Going crazy here...

[ChicksterJo]

...looking at all my student loans. I have one piece of paper that tells me I've got to repay Uncle Sam a little more than $22,000. Sigh. I only have a summer part time job that'll only last a few months, so hopefully after that I will get even more experience (since it is working for the city government), get a decent job, and be able to start paying the loans down by a larger margin. I don't have other debt besides this and I am living with my parents to save money. It drives me nuts to live with them, so to keep myself sane I daydream that one day I will be able to have my own place. I just need a full time job so I can start paying this thing off!!

Anyone else have had an issue like this? Has anyone else on here paid off his or her student loan(s) off?

 

[YYZ]

You would think Uncle sam would give a break to young folks ( and older) who want to secede in life and not live off the government Someone like you who is ambitious.

to you!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I've got one more semester until I have to start paying off my loans. Seems like all of my friends are having trouble finding jobs though. Everything in their fields want experience, but no one is looking to hire to GIVE experience. I would like to do grad/med/vet school after I graduate, but I have no idea how I will juggle that AND pay off my undergrad loans. Luckily I have this extra semester to sort it all out. I'm a bit scared watching all of my friends getting hit with all of this scary loan stuff!

People do it all the time, so I'm sure you (and myself) will get through it! It's just such a frustratingly slow process to get into a job that can pay the bills!

 

[GiddyMoon]

Govt student loans are one of the worst things to happen to this generation. This is happening everywhere. The govt took advantage of students; on purpose..they want and need slave, who are blind and just trust govt, when this is far from the truth, and their parents who didn't take the time to read...to protect their kids. If this isn't a reason to open our eyes to what govt is really about..I honestly do not know what is. Govt DOESN'T PRODUCE anything. Govt workers live off the backs of people who work for private industries who pay taxes. These student loans are paid for by hard working tax payers who can't even pay to send their own kids to school.

I have 40k on my credit from my ex husband forcing me during a very abusive marriage to take student loans out for him. He still has no job, after earning 2 BAs from a top university..he is almost 50k behind in child support. This country needs to get back to producing, industry, private businesses, hard working, money making businesses.....if we are going to survive.

 

[PineappleMama]

I'm so glad DH managed as much scholarship/grants as he did. As it is we owe a few thousand, but nothing like that.

Of course now that he's starting Grad school in the fall... even with half price scholarship from the school... it's scary.

And now the gov't owns all the student loans so that's a new level of scary for this paranoid pineapple.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

I'm in your boat, but i've got over 45Gs to pay back YTD both federal and private... the kicker is, I originally had 48thousand to pay back, when I graduated, dad gave me 13thousand late that fall (as per his promise) which I paid to them... and because I didn't "specify" that the $12,480 which made up the extra payment for that month, the loan company put most of it toward interest only and then moved forward the next payment I had to make by 4 months: translation, they took about 7 grand and put it in their pocket on interest that hadn't actually accrued and told me I had just paid off some future monthly payments. Cool, huh? So I stopped paying for a while and by the time I got a hold of someone who could help with the major screw-over that happened, they said 'its too late, that year has ended and we can't change anything once the year is over'. Now since I have been unable to pay (because I'm jobless-yay) the interest has compounded and i'm back to 45Gs in less than a year. Bottom line, I should not have gone to the college my aunt packed me off to if I couldn't afford it. But what did I know at 18?

On top of my crazy debt; the economy sucks-I was laid off due to cutbacks last august-I haven't been able to get work because I have no experience-just a degree and I don't actually want to work at Macdonalds for minimum wage+terrible hours. But all this doesn't matter or upset me anymore because I have the best husband (we have been married for 1 year 2 months) and he works so hard and takes care of me despite my debt and joblessness. On top of that, my creativity and willpower has enabled us to live on a little less than what he used to live on by himself before we got married---I grow our own food, we now have a small flock of birds that will make eggs soon, I drive way, way less and I make 90% of our meals.

Hang in there chicksterjo, I know living with the parents is irritating-I remember it all too well. I think there was a law passed stating that college loan payments cannot make up more than a certain percentage of your take-home... look into that, it may help... Also, if you can consolidate that would be best (I had 14 loans with different interest rates), and get the lowest interest rate you can (obviously). You may also want to tune into am980 (you're in southern CA right) and listen to Dave Ramsey, he is unbelievable about helping you plan to get out of debt.

 

[hikerchick]

I am happy I got student loans when I did- otherwise I would not have a career and would probably be trying to support my family on $10 an hour. I didn't want that life, so I am more than happy to pay loans. I don't think they are some evil plot by the government to enslave people- they are there to provide an opportunity for education to people who otherwise could not afford it. I had no money to go to school. If not for student loans, I would be poor. So, I am grateful they were there when I needed them.

 

[GiddyMoon]

Quote:
Then you don't know the govt.

 

[hikerchick]

Quote:
Then you don't know the govt.

Yes, I am sure the government conspired to have me become a professional instead of an hourly worker. Evil creeps!

 

[ChicksterJo]

I went to an expensive private university, but the school gave me A LOT of grants. In fact, every year the school "gave" me about $40,000 or more in grants. I also got a small scholarship every year, thanks to a private donor (some think it was Bill Gates). Anyway, that's why I don't have that much in loans. I looked into consolidation and tried the estimator on the website, and it said I could get 6.1% interest (which is kinda good because some of my loans have 6.8% interest) but my mom is thinking about giving me some money to help me pay off the unsubsidized portion of my loans.
I could have gotten a decent job but that would have meant moving to Albuquerque, which I'm not prepared to do. My boyfriend got a job and he has an interview at where my dad works which pays better, but I went to the university and I should make more to pay off my loans.

Oh well, only time will tell what'll happen.

Also, I have to rant about my dad telling me to feed my chickens scratch in order for them to start laying. SERIOUSLY?!?!?! This is why I can't stand being in this house...I could take their nagging if it's over the phone, but living with 'em makes me want to pull my hair out.