Too much student loan debt?!?

[gt0163c]

Another thing to think about/remember/look into if you're thinking about taking time off from being a student is medical insurance. If you're still on your parents' insurance, check to see if you can/will still be covered if you're not a full-time student. Otherwise, make sure to factor in the cost of at least catastrophic medical coverage (for the case of like an automobile accident or major illness or something).

[yourbeginnings]

I thought my $76K in student loans was bad. Most of it is my fault for not being more serious about my student loan after graduation, consolidated at a higher percentage rate and abused/over-used the forbearance grace periods. Not my loan is on a 30 year payment plan and is almost as much as my monthly mortgage payment. Through consolidation and automatic debits my interest rate is 7.0%. Does anyone have any ideas how to get a better rate from the Department of Education?

[Lisa23]

Loan Forgiveness- Working in public service jobs could buy you a loan reduction, or even a loan cancellation. The website Mapping Your Future provides tools to help you determine if you're eligible for any of these programs. They can help you find out who holds your loan if you are unsure. There are also specific public service organizations that help their employees pay back their school loans.

Economic Hardship Deferments- if you're struggling to make your payments, check out this hardship deferment calculator to see if you might qualify for a loan extension. This can ease some of the burden, but remember, you will be paying as much as twice the amount of interest by extending your payments over a longer period of time.

If you qualify for any of these programs, you can save thousands of loan dollars. I wish I had one of these for my mortgage! Lisa

[karlahaze]

Hello everybody, I want to start a small business and I am looking for some grant information. I would really just like to pay someone else to do it I have spent hours looking into it and there is just so much info I’m at a loss as what to do. Anyone ever has done this. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much in advance.

[jasmitwalkar]

I'm looking for information on private student loans. My main issue is that the loan will be strictly for living expenses, not tuition or books. My mother is willing to pay for my tuition and books but she is not willing to co-sign my loan and we can no longer live in the same house. I need a private loan to pay moving expenses. My credit is at least good, maybe excellent due to a previous student loan that was paid off. Any and all advice appreciated.

[Philip Brewer]

The math on whether taking on a student loan makes sense isn't hard:

1. Estimate what your loan payments will be. (Usually the loan company can give you the data.) Figure it based on borrowing money for the entire degree program, and go ahead and turn it into an annual amount
   
2. Estimate how much the degree will be worth. (Trade groups and headhunters often have "salary estimators." Googling "how much can I make with my degree" plus the name of your field is another way turn up some data). Take what you could make with the degree and subtract what you could make without the degree.
   
3. Compare. A degree that earns you enough extra to service the loan is probably a good deal financially--it might take 10 years or more to pay off the loan, but if the degree earns you enough extra to cover the loan payment, you'll eventually come out ahead.

I think, though, that the financial analysis is a poor way to think about it.

Doing work that you really enjoy is more important to your happiness than almost anything else. (It probably comes in about #2 after finding a spouse/making a family.) The thing is, a degree cuts both ways on this.

Sometimes, getting a particular degree is simply necessary to enable you to do your true work in life. In that case, it's worth doing, even if it means scrimping and saving to make the loan payments.

At least as often, though, your true work in life doesn't require any particular degree. (Maybe it doesn't require a degree at all.) It's terribly sad to find yourself unable to do what you most enjoy, because that work doesn't pay enough to service your student loans.

When I first got out of college (with little student loan debt, thanks to generous parents), I knew people who could have been artists, musicians, writers, but who were stuck doing other work--work they didn't love--simply to service their student loan debts. I've always been bitter about the art that was lost to the world just because of the way this country has decided to fund higher education.

[rainysparadigm]

Along the same topic, I was wondering - does anyone know if it's possible to get the Federal Perkins Loan without first accepting Stafford, and if Perkins is available to people within a moderatly decent tax bracket? I'm reading on their website but I don't see a heck of alot of details. I am going back to school for my nursing degree (associates) and RN license, and I saw in the above link that they have tuition forgiveness for nurses.

[athenamathew]

Hello friends, I live with my cousin in Florida and I really want to study at university. The university doesn’t provide international students with any financial aid or give them grants. And the costs are very much for international students as well. How can I find out if I can get a student grant to go towards university funds in the USA? Has anybody done this or do you think I could? I need your great suggestion. Thank you.

[amandalynddoh]

I am 33 years old and I want to start my own business in the next three years and I just need some general advice. Does having collage degree make any difference at the bank? When I go to apply for the loan do I need to have a business plan and convince the bank that my idea will make money or is it just going to go off my credit score? What do I need to get a small business loan?

[Julie Rains]

Re: Small business loans. You can talk to a banker (there are small business bankers or bankers designated for companies with less than $1M in annual sales, for example) and get specifics on each bank's requirements but...here's what I have heard from bankers in general and those who have businesses: you can get loans in many forms. You may get a loan that is backed by collateral, either personal (your home for example) or a business asset; or you may get a credit line that will help you with seasonal cycles. I would think that you would need a business plan (for certain types of loans) but you will likely need to give personal and business financial statements, even if the company is incorporated. If you are just starting out, then you may not have a financial history for your company but the bank may require you to be in business for a certain number of years before taking out a loan. So if you can develop a bit of a sales history before approaching the bank, that would be good. See what you can manage without borrowing money. Also, I know someone who used credit cards (teaser rates) to start a small chain of tanning salons b/c the bank wouldn't lend her money -- she had a college degree and a good job but the ccs were less expensive and she was very alert to when the teaser rates ended. Also she lived at home and had minimal expenses.

Your community college, local university, or chamber of commerce may have resources about starting a business and/or getting a loan.