15 Common STD Symptoms - Common Signs of STDs in Men and Women
What Happens If I Leave My Lupus Untreated?
Because lupus is such a complex and variable disease, it is difficult to predict or generalize about what would happen if it were left untreated.
The severity of lupus should guide treatment decisionsPeople with lupus should have regular evaluations to make sure life-threatening organ involvement is not developing. For individuals with severe organ involvement—such as kidney inflammation—consistent medical treatment is very important.
Because treatment decisions are guided by the degree and severity of disease manifestations, it is important for a person with lupus to be aware of their symptoms. Up to 50% of lupus patients may have non-life threatening symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain, and rash. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (e.G. Ibuprofen) and antimalarials (Plaquenil) are frequently used for symptomatic relief in this case.
Even in cases of mild disease, regular monitoring is criticalDue to the risk of disease flares with more severe organ involvement (kidney or lung/heart inflammation, for example), lupus patients should have regular evaluations to make sure life-threatening involvement is not developing. Many lupus doctors prescribe antimalarials even in the setting of mild disease because there is good evidence they may decrease the frequency and severity of flares and have low toxicity.
Treatment improves long-term survivalBefore medications (like steroids and other immunosuppressants) were available to treat lupus, overall five-year survival rates were less than 50%. With expanded therapeutic options, 5 year survival rates are now over 95%.
What Happens To Your Student Loans If You Leave Public Service?
We all know that student loan debt was a major midterm election issue, and that our current crisis seems to be getting worse fast. For example, President Biden's student loan plan is paused due to legal issues, and that means the $10,000 to $20,000 to forgiveness borrowers were promised is up in the air. In the meantime, the cost of college doesn't appear to be going down, and borrowers still take out more than $90 billion in new student loans each year.
Not only that, but the federal government is still trying to figure out how to get more people qualified for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) — a well-intentioned student loan forgiveness program that is aimed at getting borrowers who work in public service completely out of student debt within 10 years. As a reminder, the Department of Education issued a PSLF waiver in late 2022 that let borrowers get credit for more payments they have made on their student loans, including payments that would not count otherwise.
But, some borrowers on PSLF have grown weary of the program, and many worry what happens if they leave a public service job for another line of work. If you're thinking of leaving public service and wondering what happens to your student loans if you stop pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), read on to find out what experts say happens next.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness PSLF Program documents.
Getty How Does Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Work?Before we talk about what happens to borrowers who quit the PSLF program, it's important to outline how this program works in the first place.
Generally speaking, PSLF is a program geared to people who work in public service positions at government agencies (Federal, state, and local), education and public safety, and certain non-profit organizations. This program lets borrowers repay their student loans on an income-driven repayment plan, and they need to make 120 on-time payments on the plan while working full-time for an eligible employer.
Once borrowers make 120 qualifying payments toward their student loans, remaining balances are forgiven without any federal income taxes owed on forgiven amounts. The U.S. Department of Education also announced several changes to the PSLF program that will come to fruition in July of 2023, which should make the program easier to qualify for.
These changes are outlined on a PSLF Fact Sheet from the Department of Education, and they include the following:
With all this in mind, it's easy to wonder what happens if you're pursuing PSLF but you decide to switch jobs and leave public service altogether. Maybe you made 20 qualifying payments toward PSLF or 100 qualifying payments, but either way, it helps to know what happens after that.
According to student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz, who is the author of How to Appeal for More College Financial Aid, the good news is the fact that the 120 qualifying payments do not need to be consecutive.
"If you leave your public service job, subsequent payments will not count toward PSLF until you once again are employed in a qualifying public service job," says Kantrowitz. The author adds that, in the interim, payments you make on the student loans will reduce the loan balance and thereby reduce the amount that will eventually be forgiven if you return to a public service job.
That said, you can continue making payments toward student loans on the same income-driven payment plan you chose to use for PSLF. However, Kantrowitz says you should know that any income increases you achieve by leaving public service could leave you paying a higher monthly payment toward your student loans.
If your income increases enough, Kanrtowitz says your payment will be capped at the standard payment amount if you are in IBR or PAYE, but not in REPAYE.
Financial advisor Kevin Burkle of HCP Wealth Planning, who is also a Certified Student Loan Professional, says that paying off loans on an income-driven payment plan can still lead to forgiveness just like PSLF.
However, this type of forgiveness does take 20 to 25 years depending on whether or not you have graduate loans and which income-driven repayment plan you are on, he says. Burkle adds that, unlike PSLF, forgiveness on income-driven plans will likely be considered taxable income during the year of forgiveness as well.
For this reason, Burkle says he helps clients with considerable student debt determine how much they have to start saving in a taxable brokerage account now so they have enough savings to pay off this student loan tax bomb when the time comes.
"In this scenario, it's important to crunch the numbers and determine if it makes sense to stay on an income-driven plan and target this type of long-term forgiveness, or if you are better off giving up on forgiveness and coming up with a strategy to pay off your loans as soon as possible," he says.
Of course, paying off your loans on an income-driven plan can leave you with a lower monthly payment than you would pay otherwise, and you could always go back to a public service job and pick back with PSLF where you left off. That said, Burkle says there may be times when borrowers are confident they won't be going back to a public service position.
In that case, it may make more sense to just pay the loans off as soon as possible. Burkle says this is often what happens when the new job pays a much higher salary.
In some cases, earning considerably more can nullify the need to participate in an income-driven repayment plan, much less one like PSLF that ties you down to a specific employer or industry.
The Bottom LineAt the end of the day, leaving public service won't automatically disqualify you from achieving loan forgiveness through PSLF. However, payments made toward your student loans will not count toward PSLF during periods when you are not working for an eligible employer. This means you could seriously set back your student loan payoff timeline if you decide to switch industries or make a big career change out of public service then switch back to public service later on.
However, there are definitely scenarios where the idea of pursuing PSLF might have lost its luster, including times when you're offered a new job with much higher pay. Experts agree that only you can decide if working in public service is worth it, and that you should run the numbers and consider all your options before making the call.
Here's What Happens If You Take Out A Personal Loan You Can't Afford
KEY POINTS
If you need to borrow money for a big purchase, a personal loan is one option. You can typically get a personal loan to pay for almost anything you want, and they come with an average interest rate of 12.35%. So you're likely to be charged a lower rate to borrow than if you used a credit card.
Before you take a personal loan, though, you'll want to be absolutely certain you can easily afford the payments. If not, you could face some pretty serious consequences. Specifically, here's what could happen if you take out a personal loan that you struggle to pay back.
You could compromise other financial goalsIf you take out a personal loan and your payments just fit into your budget, you may be able to afford to make them -- but not to do much else. Devoting too much of your money to paying back your personal loan could mean you don't have the funds to save for retirement or life's other big purchases and expenses.
You could also have a harder time making your income stretch far enough even just to cover the basics if you're sending a lot of it to personal loans. You don't want to end up having to go further into debt because you have to borrow for essentials.
You could damage your credit scorePayment history is the most important factor in your credit score, and even one late payment could bring that score down by over 100 points. Unfortunately, if you are late paying your personal loan, your lender is most likely going to report that to the credit reporting agencies once you're behind by a month or more. This could lead to very serious damage to your credit record.
Since everyone from landlords to utility companies to mortgage lenders check your credit score, the damage done by your unaffordable personal loan could stretch into many aspects of your future financial life.
You may be charged late feesIf you pay your personal loan late because you don't really have the money to make payments on time, this could lead to late fees being charged. These are typically between $25 and $50, although it varies by lender.
If you are getting hit with late fees, then a loan that's already too expensive becomes even less affordable.
You could end up getting a judgment against youIf you can't pay back the loan at all, you could end up with the lender sending you to collections. This will show up on your credit report and do even more damage to your score.
The lender or a collection agency it sells your loan to might also sue you and get a court judgment ordering you to pay up. This could lead to further legal action, such as wages being garnished (taken to pay your creditors) or a lien being put on your property. Lenders don't always sue, or even sue very often, but it is still a possibility you should be aware of.
For all of these reasons, it's critical you make sure you can afford any personal loan you might take out. Find out exactly how much your monthly payments are going to be before you commit. Check your budget to see how they fit in and, if possible, consider practicing that payment by putting the amount you'd owe each month into a savings account for a few months and living on what you have left over.
If you find you can't absolutely be 100% sure you can make your personal loan payment and still cover your other expenses, try to avoid borrowing at all costs. Otherwise, you could face all these undesirable consequences of taking out a personal loan you can't afford.
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