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Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?

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CreditScholar
Valued Contributor

Re: Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?


@navigatethis12 wrote:

@lithium78 wrote:

Moving your private student loans to credit cards is probably only a good idea if you are planning to file for bankruptcy.  Otherwise, the interest is probably going to be a lot more than you would already be paying.


Buying this without the intent to pay is fraud. Any judge that sees that was what was done would throw the case out, and if they did not the creditors would definitely appeal the decission. The only reason to transfer the loans would be if the cards had zero interest and you could pay it off in time. Anyone with that much student debt must not have actually taken in the knowledge they were learning, because you must be very dense to spend that much on education.

 


People who have that much debt without a professional medical degree (or something very similar) have very little chance of paying their loans back. They're essentially screwed financially for life. I deal with them in my office from time to time, and few seem to understand how bad of a situation they are in.

 

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Message 11 of 17
navigatethis12
Valued Contributor

Re: Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?


@CreditScholar wrote:


People who have that much debt without a professional medical degree (or something very similar) have very little chance of paying their loans back. They're essentially screwed financially for life. I deal with them in my office from time to time, and few seem to understand how bad of a situation they are in.

 


My question to them is why obtain the loans? I do not even know how you can obtain that much for education. My sister is on her way to being a surgeon, and the first four years of her schooling was only about $20,000. Some of that was knocked down by grants and scholarships so that was good. She had the ability to go to an expensive, elite school, but a degree is a degree. It saved our parents money, and her having to go into debt. 100,000 is 1/5 of a mortgage. Maybe I just don't get it because I am not in college, but it is just mind boggling to me.

 

Message 12 of 17
CreditScholar
Valued Contributor

Re: Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?


@navigatethis12 wrote:

@CreditScholar wrote:


People who have that much debt without a professional medical degree (or something very similar) have very little chance of paying their loans back. They're essentially screwed financially for life. I deal with them in my office from time to time, and few seem to understand how bad of a situation they are in.

 


My question to them is why obtain the loans? I do not even know how you can obtain that much for education. My sister is on her way to being a surgeon, and the first four years of her schooling was only about $20,000. Some of that was knocked down by grants and scholarships so that was good. She had the ability to go to an expensive, elite school, but a degree is a degree. It saved our parents money, and her having to go into debt. 100,000 is 1/5 of a mortgage. Maybe I just don't get it because I am not in college, but it is just mind boggling to me.

 


I'll answer your question by starting with a story. I apologize in advance for the length.

 

When I was 16 I was working my first job. At the time, the federal minimum wage was $5.15/hour and I wasn't making much more than that. In fact, none of us were. One of my co-workers went out and financed a used 3-series BMW that cost him essentially 100% of his take-home pay. He kept on crowing to everyone about his BMW, even though he couldn't even afford to put gas in it. The sad part was although I wasn't impressed (I've seen and owned much better), everyone around him was. Eventually he had to sell his car because he realized that having it wasn't any good if he couldn't actually afford to drive it, or eat for that matter.

 

The moral of the story is that many people will go out of their way for something that see as impressive, even if it defies common sense. The same thing holds true for degrees. I was in the same situation as your sister, and made many of the same choices. I turned down Yale, Columbia and Dartmouth (among others) to get a full scholarship (including room and board plus books) at a public state school. I ended up just fine, and I'm sure your sister will too. My parents were willing to foot the bill for any college I decided to go to, but at that point I was in my "Rich people are evil, I'm a rebel elite, and I want to do it all on my own because that's only fair" mindset. My parents couldn't help but shake their head, and they figured I'd come around at some point. They were right and eventually I figured out how the world really worked, but that's another story for another time.

 

I've known several people who are literally impoverished because they have education degrees from Stanford, along with crippling 6 figure debts. I've seen others who have locked themselves into a 48 month contract for the new iPhone5, even though everyone knows that virtually nobody keeps a phone for 4 years on the same plan. It's the same circus but with different clowns. Never underestimate the power of branding, of how emotion clouds sound judgement and common sense, and that people want what they want consequences-be-damned. They usually realize their mistakes after-the-fact, but by then the damage has already been done. There are some mistakes in life that are virtually irrecoverable. This is one of them. Being convicted of a violent felony offence (like rape or murder) is another. Like student loans, they completely and permanently alter your life chances for the worse. While there may be a rare few who overcome such things, there's also legions of others who don't and you never hear about.

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Citibank Hilton Reserve Visa Signature - $20,000 CL || J.P. Morgan Ritz Carlton Visa Signature - $23,500 CL
Message 13 of 17
compassion101
Established Contributor

Re: Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?

I don't think it's very fair to call people dumb because they got into high student loan debt. They are usually 19-22 year old kids who really don't know much about money and value and what it takes to pay them off. Mostly they are probably thinking 40-50k a year job I can have it paid off in a few years. Blame the people who are advising them. Most of them don't have the knowledge/experience for borrowing/repaying money more than a couple of hundred dollars for a high school getaway or maybe a few thousand for a car. We need college/HS counselors who can offer them more real world advice that can hit home and bring the loan into reality rather than some intangible future nuisance.

 

OP, what is your rate and your payment on your loan/s for 100k?

 

 

 

 

Message 14 of 17
lithium78
Established Contributor

Re: Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?


@compassion101 wrote:

I don't think it's very fair to call people dumb because they got into high student loan debt. They are usually 19-22 year old kids who really don't know much about money and value and what it takes to pay them off. Mostly they are probably thinking 40-50k a year job I can have it paid off in a few years. Blame the people who are advising them. Most of them don't have the knowledge/experience for borrowing/repaying money more than a couple of hundred dollars for a high school getaway or maybe a few thousand for a car. We need college/HS counselors who can offer them more real world advice that can hit home and bring the loan into reality rather than some intangible future nuisance.

 

OP, what is your rate and your payment on your loan/s for 100k?

 

 

 

 


I owe a lot of money in student loans and I got my first degree in a pretty much useless field.  It was only with my second degree that I got anything that could help me earn income.  It didn't happen because I was stupid, but because there were extenuating circumstances and I lacked any kind of guidance that could have helped me avoid the mistakes.  I grew up in an impoverished family with parents who didn't understand how to handle money or plan for the future.  My guidance counselors at school were complete idiots too and had no interest in helping me escape from poverty.  Then, you add in the fact that I have a serious chronic illness that I've only really been able to get under control over the past few years and you see how everything was pretty much stacked against me from the start.

 

I also went off to college when I was 17 years old, which is an age at which many people don't make the best choices.  If you combine all those factors, you can see how it was a recipe for disaster from the beginning.  There are a lot of people who like to blame victims, but it's not easy to make the best decisions when you lack any background in personal finance, have no idea how to get the information you need or even the fact that you need it, and lack any margin for error at all.

 

My youngest sibling is about to head off to college, so I've been advising her on how to avoid the pitfalls I've faced.  I hope she takes me seriously, because my parents are completely incapable at providing guidance on how to live a productive life and I don't want to see her end up in the same boat I was in for most of my adult life.


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Message 15 of 17
navigatethis12
Valued Contributor

Re: Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?


@CreditScholar wrote:


I'll answer your question by starting with a story. I apologize in advance for the length.

 

When I was 16 I was working my first job. At the time, the federal minimum wage was $5.15/hour and I wasn't making much more than that. In fact, none of us were. One of my co-workers went out and financed a used 3-series BMW that cost him essentially 100% of his take-home pay. He kept on crowing to everyone about his BMW, even though he couldn't even afford to put gas in it. The sad part was although I wasn't impressed (I've seen and owned much better), everyone around him was. Eventually he had to sell his car because he realized that having it wasn't any good if he couldn't actually afford to drive it, or eat for that matter.

 

The moral of the story is that many people will go out of their way for something that see as impressive, even if it defies common sense. The same thing holds true for degrees. I was in the same situation as your sister, and made many of the same choices. I turned down Yale, Columbia and Dartmouth (among others) to get a full scholarship (including room and board plus books) at a public state school. I ended up just fine, and I'm sure your sister will too. My parents were willing to foot the bill for any college I decided to go to, but at that point I was in my "Rich people are evil, I'm a rebel elite, and I want to do it all on my own because that's only fair" mindset. My parents couldn't help but shake their head, and they figured I'd come around at some point. They were right and eventually I figured out how the world really worked, but that's another story for another time.

 

I've known several people who are literally impoverished because they have education degrees from Stanford, along with crippling 6 figure debts. I've seen others who have locked themselves into a 48 month contract for the new iPhone5, even though everyone knows that virtually nobody keeps a phone for 4 years on the same plan. It's the same circus but with different clowns. Never underestimate the power of branding, of how emotion clouds sound judgement and common sense, and that people want what they want consequences-be-damned. They usually realize their mistakes after-the-fact, but by then the damage has already been done. There are some mistakes in life that are virtually irrecoverable. This is one of them. Being convicted of a violent felony offence (like rape or murder) is another. Like student loans, they completely and permanently alter your life chances for the worse. While there may be a rare few who overcome such things, there's also legions of others who don't and you never hear about.


I have never understood people who buy simply to impress. It may be impressive now, but a year or two later, the house is behind, as well as the vehicle payment. I have never had the desire to try to impress someone with what I have. I never like talking about prices and really do not like flashy things. I never wanted to get into student loans. A teacher I had in high school was around 40 or so, and she had still not paid off the loans. I do not know what the balance was, but it must have been high for her to still have them. We all want things,but I have enough sense to not get something beyond what I can afford.

 

 


@compassion101 wrote:

I don't think it's very fair to call people dumb because they got into high student loan debt. They are usually 19-22 year old kids who really don't know much about money and value and what it takes to pay them off. Mostly they are probably thinking 40-50k a year job I can have it paid off in a few years. Blame the people who are advising them. Most of them don't have the knowledge/experience for borrowing/repaying money more than a couple of hundred dollars for a high school getaway or maybe a few thousand for a car. We need college/HS counselors who can offer them more real world advice that can hit home and bring the loan into reality rather than some intangible future nuisance.

 

OP, what is your rate and your payment on your loan/s for 100k?

 

 

 


I think people not taking responsibility is a big problem these days. My parents never taught me about money, credit, loans, or anything. Everytime we would go out, my dad would just say to get anything we want and he would pay for it. At home, he would frequently give out money just for fun if we were bored. In school I never learned about money either, and everyone tried to drill into our heads that college was the way to go and take loans if need be.

 

Here I am at 22, with no loans and doing just fine. I did not go to college and decided to start a business and also work for my parents. I learned about credit by reading the terms of the card. I saw that if I did not pay it off, I would end up paying more. So I made it a point to never carry a balance, no matter what the circumstances are. So even though I never had any education about borrowing money, and grew up with a seemingly endless supply, I still knew it had to be repaid. I also knew that my parents money is not mine, so I would be responsible for paying the cards off. Everyone knows what borrow or loan means, and if not they should not be obtaining the loan. To think you could pay off 100 thousand in debt in a few years while making that little bit of money is ludicrous. Again, common sense should be taking the lead in everyone's brains.

 

With all of the cheaper options for schooling available why would you go to a very expensive school? Who cares if you can say you went you Harvard, instead of the local school that only costs 5,000 a year. The interviewer wants the person that can do the job the best, and if you prove that you can, you will get the job. Employment is not guaranteed after college, which should be a huge thing to consider when borrowing money for a degree.

Message 16 of 17
SwampSystems
Frequent Contributor

Re: Thoughts on "Private Student Loans" BT to Credit Cards?


@navigatethis12 wrote:
I have never understood people who buy simply to impress.

 We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like.

Message 17 of 17
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