If you have Federal student loans, pay back as much as you can as fast as you can. Otherwise you will pay back more than twice what you borrowed. The loans accrue interest daily based on your interest rate and your remaining loan balance, so the fewer days you have your loan the better. I used to work at a student loan servicing center and I saw so many people digging a deeper and deeper hole with their loans.
You're right! Paying off student loan debt should be a priority for everyone. My ex got in so much trouble years ago when he got behind on his. I saw a local news report about a week ago, about two RNs in my town who had their licenses suspended because they were behind on their student loans! I say borrow as a last resort!
Man, it's such a hard thing to have a student loan, and to me it's not even recommended. Not to cause any sorrow but the fact that you have to pay off your student loan, and sometimes people are stuck with it forever, while there are people who just had a high school diploma and went straight into employment, these people are rich by the time you've finished your studies and probably own money to open up a business, and they're not a slave to the debt. It's such a difficult situation. If you had to choose between student loan, and employment after a high school diploma without college or university, don't choose student loan or you will regret it all your life. You'd be basically investing in money you don't have, and last time I checked investment doesn't always work, it's like a gamble.
You make a lot of good points. Other people DO seem to be rich by the time you get through school! I think we've been sold a bill of goods with student loans. It's a trap, just like convincing everybody that we all need to go to college is a trap. There are so many horror stories out there!
It kind of depends on the interest rate, though. While you should definitely try to pay down your debt as fast as possible in general, you should focus on the highest interest rates first. Often times, student loans have the lowest rates around, so pay down any credit cards, car loans, etc, first.
I have student loans that I still owe on, and I have been trying to apply for loan forgiveness because my health started failing during college and I ended up having to go on disability before I could graduate. Now, the treasury department takes out a portion of my disability payment every month, and it is a LOT for me, but it only covers the interest payment for them. So in other words, if I don't somehow find a solution I will never get it paid off, unless I win the lottery, or something. Even though I have heard from multiple sources that I fall within the guidelines of qualifying for loan forgiveness, whenever I have tried (with doctors notes and documentation included) it just gets so complicated and I get the runaround when I do it myself, and if I try to do it with a company they demand a bunch of money upfront...as if I had it! Does anyone know a good place to go for someone in my situation? Even if I could make SMALLER payments it would be better than the situation I am in now, it makes a big dent in the main source of my income!
Oh yes, yes there is a lot of horror stories out there. I know that it is a trap, and sadly everyone has been convinced by the system that they need college. Let me give you a little bit of facts, money if it keeps increasing in numbers and existence, the value drops. When so many people realize they need to go to college and they're going to college, the more production of degrees or whatever education level they get, the value of it drops and it becomes of no value when it's in the job market. They will begin to require PHD instead of B.Sc soon, and not only, I bet one day PHD will become worth a High School Diploma. Values of degrees have been always decreasing during the years, and just wait for it, it is coming and the system of education will fail miserably to satisfy the requirements of jobs.
Indeed you are right! I am currently a student loan borrower and I've heard stories of how much the interest builds and people spend a countless number of years paying back these loans. I've been working during the school year, making about $250 bi-weekly which equates to about $500 a month. I have to pay my bills which account for about $200 a month so I'm only saving up $300. Fortunately my wants and needs aren't as great as those around me and I have been able to pay off my loans as soon as my first year was over. I was a day late and accumulated an extra $0.08 interest, but they removed it thankfully! I'm super glad about this because I don't want to be in debt at all when I graduate. I definitely agree to pay off your loans as soon as possible and put aside any wants that you may have because you will regret it if you're in debt with the federal loans.
What's also really sad about it is if you're in debt, almost everything you own and even your life is in the hands of the government because they can take you to prison if you don't pay it off. I would rather not go to college at all and get any education than be in debt and having all of my items be owned by the government.
This is so true and really good advice. I'm currently paying down my student loans. I'm making at the very least the monthly payment each mother but I try to pay more if I can. Student loans don't go away if you file bankruptcy. This means that they are going to follow you for life. You will pay the loan off one way or another so it is best to pay the loan off as soon as possible. Also, the longer you take the more you have to pay due to interest rates. It really is worth it to just pay off student loans as soon as possible.
I feel the same way. For you to have to even have a chance on paying it off well, you would have to go to the right school and even then it's probably still tricky. Unfortunately in high school they kinda push you to go to college or at best don't tell you to consider other options. There is just never much guidance so you fall into it. That's what happened to me. I guess technically I could pay some of it off but I honestly don't have that much so I'm not even sure paying it off would be worth it. They have said that I could just cancel it for now and then it won't accrue interest but yet I have gotten a few emails about it after signing up for cancelling it so I think that's a lie. When I deferred it same thing. I just don't understand how you're expected to pay it off when your only personal income is "beer money". I also came to find that I may have to use some of my money for a natural doctor. I would think that my health is the most important thing. If nothing else I guess I will have to try work that you do that doesn't offer you a salary but pays off your student loans but I don't know much about it.
I can believe that, because my husband has a student loan that he's had to freeze the payments for due to us moving countries. We're not in a position to pay at the moment as we don't have a steady income. My gosh, those guys are like sharks, they wanted to see documented evidence of us moving and so on and so forth before relenting! They've even checked on him since to see where he's at with finding work LOL Luckily, there's not much of the loan left and if they make good on their word to freeze it, it shouldn't be a problem to pay off. I'm glad I never had a student loan. All my education, right up to uni was paid for by the state
If you pursue the student loan forgiveness option be aware that it will be considered as income and will put you in a higher tax bracket and you may have less of a refund or even end up owing taxes. The only up side of this is that you can make payment arrangements with the IRS if you should end up owing taxes. Another thing to think about is how this would effect your credit history.
I went to college for graphic design because that's what I could see myself doing but little did I know it is a dead field. They keep wanting to know if you can pay it and yet when I've told them "I just want a job instead of waiting to pay off these loans" They told me "oh have you tried the workforce" Noo I haven't tried that considering I've been looking all over to find help. I am that stupid.
I see. It's quite sad and it's something that really grieves my heart when seeing people going to such faculties and universities or colleges and ending up realizing they were deceived, and not so many speak of it anyway. I would say in few years, all fields would be dead due to the amount of graduates and jobs filled. There are too many engineers in the world today, too many scientists and too many that have a degree in a certain field which are not able to get in.
I Have very mixed feelings about student loans. Personally I think the interest rate is too high, but understand that it is essentially an unsecured loan. I have been paying on mine for 5 years and over that time have had to use several different payment options. They are very easy going when you contact them and request a lower payment. Yes there is paperwork involved, but It is a loan, so that is to be expected. I caution people against using the Income based repayment unless they absolutely have to as It will Take forever to pay off the loan.
I understand and I never went for student loans of any kind ever. I feel for all of you who are going through things with your student loans. I totally went on Pell Grants and looked for scholarships too. Have you ever heard of these things? *Log In *Log In *Log In I hope these sites help you. Good luck!
I totally agree the student loan interest rates are too high, that's why so many students graduate with huge loans! Then they spend years and years trying to pay the loans off. It just doesn't sound right! The one my husband took out was even supposed to be a government recognised one that's meant to be a not-for-profit organisation, but they seriously breath down your neck if you so much as miss one month's instalment!
I got student loans from the Higher Education Loans Board in the past and defaulted in payments partly due to the depressed job environment when I graduated. Although only a small interest is charged on the loan, it keeps compounding and thats why it is cheap to pay in the short term rather than in the long term.
