Created by Dan and Nick Stelmach, ChangEd is an application made with the purpose of collecting spare change from daily purchases to make student loan payments much easier. In the United States, the student loan debt is $1.3 trillion, and a large majority of the population spends 10 to 25 years paying off this loan. The longer the period, the more the interest, creating an endless cycle of loan repayments that individuals find themselves drowning in.
ChangEd only requires users to link their debit or credit cards to their account, after which the application automatically rounds up each purchase to the closest dollar. All the extra change collected per day goes towards paying off a part of the student loan. Before launching their brainchild, the pair researched and found that the average individual could save $50 and more by using spare change to pay off some of their student loans.
To help the general public pay off their student loans quicker and spend less on interest, the duo created an application with the help of Milk Land. By January 2017, they were ready to launch their product for iOS devices. The best part was that their application has also been featured on the “New Apps We Love” section that Apple advertises to its customers. This has allowed ChangEd to gain a following of thousands of customers within a short span of time.
Dan and Nick came to Shark Tank asking for $250,000 in exchange for 15 percent equity in their company. They were raised by a single mom who always encouraged them to work hard for what they wanted to achieve. Both brothers wanted to go to college but had to borrow money to fulfill their dream. Every month, Nicks pays $800 in student loans, so he understands how painful and draining the process can be. Currently, Nick is an uber driver, and Dan works in sales. The two want to make the student loan payment process easier and hope that ChangEd will change the world.
They told the Sharks that if a person spends $3.45 on a latte each day, ChangEd will automatically direct the remaining $0.55 towards their student loan repayment plan. Within a month, they will have $15.4 saved up just from coffee purchases. The pair of brothers go on to show the Sharks the spare change in an FBIC-insured change account. They showed that $100 had been collected, which will be put towards paying off the loans.
They also explained that when a user downloads ChangEd, they have a personal dashboard on which they can see their everyday change, change balance, and all the loan payments that have been sent.
The best part is that users can view the money and time saved with each and every payment that goes towards their loan. Overall, this app allows users to pay off their loans years before their due date. It makes money by charging $1 each month from its users and has been helping 800 accounts collect change to pay off their loans.
So far, 9,000 individuals have downloaded ChangEd, and approximately 1,000 are active on the platform. $25,000 have been sent towards repaying student loans. The founders aim to increase this amount to $100,000 by the end of the year since they have gotten in touch with 90 percent of the student loan services in America so far.
Robert offers the brothers $250,000 in exchange for 48 percent equity, while Mark offers them $250,000 for 25 percent of their company. The two accept the offer from the tech genius and hope that he will help ChangEd get the reach it deserves.
Our Review of ChangEd
ChangEd seems like a wonderful solution to counter the rising problem of student loans that most individuals struggle with throughout their lives. We would definitely recommend this application if you are looking for quicker ways to pay off your loans.
Of course, it will not help cover your entire loan amount, but it makes this process more efficient. We would recommend this application instead of using an extravagant amount. It makes use of daily change that you will not miss to pay off your loans.
Pros of ChangEd
ChangEd provides an efficient, hassle-free way to automatically pay off your student loan. It uses the power of loose change that most people will not even notice towards loan payments. These are small sums that will not be missed but can help pay off some part of one’s loan.
The best part is the company only charges $1 per month for its service, making it a convenient and cheap option for people to use.
Cons of ChangEd
The monthly subscription service can get a little annoying to deal with, but apart from that, we don’t think that there are any cons to ChangEd.
Who is it for?
ChangEd is for students working hard to pay off their student loans. It rounds up all loose change and diverts it towards the loan payment so that every day, a little bit of your money goes towards paying your loan. The best part is that since it is loose change, you won’t even notice it leaving your bank account.
Are there Any Alternatives?
GradJoy is another alternate application used for the same purpose- helping students pay off their student loans.
Our Final Thoughts
We believe that ChangEd is a wonderful way to help users quickly pay off thousands of dollars of their student loans. It is a great way to save thousands of dollars as it encourages individuals to use a small percentage of their everyday income in the form of loose change.
