Financial Challenges Support Group
This community is for people who are struggling to meet financial obligations of any kind. Financial challenges include everything from the day-to-day challenges of making ends meet to managing credit card debt to bankruptcy. Get support from others who are going through similar obstacles on the road back to financial stability.
So I will make this as short as I can. I went to a private college and thought that I would be able to get a job. I ended up being a delivery driver.
I had to defer my loans because I couldn't afford them. I started to pay on them when my dad was diagnosed with liver failure and I had to defer the loans again. For the next year and a half, i paid every possible bill for my dad plus my own bills, but when my loans came out of deferment they were wanting 2000 a month...there was no way I could afford it, but then it was like I couldn't do anything about it.
I ended up with my own hospital bills and the loans and now my credit score is to the point I'm being told I probably need to file for bankruptcy but I know no one that has and I don't really know what to do....
I had to defer my loans because I couldn't afford them. I started to pay on them when my dad was diagnosed with liver failure and I had to defer the loans again. For the next year and a half, i paid every possible bill for my dad plus my own bills, but when my loans came out of deferment they were wanting 2000 a month...there was no way I could afford it, but then it was like I couldn't do anything about it.
I ended up with my own hospital bills and the loans and now my credit score is to the point I'm being told I probably need to file for bankruptcy but I know no one that has and I don't really know what to do....
Couple pieces of bad news though: first, student loans are usually exempt. Even people who declare bankruptcy are expected to pay them off. And if that wasn't ironic enough, bankruptcy is actually quite expensive. I tried Legal Aid where lived, which offered free legal services for poor people, but guess what, not for bankruptcy. And you can't file without a lawyer. The cheapest one I could find ended up costing $1,000 for everything. And, of course, they need the money upfront, because bankruptcy erases all your debts (which can be erased, unlike most student loans, alimony, etc), which would mean that you wouldn't owe your lawyer anymore after they completed filing.
Good luck. There are a lot of bankruptcy lawyers offering free consultations; they can tell you more, and also if there are other options available to you. I suggest shopping around and getting more than one opinion.
Did you obtain your degree? If so, there are some programs out there that offer loan repayment for employment in an identified field for a commitment of two or three years.
The bottom line is that if you borrowed it, you agreed to pay it back.
I am nearing the end of my student loans for my masters degree. I will have paid about $70,000 back out of my pocket. At the time I took out the loans, it did not seem "real" but paying them back...that is reality.
I am so glad, though, that my student loan debt will be history. It did take years to pay it off.
Part of the reason I never finished college was because of money. As crazy as my life was when I was in my 20s I did not want to get into debt for college. The first two years, I got a bunch of scholarships and was able to pay off the balance before a new semester started.
Then the scholarships dried up and I was told to get a government loan... I never did it and in hindsight I'm glad I didn't. At that time, the rest of my life was out of control... adding $40-60,000 debt on top would have been insane (at least for me).
On the other end I had a step-son that paid for his whole college career by loans. He went to a private school for one year - then a state school for three. He ended up over $30,000 in debt. But he got his degree in business and now deals in stocks and commodities. What amazed me about him was that his first five years out of college he lived like a bum... had very little and had old beaters for cars. But after five years his student loan was paid off and he has never looked back...
As far as bankruptcy I'm not for it all the time. At times, it is an easy way out and no lessons are really learned. Bankruptcy to me was meant for people who have major medical bills or lost their jobs and have mortgages to pay...