North Star Financial Coaching

04/06/2024

💕Eeek! Super exciting news! I was accepted to the Neurodiversity Entrepreneurship Program at Innovation DuPage with a $4,000 business grant to help build my peer support business (helping support people with disabilities and mental health conditions). This year i’ve already received my EIN , launched my website and i’m starting to build partnerships. 💕 Neurodivergent Galaxy

09/07/2023

If you have a child with a disability, have a disability yourself, or are a sibling of a person with a disability I highly highly recommend this FREE, grant funded program from the Illinois Council on developmental disabilities.

I learned more than I did in my college disability education classes. It’s incredibly useful info on how to navigate IEP’s, housing, PUNs list, work environments, and so much more. Plus I made some amazing connections with parents and advocates who get it. Totally life changing information for my family. There was so much information I didn’t know, that I didn’t know. Feel free to PM me with questions.

https://www.illinois.gov/services/service.icdd-training.html

12/09/2022

Take intentional time today to invest in yourself.

11/06/2022

10/28/2022

If you waited till today to buy IBonds it’s turned into a black friday deal… Treasury Direct has been crashing all week. Today is the last day to lock in the current 9.62% rate.

May the odds be ever in your favor…

“Any bonds issued before October 31 will yield 9.62%, but Treasury has said that people should order by October 28 to allow for the several days it typically takes to issue a bond, which is sparking the rush on the Treasury Direct website.”

What’s the hype? I Bond Rates Prediction for November 2022 is 6.48%.

Government agency doubled server capacity to handle an influx of orders, but some slowdowns are still occurring.

10/17/2022

The application is open and only took me 5 minutes!

What Is Federal Student Loan Debt Relief?

It’s a program that provides eligible borrowers with full or partial discharge of loans up to $20,000 to Federal Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 to non-Pell Grant recipients.

Who Qualifies?
Individuals who made less than $125,000 in 2021 or 2020

Families that made less than $250,000 in 2021 or 2020

If you filed federal taxes, your income requirements are based on your adjusted gross income (AGI), which tends to be lower than your total income. Your AGI can be found on line 11 of the IRS Form 1040.

How It Works
Apply today (but no later than Dec. 31, 2023). We’ll determine your eligibility and will contact you if we need more information. Your loan servicer will notify you when your relief has been processed.

09/18/2022

Latest student loan updates!

Student Loan Forgiveness Details Explained: https://youtu.be/jxT45QQTdtMThe best way to support our channel is to share this video on your social media to sp...

09/14/2022

Did you make a federal student loan payment during the covid-19? Call your lender and simply ask for it back - restrictions apply. It may even be automatically refunded for qualifying loans.

Experts are suggesting you do this before the October forgiveness application comes out to ensure you get the full amount forgiven up to $10,000.

For example: You currently owe $5,000 but you made $500 in payments during the Covid-19 payment freeze. Call and ask your current lender for the $500 to be refunded (typically takes 3-6 weeks to process) then when you apply for forgiveness in October the full $5,500 will be forgiven!

Following President Biden’s historic student debt cancellation announcement, the U.S. Department of Education quietly revealed this week that borrowers who are eligible for debt cancellation and made student loan payments on their loans during the COVID-19 payment pause will automatically receive ...

09/08/2022

Did you get a postcard ?

Step 1. Set up an account. Go to mytax.illinois.gov and scroll down to the individuals box. Then request a letter ID that takes around 10 days in the mail.

Step 2. Go back to tax.illinois.gov/rebates and submit for the rebate (if you are qualified).

08/24/2022

Watch for more info !

Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I know if I am eligible for debt cancellation?

To be eligible, your annual income must have fallen below $125,000 (for individuals) or $250,000 (for married couples or heads of households)
If you received a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation.
If you did not receive a Pell Grant in college and meet the income threshold, you will be eligible for up to $10,000 in debt cancellation.
What does the “up to” in “up to $20,000” or “up to $10,000” mean?

Your relief is capped at the amount of your outstanding debt.
For example: If you are eligible for $20,000 in debt relief, but have a balance of $15,000 remaining, you will only receive $15,000 in relief.
What do I need to do in order to receive loan forgiveness?

Nearly 8 million borrowers may be eligible to receive relief automatically because relevant income data is already available to the U.S. Department of Education.
If the U.S. Department of Education doesn't have your income data - or if you don't know if the U.S. Department of Education has your income data, the Administration will launch a simple application in the coming weeks.
The application will be available before the pause on federal student loan repayments ends on December 31st.
If you would like to be notified by the U.S. Department of Education when the application is open, please sign up at the Department of Education subscription page.

https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/?fbclid=IwAR06pf4yji3SSH5Yv1a19lyanYeszL2_lJOVGtO9QNFaszGDJotisXC8o_o

New one-time student loan cancellation to be granted based on income; and student loan payment pause extended through Dec. 31, 2022

01/27/2022

Don’t get sucked in to the rate hikes at turbo tax or H&R block … this is actually free for all filing statuses.

FreeTaxUSA.com

No charge for federal and least expensive for state income tax return.

Federal tax filing is free for everyone.