No way out!

[Into the Stars]

Hello,

I am new to his forum. It seems everyone here is pretty open-minded, so I thought it was safe to post my thoughts, experience and fears here.

I am 29 years old, married with 3 children. I am a good person (although I have been told I am not because I am in debt and can't pay my bills)

I was about to start nursing school in the fall of 2007, when my husband was permanently laid off from his job. So I did, at the time, the only logical thing that I thought I could do: Take out a private loan and live off of it until I graduated. Well the money went faster than expected and since the Michigan economy is terrible my husband wasn't able to find a job. I dropped from Nursing school to get a full time job that paid $7.40 an hour. We lost everything: both cars,our belongings because we were evicted and our dignity. Now I have about $70,000 in total debt.

My husband now has a job as well; it pays $7.40 an hour as well. Together we make about $1,700 a month. We live at my mom's house and sleep on an air mattress on her living room floor --the kids have their own room thank God! Our bills total to about $3,000 a month. We are drowning in debt and we own nothing. Most of the debt is from student loans. What do I do?

Student loans aren't dischargible in court. Our loans cost us more than we make in a month. Should I still consult a bankruptcy lawyer even though the loans won't be discharged? Or is it just a waste of my time?

BTW, I have returned to school. I will not let this experience keep me from getting an education!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

J.M.

[JRScott]

Is it one student loan or many?

If it is many have you looked into consolidating them into one student loan.

Otherwise you might look at deferment while you get yourself back on your feet.

It might be possible if the economy continues to tank that by early next year you might through bk could get student loans modified even if you can't get them discharged. Currently the hardship clauses are so hard to meet its hard to do.

[CindyLou]

The main thing is: finish school asap!!!! Once you get out of nursing school you will be able to catch up on the student loan, in the meantime, bk may be a good option for you to get rid of some of the smaller stuff while you can. How much "other" debt do you have, including money owed to previous land lords?

[jennordhavn]

You should be able to put the loans into forbearance or even hardship deferment. My loans are in hardship deferment and I make $70k/yr. They figure out how much your payment would be on a 10 year plan and if it exceeds 20% of your monthly income, you can get the deferment. I owe a lot ($100k+) because I went to law school. Most lenders will work with you. Call and ask about your forbearance and deferment options. Good luck.

[Flamingo]

With your family size and income you may be able to qualify for food stamps and public assistance. I would certainly check into that in the interim to help you get by until you get your lives back on track. Best of luck to you and your family.