Grr, argh

[sienamystic]

Nothing like a phone call from a bill collector regarding your husband's vastly overdue student loans to send you into a death spiral.

Currently, Bemo is employed. In March, his temp. employment ends, unless he manages to find something between now and then. Right now, I can't commit us to paying either $375 or $480 a month to keep these loans out of default. If we pay the higher amount each month, about 13K in penalties and interest will go away. If we pay the lower amount, it won't disappear, but we'll have about 30 years to pay off the balance. If we pay a paltry what-we-can-afford sum each month, the loans go into default and the payments get absorbed into penalties and interest. Apparently garnishment is a possibility, which is a neat trick if they can pull it off when his frickin' job goes away again.

I've paid them a hundred bucks as a holding payment until I can talk with Bemo. On the other hand, unless we win the lotto in the next thirty days, I don't know how we can make sensible plans. Ok, I can cut off the cable. I don't think that'll do it. I should cut it off anyway. Mmph.

Pls to be excusing me while I go beat my head against the wall for a little bit.

Comments

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Man, I am not sure how helpful this might be at all, so I apologize in advance, but -- as someone who defaulted on her student loans years ago (and so did T), omg, please, please try everything you can not to do it. Not only do they wreck your credit and garnish your wages, they take your income tax refund, the stimulus checks -- and the collection and consolidation and rehabilitation fees are incredible. being in default has made me, no lie, suicidal more times than I can count -- like it's ruined my life. I know the sloan companies will go all hardball and threaten you, but as long as you pay _some_thing, that should be enough to keep the loans from defaulting....I'd recommend, if you have the info, calling up the original loan companies or finding out who holds your loan now, and talking to them, not the collection agencies.

Anyhow I don't mean to stress you out MORE, and I'm sorry if I did, but, just, omfg, defaulting is so awful.

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

I think Bemo does have a/some loan in default, because they took his half of the stimulus check. Unfortunately, I think that he sometimes thinks of it all as, "my credit is already a flaming trainwreck" - he'd like to help fix it but he almost regards it as this great force of nature, this massive unfixable thing. And the fact that he fell down the credit/loan hole while he was pulling himself out of the manic depression hole, I think it's a hard issue for him to look at with any distance, because it's all tied up with that stuff.

So I get to try and help out, for the benefit of both of us. And while I love my husband very dearly, this is definitely a stresser in our marriage, and one that's hard to talk about without one or both of us giving way to depression over it.