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Meet Sandra
- Age: 42
- Income: $28,000 per year, plus $600 per month in child support
- Family profile: Single (divorced) mother of Johnny, 21, and Doug, 16
Sandra's situation
Johnny is ready to graduate from a 2-year associate's degree program. Sandra worries that Johnny doesn't have the financial know-how to pay his bills on time and support himself…
Read Sandra's story
While Johnny has been in school, Sandra has been overseeing all of her son's finances, including his federal student loans, which total more than $8,000.
Sandra is thrilled that Johnny already has a job lined up after graduation. It will be a big relief to her when Johnny takes on his own finances.
Sandra has always struggled with money, since she's been raising two kids on her own. She wants Johnny to have a more comfortable life, although Johnny has never shown any restraint when it comes to spending.
Sandra knows she needs to prepare Johnny for the real world, starting with his student loans. The first payment is due in 6 months, and she's not sure Johnny is ready.
Sandra CAN deal with it
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It's time for Johnny to manage his loans. Sandra can show Johnny how to look up his entire federal loan history on the U.S. Department of Education's National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), find the names of his federal loan servicers, and find out how to reach them.
Johnny must understand that, moving forward, he'll be the one to deal directly with his loan servicers, although Sandra will always be there to provide support.
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Sandra and Johnny can develop a budget together. It's a good time for Sandra to pass on to Johnny some basic money management skills. Since they know what Johnny's salary will be, they can work out a budget that includes living expenses, loan payments, savings, and entertainment.
Johnny will need to live within this budget, because once the money is gone, he's no longer allowed to hit up mom for more!