"Dear Steve,
I have private student loans as well as federal ones, but they gave me the loans without cosigners and the interest rates have basically made it so, despite making payments, the principal hasn't gone down. At this point, I can't afford to repay them all, have defaulted a few, and can barely afford the necessities needed to live. I'm sinking deeper and deeper and can't find a way out.
I have talked to a few bankruptcy attorneys and they tell me either I can't, or they can't do student loans of any type but I have seen it be done before. I work as much as possible and the ends aren't meeting, I need help!
Adam"
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Dear Adam,
When it comes to the Federal student loans there are good plans to get those payments down to a reasonable and affordable level. In fact if you click here you'll discover all your low payment options.
Some private student loans can be instantly discharged in bankruptcy without much of a fuss. See this article for details. Basically, if you went to a non-accredited school or your private student loans have been in default past the statute of limitations in your state, those loans should be swiftly dealt with in bankruptcy. Additionally, if your private student loans were for an amount higher than the cost of the education, that balance should be discharged.
Update: Some readers wanted to know more about this last comment about discharging private student loans above the cost of education. Click here to see this article for more details.
Outside of that, the government has not forced private student loan lenders to do anything to make repayment affordable. It was always a buyer beware venture with those student loans and millions of students were talked into them to sell butts in seats in schools.
Private student loans are a terrible trap but until Congress does something about it, don't expect much to change.
Before I go I wanted to leave you with three easy action items you jump on right now to address your situation. Just click here.
If you have a credit or debt question you'd like to ask, just click here and ask away.
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