How bad of a mess am I in?

[ChefScott]

One thing you may want to verify - since the SSDB is a govt "income", can they really garnish it? If the loans weren't govt loans (through a private lender), I am not sure they can garnish. Just some food for thought.....

As I am finding out now, student loans are in league with the devil. It does not matter if they are private or government. If it is listed as a student loan the only way to get rid of them is to either become completely disabled for the rest of your life, or to die. It is a sick game to straddle students with loans that will instantly become a "hardship" once the student graduates and the loans start to come due. Then they offer "consolidation" loans that lower the payment and interest rate, but (and this is a big one) double the life of the loan and actually end up costing more.

The hardest part of this is simply the fact that by myself I would have never taken out a student loan. My wife and I had life pretty well planned out, but with her gone now, my world is completely destroyed.

If any of you have children who are thinking of attending Culinary school, STOP, DO NOT DO IT! YOU ARE WASTING YOUR MONEY! Get a job at a local restaurant or fast food chain. You will learn just as much, if not more with the side benefit of being paid as you learn. Culinary school will give you Diplomas that are good for minimum wage paying jobs and not much more.

I wish the best for you and your son's new beginnings after this is all over with.

Nerves

Thank you.