Education is important and usually helps us succeed as adults and can be a part of financial independence, but at the same time it can come at a detrimental cost. For me, I started at a community college. This is a good way to save a lot of money. I was able to pay for this as I went along and helped save a lot of money. But when I got to my bachelor’s I was out of money and had to have help to continue. So I got grants, loans, scholarships and all the things.
Repayment
Once I completed, I had to begin repayment. I was working at a non-profit and could not make the full payments so I got on an income based plan or income contingent repayment plan. My monthly statements said I owed $0 or maybe at time $60 (been some time so I don’t remember) and I paid what was due. What I didn’t realize at the time was the interest on my loans was not being paid and was just adding to my loans. I was young and naïve and did not pay attention. Eventually, I got a better paying job and began making full payments, but my loans had considerably increased over that time.
Special Repayment Programs
There are numerous programs to help those who have special careers, military service and more. Be sure you are checking with the servicer to see if you qualify. Because I worked for a non-profit medical facility during repayment, I was able to use those payments towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I was also able to get PSLF credit for my time with a school district.
Beware of Scams
Beware of companies or “services” that will process this paperwork for you in education and loans. Most of it you can do for free on your own or your loan servicer can do it for you for free. You should not have to pay for this. If someone says you do, Google it and do some research to validate you have to pay. Beware of educational institutions that make your promises they cannot keep or give you percentages that seem to good to be true. They seem too good to be true, because they are. I was defrauded by a university that still exists today. I choose to go there because the statistics led me to believe that I would be making bank within six months of graduating. I am still waiting to make bank and been out of school a long time. As a matter of fact, I am a class member with a lawsuit. Sunday was supposed to be my date for my loans to be discharged, but I am still waiting, may not be patiently, but still waiting, hoping to have that mountain of date gone from my life.