Getting unstuck

Quick note on email response times

We’re pausing email responses today and Friday (January 29–30) while we close for internal training.

Emails sent during this time are received and queued—no one needs to resend, follow up, or escalate. We’ll begin responding again on Monday.

Outside of this planned pause, our standard is that you should hear back from us within one business day. We recently missed that standard, and that’s not acceptable to us. This temporary pause is intentional—it’s how we ensure messages are handled reliably and that expectation is met consistently going forward.

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“What have you yet to say that you’re still wrestling with?”

I asked Tamra that question in minute 27 of our 20-minute consultation.

By that point, we had already discussed the merits of leaving the SAVE plan now or staying put in forbearance until she’s eventually forced out of the program.

We walked through different paths: moving into Pay As You Earn first and later into Income-Based Repayment, or jumping straight into IBR.

We calculated the monthly payments under each option, mapped out when switches would need to happen, and what each path meant for taxes—married filing separately, married filing jointly, or using pay stubs or other income documentation—to make sure she landed at the lowest payment possible.

Still, something on her face told me we hadn’t reached the thing that was holding her back.

She paused—long enough that I knew I needed to step in. So I did, filling the space with what I thought the problem might be:

“Let me ask you this: Are you worried that by waiting—the option you seem to want—you’ll miss out on some benefit, miss a deadline, or that something unforeseen will derail your plan, put your family at risk, and leave you scrambling to recover?”

“That’s it,” Tamra replied. “There’s been so much these last few years—plans coming and going, forgiveness promised and pulled back, paperwork sent and never processed. Dates move, rules shift, then shift back. It all feels…unstable. And they’re asking me to make decisions that carry so much weight across my life. I’m just tired.”

I said: “Itisa lot. And it matters that we say that out loud. That we acknowledge we’ve been stuck in this toxic, abusive relationship with something that controls far too much of our lives.

“And just as important, we have to acknowledge what’s true today.

“What’s true is this: You have access to a monthly payment you can afford. You’re positioned to resume progress toward loan forgiveness. And you know me. So long as I’m on this earth and doing this work, you can reach out when doubt, worry, and the weight of it all start creeping back in. We’ll meet. We’ll talk.

And we’ll figure it out. How does that sound?”

Tamra and I ended our call shortly after. I watched her take a deep breath—the release that comes from having a plan, knowing you’re not missing anything, and knowing where to turn if things change.

I’m sharing Tamra’s story because many of you are wrestling with decisions that feel heavy enough to freeze you in place.

Or you know what to do, but you’re afraid to do it—because one wrong move feels like it could send everything into chaos.

And yet, our job is still to move forward.

Forward in life. Forward in relationships. Forward in love. Forward toward retirement.

Even when we’re carrying debt that feels permanent, the job doesn’t disappear. So we find a way.

For many of you, that means staying on an income-driven plan, resisting the urge to obsess over accruing interest, and continuing toward the forgiveness finish line. How many steps remain? Log in to StudentAid.gov, click this link, and check your qualifying payment counts under different plans.

For others, it may be time to shift into a payoff strategy.

And for some, the next step may be something else entirely. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.

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For those of you who’re looking for updates, here’s what matters right now.

The one remaining deadline I’m actively worried about is June 30, 2026.

This date mainly affects borrowers with Parent PLUS loans who have not yet consolidated.

If that’s you, your consolidation must be completed by June 30, 2026. To hit that safely, you should plan to start the process no later than the last week of February.

If you miss that deadline, the consequences are real and hard to undo:

• You lose all access to income-driven repayment going forward
• Your loans default to standard repayment, regardless of income
• Your payment becomes based on paying the balance plus interest in full, not what you can afford

In practical terms, that can mean the difference between paying $100 a month and $4,000 a month.

This is one of those situations where waiting feels easier—but waiting is what causes the damage. You can read more about consolidating Parent PLUS Loans here.

A few other things to be aware of:

1/ Another round of income-driven repayment forgiveness may be announced next month. We’re waiting on the next court update and should know more soon.

2/ There is still no formal, borrower-facing way to check progress toward income-driven repayment forgiveness. My team and I have built an informal process that involves submitting requests to multiple departments. It’s working—but it’s slow.

3/ Wage garnishment for Department-held defaulted loans is temporarily suspended and is expected to resume this summer. That said, borrowers with commercially held loans (ECMC, Ascendium, Trellis, and similar guarantors) may still face garnishment now. I’m meeting with borrowers dealing with garnishment threats today.

If you need to get out of default, we’ve updated our guidance. And in case you’re curious, we also added a new article about filing bankruptcy on federal student loans.

4/ There is still no update on joint spousal consolidation loans and when borrowers will receive credit under the one-time account adjustment. This remains unresolved, and it’s something we’re actively tracking and pressing on.

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I hope this email helps you move forward, get unstuck, or, even better, gives you a bit of peace. If you ever want one-on-one help applying this to your own situation, you can schedule a consultation here: https://www.tateesq.com/book-a-call