Struggling with finances... Don't know what to do anymore
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Anonymous
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We owe 370K+ in student loans, we have about $8,000 left on our car, and around $13,000 of credit card debt due to my DD's medical bills (health insurance company claimed her hearing loss was a pre-existing condition and refused to pay for treatment). I don't receive unemployment because I had only worked for 10 months before being laid off (I was in graduate school before then). Now we're living on about $65,000 pre-tax.
We don't have a TV, so we don't have cable or anything like that, and we quit our health insurance after they refused to pay my daughter's bill. Still, we stopped being able to break even around April and have started using credit cards to pay for utility bills (it was turned off once already) and our phone bill. I really want to cut off my cell phone service, but I've had some phone interviews for jobs and I fear that it would look sketchy if I didn't have a phone number on my resume. We sold all my jewelry, a desk and bookshelf we never use and our children's instruments (believe me, that was rough), but that only got us through May and June. July's bills are coming up and I am freaking out. I've applied for EVERY POSITION available on Craigslist, from secretarial jobs to restaurant hostess, and I'm not getting any calls. I am in my late 20s and have considered cutting off parts of my resume & pretending to be younger to qualify for entry level positions. Also, any job I get (if during normal work hours) would have to pay enough for childcare, so I'm pretty much SOL. Is anyone else drowning in debt/unable to pay bills? What are you doing to get by? |
Anonymous
| A couple of thoughts: can you not defer your student loans until things improve? Also, how much is housing costing you- any room there? Proximity to metro- is selling car an option? Does your DD qualify for any services/healthcare with the county? Seems you would qualify as a family of at least 4 on your income. |
Anonymous
| You owe 370k+ in student loans and your DH only makes 65k??? Wow. That's seriously rough. Well, if I were you, I'd get a deferral on the loans to take some of the immediate pressure off while you find work. You may also want to consider selling the car because that's a bill you don't need. Can you move in with your folks for a few months while you get on your feet or do you have family members who can help with child care? Also, can your DH find a job that pays more? |
Anonymous
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what type of graduate degree do you have? Can you reach back to your alumni network? School placement services?
work with a headhunter? have you appealed the insurance companies decision of pre-existing condition? many people are successful with that. Good luck |
Anonymous
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If you need to get over a hump - can either you or your partner get a 2nd job on the weekend / you work in the evening so you do not need childcare.
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Anonymous
| OP, that's not a typo? You owe $370,000 in student loans? |
Anonymous
| $370K for student loans - where the heck did you guys go to school and what kind of degrees? More importantly why did you bother? It doesn't sound like it was worth it! |
Anonymous
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I don't know what field your DH is working in or what your education is in, but could you look into moving somewhere where cost of living isn't so high? Also, your DD should qualify for some assistance. How old is she? If she is preschool age, you might qualify for public preschool.
I agree with pps that say you should defer student loans. Do you have family that can help you? What are your housing costs like? Can you move to a cheaper place? |
Anonymous
| Bankruptcy. It sucks, will not solve your student loan situation but will help with the other bills. As for your student loans I would look to find a job that allows a loan forgiveness such as teaching. You have to have some skills with that much debt. |
Anonymous
Only certain loans qualify for this program, and you have to teach in a low income school. I taught for 4 years in an urban low income school and only got $1500 of my $16,000 loans forgiven. |
Anonymous
This is the reality nowadays for many graduates. College is a waste of time and especially money and will make you an indentured servant. Funny considering you go to school so you will have a better life, not become a slave. |
Anonymous
| OP, where are you? What do you think of our ideas? |
Anonymous
| Are you sure you went through all of your options to appeal the hearing issue? That sounds like a perpetual expense. |
Anonymous
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We deferred (or rather, went on forbearance) on my federal loans when I lost my job. We went to a mid-first tier law school. The only reason DH is even employed at all is because he graduated with good grades.
I regret going to law school pretty much every second of every day. I scored well on the LSAT and I had good grades in college, so I always assumed I'd get good grades in law school, become a gainfully employed lawyer, etc. I was NOT cut out for law school at all, and I graduated at the bottom of my class. Our private loans won't allow us to go on forbearance. Our parents live in a part of the country where 65K jobs are unheard of, so moving closer to them would be even worse for our finances. The good thing is that DH works for a non-profit, so his loans will be forgiven in 10 years. We appealed already; the insurance company absolutely refuses to pay. I don't think selling the car would make things significantly better because our rent would go up (pretty much in the same amount as our car payment) if we lived closer to the Metro. Gah!!! |
Anonymous
| How on earth do you get $370K in student loans? I don't think that is even possible. |