Does anyone else owe a TON in student loans?

[Anonymous]

^^^^ EXACTLY i studied English. I KNEW i would NEVER be able to pay back any loans - so I never took them out. Maybe it's because my mother was raised during the depression. I hope that now, that my son is being raised during a depression, he will be instilled with similar values.

[Anonymous]

interesting stuff
http://www.economist.com/node/21525907

http://www.economist.com/node/18651114

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 160,000 and I am not a big time lawyer. I am a psychologist who makes pennies compared to these lawyers. It kills us to pay $850/month and not be able to make the return that lawyers do.

Psychologists are a dime a dozen. Why one earth did you take out loans in that amount to be a psychologist?

And where do you offer therapy?

boy, are you ignorant and an ass.

Psychology is one of those degrees people get because they are easy. Yes, they are very common.

Again, why did you take out those kind of loans? Educate me. Because honestly, the ignorant and an ass comment is not very educational or theraputic.

So be a therapist and help me understand the errors of my ways.

NP here, and I only have a psychology undergrad degree, but I think I can help you out. I think what the PP meant to say was you are ignorant and an ass AND a douchebag. Does that clear things up for you?

[Anonymous]

Lawyer/lawyer couple - we came out with about $275K in loans. After several years, we're down to about $140K but still feel stuck in our Big Law jobs. Going to law school was the worst decision ever.

[Anonymous]

Princess you need to cowgirl up, put the kid on hold and get back to work. Pay off your loans, save for retirement and kids' college, then quit and do what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ok, I was younger than he was! I went straight through. He took out the masters degree loans when he was young (22). Then he went to law school so he could pay off the masters degree ... because like a lot of prospective law students he was led to believe that job prospects and salaries were better than they actually turned out to be.

Sorry, you can't play the "youthful indiscretion" card when you are 22 years old with a BA. And him - 25, with a Masters he already was in debt for? And you say, "we were young, we didn't know any better?" Aargh.

And count me among those who question your subsequent choices, PP. It's none of my business, of course, but I just can't fathom owing $300,000+ combined, and then taking on a mortgage, and then having kids, and then having person quit. That's nuts. Your whole attitude reeks of "I want what I want, and the realities of the situation don't matter to me - I want it!" I wouldn't put up with that from my 4 yo, and yet you are proud of it. Interest only, on a $300,000 debt, for the last 5 years? And then you have three kids? And then you leave the workforce? I understand you want to be a SAHM, but there are lots of things I want that I can't afford. Getting them woudl put my family in a precarious financial situation. So you know what? I don't have them. That's what grownups do. Sorry for the rant/lecture, but this really is astonishing.

I totally agree. But this kind of attitude shouldn't baffle us. Look at the housing and credit crisis - clearly a lot of people think this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Psychology is one of those degrees people get because they are easy. Yes, they are very common.

Tell us, which part of a 4 yr undergrad then 5 - 7 years of graduate / doctorate is the easiest part! Tell us about your own 11 years of higher education in the same field!

No way! You don't have 11 years of concentrated higher education yourself? C'mon! Really??

That is surprising to hear because you just seem so educated and eloquent.

Yeah, I think the person you are responding to thinks you got a BA in psych which a lot of people did. But those people don't get to call themselves "psychologists" unless they go on for advanced degrees in the fields, typically an MD or PhD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to state schools and was a commuter...never lived in a dorm...took 4 buses a day to get to college. I thought I had it bad because my parents didn't pay a dime for my college. Now, I feel very thankful reading these posts that I never took out any loans.

Apples and oranges. Most folks with the high debts are talking grad school debt, and most seem to be doctors or lawyers who went to private grad schools for the degree. My parents paid for college and I'm very thankful. I did very well and earned a full fellowship for grad school here in DC. It's been a blessing not to have loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:300k here. I have nightmares about it! It is the same amount as our home loan. We hope to pay for it during 10 years and then have it forgiven.

OP here. I have nightmares about it too! Sometimes I can't get to sleep because I feel so stressed about them. We're trying to pay them down, higher interest rate loans first. Neither one of us works for the govt. To answer other PP - one Dr. and one lawyer.

With your high earning careers, don't you think you'll be able to pay it off quickly?

It depends on what you consider quickly. It's YEARS even at our salaries. We're paying about 2000/month in INTEREST ONLY. Of course, we're paying more than interest, but because some of the loans are fixed at 8.5%, it is going to take a long time, even making a large payment every month. 400,000 is just a TON of money.

Your story is so touching and, it will be difficult, but I will do my best to shed a 1.5 tear from each eye every day for you.

I wish I knew your name and the name of your MD DH so I could be absolutely certain that I would never have a legal or medical consultation with two people so galactically stupid as to put themselves in this kind of debt. Of course, the loan officers at the lending institutions who approved these loans should also be fired.

[Anonymous]

PP Why would you possibly care what their financial situation is? or jump to the moronic, baseless conclusion that they suck at their jobs? The question posed by the OP was "Does anyone else owe a TON in student loans" it was NOT - Please feel sorry for me and DH, please judge my decisions, please criticize my ability to manage my finances or, even more outrageously, my ability to perform my job. It was a "is anyone else out there." I guess now we know, you're out there, PP, and you're a total moron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's really disgusting how much school, especially law school, costs these days.

that said, being a SAHM with a degree you still owe on, letting your husband pay it off while you don't use it? gross.

+1

Are you serious? Why would you possibly care what she and her husband decide to do financially? They're his kids too that she's staying home to take care of. You're insane.

ummm... she posted her financial situation, opening herself up to scrutiny. i too agree with the pp's - those loans are her professional responsibility, not her husband's. what kind of example does that set for the kids? don't want to work, though i didn't pay for my own degree? oh well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You, OP and PPs, made the decision to take these loans and start out your professional life with outrageous debt. Once upon a time, people worked their way through college, you should have given this some thought. Student loans should not be forgiven unless the person who took out the loan is terminally ill.

I'm the OP. I never said anything about our loans being forgiven. WE ARE PAYING THEM BACK.

I'm the other PP who is being trashed, and we are not having our loans forgiven either.

Look, I'm the first to admit that my law degree and my DH's masters degree were mistakes. I give our youth some weight in that, because it is hard to know at 22 how expensive it is to be an adult if you've always been sheltered from that, and to know what you want to do with your life at 22. But it really doesn't matter -- I'm not asking anyone to cry big tears for us or to take away our debt. They are our mistakes, and we own them, and we are the only ones who will be paying for them. My DH actually has a great job and supports his family, so for him, the debt from the law degree was worth it. So cut the snark, ok?

[Anonymous]

"In any case, as a psychologist, you should be aware of the statistics regarding suicide and substance abuse in the legal profession--it is a very high stress career, regardless of how much money is made. "

What are the stats regarding suicide and substance abuse for psychologists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it's really disgusting how much school, especially law school, costs these days.

that said, being a SAHM with a degree you still owe on, letting your husband pay it off while you don't use it? gross.

It doesn't really matter what you think, does it? It matters what he thinks. He wants me to be with our kids -- it makes both our lives better, not to mention our children's lives. We don't think of our student loans as separate anymore; all our debt is mutual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You, OP and PPs, made the decision to take these loans and start out your professional life with outrageous debt. Once upon a time, people worked their way through college, you should have given this some thought. Student loans should not be forgiven unless the person who took out the loan is terminally ill.

I'm the OP. I never said anything about our loans being forgiven. WE ARE PAYING THEM BACK.

I'm the other PP who is being trashed, and we are not having our loans forgiven either.

Look, I'm the first to admit that my law degree and my DH's masters degree were mistakes. I give our youth some weight in that, because it is hard to know at 22 how expensive it is to be an adult if you've always been sheltered from that, and to know what you want to do with your life at 22. But it really doesn't matter -- I'm not asking anyone to cry big tears for us or to take away our debt. They are our mistakes, and we own them, and we are the only ones who will be paying for them. My DH actually has a great job and supports his family, so for him, the debt from the law degree was worth it. So cut the snark, ok?

Hey, if your DH makes enough $ for you to pay your loans, max our retirement savings, pay all your expenses, save a good cushion and maintain your lifestyle--good for you. If you're not doing those things, you'll get snark from me.

Most of the snark is aimed, though, at the bolded part of your post. 22 is an adult. You were college educated but couldn't do the math or reserach? That is a crying shame and it's not normal.