I’ve lamented before about my college/grad school loans and how I had being hoping that they would be eligible for the recent federal loan forgiveness program.
But even though I’m not eligible, I wanted share this quick video about the
Income Based Repayment program. It describes the program in simple terms in just a few minutes, if you have/know college age kids, you should definitely share this:
Do you think such a program is fair or just plain socialist?
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Sustainable Family Finances
The story of a family creating an abundant and sustainable life.
Sustainable Family Finances
Growing abundance while living down-to-Earth
I didn’t accumulate much debt because I tried to not be naive. I might have debt >50k if I didn’t work and go to school part time. I am not a victim of my elected educational choices. I am have always been in control. I will pay back my loans because they were worth it.
Like the other commentor, I don’t mind repaying reasonable student loans, and I don’t think that I’m somehow entitled to having my loans repaid by others because I do public interest work. I do public interest work because I want to – it aligns with my values and how I want to be in the world, and it also allows for a more reasonable and balanced life than I might have in some highly paid, private sector positions. Those are serious benefits. And the pay is enough. I wish more Americans would appreciate “enough.” I think there’s a somewhat weird, and new, ethos in parts of the US were people think they are owed something because they decide to do public interest jobs — it’s as if people think they are entitled to six-figure incomes and that they are dong society a favor by forgoing them.
Sometimes student loans can reach burdensome levels, such as when students take out tons of private loans (usually because they want to live way above the means of a student), or whey people go to cruddy for-profit schools and take out tons of loans (which they should have done more research to avoid, and they should have stuck with community colleges or other state schools instead).
But, as long as students follow standard federal guidelines for undergraduate and graduate loans, I think that the repayment amounts and plans are very reasonable. The minimum payment for my undergrad and graduate degrees can be made on almost any salary (similar to the $288 payment mentioned in this blog post). Also, I have prioritized paying more than the minimum. I’d prefer to cut out vacations and some other luxuries until the loans were cut down much faster than you have chosen to do.