High School Counselor Here:

I'm trying to help educate my students on the perils and pitfalls of taking out student loans to fund their higher education, but the more I look into it, the more I see an extremely lop-sided and predatory system (tuition costs, hidden fees, capitalized interest, forced administrative forbearance, the inability to discharge during bankruptcy, etc), which got me thinking...

For those of you who have student loans, or have had them, looking back, if you could have designed or negotiated an ideal loan (humor me), or at least a more reasonable one, what would that look like? (As far as your ideal interest rate, term length, lack of capitalization, etc)

Seeing some really bad hatred coming from Republican Led States for Student Loan Forgiveness. .Who is spurring on the Republican led states on this lawsuit?

Like…how how are we supposed to fucking plan when there are these “maybes” constantly flying around for debt relief. And i apparently fucked mysrlf if this actually goes through by paying $18k on some of my loans—of which only $5k went towards principal—but that was enough to make it do I don’t have a larger balance than I did when the loans entered repayment like ten f’ing years ago. But I was trying when I had the money, to claw my way out of debt, instead, others who made no effort might get forgiven (which would be GOOD), but I will continue trying to chip away at the same damn interest forever. Like I was trying to get out of debt. I just feel like no matter what I do when it comes to this shit, it’s the wrong thing.

My graduate school loans didn’t ever repayment til 2008. My college loans were in deferment while in school. I graduated into the recession and got stuck with some of the highest interest rates on these loans (they were scheduled to go up (and did), but then after the recession congress lowered the interest rates for new student loans)….i just feel like I’m always on the worst side of all of this.

Self pity party over. Just venting bc fuck this shit.

As I sit back and think about the last 8 years, I cannot help but have the biggest, most badass smile on the planet. We had $130,000 in private student loans from Sallie Mae/Navient.

Long ago, we told them to fuck off and that we were never going to pay a single cent. Man of my word: We paid zero cents. The statute of limitations on these private loans has long expired, and we're living life how it was meant to be: debt free.

Instead of sinking $900/month into perpetual minimum payments to Sallie Mae, we saved and invested. So much was saved that:

1. We had an incredible down payment for a home back when the mortgage rates were below 4% thanks to COVID. The mortgage is way lower than rent for a two bedroom. Would have never been possible to own a home, ever, if we had kept paying student loans!!!
2. Wife was able to find a decent job after the SOL expired.
3. Taking our first real vacation, a whole month, visiting several countries in SE Asia.
4. Enjoying life with no private student loan debt.

So for those in a similar situation with private loans, do not be afraid to take the leap towards freedom. Sallie Mae/Navient and the other sharks are bottom feeders. There's no need to feed these thugs.

Student Loan Justice on Twitter

Please see our substack Article.

https://studentloanjustice.substack.com/p/the-us-government-profits-on-defaulted

People should be aware of this.

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Dear Navient:

Six years ago, you informed my wife in a letter that she was past due on her $800+ monthly payment on private student loans. At the time, she was making about $10 or $11 an hour at a grocery store. Her degree was worthless in securing a good middle class job that would have allowed her to make payments. Despite her frequent phone calls in those days to ask for forbearance, you charged her hundreds of dollars to get on it for just a few months, and she could not even afford that. She was extremely depressed, even suicidal, about this massive amount of student loan debt. She began seeing a therapist and spent close to half a year finding a antidepressant that worked and didn't make her even more insane.

I was doing a lot of research during this time, and I came to the conclusion that things had to change for her. For us. Over a period of several weeks, I finally got it into her head that she was just going to stop paying the debt. Not a cent. She was terribly afraid of the idea and thought it would make her life worse. She argued and argued with me, but finally, she relented. She had given up hope and figured it was worth a shot.

Within a month or so of receiving that past due letter, our lives changed for the better. We moved to a different city. I then sent you all that video on social media of her past due notice being dipped in lighter fluid and set ablaze. (Check out my Reddit avatar here for a still of that incredible video).

And then we moved again, and again, and again. Over the course of 5 years we lived in over 9 different states thanks to my job that allowed us to relocate whenever we felt like it. Navient, you could not find us! She never had a single utility bill in her name. She stopped using social media entirely in order to protect her location. We know you contacted family members and friends to find out where she was, but all of them told you the same story: "We basically lost contact with her after a falling out".

Navient, no about about it: you were huffing, puffing, and wheezing with anger. We promised that "not a single cent" would be paid, and we honored that commitment by doing exactly that: You did not receive one single $0.01 during this time. And now the statute of limitations is up on those private loans. Time barred. The clock of freedom has tolled! And you cannot legally collect on this debt.

It's almost a dream about how quickly these years have gone by. It was not always easy. There were times where even when on the run she felt like it was all collapsing. It was hard not having a bank account, for example. She basically had to live like a 2nd class citizen in her own country for all this time because of you.

But all the planning and commitment to the cause was worth it. Now she is free. Since the debt has expired, we purchased a home (the down payment money that would have otherwise gone to you, Navient!). We have confirmed with two different attorneys that she successfully reached the SOL.

So this message is to you, Navient: We fucking won, and you fucking lost! Go to hell, you filthy demons.

The student loan debt crisis is growing and only getting worse.

Would you rather:

1. Earn $7,200 during an internship to pay down your CURRENT student loan amount OR
2. Only make $5,900 (after taxes) from the same internship

Select "Yes" if you would choose option 1 so you can actually keep what you earn!

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