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I’m living with my gf and she is just about to finish her master’sd egree in education, but there are a few problems. By the time she’s done, she’ll be about 35Kin debt (student loans + car payments), but has no job and minimal teaching prospects in the region we live in. Sure, she gets interviews for various lower-end districts for a variety of positions – leave replacement, permanent sub, ad hoc subbing, TA’s, and fullon teaching (rarely), but nothing more comes from it. Her last “full” time position was about 6 months of leave replacement at a district but they didn’t have the means tohire her back as a permanent sub for this coming school year. Herlast avenue for work was this tutoring job she used to do, but they don’t giveher any hours and when they did, they were 1-4 hour shifts at minimum wage, so maybe enough to pay a bill but that’s it. Although I think she shot herself in the foot when she told them shecouldn’t work weekends or nights – her reasoning was that it was because those would be the only times I’m home. I’m usually in the city for 12-13 hours a day – now more since I started mymasters.
So when all is said and done, she has this huge lump of debt and no real means right now to pay it off. She actually collects disability every few months because she has an autoimmune condition, but that’s chump change in the grand scheme of things. What I tried to tell is that she needs income and steadily. I know it’stough out there to find something, but surely it’s possible to find SOMETHING to lessen the damaging debt? It sure beats sitting at home all day watching Full House and Charmed. It’s a bad feeling coming home after a longday and she’s acting all lethargic.
I’m sure a few people would say to dump her and get it over with, but I can’t do that nor do I want to. It would be wrong to do it for that reason anyway – supposed I’m unemployed for a long time? I think shewould want to be there for me. This is really the only issue with the relationship and she’s a great person overall. But the fact is, without that income on her half, it makes me want to postpone getting married, kids, ahouse, etc. I think she’s personally waiting to win that “teaching lotto” that is, landing a full time position in ahigh rated district with track to tenure; but regardless, she needs steady income and needs it now no matter what it takes to get it. How can I knock some sense into her to just take whatever job she can?
I have to say $35k is not a lot of debt if you are combining student loans and car payments. Once she graduates she can defer the student loans until she is employed. Those will never go away.
I have to say $35k is not a lot of debt if you are combining student loans and car payments. Once she graduates she can defer the student loans until she is employed. Those will never go away.
Everyone keeps saying to defer but that's a BAD idea. You rack up interest and you can only defer for about 6 months on most loans. Also, you are often limited to a couple of deferments on a loan. Do you really want to use one of those just because you're lazy? What happens when you have a real crisis and can't pay?
My girlfriend has about 35K in loans herself but she has a job. And she just got this job about a year ago. Everybody has debt. Try having someone with zero debt and serious attitude/fidelity issues. Don't be a wuss without boots.
Everyone keeps saying to defer but that's a BAD idea. You rack up interest and you can only defer for about 6 months on most loans. Also, you are often limited to a couple of deferments on a loan. Do you really want to use one of those just because you're lazy? What happens when you have a real crisis and can't pay?
You can defer for YEARS.
They usually run in increments that are no longer than 6 months at a time. And, if one is smart about it, one can pay the interest payments during deferment, and that keeps the interest from piling up. An interest payment is way cheaper than a loan payment. On 35k, I'm sure she could do that, even if she's only taking in a wee sum on disability.
If her loans are all subsidized, the deferment due to unemployment doesn't accrue interest.
It's only a forbearance that accrues interest.
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They usually run in increments that are no longer than 6 months at a time. And, if one is smart about it, one can pay the interest payments during deferment, and that keeps the interest from piling up. An interest payment is way cheaper than a loan payment. On 35k, I'm sure she could do that, even if she's only taking in a wee sum on disability.
If her loans are all subsidized, the deferment due to unemployment doesn't accrue interest.
It's only a forbearance that accrues interest.
Hmm. My loan only allows 2 deferrals at 6 months each so I think that's true only depending on your type of loan. I also accrued interest even though I was unemployed for a bit. I also have one of the most common types of loans.
At any rate, you cannot escape student loans so deferral is still not a smart choice.
Hmm. My loan only allows 2 deferrals at 6 months each so I think that's true only depending on your type of loan. I also accrued interest even though I was unemployed for a bit. I also have one of the most common types of loans.
At any rate, you cannot escape student loans so deferral is still not a smart choice.
Well, you cannot escape them, so if you have no job (or are underemployed) there's very little reason not to defer them.
Except for the interest thing you mentioned, and as I said, you can pay that while the loan is deferred, if you have an unsubsidized loan and it is accruing interest.
I bet yours could've been deferred or had a forbearance applied to it if it was a federal loan.
Not true of any sort of private loan. They are wicked.
ETA: If I was only 35k in debt in SLs, I'd do an IBR. They base it on whatever income you have. The payments would be tiny if all she has is a small disability check.
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Everyone keeps saying to defer but that's a BAD idea. You rack up interest and you can only defer for about 6 months on most loans. Also, you are often limited to a couple of deferments on a loan. Do you really want to use one of those just because you're lazy? What happens when you have a real crisis and can't pay?
I don't recommend to defer. If you can pay them right away I say do it but until she has steady income she should defer. I think you can defer up to 36 months with the right circumstances.
Well, you cannot escape them, so if you have no job (or are underemployed) there's very little reason not to defer them.
Except for the interest thing you mentioned, and as I said, you can pay that while the loan is deferred, if you have an unsubsidized loan and it is accruing interest.
I bet yours could've been deferred or had a forbearance applied to it if it was a federal loan.
Not true of any sort of private loan. They are wicked.
I may have actually had a forbearance because it was short-lived. And that would explain the interest.
I agree not progressing - how can I make that clear if I bring this up to her? I'm not too good at articulating words and arguments. It's easy to find a basic minimum wage job but she feels she has no other skills besides teaching related ones and secretarial/administrative work.
Hell no! lol....my sister could easily hook her up with a position in massachussets but she has told me countless times she never wants to leave long island (because family is there)
Quote:
Originally Posted by le roi
you're talking two different issues.
i would consider someone's debt when seriously dating them (i.e. marriage is on the table). i would consider breaking it off with someone if they had excessive debt. however, $35k in student debt is not all that much. it isn't ideal, but it is reasonable. To me $35k in debt doesn't quite meet the threshold where it would really worry me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casey Ryback
in regards to relocation, I'm actually stuck for a few more years on long island/NYC because my company is paying for my masters so it wouldn't make sense to stop half way through.
Le Roi is right: In terms of student loan debt, that's not all that much. After adjusting for inflation, it's probably less than the $16K in student debt I graduated with in 1988. Hardly something anyone should freak out about. The payments on the loan are going to be the equivalent of a car payment, and probably lower depending on the terms and length of the loan. I don't know what student loans are like nowadays, but I didn't have to start paying mine off for six months after I graduated, and I had 10 years after that to pay them down.
Honestly, it's your GF who should consider dumping you so she can build a future for herself. You should consider yourself lucky that she doesn't want to leave her family, because many, many young people on LI are hightailing it out of there to live in places where they actually get something for their money, and she's not stuck there like you are. And not for nothing, if she does get a job teaching on LI, she might very well be supporting you one day. Teachers there make a nice piece of change.
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