bankruptcy

[amanda6035]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

From many of your previous posts, it seems that you made financial decisions that you regret, namely in the form of taking out student loans. While some people do end up taking out far more than they should, the vast majority do not regret their loans and, like Kevin, consider it an investment in their futures.

Just because Dave Ramsey thinks student loans are a "stupid tax" doesn't mean it's true for everyone. Perhaps you took out too much, or perhaps your program wasn't appropriate for such an investment. I took out a nominal amount for graduate school and the payments are a drop in the bucket for me. Due to my income, I no longer qualify for any of the interest rate deductions. The increase in my monthly salary due to having a master's degree from one of the top architecture schools in the world is exponentially higher than my piddly monthly payments. Is that a stupid tax? Hardly!

That said, I don't think they should be discharged in bankruptcy either, unless you're incapacitated and can no longer work (but in most cases, they'd be discharged before you got to that point). Education isn't like a car or a house that can be repossessed.

*sigh* Really? This again? Are you still that upset that we disagree about this? Student loans are a stupid tax. They are not an investment. Investments earn you money. Student loans cost you money. You can get a college education without taking out loans. And no, taking out loans so you can learn a skill or gain knowledge to help you "get a better job" is not an investment. Going to school is an investment. Paying for school with debt is not an investment.

It's no secret that I deeply regret my student loans. But I don't have any desire to have them hang around around for 20 years by paying the bare minimum so that I don't have to be responsible for them anymore. Sorry, I have a life to live. And that means livinging extremely frugally right now so I can throw any extra money I have at them to get them out of my life. They are an inconvenience, and I'm taking full responsibility for them. My point in the previous thread is that for young students out there who are worried about their options, there are OTHER options. Debt is not the only option.