getting out of debt

Student loan debt.
any advice on how to get out of it?

like 20K + in debt and struggling to make it...

help....!

fake your death.

I am pretty much in the same place you are in, with $2000 in credit card debt as well. It sucks. I suggest getting a job with a lot of overtime. . .

yeh. thinking about getting a part-time job for the weekends.
*sigh*

[Edited on Jul 05, 2005 by the_chokers]

Turn to a life of crime- you'll either make so much money that you'll be able to pay the bill in no time, or you'll end up dead or in jail which will essentially make it impossible for them to collect.

You see? THAT'S a plan people! He's grabbing life by the balls. By the balls.

By the time I'm done with school I will be looking at 120k in debt. And I know what you're thinking; that's a lot of blood and semen Bastard, how will you manage?
Creatine, and mangoes is all I'll say.

"getting out of debt" not possible in the united states. well, almost not possible. this country wants you to be in debt. when your in debt, your a good little worker bee. when your a good little worker bee, your part of the middle class. when the majority is in the middle class, the country is stable. you know, homeowners with suv's, credit cards, students with big student loans, blah blah blah. people in debt.

just my opinion.

damn the man. . .

If you said "shoot yourself", your advice would have been just a tad more helpful.

Hey, Choky. I'm student loan debt 12 grand!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! can i join the club?????

Samantha's suggestion of loan consolidation is a good one (as is her comment on your current status... still a student? Get government support...). Beyond that...

Two basic choices: pay it off, or declare bankruptcy. That's really what it comes down to. The "fake own death" and "life of crime" suggestions are of limited value... the banks know about these ideas, and will likely figure out what you're doing... Marrying rich... well, good luck!

If you consolidate your debt with a particular bank, and put in a bit of work to convince them that you're a good credit risk, it should be no problem to negotiate sensible terms. As long as they believe you're not a complete asshole, they *want* to negotiate good terms... the longer you take to pay the debt, the more money they make in interest! So negotiate easy terms... a few bucks a month, even if it's a *lot* of months, is better than promising payments that you won't be able to meet.

The other option (bankruptcy) is not great. It'll stain you for life. Really. 50 years from now, people won't want to lend you money because you defaulted on loans now. Better to work out *some* kind of terms now, and keep your credit record more or less clean.

Or win the lottery... that would work too. Let me know if you figure out how...

Edited to add: DO pay attention to Ada's comments. DO NOT pay attention to Caligula_ODM's advice. It will get you nowhere (nowhere good, anyway).

[Edited on Jul 05, 2005 by Zork]

yeah i know, a little long winded. sorry. hey kid...just shoot yourself.

i just started to pay back my student loans, it's bleek. the worst part is that now that i'm actually paying off debt all of my past running is catching up. with in three months i've had 2 old phone companies, credit cards, and hospital bills i never paid, because i was dirt poor, all contact me saying they're going to sue. i've actually almost paid the fuckers off, but shit it's like they all know each other.

the worst part is i'm trying to move out to portland, or. this is delaying me.

i fuck myself.

have you checked the Credit Cards group? It's not super busy, but you might be able to get some good suggestions.

This is exactly why the nice lady a few posts up recommended consolidating your loans.

i did consolidate, however it's just for the student loans and dosen't start for a couple months. it's just a drag to sit down and really look at how much you owe.

you know, when you posted your comment, i didnt offer any advice. i voiced my opinion.

the club is open...

Student loans are one of the few things you can't discharge in bankruptcy so that's not really an option.

Someone recommended paying more than the minmum monthly payment when you can afford it. Although that might otherwise be a good idea, the odds are by the time you are making more money, you'll have higher interest rate debts (credit cards, mortgage, car, etc.) so you'd be better off paying those down first. The one good thing about students loans is they're usually at pretty low interest rates.

My best advice is don't borrow more than you absolutely need. Its easy to do while in college when you don't really understand that you do have to pay all that money back. Consolidating is also usually a good idea so you only have one payment rather than several a month. Just make sure you get as low an interest rate as possible.

what i was gonna say - you'll never find cheaper money

First off, $20,000 isn't that much, and you must have some crazy payment plans if that's too much. Or a crumby job. I have around $55,000 and payment minimum is only around $180ish a month. That works to about 45 dollars a week, that's not so difficult to budget out.

I don't know what kind of loans these are, federal or private. Sallie Mae can consolodate federal loans, I couldn't consolodate a loan from a private bank though. You can do this online at http://salliemae.com/.

THEN, if those payments are too much right now, you can apply for a forbearance, also online, and you'll get 6 months of no payment time, but the intrest still piles up.

Basically be smart with your money, do you keep a budget? You should know the prices or ranges of most of your bills, and hopefully know your income. That way you know where you stand way before the end of the month, and can plan ahead if you need to save a few extra bucks. Seriously, $20,000, that's nothing. Paying that off in less that 10 years is completely doable. You'll be fine.

Sorry man, but as soon as you start to lapse on payments, its reported on your credit bureau. An R9 (or I9, depending on the type of bill) takes about a year for you to get, sooner if the organization that you owe the money to sends it for 3rd party collection.