How I Got Out of 65% of My Student Debt
In a lot of ways I am the typical all American millennial; except that I like guys. I grew up in a loving family, did decent in school, and then went to college like I was told to do.
Getting into Columbia was the happiest moment of my life (still is)! When I chose to major in Theater Arts my dad questioned my choice but my mom stood up for me.
"He's doing what he loves George!"
My mom truly is my best friend and has always been on my side!
Fast forward 6 months after graduation...
It's November of 2008 and I owe $39,000 in student debt! I was a part time shoe salesman, getting gigs here and there, looking for a full time job, and last but not least still living with my parents during the worst financial crises in a generation.
Then the dreaded notice came in the mail...
My first payment was due and they wanted $250 a month that I didn't have...
I had been anticipating this day and I was sure I'd have a good high paying job that I had been promised by teachers and other adult mentors my entire life.
But there I was...
I called the company to see if we could defer. The girl on the phone was really nice. She told me they understood and would work with me. I felt so relieved. Little did I know that feeling would only be temporary.
The job market was bad. The employers didn't give a rip that I had a degree from Columbia University . One guy even told me right to my face in an interview:
"Look kid you see all these people [he pointed to a stack of resumes] they all have degrees. That means I can be very very picky"
Suffice it to say I didn't get the job. It was probably for the better though.
After that interview I just felt crushed like a complete failure. I didn't understand how this could be happening to me.
I did everything right! I didn't deserve this!
Fast forward 2 years later...
It's December 2010 I still wasn't working full time and I had run out of deferments. Thanks to interest still accruing the loans had ballooned to $43,561.85
The company kept calling my parents house every day demanding their money.
Then on top of all that my boyfriend, who had been with me since junior year, begin starting fights with me and then told me he needed 'space'! He ended up leaving me to be a sugar baby for some old rich fart!
My life began crashing around me. I felt like Lady Gaga after the release of her Joanne album 5 years later.
Christmas of 2010 was the worst Christmas of my entire life. These student loans were a crushing force all over my body. I looked for ways out but everyone told me that there was no way out of student loans, even private ones.
Then I found an article on google about how I got managed to settle his student loans. He said because the banks were going belly up they were settling debts like no tomorrow.
I wish I could find the article for you guys now but that was 8 years ago so I guess its gone. Here's another good article I found though about how to get out of student loans though.
Anyway, in the first article he said I could go through a debt settlement firm to see if the student loan company would settle. I ended up going with national debt relief because despite being new at the time they had an A+ rating with the BBB. They still offer a free debt analysis I think
The guy was a nice and he said I didn't have to pay anything upfront just a monthly payment into a savings account in my name and after about two years they would use the lump sum for bargaining power.
But then...
He said the minimum for me settle in two years would be about $1,100 a month into the account.
As if!
I told him that I was a struggling former student and there was no way I could give up that amount of dough each month. He said the minimum was $200 but it would take 5-6 years to get a lump sum large enough to present to the company.
I slept on it and decided to just go for it. Things finally seemed to be turning around! I had a dream where I saw a light at the end of a tunnel.
Then another setback happened...
My grandma passed away in her sleep 2 days after New Years in 2011. Turns out she had cancer but didn't tell anyone. 2 weeks later I found out I was getting a 50k inheritance!
That was enough to pay off my student loans! But I didn't want give nearly all of my inheritance to those bastards that had been hounding me for two years! I quickly called national debt relief and told them my situation. They said they would make an offer for $28,500 right away before the records reflected the inheritance money transfer.
That was less than half of what I owed. I figured they wouldn't accept it but why not at least try right? In the beginning of February I got this letter...
I couldn't believe it! They settled! I got out over half my debt!
I called the company to make sure that it was correct and they said it was!
My mom and I cried like babies together.Truly one of the biggest tragedies of my life turned into my second happiest moment (after finding out I got into Columbia)! I deposited the money into the account right away and viola that was it!
Plus I needed to make money so I didn't blow through my entire inheritance. This was a huge fucking relief for me! I still have that letter after all these years just as a reminder of what I've managed to pull myself through (with some help).
I'm not saying this is going to work for everyone but this is my story of how I got out of most of my student debt. I'm not also going to say everything was honky dory after that. I mean I had gained 40 lbs due to stress! That had to be taken care of (I'll write an article on that soon).
Getting into Columbia was the happiest moment of my life (still is)! When I chose to major in Theater Arts my dad questioned my choice but my mom stood up for me.
"He's doing what he loves George!"
My mom truly is my best friend and has always been on my side!
Fast forward 6 months after graduation...
It's November of 2008 and I owe $39,000 in student debt! I was a part time shoe salesman, getting gigs here and there, looking for a full time job, and last but not least still living with my parents during the worst financial crises in a generation.
Then the dreaded notice came in the mail...
My first payment was due and they wanted $250 a month that I didn't have...
I had been anticipating this day and I was sure I'd have a good high paying job that I had been promised by teachers and other adult mentors my entire life.
But there I was...
I called the company to see if we could defer. The girl on the phone was really nice. She told me they understood and would work with me. I felt so relieved. Little did I know that feeling would only be temporary.
The job market was bad. The employers didn't give a rip that I had a degree from Columbia University . One guy even told me right to my face in an interview:
"Look kid you see all these people [he pointed to a stack of resumes] they all have degrees. That means I can be very very picky"
Suffice it to say I didn't get the job. It was probably for the better though.
After that interview I just felt crushed like a complete failure. I didn't understand how this could be happening to me.
I did everything right! I didn't deserve this!
Fast forward 2 years later...
It's December 2010 I still wasn't working full time and I had run out of deferments. Thanks to interest still accruing the loans had ballooned to $43,561.85
The company kept calling my parents house every day demanding their money.
Then on top of all that my boyfriend, who had been with me since junior year, begin starting fights with me and then told me he needed 'space'! He ended up leaving me to be a sugar baby for some old rich fart!
My life began crashing around me. I felt like Lady Gaga after the release of her Joanne album 5 years later.
Christmas of 2010 was the worst Christmas of my entire life. These student loans were a crushing force all over my body. I looked for ways out but everyone told me that there was no way out of student loans, even private ones.
Then I found an article on google about how I got managed to settle his student loans. He said because the banks were going belly up they were settling debts like no tomorrow.
I wish I could find the article for you guys now but that was 8 years ago so I guess its gone. Here's another good article I found though about how to get out of student loans though.
Anyway, in the first article he said I could go through a debt settlement firm to see if the student loan company would settle. I ended up going with national debt relief because despite being new at the time they had an A+ rating with the BBB. They still offer a free debt analysis I think
The guy was a nice and he said I didn't have to pay anything upfront just a monthly payment into a savings account in my name and after about two years they would use the lump sum for bargaining power.
But then...
He said the minimum for me settle in two years would be about $1,100 a month into the account.
As if!
I told him that I was a struggling former student and there was no way I could give up that amount of dough each month. He said the minimum was $200 but it would take 5-6 years to get a lump sum large enough to present to the company.
I slept on it and decided to just go for it. Things finally seemed to be turning around! I had a dream where I saw a light at the end of a tunnel.
Then another setback happened...
My grandma passed away in her sleep 2 days after New Years in 2011. Turns out she had cancer but didn't tell anyone. 2 weeks later I found out I was getting a 50k inheritance!
That was enough to pay off my student loans! But I didn't want give nearly all of my inheritance to those bastards that had been hounding me for two years! I quickly called national debt relief and told them my situation. They said they would make an offer for $28,500 right away before the records reflected the inheritance money transfer.
That was less than half of what I owed. I figured they wouldn't accept it but why not at least try right? In the beginning of February I got this letter...
I couldn't believe it! They settled! I got out over half my debt!
I called the company to make sure that it was correct and they said it was!
My mom and I cried like babies together.Truly one of the biggest tragedies of my life turned into my second happiest moment (after finding out I got into Columbia)! I deposited the money into the account right away and viola that was it!
Plus I needed to make money so I didn't blow through my entire inheritance. This was a huge fucking relief for me! I still have that letter after all these years just as a reminder of what I've managed to pull myself through (with some help).
I'm not saying this is going to work for everyone but this is my story of how I got out of most of my student debt. I'm not also going to say everything was honky dory after that. I mean I had gained 40 lbs due to stress! That had to be taken care of (I'll write an article on that soon).
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