<p>I don’t think he wants advice–he seems to be content with having the bandaid until his income catches up with his lifestyle. I’ve certainly not detected ANY hint of him WANTING any advice from any of us, more smugness that he & wife were the first to buy a home while owing $160K in ed loans that they’re not making any dent in, despite great credit scores and good, well-paying job(s).</p>
<p>eyemamom - you do realize how old, conservative and conventional most of us sound to this young man, right? He is happy because he is making good money every year and believes this wouldn’t have happened without his dream school…</p>
<p>Beliefs are acted upon without proof and dreams have been preached as the thing to strive for in the free and prosperous world…which is precisely why we have an education inflation rate that would make the devil blush for shame.</p>
<p>If he is lucky/able to increase his income substantially he might escape ever feeling the financial pain of this loan, but that only means that he is an exception, not the rule. Making the choices necessary to have that kind of earning power will take a different toll, on family time and relationships. Those are the things they don’t teach you in accounting class…</p>
<p>Considering everyone here is mocking and tearing down his decisions, it doesn’t surprise me that he would become defensive and stubborn. I think (hope) that deep down, he does know it wasn’t the best decision. But when our defenses kick in, even the best of us will become stubborn. So I don’t really take his comments at face value about doing it all over again. Or maybe he is that naive - considering he’s a few years older than me now, I would hope this isn’t the case, since even I will admit the following.</p>
<p>I would not do it all over again. If I could take the knowledge I have now about finances and go back in time, I would have graduated nearly debt-free (still do believe in having some credit/small loans built up upon graduation, but not anywhere near what I have). However, there is still no sense in arguing over it since we cannot, unfortunately, go back in time. The most we can do is learn from each other’s experiences and improve. I hope he took something away from all of the comments on this thread. Even if he will not admit it.</p>
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<p>thank you bchan…I was trying to figure out how to express what I was thinking, and what my concerns are, and I think you hit it. His experience is likely more the exception then the rule, and the long term consequences will be different for every borrower.</p>
<p>Novalynnx…sometimes it makes the day easier to face if you can keep telling yourself that “it is all worth it” for whatever reason. Denial can be a very good coping strategy for a long time. </p>
<p>However, regardless why Johnathan made his decisions, I was trying not to be judgemental at all. God knows I have made my share of bad financial decisions and have no right to judge anyone elses! I really want to undertand his thought process, and what he thinks should happen differently since he testified before the senate re: student loans. Part of my own educational process to see both sides of the issue.</p>
<p>Mostly, I am wondering how the guy who testified happened upon this thread!!!</p>
<p>I am only on post #30, and I have to get back to work, but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around a 28 year old being able to buy a home, have a baby, and start a 529! We couldn’t start saving for kids college until later, in part because we were still paying our OWN lonas. Husband is STILL paying lonas, and he graduated medical school more than 20 years ago.</p>
<p>vlines - I was not directing my post at you, or anyone in particular. Just a thought that came to me that I felt like sharing. Denial is certainly one type of coping strategy, but for the sake of his future investments, I hope it is not one he keeps relying on. </p>
<p>One thing I think most people would agree on is that credit lenders are shady and we can’t always predict how our financial decisions will affect us long-term. My private lenders originally told me - Oh yes! You can defer your loans throughout graduate school! - and I did not see anything in the terms to speak against this. A few years later I start looking into graduate school and what do you know, the private loans now have deferment limits (one will not defer past this coming summer, another for only an additional 24 months) when returning to school or pursuing graduate study. So, I cannot afford to attend graduate school (would have liked to pursue a PhD) - even with a great stipend - because I cannot afford living expenses, student expenses, and loan costs. Sneaky little jerks.</p>
<p>Added Note: I should probably mention that I have only been out of school for 1 year, so it is not like I am trying to go back to grad school years after graduation. And I have one of those general liberal arts degrees that basically need graduate study to land any decent paying job. <em>Sigh</em></p>
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<p>Both BC and BU?</p>
<p>I know Novalynnx, and some comments have been judgemental, I was just saying I was trying hard not to be. </p>
<p>I agree with the “sneakiness” of banks/lenders. Found that in home refinancing a few years ago. We actually read the contract, and made them put a few things in writing that they promised us. When they “admitted” they should not have verbally promised us something, and could no put it in the loan documents, we cancelled closing set for the next day and went to a different company. Don;t even remember the issue now, all I know is that we did not trust anything else in the documents after that experience.</p>
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<p>Well, that’s too bad. It’s actually quite liberating to say “I was wrong.” You know what? The world doesn’t fall down around our shoulders when we say “I messed up. I was foolish, or proud, or greedy, or unwilling to live in the real world and live within my means, and now I am paying for it. But I’m going to learn from it and do better now.”</p>
<p>Saying “I was wrong” seems to be a rarity now. </p>
<p>I’m dating myself now. Does anyone remember the Happy Days episode where Fonzie has to admit he was wrong? He tries and tries, but just cannot get the words out because he has a problem admitting he’s actually mortal. I always remember that whenever I start blustering against someone pointing out that I screwed up.</p>
<p>Sadly, nrdsb4, I do remember that episode of Happy Days!</p>
<p>If this is genuine, it’s one heck of an argument against taking a lot of undergrad debt. The message I take away is: even if you get your dream job in a high-paying industry, and even after 7-plus years in the work force, and even if you only borrowed two years of college costs instead of four, you still won’t be able to* begin *paying down the debt.</p>
<p>That ought to scare the daylights out of anyone.</p>
<p>nrdsb4, that was a great episode!</p>
<p>This is such an interesting thread, with twists and turns. I would like to post it to every thread about “how to convince my parents to let me go to my dream school instead of my state school.”</p>
<p>I remember the episode, too!</p>
<p>I know I sound old fashioned and conservative. I also know that no one gets a clear shot without a single misstep in this life. Do any of you even know anyone who never dealt with at least one of the following - unexpected illnesses, unemployment, bad investments, upside mortgages, death, divorce, no raise one year, being downsized? </p>
<p>I know what poor is, I know what it’s like to get your electricity turned off and be unable to buy a few groceries at the store. At the time I was a college graduate, married with young kids, hardworking, reasonably intelligent, etc. Sometimes life knocks the wind out of your sails. </p>
<p>I remember that Happy Days episode too. The most liberating thing I have ever done is take personal responsibility for my decisions. </p>
<p>This guy may be too young to believe that not just “losers” face hardships. We’re all raising the red flag to him. Whether he wants to ever post here again or if he doesn’t get it now, I hope he will.</p>
<p>eyemamom - I don’t think you old fashioned - conservative, maybe, but that’s not a bad thing when it comes to finances.</p>
<p>I’m only 24 and I am facing a lot of health problems that even make my office job difficult some days. I may not have attended a top-name school, but it was a pretty darn good LAC and I received a great education, but I still wish I did not have the debt I have. I was valedictorian in high school, did very well in college graduating with honors and publications - and I am proof that it doesn’t always lead to great jobs, depending where you live (and where you can afford to relocate to), and your field of major. I did not foresee being sick at such a young age, and many of my problems will likely increase over time due to the nature of them. Not to mention my insurance doesn’t cover the specialist that I see - that’s a huge cost out of pocket for each visit! So you’re right - its not just “losers” facing hardships. It can happen to anyone, even 1 year out of college. This guy’s just been “lucky” thus far.</p>
<p>Student loans are only one of many ways to end up with too much debt. Some of the others include getting a divorce, buying more house than you can afford, running up credit card debt. If Jonathon can avoid these other pitfalls he might be fine.</p>
<p>I do think he needs to start paying more than $67 per month. It isn’t necessarily going to get easier to pay off this debt later. Yes, income increases but so do all the other expenses.</p>
<p>I am sure that all of us have delt with more than one of your 8 listed pitfalls in our lives, and a few more. And I agree about taking personal responsibilty. I believe it is probable that Johnathan has not personally dealt with those issues yet, except for the change in parents income status when he was in college. I am sure that right now, he is quite proud of getting himself out of that situation, staying at his dream school, and graduating to a great job. And to a certian extent, he should be. I am not convinced that he yet has enough life experience to see that other options may have been available, other options would have met or exceeded his needs, and alternate choices may have made his life even more enjoyable/comfortable than it currently is. I actually hope for him that he never has to experience any of those pitfalls and realize those things. But those of us that are 20+ years older than him have seen many people with “a plan” end up with nothing. Or owing everything, never being financially free. </p>
<p>As a nurse, I am appalled at the number of people, especially young people, that do not have health insurance when they could. They do not believe that it is important for them, they don’t get sick, and will not need health insurance until they are older. I am talking about those who opt out of the simple inexpensive individual employer sponsored programs. Those that cannot afford the high individual plans are a different story. </p>
<p>It is a similar mindset of 20 somethings ( which many of us suffered from). “I don’t have to worry about that for a few years”.</p>
<p>Buying a home before paying off collede debt is not always a bad idea. H and I were $40K in debt after my undergrad & grad degrees and were making payments on a 10-year plan. One year after buying our home our bank suggested we pay off the student debt with a low interest loan secured by the house (the 8% interest rate dropped down to less than 3% --we kept the payments the same and had the debt gone in half the time). Glad we could…</p>
<p>You bought a house when the value of homes were going up. In today’s environment, it is a lot harder to build up equity in a house.</p>
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<p>That struck me as well. So a 25 yo lives in a 1 bedroom apartment. So what? Isn’t that kind of where 25 yo’s / young marrieds are supposed to live?</p>