Damn Student Loans

my principal hasn't decreased in 2 1/2 years, despite making monthly payments.

hah i switched to income-based repayment about 6 months ago so i expect my balance will stay the same for the next 10 years (or until i start making mad $).

my principal's being paid down, but it's like watching paint dry or golf on TV. i'll be paying them shits off till i die ;_;

Also, lol at seeing the total debt again. Since I had autopayments set up, I hadn't looked at it in awhile. Doesn't seem to have gone down much.asdjfklasdfjlskdf

LOL at you coming in the bedroom and announcing my outstanding debt when I'm still in bed on the one day of the week I get to sleep in. *bitter*

I forgive you, by the way. I just thought it was funny.

How can you sleep when we have so much debt???

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204644504576653043088346786.html

Sweet.

Wait, I don't think my private loan is government backed. Oh well. Sweet for other people, though!

so my payment was deducted after all! Just late. I think they owe me a penalty fee?

And the same thing happened to me..... So I ended up paying double. I suppose there are worse things in this world. They'll get 1 month less interest from me. Idiots.

I've only ("only") got about $24,000 total spread across three things ($9000 Direct Loan, $12,500 HESAA NJClass loan, $2500 Perkins loan) and I'm thinking abt consolidating them under the Federal Direct. This is the best way to consolidate, right? Are there any downsides to consolidation? And does anyone know the system well enough to be able to tell me that, if I'm paying a total of $250ish/month now, whether having them consolidated into one loan would make that go up or down?

i would hope they would waive penalty fees for at least the 1st month they are transitioning 2 this new system. i went thru the re-registration & it wasnt really clear whether the autopay was still set up or if that also needed 2 be re-inputted.

also there are still ~1M ppl im guessing in the n.east (me included) w/o power right now & for the near future probably

Okay, I've decided to consolidate; has anyone done this recently that can give me tips on who to consolidate with? Or does it all depend on diff shit?

I think it's best to consolidate everything into a federal loan if you can since they have lower interest rates.

That's what I've read before and that's where I was leaning. I've also been told that rates are at their lowest and that if there's a time to consolidate, it's now.

Surely the slowest and most ponderously bureaucratic process ever?? It takes you 2 months to read my 2-page IBR form? Seriously???

You'd almost think they don't WANT you to pay your loans...

Since the fed loans website changeover, it really screwed up my auto debit, which I thought was resolved. I was looking at my checkings account the other day and though wow, I'm doing OK. But then I became suspicious and realized that the last 2 months they hadn't taken my loan out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg

Let's talk IBR. Do you have it?

from several months ago:

but forgiving all loans is also basically impossible. for one, we can't have taxpayers paying some harvard mba's loans. I would imagine the end-game will involve making it possible to discharge them via bankruptcy and some sort of bailout will be paired w/ that? but there will be no 'free ride', that's for sure.

― iatee, Thursday, September 15, 2011 6:03 PM (6 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think that a large part of the student loan problem would be resolved by making all student loans fully dischargeable in bankruptcy (subject to a waiting period of however many years or income caps so that Harvard MBAs/white-shoe lawyers/Kim Kardashian's plastic surgeon don't immediately try to get rid of their burden).

Well, I would more or less qualify for ten year forgiveness under IBR for my current work situation. But it's sort of difficult then how to think "tactically" about paying my loans. I also see a lot of conflicting opinions on whether or not the forgiven amount is subject to tax - seems like it should be, but apparently not?

i don't think that the amount forgiven under IBR is taxable (though i don't have a citation for that) mainly b/c if it was there would've been a pretty big stink about it.

sweeet

I have a citation for it somewhere...

http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgivenesstaxability.phtml

Some loan forgiveness programs are taxable and some are not. Under current law, the amount forgiven generally represents taxable income for income tax purposes in the year it is written off. There are, however, a few exceptions. Generally, student loan forgiveness is excluded from income if the forgiveness is contingent upon the student working for a specific number of years in certain professions.

Public service loan forgiveness, teacher loan forgiveness, law school loan repayment assistance programs and the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program are not taxable. Loan discharges for closed schools, false certification, unpaid refunds, and death and disability are considered taxable income. The forgiveness of the remaining balance under income-contingent repayment and income-based repayment after 25 years in repayment is considered taxable income.

so IBR IS taxable income then ... unless you are eligible for one of the loan forgiveness programs that explicitly states that the amount forgiven is non-taxable.

i am also on the IBR plan, about 2.5 years down, 7.5 more to go. after all these months of payments, i still haven't even cut into the principle, so if i don't follow through to 10 years i'm screwed.

/indentured public servant

so IBR IS taxable income then ... unless you are eligible for one of the loan forgiveness programs that explicitly states that the amount forgiven is non-taxable.

Right, although I believe I will qualify for PSLF like ZS. Just getting my certification now.

Do you just pay the minimum, Z S? Good luck to you! - 1/4 of the way there is pretty good going, IMO. You'll hopefully be one of the first over the finish line!

I just pay the minimum, yep. which is still like $450 a month. what's sad is, before i got on the IBR plan, i was on another repayment plan for several months that was more like $600 a month, and i STILL wasn't cutting into the principle at all!

I will be paying more than twice what you pay, bro!

oh man, so sorry! that suuuuucks!

I'm actually weirdly okay with it. It's because my IBR is calculated off of both my wife and my income. But because my minimums are so big AND I hopefully qualify for PSLF, I feel okay about the fact that I am probably paying down interest faster than I would if I filed single. I also get a pretty big tax refund that way so would usually just pay it down on my loans. And I just erased all my other debt so I can focus on this.

Let's just hope she's right, haha!:

http://askheatherjarvis.com/blog/PSLF_is_secure

on the "forgive student loans" movement thing, my gut reaction is that if the government is going to spend hundreds of billions of additional dollars to help people out, it seems kind of...wrong...to direct that money toward a bunch of college graduates rather than people stuck in a cycle of poverty. obviously i understand that so many of us are over our heads in student loan debt, and that if the debt was forgiven a bunch of people would have extra hundreds of dollars each month to consume products. and of course, i realize that the same crappy argument could be made against any sort of financial stimulus directed toward the middle class. but still.

which is why the bailout is prob gonna be 'letting people go bankrupt'

Yeah on some level I am, well, okay I will do my best to pay these within reason. I def. see it as my responsibility and I did sign up for it after all.

I just don't quite think student loans should even HAVE interest, or significant interest I should say.

(xp)

well that's just another subsidy. 'no interest' is no different from 'here here's $500'

the bigger problem is that even after people in the worst situations can go bankrupt, higher ed isn't getting any cheaper

I got a severance payment last year that was taxed at close to 40% but also bumped my income up enough that I think I'm going to be dq'd from my ibr plan, despite the fact that I don't currently earn as much as last year's return would indicate. Those paymens are going to make my life much more difficult :(

tehresa, Do you have to file for IBR from your tax returns? I did mine using an "alternative documentation of income" that reflects my current income:

http://www.usafunds.org/lenders/Lender%20Forms/IBRAltIncomeDocumentation.pdf

ooh thanks. they had asked for my most recent return but i think i can use that form.

Guys I need to reconsolidate (under my Federal Direct loan) but I don't know which repayment plan to choose. Anyone have pros/cons w/ the Income-Based Repayment and/or Income Contingent Repayment? They seem more appealing than the standard fixed-rate plan but I'm worried there's some aspect of this that I'm not considering.

it's insane. my first bill came and said that in 6 days "$583" was due - my min payment!!!!! I called and told them in NO WAY could I pay that much a month let alone in 6 days. I logged onto myedu and did a income based payment and it said I could afford over $900 a month - who designed this freaking algorithm? As it is, living alone in So Cal is paycheck to paycheck - how is it they think I'm sitting on $900 each month?!! I had no choice
but to go with the increase every 2 years plan for 25 years. I'll pay TWICE as I borrowed and the best part? I'll be paying $675/month ages 63-65! let's hope my social security can cover it!!! For the next two years I'm at $192/month.

it's terrible. I couldn't afford to go to graduate even if I wanted to :( So much for a new(er) car any time soon. let's hope work is always just 7 miles away. such a flippin' bummer :(

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304818404577350030559887086.html

Between the ages of 18 and 22, Jodi Romine took out $74,000 in student loans to help finance her business-management degree at Kent State University in Ohio.

jesus christ

I didn't think you could borrow that much for a BA

For Stevie:

http://askheatherjarvis.com/forums/viewthread/215/

But I can summarize - you pretty much want IBR

Jen IBR is supposed to be 10-15% of your income. That's the point of INCOME-based repayment. Are you using the calculator right?

http://askheatherjarvis.com/forums/viewthread/2744/#961

This one?
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRCalc.jsp