How is everyone paying their high interest student loans?

[marcie26]

I got a forbearance on my private student loan until December 15th- I am scheduled to deliver baby number three December 22nd via c-section. I will not be finding a job until the baby is at least 8 weeks. I thought I read that student loans are automatically deferred for 6 months when you file bankruptcy - is that true?
I am just trying to figure out how in the world we are going to pay $500 per month plus the house payment, utilities, car insurance, diapers for three, etc etc. etc. It feels like filing bankruptcy isn't even going to help. I have talked with the loan company before about lowering the interest and/or payments and they say they cannot do anything to help us. Do I just pay what I can? I know that these loan co. can get really really nasty. I started a photography biz (not official as I do not have a tax id or anything like that, but I make a little bit of $$ doing it), but I am still just starting out and not making enough to even put a dent in the monthly loan payment.
Just curious how others are doing it and if you have any tips? (I tried selling on ebay, but had a really bad experience)

[mysterie91]

My understanding is that while "in" BK you don't make payments on the student loan the interest does continue to accrue.

With regard to my husbands student loan with Sallie Mae - they have not sent us anything asking for payment and have disabled our ability to view his account online. They would not even talk to him to ask if the interest accrues during this period. For some unknown reason our case is still open even though we filed in April, had 341 and turned over stimulus in June. Nobody can seem to tell me why this trustee has the case open still. So I wait on the student loan.

My husband was unemployed right after filing so we took that time to not pay the student loan and get back on our feet. Now I worry that when the Bk is closed and Sallie Mae wants payments they will be insane due to accrued interest.

Good Luck to you!

[marcie26]

I am so glad I have no more loans through Sallie Mae - I have heard they are the worst! At least if I can stop paying long enough to have my baby and find a job that will help us tremendously! Thanks for replying!

[cyn5]

You might be eligible for working mother deferment

I know that you can defer your fed loans if you just had a baby or if you are a working mother of a preschooler or soemthing like that. Also, the private loan companies are so awful to deal with (I know!), but you may want to see about getting a hardship or unemployment forebearance. I know AES (TERI Loans) will give you a total of up to 18 months (not all at once...maybe 6 ms at time). Both my husband and I have a great deal of private loan debt from our graduate school education & it seems to be so much out of control that we are thinking of bankruptcy, but like you I wonder if it is even worth it since since the reason we would file is mainly because of the student loan debt. My fed loans do not bother me and I want to keep paying on those and if you ever need to put them in deferment/forebearance, it is easy to do so, but with private loans...we all have no where to turn.

[danaf]

It sucks. I wish I had taken one of those cash advances and put it towards my SM loan. I didn't though. Right now I'm still making the min payments and saving up everything extra in a bank account that accrues interest. I hope to make one lump payment and pay SM off forever!!!!

[marcie26]

It sucks. I wish I had taken one of those cash advances and put it towards my SM loan. I didn't though. Right now I'm still making the min payments and saving up everything extra in a bank account that accrues interest. I hope to make one lump payment and pay SM off forever!!!!

Yeah, I took out so many cash advances I SHOULD have used them for the student loan - in college I thought that having student loans were "better" than having credit card debt - boy was I wrong!

[Mi Bankruptcy]

Are you receiving any state aid? If you are you can get a hardship deferment for up to one year. Call your lender, see if what paperwork you need to fill out and you will send them a copy of what ever assistance you may be receiving. We were on WIC ( you get milk, eggs, juice & cheese)

Keep trying to extend your deferment( or forberance. forgot terminology). They usually say only 6 months. However, sometimes they will continue to extend it for another 6 months. I did it 4 times. This was also one of my reasons I filed. I knew I was not going to be able to pay when the time comes.

[marcie26]

Are you receiving any state aid? If you are you can get a hardship deferment for up to one year. Call your lender, see if what paperwork you need to fill out and you will send them a copy of what ever assistance you may be receiving. We were on WIC ( you get milk, eggs, juice & cheese)

Keep trying to extend your deferment( or forberance. forgot terminology). They usually say only 6 months. However, sometimes they will continue to extend it for another 6 months. I did it 4 times. This was also one of my reasons I filed. I knew I was not going to be able to pay when the time comes.

Yes, we do get WIC and the medical card, but we do not qualify for Link. We signed our petition for the bankruptcy back in October, but STILL have not heard ANYTHING, but I assume something happened because when I checked on the student loan site it says they received my forbearance request.

[CurtInKS]

I'm not paying mine. Continuing to work off a hardship foreberance. When they want 40% of my monthly income for a payment, I'm not sure what they expect. The interest is piling up, but I don't have any choice.

[Macy]

Just got another year long deferment on fed loans through SM (whew!), but then AES, Nelnet, & one other, all fed loans, are just coming out of deferment. Each of those 3 is between 35-50 a month. Couldn't even afford "that" for the longest time. "Finally" have 2 jobs at the moment, and by stopping the damn astronomical cc payments I "can" afford those bills. For the moment. One job will end sometime in March or April, the other one I'm going to need to stop as it's too hard on me physically. (I'll need another game plan to try & find something else.) I've got 3 private SM loans. Had them in forbearance for yrs. One of the 3 is "done with" for the forbearance supposedly, while the other 2 have "I think" about 3 more months left. SM of course keeps charging a $50 "processing fee" per forbearance request each time, and while it used to be every 6 months, now they've lowered it to every 3 months, so it's really outrageous. The amount they were requesting for the 3 loans was going to be about 6 grand a month!! In my last forbearance request, which was "full time employed but not making enough" (or something like that), versus the "unemployed" one's I was requesting before, I sent them the last 2 paystubs. (Actually 4, covering the 2 jobs.) Well they lowered the monthly payments to under $100 for one of the loans, & about $250 or so for the other 2. But then again that's not going to be possible for me so I'll just have to keep working with them--after ALL forbearance time is used up. What's absolutely insane is that the amount I'm "saving" by NOT paying the monthly cc bills anymore is almost *exactly* the same as the total monthly student loan payments to date are going to be. I couldn't afford the monthly cc bills, couldn't afford to live/eat, have health care, daily living expenses or ANYTHING, (let alone save for retirement or have a safety net), so this whole thing is simply insane. "I'm working on it" is all I can say. I simply "don't" want to go where I've been mentally anymore the way I've been for the past yr over all this debt. It's just no longer worth it. If I have to default at some point, then so be it.

[marcie26]

I know what you mean Macy - I have had depression since i was ten years old and this student loan has only made it worse. There are times I don't even want to live and how stupid is that? Over money? I have three absolutely beautiful babies that need me and I should be thinking of that instead!

[Macy]

Yes, I quite understand, Marcie. I have actually more than once been on the phone with SM & told them I'm going to end up committing suicide over this. It's bad, it really is. Don't know how many times you've had deferments, forbearances on your loans, but you can keep doing it for yrs. That's what I've been doing. (Maybe one day I will make the money to pay it all off--who knows? That had been my original intention in going to school. I never expected not to pay.)

Good Luck! Keep posting.

Macy

[marcie26]

Yes, I quite understand, Marcie. I have actually more than once been on the phone with SM & told them I'm going to end up committing suicide over this. It's bad, it really is. Don't know how many times you've had deferments, forbearances on your loans, but you can keep doing it for yrs. That's what I've been doing. (Maybe one day I will make the money to pay it all off--who knows? That had been my original intention in going to school. I never expected not to pay.)

Good Luck! Keep posting.

Macy

My loan is through ACS and I was told I can only do a forbearance twice and only for 6 months at a time I don't know what happened, but when I checked online last month it said they had received my forbearance request (which I didn't request) and now it says that the payment is overdue.

[Macy]

when I checked online last month it said they had received my forbearance request (which I didn't request) and now it says that the payment is overdue.

Have you called and talked to them about this? I'd do that immediately. I'd also ask them about the 1 yr total forbearance thing. There might be something else they can recommend since you just had a child. (and congratulations on having a new baby! )

[marcie26]

Have you called and talked to them about this? I'd do that immediately. I'd also ask them about the 1 yr total forbearance thing. There might be something else they can recommend since you just had a child. (and congratulations on having a new baby! )

THanks!
It is so hard for me to talk on the phone because my kids are always so loud. I have to go to get my youngest's social security number tomorrow though and will have a sitter for the oldest two so I will try to call then when it is quiet.

What really stinks is even when I DO go back to work we are gonna be screwed - all of my income will go to daycare and then we will make too much money to get WIC and the Medical card- we just can't win