Native Milwaukee man wins $5,000 lifeline during student loan pause
Milwaukee, WI – To pay or not to pay, that’s the question running through the minds of millions of student loan borrowers. President Joe Biden ran on the promise of $10,000 in student loan forgiveness, but borrowers have yet to see it happen. Even with student loan repayment on hold until August 31st, borrowers have turned to creative avenues to eliminate their loans in case mass forgiveness gets lost in political turmoil.
Local Milwaukee man, Patrick Aleshire, wanted to take control of his nearly $50,000 in student loans after receiving his educational degree at Carroll University in Waukesha. “I haven’t been putting much money into my loans since the pandemic, as I am of the mindset of not giving the government too much money when I don’t have to, in addition to taking a ‘wait and see’ approach with the government pushing off payments and potential for $10,000 forgiveness.”
Aleshire is not alone. In Wisconsin, over 710,000 people owe an estimated $24.4 billion in federal student loan debt. $7.1 billion would immediately be wiped away in Wisconsin if forgiveness is implemented by Congress. While waiting for this action, Aleshire plays Givling, an app that took the concept of GoFundMe and turned it into a game.
By watching video ads and playing trivia, Aleshire collected points to compete in one of Givling’s weekly $5,000 awards towards a student loan. “I went to bed the night before I won, knowing I was in a good spot (top 10). I woke up the next day and was super excited to see that I secured the spot and won!”
“I love downtown Milwaukee and I’ve been saving up for a condo. But with student loans and the cost of living going up, it’s been hard. The $5,000 will go a long way to help me reach my goal of homeownership,” shared Aleshire.