57 year old has 152k in student loans. will owe $699 per month until age 81

[Liberal_in_LA]

.Anderson's loans are driven from a decision late in life to earn two degrees and paying for them with loans totaling $65,000 from the government and various financial firms.

She earned her bachelor's degree at 37 and a master's degree at 44, both in human resources. While Anderson has never regretted the decision to get higher education, the costs have been severe.

After graduation, Anderson was paying six checks a month to Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo (WFC) and other financial firms. So she decided to consolidate all her loans into one big loan with the Department of Education at the prevailing 8.25% rate.


The catch was that she could not refinance. Since then, interest rates on student loans have fallen below 3% and today can be had for 4.66%.

---------

http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/13/news/economy/older-student-debt/

Next April, Anderson won't be able to do that anymore and will have to make payments of $699 a month until she is 81 years old. She worries about how she will make ends meet.

Anderson brings home $3,400 a month from her job in business operations at the University of California in Santa Cruz. She has a $2,200 mortgage payment and has to live on what's left, and earning some extra income by finding odd jobs on Craig's List.

[linuxman]

1. Sounds like a series of poor decisions.

I wish her the best.

[pnwmom]

3. Oh yeah, let's blame it on her.

The law changed after she got her loans so that she can't even go bankrupt now and get out from under them. And what crystal ball would have predicted that lending rates would get so low and that she would never be able to refinance?

[linuxman]

4. I know, right?

I'll never forget the day the that the feds put a gun to my head and made me take out an astronomically high loan for school.


We all make decisions. I don't ask anyone to live with mine but me.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. ...

We all make decisions. I don't ask anyone to live with mine but me.




Gov't funded higher education......there's a thought.

[pnwmom]

7. That wasn't a high loan for the time at all. We had a mortgage of 10.75 and THAT

wasn't high. Other people we knew had mortgages as high as 14%. Luckily, the value of our house went up and made up for the amount we were paying for the mortgage.

It isn't this woman's fault that those regulating the economy -- and controlling interest rates -- have decided to let people like her suffer, as a result of decisions she made 20 years ago that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.

[mnhtnbb]

15. I had a mortgage at 16% in the early 80's for a condo in Woodland Hills, CA.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. May you be so lucky for the rest of your days.

One small change, allowing her to refinance at current rates (as is an option with virtually every other type of loan) would have kept out of a hole this deep.

The issue here isn't her personal responsibility. It's a law that needs to be changed according to the most vocal consumer advocate in the Senate.

[betterdemsonly]

10. and if she were nothing but a burger flipper

because she didn't go to college, you would consider this a personal weakness too. The only thing that is not a weakness is the eyes of a libertarian is to be born wealthy.

[gollygee]

20. +1

If she were working a minimum wage and complaining about working full time, or two to three part-time jobs, and still needing food stamps, he'd be saying she should have gone to college and gotten a degree and paid for it in whatever way necessary to make it happen.

[elias49]

25. Got that right. Libs make me sick...

and sadly I have one for a brother.

[Arugula Latte]

28. Exactly. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

And, while you're at it, you're supposed to spend, spend, spend and consume, consume, consume to be a good American. But how dare you not save, save, save?!

[abelenkpe]

30. Hope you find yourself in need and everyone responds to your pain by blaming you are

your poor decisions.

[Shrike47]

31. Um, no. You haven't been able to bankrupt out of student loans for decades.

Except for very unusual circumstances for which almost nobody qualifies.

[Enthusiast]

13. Sounds like right wing talking points.

[Katashi_itto]

17. Enjoy your stay

[TBF]

19. Typical right-wing viewpoint

[Purveyor]

2. Gov't student loans are exempt from bankruptcy. Sadly, no way out

other than pay what you agreed to.

[reformist2]

21. Why does the government allow this??? It's so cruel.

[elias49]

26. What you agreed to plus interest, of course...

which, over the course of a few years can exceed the original note.

[2naSalit]

5. That's my

story almost verbatim, except...
I went into default due to lack of employment and impoverishment (I graduated four weeks prior to 9/11 and have been in financial trouble ever since). I never had a chance to have a mortgage since the first crash happened when the twin towers fell and few of us were able to stabilize during all the time until the '08 events. That was just salt on the wound for many of us.

In order to get the summer job I have right now, I had to agree to a "rehab" payment plan for 9 months to get out of default... then I will be back to having to deal with whatever the Dept. of Ed deems I must... which may not go well I am guessing since permanent gainful employment is just a pipe dream in my world. I would be able to pay off the loans if I won the lottery, that is, if I could afford to play the lottery.

[pnwmom]

8. I am so sorry this is happening to you and to millions like you. n/t

[Enthusiast]

14. +1

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. ..

[delta17]

11. She is paying a huge amount for her mortgage.

She pays over half of her income to her mortgage alone. The general rule is 1/3 of your monthly income to housing and utilities. It sounds like she needs a financial advisor.

[Lee-Lee]

12. Sounds like she needed one a few years ago

When she made these decisions.

[Liberal_in_LA]

24. she'sgot s solid univer california job. that's s point on her side

She will have a pension when she retires

[delta17]

34. That's good news.

I hope she is able to have a decent retirement.

[mnhtnbb]

16. Whoever approved the $2200. mortgage payment on a $3400./monthly income did her no favors.

I doubt that includes her taxes and insurance, either.

I just went on craigslist for Santa Cruz and she could find a small apartment--very small-
that would allow her dog, for $1200 month (which is more in the range where the amount
of her income should be spent on housing). That's a big savings every month.

Depending upon when she bought the house, if she sold she might cash some equity out, too.

[RobinA]

18. Really

I know several people, all with decent fairly solid jobs, who got mortgages pre-crash and were floored when they went to apply by the amount of money banks were willing to lend them. Being fairly conservative financially, none of them took anywhere near the amounts they could have gotten.

Just because someone is willing to lean you an amount, doesn't mean you should take it. None of these people were under the impression that the lenders were operating in there best interests. Or there own, as it turned out. When in doubt, get advise from someone who knows what he/she is talking about, not the guy in the next cubicle.

[Travis_0004]

27. I was approved for a loan 2 months ago that was twice what I could afford

I laughed and said "I wouldnt loan me that much money" and took out a loan I can easily afford. My motgage is about 15% of my take home pay

[Romulox]

22. She's has to let the house go. She can't afford it irrespective of the student loans. nt

[delphi72]

29. I'm Sorry

but I have to LOL at this one. Did she not *know* what she was getting into? Its not like student loans were a hidden thing or they are not up front with the repay options. This was just stupid and I have absolutely no sympathy for her.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

32. They will take your student loan payment out of your Social Security check too.

I know. Not me but someone close to me who tried to change careers by earning another degree at one of those for-profit proprietary schools that rip people off, and imply you can get a job through their "connections." And you can't discharge it in bankruptcy, which has already been pointed out in this thread.

Usurious bastards.

[Shrike47]

33. People should certainly be able to refinance their student loans. It is unreasonable they can't.

Inability to bankrupt means banks are protected at all costs, to hell with people.