Does hearing the words "student loans" make you want to run?
College debt is something that deters many of us from continuing our education, especially when job security isn't always guaranteed. A recent report by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) found that black women have an average of $30,400 of debt by college graduation, compared to the $22,000 white women have at graduation day. Data like this is discouraging to those looking to continue their education. "Searching for loans, grants and scholarships can cause anxiety and frustration, while leaving you with feelings of giving up on your pursuit to continue your education," shared Marsha Barnes of The Finance Bar.
One resource that is making student loans less intimidating is The Life Currency's Sallie Mae Mafia. This website has an interactive digital course that includes checklists, worksheets, and videos to guide you in managing and mastering your student loans.
Shutterstock
As black women continue to be one of the most educated groups of Americans, we also need ways to fund our education. Marsha suggests the best way to do this is with the right planning. While black women accounted for 68 percent of associate's degrees, 66 percent of bachelor's degrees, 71 percent of master's degrees, and 65 percent of doctorate degrees between 2009 and 2010, those degrees were paid for with a plan. Whether it was from scholarships, student loans and other aid, these women found a way to fund their college.
"Student loans often receive a bad reputation for not being worth it or a waste of money. Timely planning leads us towards opportunities to search for free money, low interest loans, and even local scholarships that may be available in our communities," Marsha explains.
Here are some of her suggestions of programs to help you fund your college education:
American Assistance Program: Helps students explore their education and career opportunities. (https://www.asa.org/)
United Negro College Fund: Apply for scholarships, fellow opportunities, and internships. (https://www.uncf.org)
Cappex: College Search, College Reviews, College Scholarships - Great for comparing colleges by specifics that matter most to students, scholarships and even a quick resource on school rankings. (https://www.cappex.com/)
Fastweb: Leading online resource to find scholarships - Database of over 1.5 million scholarships. (https://www.fastweb.com)
CollegeScholarships.org: Allows students to search for scholarships by studies and demographics. (https://www.collegescholarships.org/grants/101-grants.htm)
Scholarships for Military Families:
(https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/scholarships-for-military.pdf)
My Fed Loans: Important content on student loan interest, understanding the student loan cycle, how to be a smart borrower and more. (https://myfedloan.org/borrowers/student-loans-101/)
Don't forget to check in with the places where you currently work or worship, according to Marsha, often times these places offer book scholarships or a percentage towards college tuition.
A degree is a stepping stone to becoming the professional you always dreamed of being, getting the promotion for a better salary, and achieving the specialization you need to climb the corporate ladder. Obtaining a student loan and paying off your debt should not deter you from reaching your goals. Always remember the resources you have and the tribe of people who are willing to help you along the way.
Featured image by Shutterstock
- Funding Your Education - Scholarships.com ›
- 5 Ways To Fund A College Education ›
- 4 ways to fund a 4-year college degree ›
- Walmart to help fund college degrees for associates | Retail Dive ›
- Free College Grants to Pay for Your Higher Education ›
- The Five Best College Savings Plans ›
- How To Choose the Best College Savings Plan | MONEY ›
- 7 Tips to Fund College With Scholarships | Scholarship Search ... ›
RELATED
Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak