$1 Million in Student Loans. Holy Smokes!

[sandorski]

If enough people do it they'll make it your problem.



In part it is related to the Dude. He chose a more expensive than average school, no longer wanted to live with his parents to save money while going to school, decided to have a kid while still in school, moved to an even more expensive apartment, and bought a Benz with a $400/month payment while in school. I whole heartedly agree that high tuition is a huge problem but this may not be the best poster child given the personal contributions to the loan issue.

I agree he's not the best example, it's also on the extreme end.

 

[Darwin333]

In part it is related to the Dude. He chose a more expensive than average school, no longer wanted to live with his parents to save money while going to school, decided to have a kid while still in school, moved to an even more expensive apartment, and bought a Benz with a $400/month payment while in school. I whole heartedly agree that high tuition is a huge problem but this may not be the best poster child given the personal contributions to the loan issue.

Did the loans help pay for his Benz? If so I am sooo going back to school

 

[Ns1]

Did the loans help pay for his Benz? If so I am sooo going back to school

I had no problem getting 15k/year in school loans for "cost of living"

 

[Exterous]

Did the loans help pay for his Benz? If so I am sooo going back to school

They don't mention when he bought his Benz but given the chronological pacing of the article I would guess 2011. He put his loans into forbearance in 2012. Since I'm assuming his $400/month payment on his car didn't end after a year my guess is that it did indirectly pay for it

Also in 2012:

Mr. Meru said he earned little his first year out of school and needed all of it to support his family.

Yet they bought a $400k house that year and I'm guessing he didn't give up his car

 

[Red Squirrel]

Student loan debt is one of the VERY few types of debt that is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Ironically it is also one of the only debts that I know of that a minor can enter in to alone.

That's crazy. Woudn't it make more sense to just put it under a normal loan if that's the case? Even if it requires to put under parent's name or something. Then again the parents would probably not to be willing to have that level of risk under their name.

 

[Darwin333]

I had no problem getting 15k/year in school loans for "cost of living"

That's a lot of beer money.

 

[Carson Dyle]

That's crazy. Woudn't it make more sense to just put it under a normal loan if that's the case? Even if it requires to put under parent's name or something. Then again the parents would probably not to be willing to have that level of risk under their name.

Yeah, right. Good luck being an 18-22 year old kid with little or no work history, trying to secure loans for $10-30,000 a year to get a degree.

 

[Darwin333]

That's crazy. Woudn't it make more sense to just put it under a normal loan if that's the case? Even if it requires to put under parent's name or something. Then again the parents would probably not to be willing to have that level of risk under their name.

Normal loans have normal terms and aren't 100% federally guaranteed. It's not like the bank eats the money when the loans are eventually forgiven.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah, right. Good luck being an 18-22 year old kid with little or no work history, trying to secure loans for $10-30,000 a year to get a degree.

That's why I said it would have to be under the parents' name, but of course they'd have to be willing to incurr that risk. Heck, even an older adult probably can't get a loan for a mil. Seems the real issue here is the fact that they even allow students to have loans that big in first place.

 

[Ventanni]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mike-meru-has-1-million-in-student-loans-how-did-that-happen-1527252975

He went to dental school which explains his debt. But still. A whopping millions dollars that will probably never be paid back in his life time. What struck me was that he bought a house, and currently drives a used Tesla. He also drove a used Mercedes Benz. Used cars, but luxury cars and expensive to fix. Trips to Havana as well. I know that he;s on IBR, but shouldn't he be focused on paying off the debt first? Is he abusing the system? I had read an article that grads with high paying jobs and extremely high loan debt were abusing IBR.

I watch Dave Ramsey and he's about eliminating everything until the loan is paid in full. No trips, no luxury cars, nothing but paying off the loan. Seems like Mr. Meru wants the lavish lifestyle that normally comes with being a dentist or doctor, but without the upfront sacrifice. Just my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong.

If this guy was following Dave Ramsey, he wouldn't have racked up a million in debt. Instead, he'd be debt free by now and enjoying the same exact lifestyle through the income of his profession. Personally, I find what he did to be completely irresponsible, and an absolute waste of taxpayer dollars. He chose a much more expensive school than he had to, and purchased a lifestyle he, himself, had not earned yet with the value of his hands. With the interest this guy is paying (about $4k per month), there is absolutely no way to pay it back.

Tell me, gents. How do you enjoy your taxes you just paid to Uncle Sam being used to finance Mr. Prettyboy's trip to Havana? Because that's exactly what just happened.

 

[highland145]

That's a lot of beer money.

Not really.....

Seems the real issue here is the fact that they even allow students to have loans that big in first place.

This X1000 stop guaranteeing the loans via the fed, make them dischargeable with BK and, eventually, college tuition will come down.


We're trying to find different jobs that my 17 y.o. can shadow. He has no idea what he wants to do but he likes nice things so his career path/grades are important. A friend is a speech pathologist (requires a masters) at the school district. Being short staffed, she's hiring contractors in at $68/hr, 37 to 40hrs/week. I tell the kid that he can essentially go to the local uni for his undergrad for free (lottery $$/scholarships/live at home) then pick up his masters somewhere else. That gives me 4 years to save more in the college fund and he'll be debt free at the end. Or he can go to one of the large state schools (+$25K/yr) and he'll have to get loans plus figure out how to pay for his masters. He has time to think about it but we'll see what lil highland decides.

Did I mention that there is a girl? She's planning on going to the #2 big state uni. That's the reason this is even in discussion. Off to research saltpeter....

 

[zinfamous]

as long as you can afford it while alive, just keep paying the minimum monthlies, with low interest rate, and let the debt die with you.

when retired, you can shave off something like 60% of the monthly payment, increase the loan payoff to something like 98 years, and be gravy.

 

[zinfamous]

Not really.....

This X1000 stop guaranteeing the loans via the fed, make them dischargeable with BK and, eventually, college tuition will come down.


We're trying to find different jobs that my 17 y.o. can shadow. He has no idea what he wants to do but he likes nice things so his career path/grades are important. A friend is a speech pathologist (requires a masters) at the school district. Being short staffed, she's hiring contractors in at $68/hr, 37 to 40hrs/week. I tell the kid that he can essentially go to the local uni for his undergrad for free (lottery $$/scholarships/live at home) then pick up his masters somewhere else. That gives me 4 years to save more in the college fund and he'll be debt free at the end. Or he can go to one of the large state schools (+$25K/yr) and he'll have to get loans plus figure out how to pay for his masters. He has time to think about it but we'll see what lil highland decides.

Did I mention that there is a girl? She's planning on going to the #2 big state uni. That's the reason this is even in discussion. Off to research saltpeter....

$25k/year just to be a Gamecock? D:

 

[highland145]

$25k/year just to be a Gamecock? D:

Yep. Effed up, right? Clemson is $30 ish. That is tuition/books/housing/meal plan/etc but all of that has to be paid regardless of a school saying, "Our tuition is $250. (we're just going to eff you on everything else.)" 1 semester of books for the son of the person I mentioned above was $1200 at Clemson. dafuq?

 

[zinfamous]

Yep. Effed up, right? Clemson is $30 ish. That is tuition/books/housing/meal plan/etc but all of that has to be paid regardless of a school saying, "Our tuition is $250. (we're just going to eff you on everything else.)" 1 semester of books for the son of the person I mentioned above was $1200 at Clemson. dafuq?

I was able to get nearly everything paid by:

--cheap in-state tuition of ~$7k/year (tell your son to go back to school in roughly 1996)
--financial aid > pell grants (no loans)
--in-school merit-based scholarship (after first year, qualified for 4 year scholarship that essentially paid for all of my tuition, essentially because they thought I wasn't as dumb as I thought I was)

If you are poor enough, the fruits of your loins can have access to decent aid.

 

[highland145]

I was able to get nearly everything paid by:

--cheap in-state tuition of ~$7k/year (tell your son to go back to school in roughly 1996)
--financial aid > pell grants (no loans)
--in-school merit-based scholarship (after first year, qualified for 4 year scholarship that essentially paid for all of my tuition, essentially because they thought I wasn't as dumb as I thought I was)

If you are poor enough, the fruits of your loins can have access to decent aid.

We have to start all of the scholarship applying soon. Also waiting on the last SAT scores.

 

[Ryland]

I have $25k in student loans and paid it off in 5 years because I hated owing the money to the bank of dad.

 

[highland145]

I have $25k in student loans and paid it off in 5 years because I hated owing the money to the bank of dad.

Hey, this looks like a pretty good option for me. What rate? The wife probably won't let me charge him 35% but I might be able to slip in 15%.

 

[Ryland]

Hey, this looks like a pretty good option for me. What rate? The wife probably won't let me charge him 35% but I might be able to slip in 15%.

He completely screwed up on that. He tried charging me a rate after I started paying it back but my mother stopped him saying that it wasnt fair of him to do that since it was never in the original agreement. He paid for my college up front then I owed him 75% when I graduated. We never had a set repayment schedule and he was annoyed that I paid him back that fast since he was using the money to pay his mortgage.

 

[highland145]

He completely screwed up on that. He tried charging me a rate after I started paying it back but my mother stopped him saying that it wasnt fair of him to do that since it was never in the original agreement. He paid for my college up front then I owed him 75% when I graduated. We never had a set repayment schedule and he was annoyed that I paid him back that fast since he was using the money to pay his mortgage.

Mama bear to the rescue. Yeah, I'm not getting away with anything.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Dave Ramsey is a charlatan.

"If you spend less than you make, you will save money."
"If you do not buy a car that cannot afford outright, you will not have a car payment."
"You should pay off your credit cards. That would be better than not paying off your credit cards."

Real sage knowledge there, Dave-o.

 

[highland145]

Dave Ramsey is a charlatan.

"If you spend less than you make, you will save money."
"If you do not buy a car that cannot afford outright, you will not have a car payment."
"You should pay off your credit cards. That would be better than not paying off your credit cards."

Real sage knowledge there, Dave-o.

lol but the reality is that many suck at handling $$ and don't understand these concepts. Many years ago, an ex gf read a book on getting her finances in order. It said that she should pay herself 1st because she deserved it. I pointed out that she had already been living that way for years, hence the thousands of credit card debt, and that she probably should try some other approach. Did I mention ex gf?

 

[zinfamous]

Mama bear to the rescue. Yeah, I'm not getting away with anything.

You know, if you divorce your wife, your son will qualify as having a single parent and unlock some default access to grant money.

You think she'd be down with that for his 4-10 years as an undergrad?

 

[highland145]

You know, if you divorce your wife, your son will qualify as having a single parent and unlock some default access to grant money.

You think she'd be down with that for his 4-10 years as an undergrad?

I actually typed that out in your reply but she might be spying on me and take me up on it along with most of my $$/stuff.

4-10? Oh, hell no. :colbert; He's dual enrolling so he "should" have 8 classes under his belt when he graduates HS. And, my understanding, is that state schools have to accept them even though they're coming from a tech college. Eng101/102, sociology, psychology, calc 101,.... Costing me $600/semester for 2 classes. Lottery $$, ftw.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Student loan debt is one of the VERY few types of debt that is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Ironically it is also one of the only debts that I know of that a minor can enter in to alone.

Yes - but only if your parents are broke...Because, you know, that seems like smart logic... Give higher trust to those that historically are bad at managing debt.