so im in a ton of student loan debt about $110k to be exact. Found out last week debt of edu disqualified me from the loan forgiveness program TWO years ago despite turning in all my paperwork. I never got any letter/email stating they were disqualifying me either. I just happened to stumble upon some small print after I logged in to my account last week to make a payment. Needless to say I've been extremely stressed and feel like I'm drowning. I almost made a couple mistakes while at work because I think subconsciously I'm so stressed and distracted about my loans...then that made me even more stressed thinking about how I could've potentially harmed a patient (looking at the wrong patients lab results and almost replacing potassium when it was
already elevated). Thankfully I caught myself before giving it but I feel stuck. Plus I'm a travel nurse so I feel like my license is even more on the line at times. Always wanted to move out of the country or do a mission trip overseas for 6 months, but feel like I can't even do what I've always dreamed about because of my loans.
On top of it my car broke down and my travel agency won't help me out. They said they would take the cost out of my paycheck. So I went and rented a car myself and ended up denting it on a short pole that I couldnt see when backing out of a driveway. 🤯
Any advice on loans, how you deal with stress, etc would be helpful!
I am contacting the dept of edu today! The first year I was enrolled and have been getting my paperwork in on time for the loan forgiveness but saw in the fine print that they disqualified me. They never notified me of that though so I'm going to see why I was disqualified and if I can dispute it.
Thank you yes I may look at getting a side job that is less draining. Good idea! I paid $1300 on my loans last month but when looking at the balance of them I feel like they never budge í ½í¸¬ takes time though and I need to learn patience.
If you're not familiar with Dave Ramsey, be aware that he is extremely religious.
My state U is one of the 5 most expensive state schools in the country, so I don't judge anyone for having large amounts of student debt. Higher education has become a racket. Students take all of the financial risk, everyone else is literally guaranteed to get paid.
I would also second the suggestion to talk to financial planner. Talk to you lender(s) and see if any of your loans qualify for income-based repayment, in which you pay 10% of you income, and any remaining balance after 10 years is forgiven.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Just graduating out of highschool I had no idea what I was getting myself in to and now looking back regret not going to a school in my state or even a community college. Learning my lesson now so really don't need to be to be lectured on that. No I did not ask them to pay to fix my car I'm a traveling nurse and most travel agencies will help you with a rental car since you are traveling for your assignments. That being said my company is not one of those. In regards to the "what sort of privileged life have you lived" comment makes me laugh because my family grew up with nothing and lived off of food stamps for the first part of my childhood.
I went to school at the university of Arkansas. Most of my family are not college graduates so I didn't have a lot of guidance with what to do with my fianances and college.
Would appreciate some constructive criticism instead of the rude comments from some you. Everyone is brought up differently and everyone makes mistakes. All we can do is learn from them.
You got some constructive criticism from the first poster, before you started getting snarky about replies you didn't like. When you put the question on a public forum like this one, you have to expect to get replies you don't like. Getting snarky about it isn't constructive and it makes those who read your answers less likely to want to answer you constructively. The thread can rapidly deteriorate into nastiness. If you're genuinely looking for advice, I doubt that's what you want.
Your original post sounded as though you expected your travel company to pay for car repair or rental. If that were a part of the contract you negotiated, that would be one thing, but I've never heard of an employer that would do such a thing without it being negotiated ahead of time. That's why posters were so surprised.
I'm sorry you made poor choices that increased your debt. I'm sorry you didn't read the fine print on your loan forgiveness papers, but I cannot imagine why you seemed to assume that loan forgiveness was a right that you were unfairly denied. Perhaps if you had worked in underprivileged areas where loan forgiveness was a benefit of employment? Certain public health clinics on native American reservations or remote areas of Alaska were advertising that when I graduated from nursing school, although I have no idea what opportunities exist now.
Yes, everyone makes poor choices or "mistakes." Once you've made them, when you're asking for advice it pays to be humble about it.
I went to a private nursing program and graduated with almost $50K in debt to repay.
Here is what I did to pay off my loans-
After my year of experience as a nw grad, I moved to a new state and took 2 per diem positions. As you may know, per diem positions usually (not always) pay more than a regular hourly RN wage in lieu of forfeiting benefits. I worked 4-5 nights per week for over a year (and bought private, affordable insurance). I made over 100K last year and paid off my ENTIRE $50,000 loan.
I lived extremely frugally, made all my own food and cooked, lived right next to the hospital so I could walk and not have to use the expense of a car, and minimized all my costs. When the time came that I saw my loan status switch to, " Congratulations! Your loans have been paid off in full.", I was so happy I cried. The night I took myself out to a nice, expensive dinner lol.
Anyway, my point to you is that there are options. You won't be stuck in debt forever if you modify your lifestyle. It's not the most fun to live frugally, but it broke the chains of debt for me by doing so.
I went to a private nursing program and graduated with almost $50K in debt to repay.
Here is what I did to pay off my loans-
After my year of experience as a nw grad, I moved to a new state and took 2 per diem positions. As you may know, per diem positions usually (not always) pay more than a regular hourly RN wage in lieu of forfeiting benefits. I worked 4-5 nights per week for over a year (and bought private, affordable insurance). I made over 100K last year and paid off my ENTIRE $50,000 loan.
I lived extremely frugally, made all my own food and cooked, lived right next to the hospital so I could walk and not have to use the expense of a car, and minimized all my costs. When the time came that I saw my loan status switch to, " Congratulations! Your loans have been paid off in full.", I was so happy I cried. The night I took myself out to a nice, expensive dinner lol.
Anyway, my point to you is that there are options. You won't be stuck in debt forever if you modify your lifestyle. It's not the most fun to live frugally, but it broke the chains of debt for me by doing so.
That is a great story. Congratulations on a fancy dinner very well earned.
I was facing almost $70k in student loans when I got my BSN (it was my 2nd Bachelor's, so I no longer qualified for any Pell grants, etc). Plus my school "restructured" it's "FastTrack" after my 1st year, so I was basically screwed to stay another year to get my BSN...long story.
So I literally did nothing for the first 4 years but work, work, work - tons of OT and put all I could towards the student loan payments. For entertainment, I did free or very low cost things - hikes, free outdoor concerts, movie nights at home w/ friends, etc. It was a sacrifice, but it was totally doable!
I also followed the "basic baby steps" that Dave Ramsey suggests...having a small emergency fund, and prioritizing my debt - lowest to highest (snowball effect). Most importantly, I tried not to let it stress me out...easier said than done when it seems like the sky is falling, but if you're focused and diligent, it will eventually get paid off.
Now, I'm looking into getting my MSN and dreading the whole process again...LOL.
Student loans are structured differently, and even if you trying to pay it down, the money you pay may go towards your next loan payment, thus keeping the interest. IE:
10000 in student loan debt
200/month payment
Person pays 250 a month to pay down the debt.
Out of that 250:
200 goes towards the current payment.
50.00 goes towards the next payment.
The next statement states that the student only owes 150.00 that month.
150 goes towards that payment
100 goes towards the next payment.
The interest continues to accumulate, and paying down the debt doesn't occur. You have to mark on your payment that you want the extra money to go towards principle and not towards the next payment, which requires sending in a check rather than using an automated payment plan or online banking. It's crooked on the lender's part, but you have to know how to get around their system.
Holy smokes have times changed. Over $100 k in student loan debt from a state university? That's just nuts! But now that you have that debt it is what it is and you will need to find a way to deal with it.
If you had an option for loan forgiveness that was denied can you try to appeal that? Or at least find out what you need to do to become eligible again. There may be other loan forgiveness programs you would qualify for, look into other options. If relocating permanently is a possibility some states offer loan forgiveness programs if you agree to work under served communities for a set number of years. There are also loan forgiveness programs through some native tribal grants if you qualify.
My son travels too, he took a travel position precisely because it pays so well he is able to pay down those student loans faster and he had no options for any kind of loan forgiveness to begin with. If you find you have no way to qualify for any kind of loan forgiveness or loan restructuring keep travelling as it's probably going to give you the highest income to cost of living ratio out there. You will have to live not only within your means but at least a little below your means to pay them down, but it can be done.
Become familiar with how your students loans are structured. Consult with a financial adviser that can help you determine the fastest method to pay down the loans while still maintaining at least a tolerable standard of living.
Student loans are structured differently, and even if you trying to pay it down, the money you pay may go towards your next loan payment, thus keeping the interest. IE:
10000 in student loan debt
200/month payment
Person pays 250 a month to pay down the debt.
Out of that 250:
200 goes towards the current payment.
50.00 goes towards the next payment.
The next statement states that the student only owes 150.00 that month.
150 goes towards that payment
100 goes towards the next payment.
The interest continues to accumulate, and paying down the debt doesn't occur. You have to mark on your payment that you want the extra money to go towards principle and not towards the next payment, which requires sending in a check rather than using an automated payment plan or online banking. It's crooked on the lender's part, but you have to know how to get around their system.
You got some constructive criticism from the first poster, before you started getting snarky about replies you didn't like. When you put the question on a public forum like this one, you have to expect to get replies you don't like. Getting snarky about it isn't constructive and it makes those who read your answers less likely to want to answer you constructively. The thread can rapidly deteriorate into nastiness. If you're genuinely looking for advice, I doubt that's what you want.
Your original post sounded as though you expected your travel company to pay for car repair or rental. If that were a part of the contract you negotiated, that would be one thing, but I've never heard of an employer that would do such a thing without it being negotiated ahead of time. That's why posters were so surprised.
I'm sorry you made poor choices that increased your debt. I'm sorry you didn't read the fine print on your loan forgiveness papers, but I cannot imagine why you seemed to assume that loan forgiveness was a right that you were unfairly denied. Perhaps if you had worked in underprivileged areas where loan forgiveness was a benefit of employment? Certain public health clinics on native American reservations or remote areas of Alaska were advertising that when I graduated from nursing school, although I have no idea what opportunities exist now.
Yes, everyone makes poor choices or "mistakes." Once you've made them, when you're asking for advice it pays to be humble about it.
Yes the first poster isn't who I was referring to. Also I was at the same hospital for three years and for the first year the loan forgiveness was approved I was working at an underprivileged hospital. That's why I was confused when they disqualified me. In my contract it states they would help with rental car expenses if needed, but when I brought it up they said it would just come out of my paycheck.
Holy smokes have times changed. Over $100 k in student loan debt from a state university? That's just nuts! But now that you have that debt it is what it is and you will need to find a way to deal with it.
If you had an option for loan forgiveness that was denied can you try to appeal that? Or at least find out what you need to do to become eligible again. There may be other loan forgiveness programs you would qualify for, look into other options. If relocating permanently is a possibility some states offer loan forgiveness programs if you agree to work under served communities for a set number of years. There are also loan forgiveness programs through some native tribal grants if you qualify.
My son travels too, he took a travel position precisely because it pays so well he is able to pay down those student loans faster and he had no options for any kind of loan forgiveness to begin with. If you find you have no way to qualify for any kind of loan forgiveness or loan restructuring keep travelling as it's probably going to give you the highest income to cost of living ratio out there. You will have to live not only within your means but at least a little below your means to pay them down, but it can be done.
Become familiar with how your students loans are structured. Consult with a financial adviser that can help you determine the fastest method to pay down the loans while still maintaining at least a tolerable standard of living.
Yes that's one of the reasons I decided to travel too and also living at a very low cost ($500/mo utilities included for rent). Just feel like every time I look at my loans I get discouraged. As a previous post mentioned I'll probably have to call them to make sure they put my extra money to the principal. I didn't realize I had to vocalize that to them. Learn something new every day. Thanks for the advice!! :)
I went to a private nursing program and graduated with almost $50K in debt to repay.
Here is what I did to pay off my loans-
After my year of experience as a nw grad, I moved to a new state and took 2 per diem positions. As you may know, per diem positions usually (not always) pay more than a regular hourly RN wage in lieu of forfeiting benefits. I worked 4-5 nights per week for over a year (and bought private, affordable insurance). I made over 100K last year and paid off my ENTIRE $50,000 loan.
I lived extremely frugally, made all my own food and cooked, lived right next to the hospital so I could walk and not have to use the expense of a car, and minimized all my costs. When the time came that I saw my loan status switch to, " Congratulations! Your loans have been paid off in full.", I was so happy I cried. The night I took myself out to a nice, expensive dinner lol.
Anyway, my point to you is that there are options. You won't be stuck in debt forever if you modify your lifestyle. It's not the most fun to live frugally, but it broke the chains of debt for me by doing so.
This is very sound good advice from ICUman. To this I would add that it would be a good idea to look at your contract and see why you were disqualified, maybe you can reverse it, can't hurt to do a little research and find all the facts. Even if that doesn't work you need to find a way to deal with the stress better (find what works for you personally) so you don't end up losing your job which would just make the situation worse. Good luck!
Nurselyfe92
13 Posts
I am contacting the dept of edu today! The first year I was enrolled and have been getting my paperwork in on time for the loan forgiveness but saw in the fine print that they disqualified me. They never notified me of that though so I'm going to see why I was disqualified and if I can dispute it.
Thank you yes I may look at getting a side job that is less draining. Good idea! I paid $1300 on my loans last month but when looking at the balance of them I feel like they never budge í ½í¸¬ takes time though and I need to learn patience.
Appreciate your help