Veronica Said:

How do I pay off the interest on my student loans?

We Answered:

the interest never stops accumulating until the balance is paid off. Even if your principle balance is only $5 you will still accumulate interest on that little $5 that you still owe, so your total balance would be $5.35. Understand? As long as you owe, there is still interest adding up. Usually the interest is added to the loan balance monthly. I would call Sallie Mae if I were you and have them send you a bill in the mail. They have always sent it to me, even if I was still in my grace period. Tell them you are in grace, but want to start paying it off early. Even though your will only be paying off the interest, that is better than nothing. If you can only pay that now, fine, but soon you will start having to make bigger payments to cut into the principal of the loan.

Clyde Said:

Have you had trouble paying off your student loans?

We Answered:

I have massive debt from both undergrad and grad studies and I rarely worry much about it. Student loan companies are VERY lenient about things. I was able to consolidate my loans at 3% interest, and whenever I get behind I can call them and get a forebearance and they allow me to take a few months off. I still accrue interest, but at 3%, who cares? On your credit report a small amount of revolving debt (credit cards) looks far worse than a large student loan. Talk to your loan company and be honest with them and they will usually take care of you.

Maxine Said:

can a recently graduate teacher in bc canada have part of her student loans forgiven?

We Answered:

not really unless you have an attorney

Eileen Said:

Where can a Canadian student going to Caribbean for medical studies get loans?

We Answered:

colleges.mywebcommunity.org - it provides some tips about applying to US federal and state grants for college students.

Jacob Said:

How do Cordon Bleu graduates afford to pay back their student loans after they graduate? I can use some help.?

We Answered:

This article in the New York Times shows what happens to many -- but not all -- culinary school graduates. Warning, it's depressing. I've pasted some of it here.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht…

Rick Park wanted to be a chef. So ... he enrolled in culinary school.

Two years after graduation ... Mr. Park makes $10.50 an hour at a bistro in Austin best known for its French fries, trying to pay down his student loans. While he dodges phone calls from the bank, his mother helps him make his $705 monthly payments, almost twice his weekly take-home pay.

''I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I put my degree on applications, and they make fun of me for it.''

He owes about $46,200 in student loans.

Although the restaurant industry is expected to create two million new jobs in the next decade, the Department of Labor reports that in 2005, the latest year for which data were available, the average hourly wage for a restaurant cook was $9.86.

Eva Said:

Are student loans going to drown me?

We Answered:

First, you can't consolidate two peoples loans together.
Second, if you have both private and federal loans, you can't consolidate those together either, (even if they are for the same person).

A good rule of thumb when determining payments is ROUGHLY 10%. So your wife's total loans of 40K should have payments of 400 a month and 70K worth of student loans for you would earn a payment of 700 a month. It may be more, depending if they are the higher interest private loans, but this is just a guide.

I would suggest you teach part time at a local community college while you work full time in the industrial field, and you need to tell your wife that she also needs to get a job as well. You can't afford for her to be a stay at home mom since she isn't even touching the principal of her loans. Don't say its impossible, or that it would cost her more to work because of baby sitters... find a way and be creative. Some places will offer free daycare if a person works there, (church, daycare, YMCA, college, etc) She borrowed that money and now she is responsible for paying it back by earning money.

Otherwise you and your wife will never be able to get on with your lives. You will still be paying on those student loans when YOUR kid start college. Then you'll never be able to help them!

EDIT: That depends on if you can afford 1100 a month student loans payments and the cost of living for you and your wife and baby. Rule of thumb on that is that people can roughly afford payments at 10% of their annual salary. So with an annual household income of 45K. You could afford student loan payments of 450 dollars a month.

I'm just suggesting that that your wife should take her daughter to work with her. Not everyone can afford to be a stay at home mom. Certainly not with 40K in student debt.