Dealing With Student Loan Debt
Managing Your Budget After College
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A new administration means new opportunities for restructuring student loan debt. There are some who advocate forgiving the entire debt. President Obama has put forth the idea of service work in exchange for scholarships. Business Week: Asking For Student Loan ForgivenessBut until these programs become official and before advocates can help with new regulations, you still need to pay back the loan. You can’t hold out for the promise of “forgiveness.” There are numerous options available to help you restructure and consolidate your loans. Additionally, there are also deferment programs available. FinAid: Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans
Surviving a student loan debt means managing your budget and paying off the loan. Once you leave college, you’ll be faced with many other financial responsibilities such as living expenses, insurance, rent or mortgage payments and car payments. All of this can become overwhelming; especially if this will be the first time you are living on your own beyond the security net of campus life. Some people find that dealing with the stress of paying back a student loan is more of a hardship than actually earning a diploma. Many survivors panic and break down under the stress of accumulating payments. To avoid this, it's important to continue living your life normally, participating in the same daily activities you've always done. Support groups are also important to maintaining a healthy emotional state. Other than that, educating yourself on the reality of student loan debt and exposing yourself to books and stories written by those who have dealt with this same financial situation in their past can help give you and your loved ones hope while dealing with this crisis.
Information and Recommended Links for Survivors
- Associated Content: How to Deal with Defaulted Student Loans
- How To Do Things: How to Deal with Student Loans in Default
- Link Roll: How to Deal with Student Loan Default
- Set up your TSC Survivor Profile
- Join support groups of other survivors or set up your own
- Interact and provide updates on your profile or our forums
- Bring a friend or family member with you to your appointments with a loan officer not only to provide support but to lend an extra ear to understand everything your loan officer has to say and to think up any more questions you may not realize are important at the time.
- Don't be afraid to ask any questions you feel you need the answer to, even if you may be scared of the answer. Ignorance won't help you repay your loan.
- Write down any questions you may have ahead of time and the answers to those questions as your loan officer provides you with. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification on anything. Remember this is about your future credit history which is extremely important to maintain.
