we give and do more scholarships? How can we assist
with grants? Like how Because it's going to have to
be the collective community, it's going to have to step
up to fill the gap that this administration is taken away. Yeah,
and so I am doing scholarships by the way, Okay,
get to that. Yes, oh yeah, so I don't know
(22:15):
in this areas, but I'm excited that. But my high school,
my senior year, my mom was really sick and was
in a coma and we missed the financial a window.
That's also why I'm probably passionate about all this stuff.
I had to learn it at like eighteen, and my
principal was like, where are you going to college? And
I was like the class president, school president, I'm like nowhere.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
She's like you, what do you mean.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
I was like, oh, we don't have the money. We
missed the financial way. I was like, you know, my
mom's lacoma and she was like no, So my school
gifted me sixteen thousand. So now listen, I'm a hustler,
Like I knew that when I got to school. I'm
here on this sixteen y'all don't know what other money's
coming from yet. So when I got there, I literally
got a full ride when I got there, but somebody
(22:57):
had some money. And I'm old school. I had to
knock on every door and ax, who has scholarship money?
Speaker 3 (23:02):
So you can't come to me?
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So somebody don't know about applause. Scholarshis girl.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
I had my money's alread knocked on every door, but
this was just at the institution. I was knocking on
the art department. I was gonna be art major. I
was knocking on I was gonna be that.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
But you said I needed to become a stay in college, right,
I'm from Philly and I wasn't going back home.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Sorry, y'all shout out to Philly.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
And but at the time it was so bad. It
was all this violence, and I was like, I gotta stay.
And I told everybody that would listening to my story.
So I did get a full ride as a result
of it. Now fast forward, I think back to this moment.
I'm in a position to give. I'm giving my high
school sixteen thousand oh next to me, so I'm really excited.
They don't know what's coming. It's a surprise to the seniors.
And I'm like, I just think that you should start
(23:42):
with local. I think you should start with who helped
you first, Like I have a helpless wishless of who
I want to support, which would be my high school,
my college, and my church.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
That's where my giving will be. And I tell you
paid your mama's mortgage on.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Oh, you gotta help your mama first. So let me
tell you true story. My mom is a very prideful woman.
She went to college, did all the right things. One
of her students got her sick with meningitis, one of
the first cases in the US, and she lost her
hearing and had to retire. So she's on her retirement
and her social security. But you know, cost of living
is going up, and her base is here, and she's
(24:16):
rarely really a pride for woman. So I always ask, like,
mommy need anything with just a little cash hap here
in here?
Speaker 3 (24:21):
But she had. She kept saying, no, I'm good, I'm good.
I'm like, oh no, like I did the math for
your math and good.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So one day I go to the house and I
see a red overdue notice for the mortgage and I'm like, no, no, no,
wait a minute, that's kes to be driving Lamborghini's on
in your arm. Mortgage is overdue. I'm like, now, oh,
this is this is ghetto. And I said, I said,
is this accurate my mom's death, by the way, now
is this accurate? It's just that And then you know
(24:49):
you gotta take a step back because she could snap
on you. I guess she's prideful anyway, she says. She
was like, I'm gonna be all right, I'm gonna figure
it out.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
And I'm like, what.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Money, you know? And then she's like she's like, she
was like, the Lord will provide. So I said, well,
I guess I'm provided.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
He's the Lord.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
So I said, can I look because remember, you can't
like look at your mom goes, I don't know how
y'all was raised.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
But you can't be in a business like you was
abud to be in your mom business. I'm not supposed
to have got my hand cut off. Yeah, that's what
I said. Can I open it? You know because I
can see it? And she's like, actually, you ask her, right,
you asked her. I begged my mom to let me
see her credit and all of that. That's what I'm
I just signed on to do it. It was it
took me like months for her to allow me to.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Do because it's the thing people don't understand, like, I
don't know how y'all was raised, but you were just
not looking at your parents stuff. So right to pray,
Oh but my god, I got flashback, got hit, So
anyway to stay focused so I opened it and I
look and I'm like, okay.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
So it was like twenty seven thousand or something, and
I'm like, I gotta do this. I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
I have a stash, but the stash is for like
the business stash and these other things. And I'm like,
but and I just remember I prayed on I'm like, God,
I'm like, this got to be the Mother's Day gift.
I'm like, and it will be done. And then all
I remember is that we had an influx in business.
I'm like, oh, this is the done the sick and
on Mother's Day, she thought I was giving her one
mortgage payment, right, That's why if you watched the video,
(26:12):
she and you can see she's deaf. She didn't understand
the numbers. Oh, she has an issue with numbers after
the stroke. So that's not like her being fake about
the numbers. She's really trying to comprehend, right. And I'm like,
and I said, no, what does this say? And she's
like twenty seven she said what this is? The watching
world out? I'm like in full and she like and
then it hit me, Please, ma'am, do not have a
(26:34):
heart attack. I'm not Aqui this because she started I
had to cut the video off. Started like and I said,
oh god, I said, I don't have Hella here. So
she got it together, I said, no, no, no, er no.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
What a great feeling. Though she got it together.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
We go to the bank and she's like crying and
like screaming in the bank and I'm like, crew, they
will arrest you. Stop hey, this second little comedy. And
the lady was like putting two and two together and
she's like, are you painting this off? And then the
lady behind the windows starts shouting and I'm like, oh
my god, we're the camera poo. But it wasn't really
for that. I think it's a good moment. I think
(27:15):
you should be a good giver if you are blessed
to do so. And I do think it starts at home. Yes,
and she needed it, Like this wasn't just a ball
out on my mom. Like I don't know what everybody
else got going on, as that's in the world of entrepreneurship.
But I know I needed to help her with that.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Did you know that she's nicer as a result honestly?
Financial stress? Oh gosh, I did?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I did?
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Did that started this business? I didn't did it first?
If I didn't know, she come to the door. Well,
she had some cookies. I'm confused, what's going on.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I didn't know you baked. I mean literally, it's like
signs when the house of some smile no mortgage, Like
I wish I had pictures of it. I'm like, I
have a fear. But I said, I'm concerned about her.
She said, no, this is just her. It's aid, smile,
no more eage in like a few rooms. And I said, Mom,
what is it? She was like, it's just it's nothing
(28:11):
that bad, right, And.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
You learned all this giving from your grandmother?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yes, yes, So my grandmother was the first to graduate
college in our family, which set this whole tone.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
So she was a one of seven out of South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
There's no financiate at the time, y'all, So I guess
you went to school in the fifties and her her
uncle said, you guys have to choose out of the
seven of you, who's going to be the one to
go to college because I only have enough save for one.
And they voted her. Wow, which really it does give me,
like you know, goosebumps. They changed the trajectory of our family.
So my grandmother is rule, and I'm not making this own.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
I say rule.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
You had to either go to college or military in
her home, or you you just not invited to. Like
she had a strong cutoff game, and I'm so bad
all out, but like she she was not going over
or being over back rooms for you. If you didn't
do one of the two. You had to have a
professional degree or military. I told her, And I was
(29:11):
the beloved grandchild. I told her I was gonna stop
school so I could work because I was making a
lot of money at Seers or something.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
I was like like two thousand. I was like nineteen.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
You know, every two weeks, you can't tell me not
a child. I had no bills and ILL sign her
some money and everything. And I told her and she said,
oh no, baby, she said, she said, my favor and
my home is only for those that are in school
or graduating after school.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
You go. So now I got to hang up and
call back the advisor and ex for my classes. Back
shoe story. So I'm glad she let me quit.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
And you've paid that forward. You've helped over fifty thousand people,
saved half a million dollars. Everybody out there wants to
know how they can work with you. How do people
do that?
Speaker 1 (29:52):
So Instagram is where we have the most fun. That's
why I put all the updates our website. Doctor please
help me dot com, but really don't pay us.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
Doctor's stop aga, please help me dot com.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Don't pay me. Don't pay anyone unless they can help you.
And for us, what does help look like? We teach
every Monday night and then we have a community that's
really just about education classes zooms out the yzoo, so
people would then roll into that. That's what payment would
look like. And it's really affordable. It's like a couple hundred.
We're not trying to rob anybody here. Like when we
got the guy forgiving nine hundred and ninety seven thousand,
(30:23):
he only paid us a couple hundred. He sent us
all this money for lunch.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Oh wow, he said, I don't know what to do.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
He said, I feel like I robbed you, and I said,
you didnied. I said, we're blessed and we have volume.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
You're good.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
He said, I don't feel good about only paying you
a couple hundred. Because he couldn't see his way out
of his student loan debt, he's a neurosurgeon.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Wow, yeah, he said, I'm up here saving lives. He said,
I don't know have time to this. I don't know
how to log in.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
And so when we helped him work it through, we
had to clean up his loans and his two parent
plus loans and then help them get forgiven once.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
We cleaned it up. So it was like doing surgery.
I guess it's our version of surgery, right. I know
that donate for the scholarship fund.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Yes, so we are going to be starting a scholarship
because what my big wish, and it's actually easy for
me to do what I would like to do on
a bigger scale. I would like for people that are
connected to our trib or community to receive money towards
a student loan payment a month, Like I want to
be able to say, Angela, this month, we want to
pay your suit loans. We want to pay your's so manageable. Yeah,
and I think that we could do that as an
(31:23):
an organization right now. Not to be funny, I was
just waiting for people to actually get a repayment situation
set up. But after the news we just dropped. We
will be very busy y'all. Like, as I was just
saying in the break room, he walked in my faces
like I was like, this would happen right before.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Well I'm glad it did, though. I know how big
your reaches.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
You really helped us, and as far as breaking everything
down and the importance of us going on with this
administration and how it affects us the everyday person.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
So thank you for that. Thank you guys for this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
To go too far because you know we're having you
back on very soon.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Listen, we could be I'll fly in every time. This
stuff is going to be such a big part of
our world in twenty twenty six. Yes it is. I'm
not trying to be funny. I just didn't think they
were going to start this soon. This is aggressive. We're
not getting it those until July.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Okay, doctor Sonya Lewis aka the student loan doctor.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
Till soon. Thank you so much, Thank you, We appreciate you.
Way Up With Angela Yee News
Host
Angela Yee
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