I live paycheck to paycheck working 9-5 just barely making ends meet each month. I do not have any disposable income at the end of the month. In fact I’ve had to sell some of my things just to have enough cash to survive. I live a pretty simple lifestyle, i have a small one bedroom apartment, I don’t drive an expensive car, i don’t spend money on things I don’t need nor do I eat out. I have 2 credit cards I’m making the minimum payments on, a car loan I’ve had for 2 years that I’m current on (never missed a payment). I have no major assets besides my car and about 22,000 in a retirement account. I have about $130k in federal student loans mostly from undergrad that I was in the save plan with and plan on asking for forbearance because I can’t afford a bill with an extra $230 per month with RAP or IBR.

I also have 180k in Sallie Mae private student loans mostly from grad school and I don’t have a co signer. This sounds like a massive amount but I owe nearly double what I originally borrowed on the private loans due to an extremely high interest rate at 15% and by the time I graduated, I owed about 150k. I currently make about 53,000 a year before taxes and take home 3600 a month. I have been trying to do the right thing communicating with the lender and working hard at increasing my income so I can pay it but I haven’t been successful and I keep getting denied when I apply for new jobs. So my degree isn’t helping me.

Sallie Mae wanted me to pay them 2500 a month and unfortunately they absolutely refused to work with me. From what I’ve read on this sub and other debt subreddits They are known for being predatory and super aggressive in collections. So I’m 3 months delinquent about to default and in the state I live in they can sue me and garnish 25% of my wages. I would be homeless and destitute if they did this because I couldn’t pay living expenses and I would lose the job I do have. So I can’t afford a garnishment.

Usually if we are faced with a situation like this and can’t pay debts from an aggressive creditor and can’t afford to live if garnished we would file for bankruptcy. That’s why it exists but I know historically student loans are treated differently in bankruptcy and many attorneys will say there’s nothing they can do but at this point I literally don’t have the ability to pay them unless I drastically increase my income which I’ve so far been unsuccessful in doing.

I understand I made some poor financial decisions in my 20s as I was very naive and lived a very sheltered life. I got myself in this mess but I don’t need anyone to admonish me I’m just trying to do the right thing and find a viable path forward. I’m not really as concerned about the federal loans because I have options and if I had a higher income I could pay on those but I have few options with Sallie Mae. To be frank I would much rather pay them then file for bankruptcy but I literally can’t give them what they’re asking for and live and I don’t know what else to do if I can’t increase my income and my degree isn’t helping me do that.

Finally paid off all my loans... Just wanted to tell someone, feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest. I had about $15k at 5% which isn't bad but it was always in the back of my mind.

Whohoo!!!

I’ve read conflicting information about whether paying early for your RAP payment is not letting the interest subsidy occur. Has anyone gotten verification that this is the case?

I prefer to log in and pay my bills early and given the incompetence at Aidvantage, I do not trust setting up autopay.

Hey all, I’m on this SAVE rollercoaster with many of you.

On July 3rd I received a digital letter from Mohela saying my SAVE plan was denied and I have 90 days to switch. Great, I’m thinking I have until October.

Then on August 26th, I received a digital letter and email from Mohela stating: “You Have 90 Days to Select a New Repayment Plan”. Now I’m confused. I checked their website, and it seems like we have 90 days once we’ve been individually notified by our loan servicer.

Knowing what a circus Mohela is, I decided to call and check. The representative told me I had 90 days from July 1st, which would be September 30th. I pushed back and explained the communication I’ve received. She doubled down, saying the language on studentaid.gov clearly states all SAVE borrowers must apply for another repayment plan by September 30th. I cited my Mohela letter and their own website and she finally went to check with someone else.

I waited on hold for a bit and she returned to confirm: yes, borrowers are receiving notifications at different dates and my 90 days started on August 26th.

It’s alarming that Mohela’s own representatives don’t even know what’s going on. So I’m going with the later date and hoping everything works out.

TLDR: Mohela sucks and we have 90 days after receiving our specific letter from the loan servicer.

Hi all, I am trying to switch my federal loans to the Standard repayment plan. I've contacted MOHELA multiple times via their messaging system (as I heard its very difficult to get a slot when calling them) and they just refer me to a part on their website telling me to switch there, but then it says 'contact us if you want to switch from your plan'.

I just want to be able to switch to the standard payment plan which you'd think would be in their best interest as I would be paying almost the highest amount. Has anyone else had this issue and what did you do to be able to switch? I dont understand why it has to be this difficult to switch plans.

Hi, I’m an undergrad upperclassmen at FIU. I need to take out a private student loan or any loan where I don’t need a co-signer. I am over 24(my dad died and I had to step away). I know tuition for the semester won’t be an issue once I start my job soon($3000). But I also will be
homeless soon if I don’t get a loan for housing, because my school doesn’t house upperclassmen and I did not know this in time. I’m currently in an Airbnb so I could attend the first two weeks of classes, but that is irrelevant. I cannot use federal funds because of a prior school, and a loan my mom and stepdad took out after my dad died. Just looking for about $10,000-$15,000. I have over 700 credit score. Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction. I’m a very responsible person. I will have no issues repaying with even a $15 job post grad. But I plan to make much more than that post grad. Please help.

Hi, I am a parent. I am researching on how student loans work. I am willing to co-sign for my son and be responsible for it. I have a good credit rating and stable job; What kind of rate can I expect? I see some wide range of APR here https://www.credible.com/student-loans (I am more comfortable with fixed rate).

Thanks.

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I have been trying to apply for PAYE for weeks in the student aid website but keep running into a technical error. I did a live chat with on student aid website and they said I’d have to contact nelnet. I got on the Nelnet website and it says I can only apply for the IDR through the student aid website. What the hell do I do? I just graduated and don’t want to be thrust into a fixed repayment plan for $700 plus a month when I could qualify for PAYE.
Based on the “help” I’ve received from both parties I have a feeling the government has offshored or outsourced their workers which is pissing me off. It’s one thing to outsource a phone company but for something that holds tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, there’s no way that’s right.

My payment went from $55 to $1300

I’m literally spiraling because in this economy who can even comfortably afford to pay such high rates 😭

I selected to move off forbearance both times I applied. I was on save with mohela and filled out IBR on studentaid.gov. I double checked the second time to make sure I selected to move off forbearance status. What am I doing wrong?

Are you planning to switch to a different plan right before the end of the month to take advantage of the 1% autopay deduction?

Let’s say your FAFSA covers tuition and fees and you get a few thousand back that you use for food, living expenses, etc. Do you need to report it for taxes?

Edit: even if they are not taxable, do you still need to report them?

Edit: I went to school like 6 years ago and I never reported as income. I’m worried that this was a crime

In January I paid off 2/6 of my loans. There ended up being an over payment of over $300. I called Mohela several times and was never able to speak with anyone helpful. Wait times are hours and hours for an “advanced” rep. I filed a complaint with studentaid.gov which has been “in review” for months- way longer than the promised 15 days. I wrote letters and sent docs to my local reps…not helpful. Today I get an email from Mohela saying congrats on paying off 2 loans. (9 months later). I log in and look at the paid off loans, they finally show $0.00 instead of the over payment but….WHERE DID THE OVER PAYMENT MONEY GO??? no where on Mohela does it show they applied it to my other loans. No where can I find any info they are refunding me. Where is the money and what can I do????

I was told by Mohela that since I provided access to my tax return/ IRS my IDR changing from SAVE plan to another plan will be processed really fast.

True? Anyone have that experience/encounter.

Thanks

I’ve seen some people wondering how long processing takes after you select your new plan on the federal site. I switched over on Monday and was notified today my payment to Nelnet is due at the end of this month.

Just an FYI that it can be a very quick process. They want their money. I’m grieving my new payment that could be a BMW but here we are. Hope that helps someone with timing.

Previously in the SAVE plan & know that we’re supposed to choose a new plan within 90 days from being notified by the servicer. I have yet to be notified (EdFinancial) but am nervous about a looming Sept 30 deadline that I keep seeing.

Is it true we can continue to wait until contacted? Should I make the switch?

How different is what different IBR plans estimate you to pay vs what you ACTUALLY have to pay?

Did anyone else get an email that their private student loans from Earnest are now being handled by Mohela? I thought Mohela handled federal student loans. Should we request a chain of custody?

I’m trying to do my application for RAP. IBR is 2 dollars cheaper but I felt RAP was a better option for me right now. I also have a Perkins loan and only owe $1600 on it. I get to the choosing the rap payment part on the application and it just loads and loads and loads and the circle keeps moving and does not let me submit. I’ve tried it in private windows, my phone, another laptop. I have until 9/29 for my deadline. I’m so stressed out and I know it’s probably glitching from the Perkins loan but this is rediculous cause I don’t wanna consolidate for $1600 and it’s pointless and also if I pay off the $1600 it won’t reflect for another like month anyways. Im so stressed cause I need to have this submitted by 9/29 . I cannot afford the standard amount. Does anyone have advice? Can I just submit an app with aidvantage and tell them the websites not working?

Hi,

My wife (Indian citizen - Canadian permanent resident)refinanced a student loan (not federal) with SoFi which is approximately 45,000 USD ( no co-signer)

She lost her job and permanently moved to Canada and still struggling to find a job and it’s been difficult to meet ends with this loan.

If we don’t pay the loan, what implications would we have?

- once she becomes a Canadian citizen can she visit USA? ( she is not planning to ever work or live in the USA)
- Would she have any impact on Indian credit or Canadian credit?
- her relatives still live in the address on file, would debt collectors vist them?

Any suggestions would really help! Thanks!

I went to University of Houston, my loans say Texas A&M University, is this is an issue?

Hi everyone,

I too have student loans with everyone’s favorite, Mohela. I have been in the save forbearance but mine ends Oct 1. With the new plans being so expensive, we just don’t have the funds while we work to tackle other debt.

While I know delaying this further is dumb as the number will continue to go up, but I am planning to file married filing separately on taxes next year so that my payment isn’t so steep and I can pursue PLSF…

All that to say, I keep seeing people say that you have a bank of forbearance you can just use. Has anyone had luck calling in to Mohela and using that forbearance? And any advice on what to say? I know they are difficult to say the least and want to get to the end of it as easy as possible.

Thank you!