skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

'Woefully insufficient': Federal judge accuses Justice Department of evading 'obligations' to comply with deportation flights request; WA caregivers rally against Medicaid cuts; NM's state methane regulations expected to thwart federal rollbacks; Governor, critics call out 'boilerplate' bills from WY 2025 session.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump faces legal battles over education cuts, immigration actions, and moves by DOGE. Farmers struggle with USDA freezing funds. A Georgetown scholar fights deportation, and Virginia debates voter roll purges ahead of elections.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

Expert offers tips for smart student-loan repayment

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 10, 2024   

Mississippians who have just graduated from college this summer may be celebrating now but they also just joined the millions of Americans facing student loan repayment, as their six-month grace period ends soon.

Mississippi residents share $16.2 billion in student loan debt.

Brian Walsh, head of advice and planning at SoFi, a personal finance company, recommended proactive budgeting and emphasized the importance of treating the loan payment as a non-negotiable expense.

"Build your budget as if you have that payment -- maybe you make payments when you don't have to, maybe you throw it in a checking savings account -- whatever it may be, build that budget accordingly," Walsh advised. "Then, figure out the best approach for you when it comes to paying back your student loans."

According to the website EducationData.org, just over 15.% of state residents, or about 447,000 people, have student loan debt, with an average of more than $36,000.

Walsh noted Mississippi college students who struggle with loan payments have multiple options for reducing costs, including processes like consolidation and refinancing.

"Consolidation is through the federal government, where essentially you would be combining however many federal student loans you have, and it makes one payment, makes things easier," Walsh explained. "You can adjust the repayment terms so you can lower your payment but your interest rate isn't going to change."

The Saving on a Valuable Education program, which is an income-driven repayment plan for federal student aid, remains in effect, as approved by the courts. Students can still sign up for the program, choose other income-driven repayment options, or consolidate their loans, according to the government website StudentAid.gov.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
PoliChic Engagement Fund says it's critical Texans make sure lawmakers are voting in their public interest. (JHVEPhoto/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Many Texans feel strongly, one way or another, about the proposed school voucher bill before state lawmakers. Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed a plan to …


Environment

play sound

Greenpeace has been ordered to pay several hundred million dollars stemming from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and some are saying the verdict l…

Social Issues

play sound

As Los Angeles starts to recover from the firestorm, people are looking for ways to harden their homes against future mega-blazes. Experts said the …


Gregor Willms assists the Cedarburg High School team in the soil pit at Envirothon 2024. (Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association)

Environment

play sound

A local event that brings students face-to-face with outdoor habitats is serving to ignite a lifelong passion in some that go on to pursue "green jobs…

Social Issues

play sound

While affordable housing advocates across the state have been cheering on Washington's rent stabilization bill in Olympia, so have organizations …

Environment

play sound

The organization Practical Farmers of Iowa is helping urban crop growers use beneficial insects to control pests, boost soil health and increase …

Social Issues

play sound

Debates over academic freedom and diversity initiatives have intensified nationally and in Ohio. Senate Bill 1, known as the Advance Ohio Higher …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021