Question:
Dear Steve,
I was reading the article about top 10 reasons to stop paying private student loans and i’m thinking it might be for me.
I make good money, but my loans are killing me and i am paycheck to paycheck. I am on a graduated repayment at like $1000 now and it will just get worse from here. It is only going to get worse. I have no savings account, no home, no spouse and it’s up to me to make these payments that are considered low right now by myself. I cannot do it much longer.
If i were to lose my job tomorrow, i have no money in my savings. All my money goes to my student loans first and then rent and then other things like car and insurances. I find myself having to use my credit cards for groceries on some pay periods. It’s insane. I have credit cards with high interest rates i want to pay off too. I just can’t do it anymore. I need to erase the debt and be able to save and it’s impossible. i’m 31 and i don’t have a savings or a home and a good credit score.
I cannot file bankruptcy because i work in finance and it cannot be on my FINRA database and also, it won’t remove the debt anyway according to the current laws.
Should I just stop paying now? What if i do get sued? Now do i have to spend money on a lawyer I do not have the money for? What sort of lawyer would I even need? What are the chances of me being sued in these cases since the article states that some don’t even bother. I have ran out of options.
Ashley
Answer:
Dear Ashley,
If you defaulted on your private student loan debt it will negatively impact your credit and possibly lead to you being sued. That’s something to consider if you have a financial disclosure form to complete for your job. The legal action of a lawsuit may also appear on a FINRA search.
Basically you are trapped. If your credit is important to keep clean then you have no choice but to keep making minimum payments.
But if your life is more important then you may want take a big leap forward and get your finances under control and set yourself up for a better financial future.
For example, it is possible to default on your private student loans and negotiate a settlement. Here is my list of smart student loan attorneys.
You could file bankruptcy on the rest of your debt, eliminate it in 90 days or less, start building an emergency fund, and start saving for retirement. You will be amazed to calculate how much you are willingly throwing away in retirement because you are not yet in a place to make these tough choices.
So from my point of view the choices are abundantly clear. You can keep doing what you have been and you know what the result will be or you can take decisive action, change the path of your life, and create some financial safety.
There simply is no magic wand that is going to fix this for you without intervention and some pain. Why don’t you look at your options using my Get Out of Debt Calculator.
Just because you don’t like the options does not mean you don’t have options.
You are not alone. I'm here to help. There is no need to suffer in silence. We can get through this. Tomorrow can be better than today. Don't give up.
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Question asked.