Money For Nothing

[zeitgeist]

Money For Nothing

Well golly gee ma who'd thunk it?  Borrow money and they expect you to pay it back, with interest.

This DUmmy is just not interested.

Mic Check: Who Pays?  We All pay!!
Mash the youtube and listen while you read, it makes it more palatable.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlPjxz4LGak[/youtube]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2427983

Liberal_in_LA  (1000+ posts)      Sun Dec-04-11 05:55 PM
Original message
Student loan balance down $1100 after $23K in payments. DAMN.
 Edited on Sun Dec-04-11 05:56 PM by Liberal_in_LA
I Said No to My Student Loan: One Borrower's Decision to Stop Paying

I am aware of the total lack of consumer protection associated with student debt. But I took a long, hard look at the numbers, and I realized that I am already a slave.

I’ve been in a panic these last few months. Making minimum payments on my student loans serviced by Sallie Mae Inc. was no longer merely a challenge – it was getting impossible. After making some awful sacrifices to refrain from defaulting (see more on that below), I’m in a corner.

I am aware of the total lack of consumer protection associated with student debt. I knew that if I was unable to make my minimum payments, they would hit me with late fees, penalties, etc. They would harass me. In ruining my credit history, they would make it impossible for me to get access to basic services. Forget about taking out another loan – I’m talking about not being able to rent an apartment. And defaulting would not only mean a ruined credit history, it would mean that my debt would double, triple, quadruple, etc…I would be a slave forever.

But I took a long, hard look at the numbers, and I realized that I am already a slave.

Original balance: 37,099
Current balance: 35,908
payments made: 23,449

http://www.alternet.org/story/153311/i_said_no_to_my_st...
 

WildEyedLiberal  (1000+ posts)        Sun Dec-04-11 06:38 PM
Response to Original message
1. Careful, some posters will accuse you of being a whiny slacker
 You must be just another lazy millenial who sits around playing your Xbox and wasting time on facebook whining about how you actually have to pay back your student loans. Never mind that student loans and the usurious interest charged on same amount to modern day indentured servitude.

elias7 (913 posts)        Sun Dec-04-11 06:51 PM
Response to Reply #1
8. Who are you talking to?
 Natalia Antonova is a journalist & playwright living in Moscow. She did not post this on DU. Why do you flame this thread before even reading the piece????

WildEyedLiberal  (1000+ posts)        Sun Dec-04-11 08:41 PM
Response to Reply #8
18. Because I read a post on DU earlier today whining about "slackers" with student loans
 The thread is great, but I get tired of the holier than thou Gen X or Boomers who apparently don't realize what a crusher burden student loans are.

riderinthestorm  (1000+ posts)      Sun Dec-04-11 06:43 PM
Response to Original message
2. In 5 years she paid out $23k but Sallie Mae only credited her $1100??
 Is that possible? She obviously didn't defer any payments for very long (like years) since she hasn't been paying that long.

I'm not doubting her story but it sounds so... exorbitant. My oldest girl is struggling to pay down her student debt so I get this is hard and difficult but these figures just seem odd. The author says she paid MORE than the required monthly balance too

pitohui (1000+ posts)       Sun Dec-04-11 07:24 PM
Response to Original message
12. that is truly chilling, we MUST get these facts in the hands of the high school students
 sometimes i think the reason most people aren't getting taught good math in high school is because, if they could do good math, they would not take out student loans

this person's entire future is blighted by trying to work hard and get a good college education in order to improve themselves and make a better future for themselves

investing in an education should not be so harshly punished as this

most jobs do not pay well enough to allow for a person to carry this kind of debt from their youth

if this person borrowed the same money for a business and the business failed, they could be free by declaring bankruptcy

well, they invested and worked VERY HARD to get educated, and instead they can never be free, they can never declare bankruptcy

until the bankruptcy laws are changed, no one should be taking out a student loan

yes, these very good schools flatter the students and tell them how special they are, you know what, if i'm that special, give me a scholarship...the flattery is a pack of lies and it's in the school's benefit to lie because they can get that student loan money

a young woman recently told me that she had $250K in student loan debt and no job and 30% of her graduating class had no job, the sad truth is that she is extremely obese and the statistics tell me (or anyone who knows the real world) that an obese woman, no matter how bright, has very dim job prospects...she can't pay back this debt, she can't get work, all the flattery this ivy league school gave her to get her student loan money has blighted her future, it was heart-breaking, she could have spent 10 % of that money to get a gastric bypass and a rich husband and at least had a tiny chance of a life

instead, because our society lies about what genuine chances women have to be hired in the high-paying jobs, flattering them just to get the student loan money, she will be in debt until social security age (as she said herself)

i didn't know what to say, i just let her vent, what's done is done...if it was any other investment besides education she could declare bankruptcy and start over while she's still young enough to have a life, as it is, she will never be free even if she does ever get a job they'll attach her salary (and eventually her social security!)
 

nobodyspecial  (270 posts)      Mon Dec-05-11 01:51 AM
Response to Reply #12
33. Are you serious!?!?
 it was heart-breaking, she could have spent 10 % of that money to get a gastric bypass and a rich husband and at least had a tiny chance of a life -- Crazy that I would see this posted here in 2011.

Granted, she shouldn't have taken out that many loans, but her best future was invasive, life-threatening surgery in hopes of landing a rich man?

taught_me_patience  (1000+ posts)        Sun Dec-04-11 09:41 PM
Response to Original message
21. She probably had a high interest and long ammortization schedule
 People should seriously learn how loans work. You pay mainly interest at first and only really start paying down the principle in the back half of the loan. I'm paying $500 a month... only about $80 is going to principle right now. That's how loans work... live with it.

Marrah_G  (1000+ posts)      Mon Dec-05-11 01:20 AM
Response to Original message
32. This is one of the reasons my son joined the Air National Guard
 He is getting tuition and fees at state colleges for free and his gi bill money pays room and board. hopefully next year he will be an RA and will get room and board freee from the school. He could have gotten tuition free due to his standardized test scores, but he would have needed a job to live on campus. It's not for everyone but until things change it is a viable avenue for some.

He got a big signing bonus, did his first year of college at AF tech school and has had some very cool ( non-combat) opportunities that I WISH I could share  Since his goal is Aerospace engineering the AF was a logical step.

I would love to see free tuition at public colleges in exchange for all sorts of jobs that benefit the community, rather then just the military. 

Ah yes.  They bitch, bitch, bitch. But pay their lawfully contracted debt?  No way.

And Mic check AGAIN: Who pays?  We all pay.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Thanks for the DS embed.  Man, I love their music.  "So Far Away From You" is a special one to me, forever associated in my brain with a six month deployment I did with a battalion of the 101st's Rakassans 25 years ago, and therefore all the protracted deployments away from my family in the many years since.

 

[Celtic Rose]

I just completed some student loan paperwork, and they spell it out so clearly that even a DUmmy should be able to understand it, you are under obligation to pay back the money.  They even provide charts with your expected monthly payment based on how much you borrow.  Now, I won't lie, I'm hoping to do so well that an employer will offer to pay off my loans if I agree to work for them for a certain amount of time, especially since I just heard about somebody who got that offer from a hospital in the Midwest, but if it doesn't happen, I will pay back the money I borrowed. 

[Chris_]

I've never heard of an employer offering to pay off student loans but there are plenty that will put money toward tuition if you are enrolled and working full time.

[Evil_Conservative]

Boo-freaking-hoo.

My husband had his student loan paid off in four years.

[DefiantSix]

Boo-freaking-hoo.

My husband had his student loan paid off in four years.

It took me 8 years to do it, but I managed to complete a 4-year Engineering degree without taking a single student loan.  Oh yeah, and I've been working since I was 16 and living on my own since I was 18.

Contrary to what lazy DUmbshits think, hard work and higher education are NOT mutually exclusive.

[Celtic Rose]

I've never heard of an employer offering to pay off student loans but there are plenty that will put money toward tuition if you are enrolled and working full time.

If you agree to work as a nurse for two years on certain Indian Reservations the federal government will pay off $20,000 of nursing school loan debt per year, and many states have similar programs for under served areas. 

Even if I don't get a job where my employer will pay off the loans, the increase in salary should more than cover the monthly payments.

[Chris_]

Even if I don't get a job where my employer will pay off the loans, the increase in salary should more than cover the monthly payments.

True.

Most worthwhile degrees will pay for themselves in a few years.

[GOBUCKS]

When I read the title of this thread, I thought it must be about Omaha Steve.

[sybilll]

I've never heard of an employer offering to pay off student loans but there are plenty that will put money toward tuition if you are enrolled and working full time.

Chris, in our tri-state area, TN MS AR, we the taxpayers pay off teacher student loans as part of an inducement to recuit new teachers.  Of course when the media reports it, it is "the Board of Education" will pay off their loan, as though the Board of Ed's money comes from the Board of Ed's money tree, whilst it is really being syphoned right out of our pockets. 

[AprilRazz]

I've never heard of an employer offering to pay off student loans but there are plenty that will put money toward tuition if you are enrolled and working full time.

I think the military has a few programs for that as well.

[Karin]

I don't understand how people walk into these hugeass loans for what they have to know is a deadend major.  Philosophy?  Dead languages?  Art therapy?  Maybe some kids are stupid, but what about their parents?  It's simply due diligence on an investment:  Can it, in fact, pay back?  If not, go to Plan B. 

[zeitgeist]

I don't understand how people walk into these hugeass loans for what they have to know is a deadend major.  Philosophy?  Dead languages?  Art therapy?  Maybe some kids are stupid, but what about their parents?  It's simply due diligence on an investment:  Can it, in fact, pay back?  If not, go to Plan B. 

Recently I was seated at a function next to a philosophy professor as I listened to two others decrying the sad state of employment of their recently graduated spawn, both of whom had degrees in sociology.  Neither could find a job paying enough to pay off their debt, both were back living at home.   The philosophy professor seemed bemused by the whole situation. 

It was hard not to break out into gales of laughter, which, had I done, would have caused me to have to crawl out of the hall. (think sharp shoes impacting knee caps under tables)

[NHSparky]

I've never heard of an employer offering to pay off student loans but there are plenty that will put money toward tuition if you are enrolled and working full time.

I have, and it's different than tuition assistance, which has been cut back a bit the last several years.

The drawback is that you're STUCK at that place at whatever pay you signed on for, and consider the loan repayment is in lieu of compensation.  Think of it as kind of an enlistment/reenlistment bonus.  Point being, the military doesn't give bonuses to folks in easy-to-fill jobs, and every time you cash an SRB check, DoD just saved a shitload of money that would have been spent training your replacement.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

But I took a long, hard look at the numbers, and I realized that I am already a slave.

Original balance: 37,099
Current balance: 35,908
payments made: 23,449

If you think that makes you a slave just wait until you figure out your share of the federal debt for all those freebies you keep demanding.

[Chris_]

$37k?  Cry me a river.

[NHSparky]

If you think that makes you a slave just wait until you figure out your share of the federal debt for all those freebies you keep demanding.

Oh, that would be me paying for a good chunk of it.  I'm pretty sure I'm paying several times what I use.

[vesta111]

Money For Nothing

Well golly gee ma who'd thunk it?  Borrow money and they expect you to pay it back, with interest.

This DUmmy is just not interested.

Mic Check: Who Pays?  We All pay!!
Mash the youtube and listen while you read, it makes it more palatable.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlPjxz4LGak[/youtube]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2427983

Ah yes.  They bitch, bitch, bitch. But pay their lawfully contracted debt?  No way.

And Mic check AGAIN: Who pays?  We all pay.

DARN You ZEIT--------made me wonder if PT could use music like that to get people moving.

Haven't heard that music in years, yet it made me move with the sound and memories and want to dance.

I want my MTV------Acturally the musicians with years of training behind them do not get money for nothing, they work their butts off to get a shot of the big time.

Back to subject, kids grow up to find they need to work for what their parents once gave them.   Idiot parents allow their kids to come home when they fail or made the wrong choices in life.

Would you sacrifice to send a child to College to get a degree in Recreation--4 year $80,000, or insist the child go to a trade school first , 4 year $20.000?????   Then be ready to put out the tuition for 4 years in college??

Pisses me off, the kids get the bad rap for only following their crazy teachers and the parents that refuse to let them grow up.    No parent worth their salt will have a 30 year old child living in their celler and out of work.  I cannot really blame the kid, who does not want a free lunch???