Thinking of defaulting. I feel trapped.

Posted by goatbaloneyy@reddit | studentloandefaulters | View on Reddit | 31 comments

I ruined my life by being so ignorant with Sallie Mae.

Originally $50k now $113k due to interest all in Sallie Mae loans. 16% interest. I tried refinancing but was told I need to make on time payments in both interest and principle for 12 months first. I'm a journalist. I just...don't make thar type of money right now. I have a co-signer too. But I make only $34k annually...

Yes, I'm a moron. I went to a top college with the mindset of that being the only way I'd have a chance in this industry. With my co-signer's help I'll be paying $600 a month upfront. I won't have any money a month left over if I do that right now.

Maybe I'm selfish because I'm upset I'll now never be able to enjoy life while I'm young, and instead will be spending every minute of it as an indentured servant because of I didn't understand what these loans MEANT. I know no one drowning in as much debt as me. My credit score is atrocious.

The usual advice of "just get a second job" won't work for me. I can barely keep up with one before collapsing. I'm already burning out from this one...feeling directionless about what types of careers i can do that won't kill me and will pay. I'm closer to permanent disability as a viable plan than I am getting a second job at this point.

I have a partner I want to eventually close long distance with too. I'm not even sure how I will now. I want to travel and work a bit abroad. I want to enjoy the company of good friends. I've just always wanted to enjoy new experiences young and now I'll never get to.

I never will have a normal appartment even. I'm going to end up homeless after my sublease ends. I ruined everything just to become a journalist. I wanted to have a future, more education, love anything and I blew it. I don't know what to do with these loans now. They'll default and then my life and my dad's are ruined.

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moisehic@reddit

If you default, just keep in mind that they can go after your co-signer too... who might they be? Plus, it sounds like you might not want to complicate things further since it’s a co-signed loan. Ugh, it's really tough out there with the job market the way it is.

Plane-Amphibian-4028@reddit

Hey, just a heads up… if you’re really struggling to pay, you might be what they call "judgment proof," which basically means they can't chase ya for money if you're broke and have no assets. And trust me, you’re not alone in this lots of us feel trapped and it’s totally okay to feel that way. We’re all in this messy boat together.

HunterSpecial1549@reddit

I'm currently in default. I have similar numbers to you in loans and income. But I don't have a co-signer.

If I was in your situation, and assuming what you said about re-financing is true, then I would just pay the $600 a month for a year and then re-finance. Go to the food bank. No meals out. Cut out subscriptions. So many of the best things in life are free, so focus on those for a while.

Re-finance and get your co-signer off of it. Then if you want you can go travel doing muckraking journalism in Southeast Asia for a few years. Work for foreign companies so Sallie Mae can't touch your income. Sounds more fun actually.

goatbaloneyy@reddit (OP)

That does sound fun! I have tons of free food on me too.

hlaiie@reddit

I’m about to default soon. It is what it is. You’re not alone. They can kiss all our asses.

That's the mindset I'm under too. I'd rather have no credit than be a slave to this, honestly.

nickjayyymes@reddit

Fun fact: if you’re too broke to afford even settling and have little to no assets, you’re considered judgement proof and too much of a hassle to sue

morbie5@reddit

The cosigner might not be judgement proof tho

I’ll be the judge of that

Do you know OP's cosigner? How are you going to judge if OP's cosigner is judgment proof or not?

Come on man just accept the play on words and move on

I had no idea what you were talking about but now I get it

Peak interaction right here

kenzzziii@reddit

Can someone press the button and get rid of student loan debt like we give tax breaks to the 1%?

Competitive-Beat-493@reddit

I wish the hackers would do us all a real one and literally cripple Sallie Mae.

AReckoningIsAComing@reddit

I would usually say just default, but it makes it much more complicated since you have a co-signer and you don't want to fuck them over.

I would work on trying to renegotiate the terms of the loan or refinancing with another company to get the co-signer OFF the loan and then absolutely default.

No_Juice4901@reddit

Who is your cosigner? Is your loan private or federal?

SeminoleDollxx@reddit

Your income is the problem. You need to pivot to a better job and indistry for a few years to get caught up. Journalism has a lot of cross over with some better office jobs. You did school and messed around in the industry for a while...times up.

I doubt you cant get a second job if youndont want to leave this job.. Flipping burgers as a second job even to get from under that debt.

l5555l@reddit

Oh yeah just make more money! Thanks Einstein

Yeah...I want to go into policy analysis for a bit or work in intelligence. I know it doesn't mean I have to give up journalism forever. Thanks man.

Bnndfrsrcsm@reddit

Just defaulted. Kinda like a snake shedding skin moment. Weird but I don't have interest accruing

BigAssSlushy69@reddit

You are not a moron, there is an entire generation dealing with this. You were just a kid who wanted to learn something and have a good life. The system that created these conditions is to blame. Keep your head up we're all going to get through this

atlasaur@reddit

Another commenter suggested you may be “judgement proof” and that depends on the value of your assets. You should look into that. It will ease your mind knowing that if you default and a suit is filed then there is nothing they can take from you anyways. Also don’t be too hard on yourself dude. We were all sold the same lies about needing a fancy college degree and it being a ticket to the upper middle class. Turns out it’s not. And it’s not your fault!

For real on that last part. We all need to not blame ourselves. We were all scammed and we need to love ourselves and each other. Fuck the system that put us into this situation

With the job market in shambles and promise of x degree will yield x entry level job and paying the same costs of tuition during Covid online learning should be enough claim for borrower defense

kw1888@reddit

I defaulted over a year ago now, I have literally nothing to my name so they can’t take shit away from me. They kept calling and calling me, called my family members and then even showed up at my door. They will eventually stop. I haven’t heard anything from them in some time. My credit score took a hit and dropped quite a bit but that’ll drop off eventually. They’re a predatory company and I’m not going to stress myself out and work myself to death just to pay them back. Life is too short. I would never be able to keep up with the crazy interest rates anyways. Fuck them and fuck the whole system. It is what it is.

If you default they can go after the cosigner. Does this person work or are they on a fixed income?

bigfatelephant@reddit

Yeah this is the biggest thing, if you have a cosigner defaulting like this isn't really going to work without screwing them over

porygon766@reddit

I’m in a similar situation as you. Took out around 70k and now it’s double that at 170k. I literally can’t afford the monthly payments. I would be happy to pay but I literally can’t. I plan on defaulting and if they come for my wages I will have to declare bankruptcy to avoid being homeless

I feel like the only choice we have is to leave the country or count on some miracle inheritance. Who knows. I know I can't count on the gov't changing this in our lifetime. But I'm sorry this is you too.

They agreed to loan me all that money when I said I didn’t have any income which is why I know it’s predatory. If I knew what I know now I would have never done it. Even if I can get partial relief it’s better than just letting them take everything I have. Which is why I plan to speak to a lawyer