The Daily Money: How the student loan moratorium changed lives

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Tuesday, March 29

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Good morning and happy Tuesday. Jayme Deerwester back with you, mentally preparing to chase my Energizer Bunny hound around to make sure she keeps her "cone of shame" on following spay surgery.

🗞 People with student debt dread end of moratorium 🗞

For more than two years, 41 million Americans with student loans have had more room in their budgets to build homes, save money or pay off other debts – all thanks to the government's moratorium on federal student loan payments.

That pause is set to lift in May, though President Joe Biden's administration has signaled the freeze may be extended a fifth time. But increasingly, the moratorium is opposed by people on all political sides.

While Washington debates the future of student loans, USA TODAY asked borrowers how their lives changed without the payments – and what a future without student debt might look like.

"It was great," says New Jersey resident Charles Venino, 33, who had nearly $100,000 in loans when the moratorium began. "I have never not lived paycheck-to-paycheck before."

🚨 More headlines you shouldn't miss 🚨

GETTING SPAM FROM YOUR OWN NUMBER? Verizon customers getting messages saying they paid March bill while offering a free gift redeemed through a mysterious link.

PASSING OF THE BATON AT FEDEX. Founder Fred Smith to step aside as CEO in June; President Raj Subramaniam to succeed him.

REPARATIONS VOTE: California lawmakers could vote to give Black Americans free college, business grants and money to buy homes.

MARCH MADNESS MUNCHIES: Chipotle has a Cash App $GuacMode Giveaway through Thursday and brings back Guac Mode. Plus, learn about other deals.

ELON'S ENCORE: Tesla seeks its second stock split in less than two years.

🏦 All about your food's shelf life 🏦

With the exception of infant formula, use-by dates are not a true indicator of a food's safety and shelf life. Yet many consumers don't know the origin of these dates or their true meaning.

People adhering too strictly to a best-by date leads to wholesome food being discarded – to the tune of 30 million tons of food waste from homes every year, according to the nonprofit ReFED.

That uneaten food costs the average family of four between $1,500 and $1,800 a year, according to Richard Chesley, manager of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's recycling office.

"Food labels are a significant cause of wasted food," Chesley said. His office runs the state's "Don't Waste Food SC" campaign with a goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030.

💵 Time is running out to file your taxes 💵

Tax season is running down with just under three weeks to go until the April 18 deadline for the Internal Revenue Service and many states. If you haven't filed yet, we've rounded up all the information you need to factor into this year's return, such as the child tax credit and COVID relief.

🎧 Mood music 🎧

For everyone who's been meaning to get around to doing their taxes but hasn't quite gotten around to it, Muse has a message for you:

"And our time is running out. You can't push it underground. You can't stop it screaming out."

LISTEN WHILE YOU WORK: Remember, you can listen to this song and every track I've quoted in the newsletter in the Daily Money Mood Music playlist on Spotify.

Misty Gardner-Hajek, 30, is photographed in the classroom where she teaches English at North High School in Phoenix, Arizona Tuesday March 22, 2022.

How the student loan payment pause changed people's lives

Since 2020, 41 million Americans have had reprieves from student loan payments. For these seven borrowers, that meant a chance to imagine forgiveness.