The payment pause on federal student debt during the coronavirus pandemic has offered Maduro, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, a rare opportunity to chip away at the balance of her highest-interest loans and even start building an emergency savings fund. Meanwhile, the president's proposal to forgive up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower, which is still on the table, would go a long way toward achieving even greater financial milestones, Maduro said, such as buying a car or saving for the down payment on a house. "That's essentially a whole year of payments that would be taken care of," she said. "Even just having a whole year of that money saved — I'll know that if anything happens, I'll feel confident I can bounce back."