Have you filed your first employment verification? If not, do that to make sure that you have the correct loan type for forgiveness - only Direct loans qualify and you may have to consolidate! (Please someone learn from my mistake!)

Also, be sure to get clarity from your lender about how exactly you direct excess payments to your principal balance. Absent your following a specific process and identifying dollars in a very detailed way, most lenders will direct your excess to your next month’s payment (and month after that, etc.) with the ultimate…

I’ve found that I don’t really mind dating someone who isn’t an intellectual as long as they’re good or knowledgeable about something that I can’t do. People in my field just are never gonna cut it for me; I’m not inspired by someone who does what I do and maybe not as well. But even once I get there, so many of those…

Yes and yes! Max out on your 457b contribution and then, if you still have funds remaining (even like $50/month) open up an independent IRA. But at least get that 457b going. My number one piece of financial advice is always max out your pre-tax contribution - even if it’s not matched. Compound interest is the closest…

There are three of us who’ve known each other from high school and one friend has now decided that she’ll hang out with either of us alone but she does’t have fun with both of us together because she “doesn’t speak nerd” and once fell asleep at the dinner table. It’s really funny and I don’t think anyone has any hurt…

Not really, but I suspect I’m a bit older than you are. Over time, I’ve found that I want friends who are loyal and thoughtful and smart enough to have interesting conversations with - but they don’t all need to be able to keep up in every way. (I do have a very “smart” job so I feel like I get to exercise that side…

Normally that would be true, but a Roth is a poor choice for someone who is making loan payments that are directly tied to her annual taxable income. A pre-tax account will have the added advantage of lowering her monthly payments and overall liability for her loans (because - under her plan - after 10 years, the…

You should be saving for retirement starting now. If your employer doesn’t offer a pre-tax retirement account option, open your own - an IRA (not a Roth, that’s after-tax). This also brings down your taxable income for the year and reduces your IBR payments.

I don’t think it’s obnoxious, but I’m also smarter than nearly everyone I know (it’s something that my friends joke about and I hope that’s because I don’t make them feel like I look down on them because of that). Maybe take a class at your local university extension in something that you’re interested in? Go to talks…

In some countries (like the US), you can be eligible for some kind of visa or residency status if you were the victim of a crime committed while in that country and you assist the police in solving that crime. It is, however, always very difficult to claim eligibility when you are currently in a country unlawfully.

There’s no easy/free way to leave no evidence at all. But unless you’re viewing things that you think could lead to criminal penalties, you’re probably ok. And if those are the things you’re viewing, you will get caught. (And if the issue is not about what you’re viewing but rather with a specific person, perhaps the…

A friend’s sister (who is herself super spoiled) was going on and on about how her small child’s favorite food is prosciutto and what a pain it is to always be buying him all this fancy snack meat. Lady, he doesn’t go to the grocery store.

Oh, it’s still ongoing two years later! It turned into The Great Debate among the adults about whether they were formed that way by their creator or whether they once had tails but had evolved over time to their current form. Ultimately, it appears that we have decided to teach the controversy.

It’s not a “won’t eat” thing but my favorite kid-food experience is when my 3 year-old niece asked why tortellini don’t have tails.

“Marginally more difficult”! We can’t have that now; can we?

I think you can both love someone and set very clear boundaries to not let them in your life.

I was interviewing for a legal clerkship the summer after my first year of law school. The organization was something like City Dependency Lawyers and they worked in the dependency courts (where kids are potentially moved from their parents’ care to foster care and sometimes parental rights are fully terminated). I’ve…

Man, this would have been really helpful in my last relationship. Unfortunately, I’m not sure putting the phone away cures the illness. (If you’re always worried that being unavailable will harm your social status, just setting the phone down will probably cause even more stress.)

False. What else can I wear that is as comfortable as pajamas but also looks like I give a fuck?

I once got asked and taken on a date in the public library (there was an attached coffee shop) by a guy who turned out to be homeless.