TL;DR at bottom.
I'm 24. Went to college for 4 years but flunked out the last year (personal reasons, depression) so I have about 3 years worth of credits.
I owe 19k in student loan debts, and am currently working as a waitress making ~$1000 a month. I live with my boyfriend (who makes about ~$50k and covers the bigger portion of rent and the bills). This leaves me paying $550 for rent each month. I try to be frugal enough that after groceries, etc, I'm able to save ~$200 a month.
I just finished a one-year forbearance, and as they've begun pulling money from my account (not my personal account, but a small trust shared between my brother and I) it is time to call them and sort things out again. The trust is a fund we use for keeping up with a rental property left to us by our grandparents (which has been losing money the last couple of years), so it's not money that I have access to.
~$16,000 of my loan is "Direct Sub Stafford Loan."
~$3,000 is "Direct Unsub Stafford Loan."
I believe I ought to ask for either another forbearance or a deferment, because I don't see my financial situation changing in the coming year, and my savings were recently depleted so I really want that $200 a month going there. I've read that in the case of deferment, you're not accruing interest on your subsidized loans, so is that the better option of the two for me?
(Also, please forgive my utter ignorance, but I also want a forbearance/deferment because wouldn't it be a waste of time spending my only income on interest and not making a dent in my principal? Should I not maybe work this year towards finding higher-paying work and then start paying off as much as I can afford?)
I'm also highly considering going back to school OR starting a two-year cert program in something like medical assistance, so I can get a better-paying job. I don't really think I should go back to college and get even MORE in debt (especially considering I was going for a degree in something liberal-artsy like Communication) even though it's extremely frustrating having student loan debt and no degree. Any advice here?
TLDR I am making about $1000 a month, $200 of which I put in savings. I have $16k in subsidized loans and $3k in unsubsidized. Is a forbearance or deferment better for me? Are they the right choice for me - is it a waste of time to spend my only $200 a month paying interest, leaving my savings account empty?
I probably sound moronic, but I know NOTHING about any of this stuff. My father handled this while I was in school, I (STUPIDLY) paid it no attention. He is in his 60's and has handled his student loans by taking a college course every year of his life and only ever making interest payments, so he doesn't have much advice for me.
Submitted September 19, 2017 at 03:59PM by tro_away_dum_grl http://ift.tt/2ynDJCB
