Moms on leave dealing with student loan debt

fennyann

How are you ladies doing it? If you don't mind me asking.  I pay almost 550.00 a month in student loans and have been unable to get any help on this. My biggest issue is with Sallie Mae. I have called several times, letting them now that I will be on leave soon and getting half of my pay and wanted to see what options I had. They flat out told me, there was nothing they could do for me and if I don't make my payments, it could be reported to the credit bureau. I asked for forbearance and they told meit wasn't an option. I was so upset last night over this.

Do you ladies have any advice on this? Because there is no way im going to be able to pay all of this. My baby is going to be my first priority, not my student loans. They are more than our mortgage payment! UGH!

fennyann

peanutrach1:

I would suggest you call again and speak to someone else. From looking online it appears that Sallie Mae does have many options for deferment or forbearance. Acceptable reasons include economic hardship so I am wondering if you could prove that you will have economic hardship during this time you would qualify. I would look into this further. Some customer service ppl just want to get you off the phone so if the next person is unhelpful you probably should ask to talk to a manager. GL!

Yeah, i have tried a couple of times within the past week. Same results...I will probably need to talk with a manager next time. Its just ridiculous.

SummerOH

Are you on a 10 year or extended repayment plan (20-30 years, depending)?  DH has ridiculous amounts of loans.  Eye-popping.  We pay over $2000/month on a 10 year, but Sallie Mae reps told us we can always drop back to an extended plan if we hit hard times.  Is this something you could do?

 

Further, how can they say you don't qualify for a forbearance?  Qualifications include medical issues and a reduction in income - you have both.  I would call again and keep asking for someone higher and higher to see if you can get a different answer.  Let them know you will have your doctor fill out any necessary paperwork and you'll give them copies of whatever they need to prove your income has been reduced.

 

If that doesn't work, just don't pay them.  I know that sounds awful, but in my experience they are more willing to deal with you if you haven't made a payment.  It's backwards logic, but it worked for me when I first graduated college.  I had a crappy job and couldn't make the payments.  Instead of putting it on my credit report, they gave me a 12 month forbearance.  Granted, this was back in 2006.

 

Good luck!  Sallie Mae can be a b!tch to deal with.

6fsn

If you can't get a forebearance then I guess you have to figure out a way to come up with that money.  Go back to work early, borrow from a parent/friend, I don't know what other option there is unless you just want to ignore it (which would be really dumb).

 

fennyann

I will be out for 2 months minimum. So I'm not asking for anything long term. They always give me issues when calling in.  But my doctor has offered to provide me a letter showing i will not be able to pay for medical reasons. So, i'm definetly going to be providing them with that.

drpayne

Out of all of that... I am focused on how you have a mortgage of less that $550.

berrysweet

Have you actually filled out the forbearance paperwork? It's all available online I believe...I think that I'd start there if you haven't already!

fennyann

drpayne:

Out of all of that... I am focused on how you have a mortgage of less that $550.

We got an amazing deal on this house. Its gorgeous. An older gentleman was looking to get out after his wife passed.

rjade9

I am 28 weeks and have been on hospital bedrest since 24 so I know about money being tight!  I had to file a forberance on my loans.  It sucks because the interest is more but it is better than not paying them!

I just re read and saw that they won't let you do a forberance?  Did you try to file it on the phone?  Thats what I had to do, they wouldn't let me file online.

fennyann

berrysweet:

Have you actually filled out the forbearance paperwork? It's all available online I believe...I think that I'd start there if you haven't already!

I have attempted to do this as well. When i try to fill it out online, it says my loans do not qualify and that I would have to call. So, thats where we are at now.

rjade9

fennyann:

berrysweet:

Have you actually filled out the forbearance paperwork? It's all available online I believe...I think that I'd start there if you haven't already!

I have attempted to do this as well. When i try to fill it out online, it says my loans do not qualify and that I would have to call. So, thats where we are at now.

Thats exactly what happend with me, called and had the forberance within 15 minutes.  I did mine for 6 months.

jsoubel

Sigh- I hate loans so much.  I have been prepaying my loans so I'm currently 2 months ahead on my private loans and 1 month ahead on my federal.  At this rate, I should only have to pay the federal loan during my leave, which cuts my payments in half.  Good luck to everyone! 

jobiann

I hear Sallie Mae loans are terrible...I was actually warned about them when I was looking into loans at the time so I avoided them like the plague. Hmmmm, I thought with my loans the forbearance included salary cut, divorce, death of a spouse/child and birth of a child. But my loans are different then yours.

I hope you can figure something out, you shouldn't have to stress about them.  

ladybugsmum

Sallie Mae does nothing to help people at all. I have tried 3 times and got nowhere. Luckily, my nana who cosigned on the loan helped me out and just paid it off on her credit card. Now I just send her what I can every month until it's paid off.

ForeverEverAfter

Between DH and I we pay $1100/month on student loans. I'm the higher earner, and I'll only be getting 30-40% of my pay on mat leave. Our household income is high enough though that we don't qualify for lower payments through the government one, and the private one ($545) is cosigned by my MIL and I don't want to look irresponsible by lowering payments. I just cut the rest of our budget as much as possible, and saved as much as I could to cover the amount we'll be short each month. I'd like a year maternity leave, but I'll go back early if we run out of money. Hoping for a good tax return or a raise for DH

morayme1

Was your baby a surprise? I don't understand people who don't plan financially for their pregnancy/children.

fennyann

morayme1:

Was your baby a surprise? I don't understand people who don't plan financially for their pregnancy/children.

No, this was a planned pregnancy. And just like everything else in life, things come up. I lost my job and had to find another after we found out we were pregnant. So, i ended up taking a bit of a pay cut and money has been a little tight. We are doing the best we can. It's just the student loans will need to be put on the back burner once the baby comes. Because other bills such as cars, insurance, and mortgage are going to come first... and of course whatever the baby needs.

GeraldoRivera

Be really, really careful about not paying your student loans because they can and will garnish your wages if you don't pay. Student loans are not like other debts - they never, ever go away. You can't discharge them in bankruptcy, so the companies know that they have you over a barrel.

 

You can't just say "oh well, I guess I won't pay them." Unless you want to find yourself with your wages garnished and now you're short on money to pay your mortgage.

MrsBigTime

morayme1:

Was your baby a surprise? I don't understand people who don't plan financially for their pregnancy/children.

Comments like this just aren't helpful. They are rude.

blabbe

MrsBigTime:

morayme1:

Was your baby a surprise? I don't understand people who don't plan financially for their pregnancy/children.

Comments like this just aren't helpful. They are rude.

 

Agree.

Mrs.DeliaMarieP

Maybe you need to look into a deferment instead of a forbearance?  Now that you mention it, I am going to have to try the same thing, I never even thought of it.  If I come up with a solution, I will post it on this board.  I am surprised that they wouldn't help you when you called.

mrsweeber

You should speak to the lender and see if you are eligible for an economic hardship deferrment. It is likely that they will not allow you to do this prior to the birth of your child as it will require proof that you are temporarily not working or earning income and would probably also require proof of increased expenses. This would be more difficult to acquire than a forebearance but it is certainly worth a shot.

If you find that your income is much different than last year vs. this year (especially with the increase in family size, job loss and switch, etc.) based upon where you live, your spouse's earnings, and when you took out your student loans, you may also be eligible for income based repayment or income contingent repayment. This will weigh your family size, AGI, and loan debt (utilizing the standard repayment monthly payment amount) in contrast to the poverty level in your state. This option may provide some relief in the times where funds are tight. Lenders are required to let you apply for a new payment plan at least one time a year.

Just remember, even one loan payment late is considered delinquent. Delinquent loans are reported to credit agencies for both you and your co-signer. While loan servicers are not always the most helpful, they truly would rather you pay something than spend the man hours required when you pay nothing. I would continue calling until you find someone that can and will help you.

skychick312

I also have Sallie Mae for one of my student loans. When I lost my job I requested a deference. I wanna say they gave me 6 months without having to pay.  Not sure why the person you spoke to wasnt willing to help more.  I'd call back, speak to someone else and if that doesnt work then speak to someone above them. 

eleventhirty

blabbe:

MrsBigTime:

morayme1:

Was your baby a surprise? I don't understand people who don't plan financially for their pregnancy/children.

Comments like this just aren't helpful. They are rude.

 

Agree.

This x1000.  There is absolutely no reason for you to start on that train of thought Morayme1.

To OP, I don't have advice, but I wanted to wish you luck. 

bubble520

I just filled in a form online last week for forbarence. I didnt evenneed a reason. It is for 12 months and with sallie mae.. it waseasy as could be? I wonder what the difference is? I just logged on anf went to the "payment options tab" and it was done in under three minutes. They sent an email thenext day saying it went through.

brooke&ryan&baby

I felt like I was the only one. I fortunately only have to pay around $200 / mth but I was told there was nothing I could do.

After calling, bit**ing, and moaning they finally told me I could defer my loans but there were a crap ton of additional charges and my interest rate would almost double. As of now DH and I are just trying to handle it until I can get back to working part time.

Hang in there, hoping everything works out!

fennyann

Thanks ladies! I really appreciate the advice. I will try calling again and see what happens. I wish it was easy for me to fill out the form online but...noooo apparently my loans do not qualify. So, we will see what happens! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Rockwell21

morayme1:

Was your baby a surprise? I don't understand people who don't plan financially for their pregnancy/children.

I know I shouldn't be responding to a troll but you seem to constantly ask whether the baby was a surprise on these forums.  I'm curious as to what your response would be if it was a surprise. Does that magically make it all better or would you then go on a rant about how people should be more diligent about birth control, etc?

I'm surprised you didn't take an issue with the fact that she took out a loan to go to school.  I mean I guess she shouldn't go to school if she can't afford to pay for it outright.  Same with cars and a house - how dare anyone have any debt. How financially irresponsible!  Would it be better to wait until 40 or 50 when you're more financially stable to try to conceive and put the baby at risk?

Congratulations on being able to start an argument on just about anything AND coming across like a close-minded *** at the same time!  Your hubby must LOVE living with you - poor guy is probably too afraid to talk and hasn't had an opinion in years.  He probably cheats on you with someone that doesn't make him feel like less of a man.  Feels good when people make assumptions about your life doesn't it?

It's so sad that you have such low self esteem that you go trolling baby forums touting your better than thou opinions.  Go to therapy and get over yourself.

BelhurstBride

Rockwell21:

morayme1:

Was your baby a surprise? I don't understand people who don't plan financially for their pregnancy/children.

I know I shouldn't be responding to a troll but you seem to constantly ask whether the baby was a surprise on these forums.  I'm curious as to what your response would be if it was a surprise. Does that magically make it all better or would you then go on a rant about how people should be more diligent about birth control, etc?

I'm surprised you didn't take an issue with the fact that she took out a loan to go to school.  I mean I guess she shouldn't go to school if she can't afford to pay for it outright.  Same with cars and a house - how dare anyone have any debt. How financially irresponsible!  Would it be better to wait until 40 or 50 when you're more financially stable to try to conceive and put the baby at risk?

Congratulations on being able to start an argument on just about anything AND coming across like a close-minded *** at the same time!  Your hubby must LOVE living with you - poor guy is probably too afraid to talk and hasn't had an opinion in years.  He probably cheats on you with someone that doesn't make him feel like less of a man.  Feels good when people make assumptions about your life doesn't it?

It's so sad that you have such low self esteem that you go trolling baby forums touting your better than thou opinions.  Go to therapy and get over yourself.

Oh you're fun.