6 The Hampton Roads Messenger Student loans FROM PAGE 1


going to buy and all the places I would travel. I am somewhat disciplined so I had already decided I would pay some money on my student loans. When I opened up my Nelnet account (dept. of education), to my surprise I had already accumulated over $300 in interest. I thought, I’ve only been out of school less than 2 months, how sway? Of course, I read over the student loan pamphlet and realized interest accrues daily (I’ll explain more on this later).


From that point, I decided I


needed to keep the interest low and make my payments on time. My father told me I should be aggressive and just pay them off, but my mother told me an emergency fund was far more important. Thus, I made the decision to pay the loans off in five years, 2021 being the projected year. Months went by and I was making two payments per month amounting to approximately 283% of the actual payment due. For example, if you owed $30,000 with an interest rate of 3.5% and a standard 10-year repayment plan 100% of the minimum payment per month would be $297.


(source: www.creditkarma.com/calculators/loan) This plan was working for me and


then summer came and the payments stopped for about two months. I thought I could take a break since technically my payments were not due for months. FYI, when


you make additional


payments to your student loans there is an option to not advance the due date, which I should have selected and I will state why that is the case in a bit. In August of 2016, I began making more payments and by the time October rolled around I noticed I had only paid a little over 10% of the $10,300 I owed. This is when I started closely analyzing the interest of my loan and why I was not really making a dent. I did so much research and finally decided I was NOT going to spend the next four and a half years paying the department of education a cent more than I had too!


As promised, I will explain how student loan interest works using the following key term: Compound interest.


Basically, is the interest


compound rate


interest divided up by


the total number of days in the year and then charged daily based on the outstanding balance that day. Using the same criteria mentioned above with a $30,000 outstanding balance, 3.5% interest, the interest divided by 365 days would amount to 0.00958% per day. This means the interest on $30,000


DO YOU NEED LIFE OR HEALTH INSURANCE?


would accumulate by $0.958 per day. In other words, interest on top of interest!


(source: studentloanhero.com/featured/how-student- loan-interest-works/)


Once I learned that compound interest was nothing I wanted to play with, I applied for a temporary 0% interest credit card to aid in my repayment of my loans. The credit card would allow me to complete a balance transfer, or transfer my student loan debt to the credit card to save on the


interest payments. This option


would have worked had I selected “do not advance due date” of my loans. The issue with the department of education is if your loans are NOT due you can only pay the balance with cash. So, it was on to plan B: create a unique budget.


My plan B was in fact UNIQUE. I lived frugally and I eliminated costs I did not realize I was utilizing. I discovered that if I stopped partying so much, going out to eat, going to see movies, traveling to every state possible, etc., etc., etc., I could free up some money. However, that was not enough; I had to go the extra mile. DISCLAIMER: What works for me may not work for you. I stopped saving money for my emergency fund and I transferred that money to my student loan payments. I asked my parents to continue to pay my car insurance, phone bill, and health insurance until I finished making all of my payments. I cut my cable off and I monitored my utility expenses. Some days I found myself at work later just to save on toilet paper and my electric bill. I also used all of my windfalls of money to help pay my bill instead of going shopping. Windfalls of money include: income tax returns, bonuses, stock gains, etc. I know all this may sound extreme, but I was on a mission and I would not stop until I reached the finish line.


Transition?


• I want to share some additional tips


that managed. • • Down size living arrangements


• Live with your parents the first year after college


Start paying while in college or grad school!


• DO NOT get a new car or an equal expense


I wish you the best in your


future planning and payments of your student loans. Be free!


I wish I could have RICHMOND – Governor Terry


McAuliffe today announced that Virginia has received a $9.76 million federal grant to help fight the opioid epidemic. Te one-year grant comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It will support prevention, treatment and recovery efforts in 18 Virginia communities. Te grant will be administered by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS).


“We have seen the horrible toll that


opioids have taken on our communities,” said Governor McAuliffe. “Virginia’s Medicaid program has done an excellent job of expanding the types of services it covers, but without Medicaid expansion, many individuals who could benefit from treatment are unable to afford it. Tese grant funds will help pay for the necessary medications as well as counseling and other support services that individuals need to successfully recover.”


Te grant money will be used to


purchase medication, support medical staff necessary to prescribe and oversee clinical treatment, and remove barriers to access, such as transportation.


Tese funds will also help provide


the counseling and case management necessary to help individuals with opioid addiction stabilize their lives and begin the process of recovery. Te project will strengthen and utilize existing local community coalitions that have formed across the Commonwealth to address this issue, building upon activities underway with Governor McAuliffe’s Executive Leadership Team on Opioid Abuse and Addiction.


In 2016, more than 1,100 Virginians


died from an opioid overdose, including prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl. Virginia emergency departments reported more than 10,000 visits for opioid and heroin overdose treatment, and EMS workers reported more than 4,000 uses of naloxone, an overdose-reversal drug.


“When it comes to fighting the


If so call Mrs. Cheryl Jones at 757-235-9580. She is a licensed agent and specializes in life/health/annuities. She is a broker and works for YIG insurance group and other major companies that offer term, whole life, final expense, burial, dental, vision, health and Obamacare. She has family and individual insurance packages with affordable rates for people between the ages of 0-85. (Some companies do not require a medical exam).


Mrs. Jones is waiting to hear from you at 757-235-9580 or email mrscpjones@gmail.com


opioid epidemic, every dollar counts,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel. “We know medication assisted treatment can help people recover from addiction, and this grant helps us provide that assistance to more Virginians.”


During the 2017 session, the General


Assembly offset $5 million in ongoing funds for medication assisted treatment and Project REVIVE! in anticipated


receipt of this federal grant. However, this grant funding is only available for one year and additional funds will need to be allocated if these efforts are to continue.


“Because the funds are only


guaranteed for one year, we wanted to use the money where it will have the greatest impact,” said Dr. Jack Barber, DBHDS Interim Commissioner.


“In


addition to supporting proven, commu- nity-based prevention practices, funds will help individuals access medications that are known to be effective in treating addiction.”


Grant funds will be used to fight the


opioid epidemic in the following ways: DBHDS will allocate $5 million of


the total grant funds to 18 locally run community services boards (CSBs), the organizations that are responsible for providing community-based behavioral health services. Tese funds are to be used to increase access to medication assisted treatment, which is a nationally recognized treatment for opioid addiction.


Te remaining $4.7 million of the


grant will be used in the following areas: o


Support opioid prevention


services in an additional 14 communities where data indicate emerging need,


o Increase access to naloxone, a


medication that reverses opioid overdose when administered quickly. Te DB- HDS-sponsored REVIVE! program has trained approximately 6,000


laypeople


in the provision of naloxone since 2014. While Naloxone is available through a standing order at any pharmacy in Virginia, it can be cost-prohibitive to some who need it. Grant funding will be used to help make naloxone available at reduced rate. Support the development of five pilot projects to provide assistance to individuals who are treated for opioid overdose in emergency rooms.


Te 18 CSBs who will develop


medication assisted treatment programs were selected as part of the grant application based on statistical measures of need. Amounts to each community are currently being determined, and will also be based on need such as overdose rates and other factors. Te 18 CSBs include:


• Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare – Roanoke, Virginia


• Chesterfield Community Services Board – Chesterfield, Virginia


• Cumberland Mountain • Danville-Pittsylvania


OPIOID CRISIS PAGE 13


Volume 11 Number 9


June 2017


Virginia Receives $9.7 Million Grant to Fight Opioid Crisis


Money to help provide medication and treatment


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16