After struggling on $9/hour for several years, I went back to school in my 40s and have been paying the minimum on my student loan debt because that’s all I can afford. It is currently 5% of my gross, making it so I can only put 5% in my 401K. The monthly payments are scheduled to keep increasing as my income continues to decrease. It supposedly will be paid off when it is taking 1/3 of my SSI when I am 78 years old.
Even though I have been making the payments, my debt has increased 20% above the original balance and continues to grow.
Someone close to me started out with $35K student loan debt 20 years ago. Now it’s $250K.
These loans are not meant to be paid off. It is the penalty of trying to get out of your class by getting an education.
Don’t worry about any bailout much less any debt forgiveness or reduction; the student loan banks are too powerful. Sallie Mae can garnish your unemployment, they can garnish your Social Security. They can take as much as 1/3 of your gross, which equals 1/2 of your net. There is no statute of limitations on student loan debt.
Yea, those of us carrying student loan debt are living the high life. I am guaranteed to be destitute in my old age. Consequently I’m saving up to fix my 17-year-old car and buy a small trailer to live in on the side of the road so I won’t have to sleep in my car as I did when I could not find work for a year after getting my BA with honors in Government & International Politics/Electronic Journalism.
Thanks in advance for attacking me for not being as smart as you.
Maybe you should have done research on the demand for jobs with a degree in Government and International Politics. You might have come to the conclusion that you should have majored in engineering, nursing or accounting. Or even gone to trade school.