LONGVIEW, Texas — Chanda Mitchell owns Arabella in Longview’s beauty salon.
She’s working to support her family and pay off 25,000 dollars of student debt. With every payment, she feels she’s barely made a dent.
"When you take out a student loan, your interest eats you alive," Mitchell said.
Student loans have become a never-ending slew of bills at one of the lowest points of her life.
“I lost my son to a drunk driver while I was here visiting," Mitchell remembered. "I then became a full time caregiver for my mom who had heart failure after the tragedy. The only reason that I have student loans is because I had to sustain myself, to be able to continue my education.”
For her, even a $10,000 break would give her a chance to catch her breath.
Senior economist with Lending Tree, Jacob Channel, said the loan forgiveness application is expected to drop in early October. In the meantime, he encourages borrowers to check their student loan servicing account to see how much they owe.
Also to be on the lookout for scammers.
"If somebody calls you up and says, 'Hey, I need your social security number, or your mother's maiden names, I can help you get your loan forgiveness,' they're probably not legitimate," Channel warned.
There are a few catches when it comes to Biden’s forgiveness rollout.
The aid only applies to federal loans. If you have private loans, this relief does not apply.
There are also income caps of $125,000 for a single person and $250,000 for couples.
Check if you received any Pell grants in school. If you did, you could qualify for up to $20,000 of relief.
Mitchell has two objectives once she has less financial weight on her shoulders.
"If I [didn't] have that kind of debt, then I can pour it back into my community number one," Mitchell said. "And number two, get us a home. Because that's what we need.”
Borrowers who have made payments during the pandemic may also qualify for a refund on those payments up to $20,000. Visit studentaid.gov to learn more.