FB student loan discussion

[azucena]

I'm witnessing the following student loan discussion on fb today...my internal commentary is in bold

OP - what happens if I just stop paying my federal student loans.  I should get public forgiveness but they say I don't qualify so why should I pay them?  My payment went from $50 to $400/month.  In 2025 my loan will be waived anyway, so why should I care?

Reponses:

- you'll default, they will garnish your wages and tax returns              YEPPERS!

- call them and keep saying no until they give you the payment you want

- out of 60,000 who qualified for forgiveness this year, only 600 were actually forgiven      LINK PLEASE

OP - wow, there's no way to win                        LOANS AREN'T TYPICALLY ABOUT WINNING

- I called and was able to get my $50k loan payment down to $125/month   I'D HATE TO SEE THAT BALANCE GROWTH CHART

- how will it be waived?

OP - my loan ends after 25 yrs.  if it's not paid off, the note says it will be waived.  but apparently companies don't have to grant this.                OH DEAR LORD, YOU WENT TO COLLEGE AND THINK THAT'S HOW LOANS WORK?!

- my loan company now includes my husband's income, how is that fair?

OP - I've taken all of the deferments and forbearances allowed    AGAIN, LOAN BALANCE GROWING, GROWING, GROWING

- I'll be paying til I'm dead, thanks Betsy Devos      YEAH, SHE'S EVIL BUT NOT CERTAIN SHE'S TO BLAME HERE

- my husband took a second job to catch up on debt and now we got kicked off IBR  

- file your taxes separately

- this is the government's fault     I CAN'T EVEN

- they will not go away, we took a 401k loan to pay ours off

- your payment went up because of deferment and forbearance

    OP - how is that fair                SMH!

- tell them you can only pay $5/month and just keep pushing

    OP - I can do $5/month

- I had a student loan I didn't realize was paid off, and they took my tax refund     HOW DO YOU FORGET YOU HAVE A LOAN?

- it will affect your credit which affects future finances like car loan and mortgage

    OP - how is that fair?            OH GOODNESS!

OP - I'm all for paying back exactly what I borrowed but it's much more than that    BLESS YOUR HEART

- refinance your mortgage and cash out the equity        YEAH, THIS PLAN HAS NEVER BACKFIRED

- I got IBR payments set to $0                                OH GEEZ!

[Deleted]

In 2025 my loan will be waived anyway, so why should I care?

In what universe are student loans in default just "waived"?   Did this person actually graduate?

[hoops902]

Sept 11, 2019 13:15:52 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

In 2025 my loan will be waived anyway, so why should I care?

In what universe are student loans in default just "waived"?   Did this person actually graduate?

My only thought was "they are relying on the idea that either the President, Congress, or both, will be super liberal in that year and decide to waive all outstanding student loan balances"?

[azucena]

Sept 11, 2019 13:20:05 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

Sept 11, 2019 13:15:52 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

In 2025 my loan will be waived anyway, so why should I care?

In what universe are student loans in default just "waived"?   Did this person actually graduate?

My only thought was "they are relying on the idea that either the President, Congress, or both, will be super liberal in that year and decide to waive all outstanding student loan balances"?

I'm pretty sure that 2025 is the year the loan should have been paid off based on the original 10 year (or however many year) amortization schedule.  Just disregard the fact that she clearly hasn't paid the original loan payment schedule.

[sesfw]

When I was  in school about 1991-2 I had several classmates tell me they were NOT going to pay their student loans.  Just going to blow them off.

I've often wondered what has happened to them since then.  My loan was paid off 5 years later.  Of course I went to school to learn something so I could have a job that supported us.

[gs11rmb]

If the loan is 25 years old in 2025 then she took it out in the year 2000.  We're clearly talking about a woman who is around 40 but is acting like an 18 year old with no clue.  I don't want to say she's dumb, because we all have our weaknesses or blindspots, but how can an adult college-educated individual be this uninformed 

[Tiny]

Sept 11, 2019 13:15:52 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

In 2025 my loan will be waived anyway, so why should I care?

In what universe are student loans in default just "waived"?   Did this person actually graduate?

Perhaps they have and will always be working a "public service" type job and are VERY confused/misinformed on how the waiver thing works?     I've got a couple of grads in the "public service" realm of jobs and they seem to think their loans will be magically waived at some point.    I did ask/mention if they were keeping up with payments and with the necessary paperwork and they looked at me like I had two heads.   


And the "waived" for public service thing (as well as a few other issues) is why DeVos is kind of, well, hated.  Her administration is doing NOTHING to further or improve the crappy process for making sure the benefit students were told they could take advantage of actually happens.     I'm talking about  students who actually WILL be working in lower paying "public service" jobs for most if not all of their careers.   
 

[happyhoix]

I had a discussion on a board once where the person with the student loans had figured out that if she just kept taking one class every semester her loans continue to be deferred and she wouldn't have to start paying them back. Her plan was to just keep doing that, forever I guess.

Yeah, but the loans are still out there, limiting your credit limit, waiting to be paid back at some point....

[TheOtherMe]

I think my PhD nephew and his wife file their tax returns married filing separately because he has student loans and she does not.  My understanding was that it was about IBR and some kind of expected loan forgiveness.  I hope he doesn't do something stupid with them.  His last loan was a Parent Plus  loan.  I don't know if they get informed on the status or not but he better not screw his parents over.

My best friend from high school always said she was never going to pay off her student loans.  I don't know if she ever did.  However, she has worked for the state government for over 30 years so I am guessing the loans got paid off one way or another.

[azucena]

Sept 11, 2019 14:40:35 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

If the loan is 25 years old in 2025 then she took it out in the year 2000.  We're clearly talking about a woman who is around 40 but is acting like an 18 year old with no clue.  I don't want to say she's dumb, because we all have our weaknesses or blindspots, but how can an adult college-educated individual be this uninformed 

It's not just her either. Over half of the comments offer similar advice and incorrect info. It's a bit like watching a trainwreck, but I keep checking for updates.

[azucena]

The latest response is

-just ignore them and sooner or later the loan company will realize you can't pay

Yeah pretty sure that doesn't work.

[Deleted]

Whine, whine. whine.  "I borrowed money and they expect me to pay it back!  W-a-a-a-h! "

I remember years ago when I was on creditboards.dot.com and people were asking what hey could do to hep their parents whose SS was being garnished for unpaid student loans.

[mcsangel2]

I didn't see the most important reason listed on that exchange above.

The government will garnish your social security. You know, the thing you claim so that you can retire when you're 62/67/70? Yeah. If you want to retire when you're old, you need to pay your student loans.

[azucena]

The mystery continues...

OP responded this morning - loan will be waived in 2025 because any loan before 2014 will end after 25 years under its original terms.              

WHAT MAGICAL WORLD IS THIS? AND WHY DIDN'T I JUST WAIT OUT MY OWN LOANS WHICH STARTED IN 2001?!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think that person is confused on how the terms work, are they on income based payments/student loan forgiveness?   They should really call their lender because even if let's say it was forgiven in 2025 they have to pay taxes on the balance that is written off.  If they are going not pay and hope to have it forgiven in 2025 I would hate to see their tax bill.

[Deleted]

They're citing the rules for IBR, but they're a little fuzzy on the details  You certainly can't be in default!

The Income Based Repayment Plan (IBR) is one of the most common repayment plans borrowers switch to if they are having financial hardship. If you have loans from before July 1, 2014, you payment will not be higher than 15% of your discretionary income. On this plan, you will make payments for 25 years, and at that point, your loans will be forgiven.

thecollegeinvestor.com/11856/secret-student-loan-forgiveness/

[gs11rmb]

I never had a US student loan... but is it standard that the loan will end in 25 years if paid according to the terms?  If so, I'm guessing she thinks it will just end in 25 years even if the balance hasn't been paid off.

Also, are you commenting on the thread or just lurking?  It might be hard to stay calm and rational with your comments!

[Deleted]

Sept 12, 2019 8:20:55 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

I never had a US student loan... but is it standard that the loan will end in 25 years if paid according to the terms?  If so, I'm guessing she thinks it will just end in 25 years even if the balance hasn't been paid off.

Also, are you commenting on the thread or just lurking?  It might be hard to stay calm and rational with your comments!

The standard repayment plan is 10 years.  If you claim financial hardship and get on something like Income Based Repayment, it can extend a lot farther, but the amount will be forgiven (and you'll be taxed) after 25 years.  But, you're still expected to pay as agreed.  Sounds like she's objecting to the IBR payment jumping way up due to increased income and is thinking, "well this is stupid, why would I pay more if it's going to be gone in 25 years anyhow". 

[gs11rmb]

That makes sense.  In 2025 she'll be back on the boards complaining about her massive tax bill!

Edit:  is that just federal loans or does it apply to private ones as well?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Sept 12, 2019 8:20:55 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

I never had a US student loan... but is it standard that the loan will end in 25 years if paid according to the terms?  If so, I'm guessing she thinks it will just end in 25 years even if the balance hasn't been paid off.

Also, are you commenting on the thread or just lurking?  It might be hard to stay calm and rational with your comments!

It's not standard.   It's for a very specific type of loan arrangement and you have to abide by the rules which are very stringent.  If she just stops paying they will revoke her IBR plan and expect her to pay it off according to the original terms of the agreement.

And it won't be her original balance due in 10 years anymore, it's going to be all that interest, late fees and penalties they will expect her to pay off too.

[Deleted]

Sept 12, 2019 9:49:34 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Sept 12, 2019 8:20:55 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

I never had a US student loan... but is it standard that the loan will end in 25 years if paid according to the terms?  If so, I'm guessing she thinks it will just end in 25 years even if the balance hasn't been paid off.

Also, are you commenting on the thread or just lurking?  It might be hard to stay calm and rational with your comments!

It's not standard.   It's for a very specific type of loan arrangement and you have to abide by the rules which are very stringent.  If she just stops paying they will revoke her IBR plan and expect her to pay it off according to the original terms of the agreement.

And it won't be her original balance due in 10 years anymore, it's going to be all that interest, late fees and penalties they will expect her to pay off too.

And then she'll be pulling out the victim card. Those damn predatory lenders.

[azucena]

Predatory lenders and government money stealers have each been mentioned at least twice.

I'm not commenting on the fb thread, just in my head and here on YM.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Anyone else ever feel like some of these Facebook posts are bots?   It seems like this is deliberately designed to get a reaction from either end of the extreme whether you believe it's all the fault of the lenders or all the fault of people living large while getting underwater basket weaving degrees.

A logical discussion about the student loan situation in this country can't happen because we can't concede the issue probably contains a bit of both claims, meanwhile those who benefit from the current system continue to do so.

[alabamagal]

Sept 11, 2019 17:25:07 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Whine, whine. whine.  "I borrowed money and they expect me to pay it back!  W-a-a-a-h! "

And the “Notice of Furnishing Negative Information.” That says if I am late paying negative information may be reported to credit bureau. Wow. Glad I have always paid my mortgage.

.

I just signed all the regulatory documents for my mortgage that informed me that I have to pay back my loan. Who knew😮

[alabamagal]

Sept 11, 2019 18:14:14 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

I didn't see the most important reason listed on that exchange above.

The government will garnish your social security. You know, the thing you claim so that you can retire when you're 62/67/70? Yeah. If you want to retire when you're old, you need to pay your student loans.

Well SS won’t be around anyway so who cares! Just live for today