shh_Im_a_Moose

What I was thinking too. I think we're being had.

Really? How do you mean? The Lakota bit I mean....

Some of Sallie Mae's private loans do not have income driven repayment and only permit deferment for a limited time throughout the entire life of the loan. This is the situation I am in. They want $900/month regardless of my income. After telling them I'm not paying because I can't afford it, and sticking to my word for a few months, they finally let me on a reduced rate plan with a longer repayment term, which I have to renew annually. The downside is that this loan will never go away, ever, and I'm effectively flushing several hundred dollars a month down the drain, money that is not going to anything useful and will never be recovered.

Help. What can I do? Should I just stop paying? Because it feels like the only meaningful option - that or continue flushing money needlessly down the drain for no good reason.

If it's a private student loan, you'll be able to work out a payment arrangement with them

Is this always true, though? To what effect are they obligated to? My impression is they have no obligation to work with the borrower. In my case, Navient knows I can't afford their payments and the only plan they'll put me on barely reduces it. I am paying it now, based on a year-long agreement, but it has caused a great deal of strain in my life, and forced me to defer my federal loans. I know when I call them at the end of the plan, they'll give me the same shit they always do, and harass me non-stop until I make an arrangement or default.

I've considered just not paying them any more. Let it default, let it ruin my credit - I can't get loans anyways thanks to student debt's effect on my debt-to-income ratio. Why suffer through the added discomfort of payments I can hardly afford, and when I do, cause me to put off other debt that might one day be resolved??

....so what would the consequences of that be, other than financial death?

Hello fellow Clevelander. Solid rec, I didn't know Utah had a lady bill squire