Ciera Wilson
#HaveYouHerd: Our last #FridayFeature of January is someone who not only helps others get their money right but has used her own advice to get out of debt. Ciera Wilson is a Certified Financial Coach and full-time Accountant. She lets us know the real deal when it comes to money management, so if you want someone to give it to you straight, then we recommend you keep reading.
Ciera Wilson is from a small county in Virginia called Caroline County. She received her Bachelor’s of Science from Virginia State University and her Master of Arts in Management and Leadership from Liberty University. Her love for budgeting began at the age of 16 because she was determined to pay off her 1998 Nissan Sentra.
It’s been a little over two years since federal or private student loans have accrued interest. With this interest-free period, we asked Ciera why people should take advantage of this, and she said, “It is extremely important that borrowers take advantage of this time because any and all payments will be allocated to outstanding interest first and then the principal balance. The principal balance is the amount that the borrower originally borrowed. If the borrower’s monthly payment only covers the monthly interest or a portion of the outstanding interest, the principal balance will not be reduced until the monthly payment amount is increased and/or the outstanding interest is paid in full.”
When it comes to repayment options, Ciera suggests that borrowers “Explore all options and determine which is best for you and your family. What’s best for one person may not be good for someone else.”
Forbearance and deferment may confuse people, so we asked Ciera what’s the difference, “Forbearance-Interest is accrued. Deferment-Interest is NOT accrued on your loan balance. Both postpone your federal student loan payments.”
For borrowers that want to pay off their student loan debt, Ciera suggests the following steps:
Determine what your payoff balance is.
Set a target date that you would like to have this goal completed by.
Determine how much you need to allocate monthly to pay off your student loan debt by the target date.
Determine your total monthly income from all sources.
Create a budget.
Make sure you have at least $1,000 dollars saved before beginning to pay off your student loan debt.
Allocate all additional income to your student loan goal.
Creating a budget may seem impossible at first and even difficult without professional help. That’s why there are amazing people such as Ciera who are willing to help you achieve your financial goals. To keep up with Ciera, you can head over to her website http://cieranichole.com/.
*Fun Fact: By following her own advice, Ciera was able to pay off over $30K in student loan debt, and she’s been credit card debt-free for seven years– she is still pro credit cards, though!