The student loan is from my first year of college in 1983 and President Biden forgave most of it a few years ago. I called the Dept. of Education and they said it was completely paid off. However, in October, I got a notice I still owed $3,060 and contacted them to make a payment plan. They rejected my plan of paying $50-100 a month and demanded I pay $475 a month.

On December 26th, I spent 35 minutes on the phone with the Department of Education. I explained that although I have a decent salary, I don’t have the ability to pay $475. I had previously sent them a 10-page detail of my expenses and mentioned it again over the phone—mortgage, room in Seattle so I can keep my job, roof payment, food, utilities, commuting, etc. They gave me two options for repaying the amount due on my student loan. I’m not eligible for a consolidation, so I can either pay them the amount they want or pay off my loan within 90 days.

Going to college was the best thing I ever did—it changed my life in so many ways. The first year was difficult as I wasn’t able to apply for a Pell Grant since my father still claimed me as a dependent. My only option was to get a loan. I went on to be the first in my family to get a BA and went on to get an MA. I have always been able to get decent work and am solidly middle class, but these government demands are just too much. It’s not only difficult for me, but if it goes through, it will decimate the middle class.

I’ve decided to just ask for help from friends, family, and associates. It’s a little humbling, but if I could pay off this last little bit of loan, my little family will be in much better shape. My hope for this year is to try to start building some savings in case something goes wrong in our home we bought in 2024. Plumbing, septic, electric, getting central heat, curtains, baseboards, etc.—we have a lot of work, but keeping the government from seizing my pay over student loans is foremost on my mind.

I would be so grateful for any donation to help. I plan to call them back after the new year and choose the payoff plan, and I’ll have until the end of March to pay it off. If you donate anything at all, it will help greatly. Overall though, I would be so grateful and relieved to just be able to go on with my life and try to create peace and beauty where I can. Thank you for reading this far and thinking of me at this time.