Paying Back Student Loans

[LawGrrl416]

I took out private student loans through Sallie Mae as an undergrad and was wondering if there's anyway to lower my monthly payments. I'm in law school now and my student loan bill is killing me each month (I can't work a lot. No time in the first year of law school.)

I get stuff in the mail everyday about consolidating federal student loans, but does anyone know how I could consolidate/reduce my loan bill each month on a private loan?

Thanks!

[wordsmith]

Mine's federal, so it's no problem to lower it. My understanding is that private lenders don't come with those same degrees of flexibility, however.

[workaholic?]

sallie mae actually offers private student loan consolidation. go to their website and look for it...however, they do not offer a fixed interest rate.

citibank does offer fixed interest rates for private loan consolidation. you may want to try them.

[TranquilSkye]

Yes you can consolidate private student loans, but they're nothing like federal loans. You get a variable interest rate and don't even think about being a day late on the payment cause they'll screw you the same way credit card companies do. Oh and to qualify for private loan consolidation its based largely on your credit rating, so if your report has lots of blemishes then don't expect them to help you.

A friend of mine wasn't able to get hers consolidated, but instead transferred her loan to a credit card with a 0% interest rate. Sure that rate only lasted for 18 months, but there's always another great card offer in the mail to roll the new balance too.

[jjross]

I borrowed $2500 in 1988 and my loan is now $8000. I dropped out of school the first year and never have done anything with my life. I am an alcoholic and have been homeless for years. I am trying to put my life back together but I am afraid if I start to draw a paycheck it will be garnished. The loan is in default and was turned over to a collection agency years ago. They periodically call my brother. This same brother would be willing to help me pay a lump sum and then I could pay him back. He won't pay $8000 however. Does anyone know if these loans can ever be negotiated. Say by offering them a lump sum pay off?

[AshleyJordan]

I borrowed $2500 in 1988 and my loan is now $8000. I dropped out of school the first year and never have done anything with my life. I am an alcoholic and have been homeless for years. I am trying to put my life back together but I am afraid if I start to draw a paycheck it will be garnished. The loan is in default and was turned over to a collection agency years ago. They periodically call my brother. This same brother would be willing to help me pay a lump sum and then I could pay him back. He won't pay $8000 however. Does anyone know if these loans can ever be negotiated. Say by offering them a lump sum pay off?

It sounds like you've been through a hell of a lot but that you're making a lot of progress. Do you have a social worker? yes you can negotiate, but it's complicated. . . .

[Millenial]

sallie mae actually offers private student loan consolidation. go to their website and look for it...however, they do not offer a fixed interest rate.

citibank does offer fixed interest rates for private loan consolidation. you may want to try them.if they give anything less than 9.5% fixed, i am down

i would highly advise against sallie mae, their consolidation offers no real benefits for private imo

[PeakDream]

How is your credit? If you have decent credit, you should know a lot of credit card companies offer 0% for the first years or even for the live of the balance transfer. Just make sure you DON'T MISS a payment, otherwise, it'll BALLOON to 17%!!!! When I had my first job, I knew I would have a stable check for six months, I transfered $3,000 from loan of 7% to 1% interest credit card for one year. I don't exactly remember the minimum payment, but I had no problem making the payment. If you don't know your credit score, then you should find out.

[LawGrrl416]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll start by trying to negotiate with Sallie Mae and if that fails, I'll look into balance transfers and spend the next few years chasing that 0% interest rate.

Good luck to everyone. Keep your head up, JJ...hope things improve for you soon.

[PeakDream]

I borrowed $2500 in 1988 and my loan is now $8000. I dropped out of school the first year and never have done anything with my life. I am an alcoholic and have been homeless for years. I am trying to put my life back together but I am afraid if I start to draw a paycheck it will be garnished. The loan is in default and was turned over to a collection agency years ago. They periodically call my brother. This same brother would be willing to help me pay a lump sum and then I could pay him back. He won't pay $8000 however. Does anyone know if these loans can ever be negotiated. Say by offering them a lump sum pay off?
JJ, generally, all of those loans are negotiable. Because you can easily declare bankruptcy. My suggestion is, get your current financial situation in place. Knowing where you are with your money right now, and begin negotiation with the company.

[EmberMae]

JJ, generally, all of those loans are negotiable. Because you can easily declare bankruptcy. My suggestion is, get your current financial situation in place. Knowing where you are with your money right now, and begin negotiation with the company.
I was under the impression that you couldn't shed student loans through bankruptcy. JJ, I would find some kind of a credit counselor. I've heard about ones that help you negotiate with the lender for a reasonable payoff plan. I don't know if a private lender can garnish your wages. I know the government can.

[redsail]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll start by trying to negotiate with Sallie Mae and if that fails, I'll look into balance transfers and spend the next few years chasing that 0% interest rate.

Good luck to everyone. Keep your head up, JJ...hope things improve for you soon.

If you have to go the balance transfer route watch out for transfer fees. Most offers I get in the mail seem to have some sort of % fee to transfer your money to them. Although this might be ok if the APR is low enough for a long period, many low rates are 6 month intro rates, and you might have to move it again and incur another % fee...

[wordsmith]

I was under the impression that you couldn't shed student loans through bankruptcy. JJ, I would find some kind of a credit counselor. I've heard about ones that help you negotiate with the lender for a reasonable payoff plan. I don't know if a private lender can garnish your wages. I know the government can.

Student loans definitely cannot always be shed via filing bankruptcy.

[AshleyJordan]

Student loans definitely cannot always be shed via filing bankruptcy.
It's my understanding that bankruptcy never gets you off the hook from your student loans. . . that, barring really exceptional circumstances, they're with you until you pay them off.

[PeakDream]

That's correct, student loan is not a dischargeable debt. Bankruptcy can give you time to protect from other debts and focus on paying off your student loans. I don't recommend bankruptcy unless nothing else work. BTW, check your local state law. There are courts that discharge part of the loan based on undue hardship, also you can challenge the load balance in many courts. Lastly, I remember there is a federal regulation that for student loans, debtor can only garnish up to 10% of take home pay.

[weary]

you know, i bet if degrees could somehow be repossessed (like cars, houses, etc.), more folks would pay back their student loans [and more promptly]! i mean, i know they can't take the knowledge from you or erase your memory or whatever...but if your degree was made invalid for lack of payment or something along the lines of having your drivers license revoked for nonpayment of tickets...it might just be effective. i wonder...

[AshleyJordan]

you know, i bet if degrees could somehow be repossessed (like cars, houses, etc.), more folks would pay back their student loans [and more promptly]! i mean, i know they can't take the knowledge from you or erase your memory or whatever...but if your degree was made invalid for lack of payment or something along the lines of having your drivers license revoked for nonpayment of tickets...it might just be effective. i wonder...

not a bad policy idea. not sure if i support it, but it really might work!

[NewMrs.]

BTW, check your local state law. There are courts that discharge part of the loan based on undue hardship, also you can challenge the load balance in many courts. Lastly, I remember there is a federal regulation that for student loans, debtor can only garnish up to 10% of take home pay.


I believe that it is unbelievably hard to have your student loans discharged due to undue hardship.

I read a story once about this guy who had a significant amount of student loan debt from his education at a music conservatory. He had a job as a musician with an orchestra in one of the cities in Louisiana. (This was long before Katrina.) He didn't make enough money as a musician to pay off of his bills, so he applied to have his SL loans discharged due to undue hardship.
The gov't came in and analyzed his income sources and his living expenses and denied his request. They basically said that he wasn't doing enough on his own to save money. For instance, they actually suggested that he get rid of his cat so that he wouldn't have the expense of cat food.

[NewMrs.]

you know, i bet if degrees could somehow be repossessed (like cars, houses, etc.), more folks would pay back their student loans [and more promptly]! i mean, i know they can't take the knowledge from you or erase your memory or whatever...but if your degree was made invalid for lack of payment or something along the lines of having your drivers license revoked for nonpayment of tickets...it might just be effective. i wonder...


That makes alot of sense.

The problem would come for those who started their educations but never finished. I know that there are a lot of people who started degree or certificate programs at one or more schools, never finished the program or programs, and they have absolutely nothing to show for the educational loans racked up.

[SmilesSoSweet]

My best friend actually filed for bankruptcy a couple years ago. The only thing she couldn't get rid of were her student loans.

Those stay with you for life!

Mine should all be paid off by July. It will basically take me six years to pay off $15k of student loans.

[PeakDream]

Please check with lawyer or a counselor. Depends on location and certain criteria, houses can't be possessed. I'm not trying to a jerk, but almost everything, I mean everything can be negotiated!!!!

[beeblebrox]

Mine should all be paid off by July. It will basically take me six years to pay off $15k of student loans.

I've got $13,330 or so left out of 17k total and I know it's going to take that long to pay it off. Also, I've increased my payment amount by $50 to achieve that goal of six years .

[SmilesSoSweet]

I've got $13,330 or so left out of 17k total and I know it's going to take that long to pay it off. Also, I've increased my payment amount by $50 to achieve that goal of six years .

My minimum payment was just $41/month. The lowest I ever paid was $150. And the most I paid was $225/month. I also had it automatically deducted from my checking account. And when I did have the pay slips, I'd mail in an extra payment.

I just wanted to get rid of my student loan debt. My credit card debt is usually paid off within a month or two of using my credit cards.

[beeblebrox]

My minimum payment was just $41/month. The lowest I ever paid was $150. And the most I paid was $225/month. I also had it automatically deducted from my checking account. And when I did have the pay slips, I'd mail in an extra payment.

I just wanted to get rid of my student loan debt. My credit card debt is usually paid off within a month or two of using my credit cards.

My minimum payment is $165 a month, so I've been paying $200 a month since I got my job. By next December or around that, I will have earned an interest rate deduction of 1%. I wish that my minimums were that low, but I'm still trudging on with the payments. It's my second highest expense next to rent.

[jjross]

Thanks everybody for all the good advice and thoughts. You have helped me get some of my thoughts in order. I am glad I found this board.

[wordsmith]

I believe that it is unbelievably hard to have your student loans discharged due to undue hardship.


Yep. The most I'm aware of is either deferral or forebearance, neither of which is debt forgiveness.

[lynofoz]

I took out private student loans through Sallie Mae as an undergrad and was wondering if there's anyway to lower my monthly payments. I'm in law school now and my student loan bill is killing me each month (I can't work a lot. No time in the first year of law school.)

I get stuff in the mail everyday about consolidating federal student loans, but does anyone know how I could consolidate/reduce my loan bill each month on a private loan?

Thanks!


If you're in school full time, you can defer the payments. I think there's a form you file, with proof you're taking the proper number of hours. Ask your financial aid people. If they don't know call your lender.

[lynofoz]

Everybody: before you take out, or defer or take a forbearance on, student loans, go to www.studentloanjustice.org.

[NewMrs.]

Everybody: before you take out, or defer or take a forbearance on, student loans, go to www.studentloanjustice.org.


Actually, when I read through some of the stories on this website, it cemented my understanding that loan forgiveness is almost possible to obtain. There were stories on this site about single mothers with medical problems who still couldn't obtain total loan forgiveness.

[karlahaze]

Hello everybody, I am writing a novel and I don’t want to spend for free grants out. I already know I want a grant for writing a book. I just need to know what govt. office I need to call or who to write to a request the application to be mailed to me. I just want the application for the grant itself. With application in my hands, I can handle the rest. Can you please help me?

[NewMrs.]

Hello everybody, I am writing a novel and I don’t want to spend for free grants out. I already know I want a grant for writing a book. I just need to know what govt. office I need to call or who to write to a request the application to be mailed to me. I just want the application for the grant itself. With application in my hands, I can handle the rest. Can you please help me?


Maybe you can find this by using Google.