
Ask HN: Help, my $150,000 student debt is ruining my life, and my future  - heavilyindebt
Dear enlightened HN community, I am earnestly seeking as many helpful advice as I can get,  pertaining to the painful state of existence I reside in due to ignorant &#38; impulsive college decisions I made about  a decade ago.<p>Due to excessive math &#38; science training in high school, I impulsively decided to go to an expensive East Coast Art school to study Art &#38; Design, paid for on entirely borrowed student debt average 40k a year, for 4 years straight. I was extremely financial ignorant at that age, not at all understanding the actual income of those who chooses career in the creative fields.<p>Straight out of school, I got an entry level marketing job offer. At that point, the job offer was so low, that it would leave me starving after my basic necessities, such as apartment &#38; student debts are paid. I chose instead, to do something riskier, and more entrepreneurial straight out of school, thinking this is the only way I can make the amount of money needed to pay off my student debt + interest on the principle.<p>One year after, thank god I broke even.<p>For the past few years,  I have worked in various internet jobs, barely making enough to eat, let alone pay my student debt...<p>For the last year or so, I tried entrepreneurship again, this time with a bit more experiences &#38; skills, ignoring my student debt completely. The extra money I would have paid for debt, I reinvested in the company.<p>Now, it's finally getting to that point, where I can ignore my student debt no longer, or else they will pursue legal actions …<p>After living sub humanly for the past few years, after being harassed everyday to pay a debt that I really can not pay, if I want to eat, for an education that absolutely adds no values to my career, am a bit at the end of my rope.<p>So dear HN, what should I do to make the situation better, what could I do to make the situation better?
======
pmiller2
I have worked in the student loan field. First thing you need to do is contact
your loan servicer immediately and work with them about your potential default
situation. (Even if you have already gone into default, you can get out of
default by getting on a loan rehabilitation program and making 12 consecutive,
on-time monthly payments under that plan, so all is not lost.)

Also, look into an income-based repayment plan. These work basically the way
you might think they do, in that your payment is based on a percentage of your
income. One nice thing about it is that if your income is low enough, your
payment can end up being zero. The kicker on the income-based payment plan is
that if you make payments for 25 years, the loans go away, regardless of the
amount you've payed on them. If you're in for $100K+ and don't have a
commensurate income, this can give you back some of your financial life (your
debt-to-income ratio is going to be screwed up for the next 25 years, but at
least you'll be able to make your loan payments on time).

Bottom line, contact your loan servicer IMMEDIATELY and ask about payment
plans that are tied to your actual income. It's your best option. If you just
let it go, you'll never see the end of it, as they can attach your bank
account, take your tax refund from you, and probably worse.

~~~
riskish
Hi. Can we email you if we have more questions?

------
hugh3
This doesn't sound so bad. It has a simple solution.

1\. Get a job, paying as much as you reasonably can.

2\. Live as simply, and as cheaply, as you can.

3\. Pay off your debt.

I don't know what has twice made you think you need to try "something
entrepreneurial" as if it'll solve all your money problems, because it
probably won't. Leave entrepreneurship for those who aren't in desperate
financial straits (e.g. yourself in five years if you can pay off most of this
debt in that time).

$150K is a lot of money, but it's not a _lot_ of money. It's a small fraction
of your overall life's earnings, if you can swallow your pride, forget
everything you've ever read on HN about how being an entrepreneur is the only
worthwhile thing in life, and start working for whoever will pay you money.

If that fails, join the military.

~~~
bartonfink
One caveat for the "join the military" idea. Be VERY careful with what you
negotiate with the recruitment office, and be VERY careful with the exact
terms your enlistment contract specifies.

I have a good friend who enlisted for a number of reasons after college, and
managed to negotiate something like a $60k payment against the principal of
his student loans in exchange for his enlistment. Most of these deals don't
apply to the principal, and as a result a lot of money winds up as interest
which doesn't do the enlistee as much good.

After boot camp, my friend was recommended for immediate OCS and received a
commission. This meant he was no longer "enlisted" and the Army considered
this as a violation of his contract, so they refused to pay down his loans.
After a protracted legal struggle, he wound up getting discharged, but it
wasn't easy for him at all and wound up costing him quite a bit of time he's
not going to get back.

I know that the plural of anecdote isn't data, but I think there's still a
valuable lesson to be learned from this, and I'd hate to see someone else lose
years on a false promise.

~~~
hugh3
Oh, I didn't even think about the fact that they might pay down his loan debt.
I just thought that the military might give him a steady paycheck (and some
apparently much-needed discipline while he's at it).

Also, your friend decided to get discharged because they offered him a much
better and more lucrative job as an officer rather than as an enlisted grunt +
$60K bonus?

~~~
bartonfink
He enlisted for personal reasons, not for monetary reasons. He was looking for
a challenge, and thought that enlisting and kicking ass in the military would
help him get that. Money was never an issue - he will make plenty of money.

He left in the middle of a full-ride to law school, and when he left he was
top of his class. The second person on the curve had something like a 65%
average. He wound up getting the same scholarship back and is now putting up
similar numbers. He's going to be fine monetarily speaking.

------
bdclimber14
> _after being harassed everyday to pay a debt_

It's actually quite simple to get debt collectors to stop calling. Just tell
them they are no longer allowed to. It's illegal to call someone if they
requested to stop calling. Most people simply don't know this and take the
abuse.

I did this recently. The debt collector threatened to call me everyday. I
responded by saying she wasn't allowed to ever call me again unless she had a
better offer. Debt collectors are actually quite educated with the law, so I
made it clear to her that I also understood it.

Here is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act which is actually an
interesting read, and may be useful to know statutes of limitations, etc.
Although, I do know that tuition loans are exempt from some things such as
bankruptcy as previously pointed out.

<http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf>

I wish I had better advice, but hopefully you can be armed with more
information to at least prevent harassment.

------
Duff
This is going to sound mean. Sorry.

It sounds like you're running from stuff all the time. You need to break that
habit now, especially if you are serious about running a business. Pretending
that things will just go away if ignored sounds like a bad habit that you've
picked up.

If the business isn't going to make money soon, dump it, mooch off your
parents or girlfriend and start working multiple jobs for a few years.

All of the other solutions (income payment plans, deferring forever, etc) are
just extending your pain and ultimately just screwing you and your future
children out of a decent life. You had fun for a few years, pay for it.

~~~
adamtmca
Do not mooch off your girlfriend. Doing so will only take your existing
problems with being financially responsible and inject them into your
relationship. If you can figure out a way to pay back the money, pay it back.
If you can't, don't prolong the process and drag your personal relationships
into it. Be honest with the people you care for about your situation but avoid
borrowing from them.

Other than that, I think I am on the same page with Duff. You have a
responsibility to your children, whether you have them already or not.

------
portman
1\. Go to lawyers.com 2\. Find a handful of (3-4) bankruptcy attorneys near
you 3\. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with each of them

It sounds like you're insolvent, and that your student debt is causing "undue
hardship", which has been the standard for discharging student debt since 1987
(Brunner v. New York State Higher Education Services).

~~~
joe_the_user
Wow - real, useful, advice (seriously, up-vote parent please)!

The legal precedent you describe is different than what I've often heard and a
simple Google seems to verify that you are correct.

It sounds like something that should get more attention than it does...

Given the power of the student loan industry, I suspect it would be hard to
pull-off. But it still seems like something worth knowing.

~~~
hugh3
I really can't see this working. $150K in debt for a guy who has a degree, no
dependents and nothing stopping him from getting (at least) an average-paying
job doesn't sound like some kind of crippling debt. He just needs to pull his
finger out and go get that damn job instead of keeping on plunging money into
an apparently-unprofitable business.

Forget "the power of the student loan industry", how would _you_ feel if you'd
lent somebody $150,000 to get an education and they refused to pay it back on
the grounds that "aw man, I don't wanna get a _job_..."

------
codybmusser
It's nice to see so many positive comments. I made a similar thread about
dealing with $70k (and being in the relatively low income marketing/PR field)
on Reddit a few months back and was greeted with a lot of:

"Your stupid fault." "Should have done your research in choosing majors." "You
brought it on yourself."

I understand the opinions, but that didn't add much to the conversation, nor
help me to understand if there was something I might have been missing out on.

Some notes on what I did figure out would be:

\- Loan agents will downright lie. Always do the math yourself. I called SM to
explain I needed my payment below $200 and we worked together to make it $185.
A month later they my bill came in and my payment was $240. The story was that
some of the many small loans weren't included in a new payment plan and blah
blah blah...

\- The advice to pursue income based repayment is great, but many private
lenders (which you no doubt have at with over $100k in debt) will simply say
no. Working with private loans is a world different than working with public
loans.

\- Find out if any of your loans have an interest rate more than twice that of
other ones (mine surely do). Request a deferment or forebearance on any loans
with an interest rate of 4%, and pay all that extra on your loans at 18%.

\- Umm... there's no easy way out to give up work and create a company. Sorry.
I looked and looked myself. You likely won't be able to afford starting a
company, but you can try to supplement your income with contracting or small
'muse' projects if you have the motivation.

\- Don't expect help from the government. The new 'student loan reform' helps
them far more dramatically than it helps you: <http://i.imgur.com/vJm22.jpg>

I pay around $800 a month in student loans on a $2000 monthly income. So, 40%
of all my money. Welcome to the good life.

~~~
calloc
I pay about $700 a month on about $1800 a month. After rent and bills I am
left with $300 for food, and gas.

------
trythis2
I'm afraid this advice may be longer-term in scope than your present situation
may call for, but I do think you need it.

When you've brought your debt obligation to a less burdensome state, I urge
you to seriously reflect on your attitude towards money. Taking on a ton of
debt for a degree with low payoff is understandable (for the most part), but I
find it extraordinary that you allowed yourself to reach this point,
especially when you had an opportunity to pay down that debt and simply chose
not to.

You cannot possibly be a credible entrepreneur with such a negligent, even
reckless attitude towards money, not to mention a penchant for ignoring
problems until they've snowballed into something disastrous. You mention in
one of your comments that you still want to be the founder of your own
company, and (it seems) you're still trying to be. You need to put those wants
aside. You need to concentrate on your needs, not your wants, and you're also
not ready to be a founder.

I am also a little disturbed that you think you can pay off your debt with a
Kickstarter campaign. Do you realize that Kickstarter doesn't do that stuff?
They're not a general-purpose crowdfunding platform. If you actually do
understand that, I'm worried that you may attempt to get Kickstarter funding
by way of promoting a project, but then using the money to pay off your debt
instead. FYI, you can't do that.

I wish you the best, and there's lots of good advice here already, so please
follow it. But get your head out of the clouds and learn a little fiscal
responsibility while you're at it, or you may find yourself in a similar
situation yet again.

~~~
lsc
>You cannot possibly be a credible entrepreneur with such a negligent, even
reckless attitude towards money

As far as I can tell, having a little bit of recklessness is /required/ - I
mean, when you start a funded startup, you go in with a 9 out of 10 chance of
corporate bankruptcy; and that's not even your own money. If you personally
co-sign anything big, you have a pretty good chance of personal bankruptcy.
(and if you are a bootstrapper, in most industries, you won't be able to get
very far without personally co-signing anything.)

I think the biggest difference between myself and my peers who have chosen the
employee path is that I have more risk tolerance. I am comparatively reckless.
I mean, what else can you call it when you turn down a very comfortable living
as an Engineer at a large company for a small chance of making your marginal
dollar worth, ah, very little?

I mean, I'm bootstrapped, and fortunately was able to pay off my mistakes that
caused big debt without bankruptcy, mostly because I am able to charge
reasonable rates as a contractor, but this willingness to risk financial ruin
is absolutely /essential/ if you want to run a small company.

But, you say, most debt incurred as a entrepreneur can be dealt with through
bankruptcy! Which is true... most. but if you screw up your taxes? It's pretty
easy to get a low-margin, high revenue business going. If the IRS disagrees
about what constitutes a profit, you can get in deep trouble rather quickly.
Tax law is subtle and complex; it's not like most things in business or
technology where you can try it and see what sticks; with taxes, you pay what
you think you owe, then a few years later, maybe the IRS checks up on you, and
maybe they don't. Maybe they agree with your calculations of what you owe...
and maybe they don't.

I mean, personally, I have a professional handle as much of that as possible,
just 'cause I see this as the largest downside risk to my future financial
state. (The idea of becoming destitute, of having no money doesn't really
scare me that much. I've been there before, and while I try to avoid that
state, it's not terrifying. The idea of having tens or hundreds of thousands
of dollars in debt and no resources? /that/ frightens me.)

I mean, right now I'm largely debt free, but if some disaster brought my
business to a halt tomorrow? I'd have about $50K in data center leases I'm
personally on the hook for, and at least that much in customer pre-payments.
(on the other hand, my hardware would pay for that if I could get a good price
for it, but usually desperate sellers get desperate prices.)

Now, sure, the op needs to be more careful. And maybe the OP isn't careful
enough to be an entrepreneur? I mean, obviously, there is a level of
carelessness that goes beyond "risk tolerance" and starts becoming harmful.

My point is just that /if/ you want to be an entrepreneur, you risk taking on
this kind of debit and worse.

When I had my own debt issues (which were largely caused by me signing long
leases for resources I'd only need if the product took off, then the product
failed miserably. Big mistake) I ended up contracting myself out and running
the business sort of in 'degraded mode' - while paying down the debt. It's
still an open question if it would have been better for me to close up shop
and declare corporate and personal bankruptcy, but it's a moot point now.

I think the most important bit of advice for the OP is to /do something/ about
the debt. Talk to a professional in the area, perhaps? But yeah, just ignoring
the problem is often the worst choice. On the other hand, the people I know
who lost their shirts in entrepreneurship; who ended up with huge debits
(relative to their earning power) to the IRS? they largely ended up ignoring
the problem, and ended up just not having credit or significant assets ever. I
mean, even the IRS isn't going to prevent you from eating, and it's quite
possible to live a college student level lifestyle without credit at all.

I would bet money that Entrepreneurs have much higher median levels of debit
compared to people with similar skillsets working for other people.

~~~
bradleyland
There is a tremendous difference between aversion to risk and complete
foolishness with allocation of time and resources.

------
pnathan
0\. Call the debt collectors and begin managing your debt in a responsible
fashion.

1\. Go get a job. Ditch your company. It's not going to be profitable soon (or
you wouldn't have posted). Make sure your job is in a city where you can
afford to live _and_ pay it off.

2\. Find an apartment with 4-5 other people. It is a pain, but is cheap.

3\. Kill your lifestyle. Don't eat out, don't buy music, don't go to
Starbucks. Don't buy things new.

4\. Work like a dog. Take two jobs if you can sustain it. Not everyone can.

\begin{rant} This sort of thing is the poster child for why humanities degrees
are stupid for the vast majority of people. The OP would have been better
served by being an electrician or plumber, then going into $150K in debt for a
_house_.

It is sheer blinking idiocy not to do a cost/benefit analysis of your major
decisions. There is no shame in not going to college, so long as you have a
trade. All educators need to be aware of that. \end{rant}

------
petervandijck
I think this warrants: holy shit.

Start reading the Simple Dollar (google it). You'll need it.

As far as I know, you can't bankrupt your way out of student debt. So you
could just flee the country (likely not a good option), or else you're going
to have to live with this for a long, long time.

You'll need to learn to negotiate with the debtors (is that what they're
called?). After all, it's better for them if you pay of some debt slowly than
no debt at all.

You'll probably also have to start paying this off, and unfortunately do this
for many years to come.

I can't believe they let students take on these types of debts.

Since you work in the internet field, it's possible you might land a high-
paying job with the right experience. That could help you pay this off in a
reasonable amount of time (5 years perhaps).

~~~
kronusaturn
> debtors (is that what they're called?)

OP is a debtor who needs to negotiate with his creditors.

------
jpiasetz
$150,000 is bad but not un-fixable.

You should get credit counselling and speak to a lawyer about your options.
Bear in mind credit counselors are often paid by the credit card companies. If
you have to or decide to fulling pay down the debt do the following:

1\. Cut your costs - Use coupons, shop after 12pm at night (stuff at groceries
stores goes on sale then), couch surf. You should be able to get your monthly
costs down to $500 a month. Be really aggressive about keeping your costs low,
sleep two a room if that's what it takes.

2\. Stop being an entrepreneur - there is a time and a place for everything.
You might be made to be an entrepreneur but you need to sort out your debt
first.

3\. Take the best paying job you can and then take another part time job.
Basically the goal is to work 80 hour weeks. If you can do that at 10 you'll
net $3200 a month.

4\. Pay down the highest interest loan first.

5\. Sell any and all assets that aren't necessary (computers and TV aren't
necessary).

6\. Write down everything you spend money on at the end of the day.

Assuming you hit $500 in monthly expenses, can average $10 an hour and have 8%
interest rate on your $150,000, you can pay down $2,700 and you'll pay it off
in 5 years 10 months. In reality you'll do it faster because when you get
yourself back on track it will snowball.

EDIT:

7\. Refinance to lower rates whenever possible

8\. Ask for help and tell people about your problem. Don't necessarily ask for
charity but you might end up with a better job out of it.

------
alexlawford
I have a friend who took an English teaching job in China to pay off his
(admittedly not as big as yours but nonetheless substantial) student debt.
He's recently out of college and has no teaching experience. Sound stupid? His
job pays $4,500/month AFTER tax and accommodation is included. Factor in the
substantially lower cost of living (he's in a poorer area of China, not
Shanghai or Guangzhou etc) and you can easily save > $4000/month. The added
benefit for someone like yourself is that you could potentially do some
freelance work at the same time. Although many teaching jobs pay less than the
one I just mentioned, most will leave you with a decent amount of free time on
your hands. Hours are typically 15-30 per week. Just thought I'd throw that
anecdote into the mix...

------
adamtmca
While this won't help the OP, I think it might be valuable for some others
here, particularly those with kids.

I have one year left in my undergraduate degree. My parents paid for the whole
thing, including a semester in Europe.

Since I was old enough to understand my parents have made "the deal" very
clear to me. My university education was promised, but it wasn't free. Whether
I had children or not, it was my responsibility to pay for at least one young
person to have a higher education.

It turns out this was a real gift. My life has at least one very real goal
post. It contributed to my decision to choose a degree which would give me
some marketable skills and it serves as a very tangible motivation to be
financially responsible- I'm just a steward of the opportunity that was given
to me.

I plan on making this expectation just as explicit with my kids and maybe some
of you will as well. It may help keep your grandkids out of the OP's
situation.

Edit: Maybe this will help the OP. Imagine helping your kids avoid your
situation, you don't have to pay for all of it, but if you work your way out
of this you will be able to help them. Think a few generations out from
yourself, it could be the extra motivation you need to grind your way out of
this.

------
T-R
I hate to be the one to make the skeptic post, because I'm sure it comes off a
bit rude, but the timing of this does strike me as a little odd, considering
that there are two posts about Peter Thiel on the main page, and the Scott
Adams "How to get a real education" article just made it back. Not to say they
couldn't have motivated you to post, but the anonymity (new account) and tone
("Due to excessive math & science training... I impulsively decided...", "an
education that absolutely adds no value...") does inspire a bit of skepticism.

I'm a bit unconvinced that this isn't someone playing politics, though if you
are really in a bad situation, best of luck to you.

Edit: In addendum, if you're going to downvote, please do make note as to why,
e.g. if you think there's sufficient evidence not to merit skepticism, or if
you think it should be taken at face value regardless, at least for the
benefit of others. I won't, though, argue the point, in the interest of
consideration to the OP, in case he is honest.

------
kariatx
If it were me, I'd put entrepreneurship on the back burner and plow my way
through that debt. I started my business with no debt, and I can't imagine I
would have made good decisions with that much financial obligation stressing
me out. In fact, I still have very little debt now (just a very small
mortgage) to keep my head clear.

I would recommend hitting up your library for a Dave Ramsey book or two. I
don't follow his religion, but his "baby steps" for getting out of financial
hot water are right on. Follow them - they aren't easy, but they work.

Sell stuff. Work your ass off. Live with tons of roommates. Eat beans and
rice. Many people have gotten themselves out of worse situations with less
means and education.

There will always be business opportunities. Solve your debt problem now. I
rather live a debt-free "wage slave" life than be a scrappy entrepreneur who
is always running away from creditors.

~~~
infinite8s
Beans and rice. Probably the cheapest meal on the planet. It's surprising the
number of people who don't realize how little money is needed to eat
nutritiously (especially if you buy them dried and in bulk)

------
prknight
First, I wouldn't focus too much on the total amount, instead work out what
you need to make per month, per week and per day and you'll arrive at an
achievable non-astronomical sum. Focus on that. Stay in the present.

Second, let go of guilt&pity when/if it arises - it's destructive, along with
any thoughts or opinions that condemn whatever got you in the situation you
are. Ask better questions, like 'how is this a good thing and what is going
well?' and 'what can I do better today?'. You can clear your debt with the
same force you created it: compound effects over time. It's all about making
small forward steps, every single day.

check out wealth dynamics to get some different ideas about mindset & money.

------
senthilnayagam
Watch "Shawshank Redemption" and "The Pursuit of Happyness" these are stories
which give you hope and the confidence that even under extremely difficult
circumstances you can survive with dignity and overcome your worst fears. It
would take just couple of dollars and a weekend to watch them.

I personally dont consider Bankruptcy as a an option, you went for the college
which you aspired for, you took a loan and knew you would have to end up
paying for it. Adulthood is about taking responsibilities for your actions.

You have 2 seperate problems,lower monthly income and loan repayment. Many
people have given suggestions for reducing/negotiating the interest rates, or
deferred payment, talk to your debt collector, ensure at least the interest
component is paid. If you can tell your skills and level of competency, people
can suggest jobs or places you can make higher $/hr than your current
employment.

Dont leave hope, you would surely overcome these challenges

------
ac-2534
With any luck morally responsible people with down vote this into oblivion,
but...

At this point your loan has (almost certainly) already been sold as "bad debt"
for pennies on the dollar, and given your description your credit probably
reflects this. The good news is there are very few threats that can be leveled
at you unless you somehow find yourself not broke. Here is the ticket to
loosing the $150,000 debt. 1) Start hiding money in a "mattress" outside of
the visible banking system. You need about 8-10% for a private loan 23-30% for
one with government backing. 2) make it clear to the lender that they will
never see regular payments on your loans that the debt truly has no collection
value. 3) Once 1 and 2 are ready wait for a morning phone call from a debt
collector. These folks are paid on commission and have quotas to meet. You
need a hungry one! (you probably have gotten good at identifying them by now
haven't you?) let on that you might have some money at the moment, but that
you'd rather use it to buy a car/start a business mention that you've had to
save up because you cannot borrow. The offer your looking for is making an
immediate one time payment of $x in exchange for canceling your _all_ debt.
(check this several times to be sure) Get that offer in writing then make the
large payment quickly. Your credit will recover in 7-10 years.

------
BarsMonster
When I was a child back in early 90s in USSR and seeing happy life in 'Home
Alone' I was asking "Why I was born in USSR, not USA?". Yeah, life was shit
then.

20 years later, I am happy that I was born in USSR precisely due to these
nasty things. Everyone I know here were able to get free education, and are
dept-free now. Such stories keeps my intent to continue debt-free life.

------
clavalle
Sometimes the best you can hope for is to serve as a warning to others.
Seriously.

You are in an extreme situation, but one that many people find themselves in
at various levels of severity and many more fear. This presents a unique
opportunity for you. It will take a LOT of work and dedication but it will
serve the greater good and might even help dig you out of your hole:

Tell your story. You are here on HN so you seem like you don't mind sharing.

Kids in high school need to hear this story: go speak to them in assembly. I
am sure if you made a few phone calls to counselors, they'd welcome you with
open arms. You might not get paid (but, hell, you might) but you'd be doing a
service to those kids.

Blog about it. Cliche, I know but do it. Start now. You have gotten to the
front page of HN. That is something but the clock is ticking starting 14
minutes ago. What will you blog about? First, everything that has happened up
till now regarding this. Your background; how you went to school; your hopes;
the ease of it all; the nightmare of realizing what was really going to
happen. All of it. Give an abstract and start chronologically in very human
detail. Keep reminding people where you are going with all of it.

In the meantime, try to do something about it. Chronicle EVERYTHING. Keep
records. Post your struggle as it happens. Contact the debt holder. Contact
your school. Contact support groups. Contact alumni. Contact your
representatives. What do they say? What do they do? What /can/ they do?

If you can manage it, try to really do it in a thorough style. Perhaps you can
get a hold of someone to bring it all together in a documentary. That can be
powerful. Maybe not a blockbuster but if done well it could bring awareness
and maybe some recognition. Perhaps you could sell it to schools for future
college students to watch.

At some point in this process try to get a hold of others in the same boat or
that are otherwise affected. Some that, perhaps, got lucky and paid it off.
Some that never did. Maybe some that took the ultimate way out. Some that
tried stuff that you'd never thought of to get out of it. Add that material to
your blog and film. Keep moving.

Perhaps dig into the industry. Follow the money. Who benefits? By how much?
How did these 'student loans are immune to bankruptcy' laws pass? When did
they come about? Did it impact overall borrowing rates? Talk to economists,
lobbyists, industry folks, the boots on the ground in terms of debt collectors
etc, etc.

Find people who did it right. Find out how they did it. Include all of this in
your material...

Once you have explored this from all angles and made a bit of a name, maybe
you could write a good book about it. Go on some talk shows. Who knows.

If you do it right, I know I'd follow your progress.

Good luck.

Edit: I forgot the point: doing all of this is valuable. Reap some of that
value and somewhere down the road you might find that you can get out of this
hole. It won't be easy by a long shot, but, hell, what have you got to lose?

~~~
petercooper
_Kids in high school need to hear this story: go speak to them in assembly. I
am sure if you made a few phone calls to counselors, they'd welcome you with
open arms. You might not get paid (but, hell, you might) but you'd be doing a
service to those kids._

Would people in the education system (even just at high school) tolerate
someone coming in and telling the kids how it really is and how a university
education isn't the be-all and end-all of life? Certainly no visitor to my
high school ever said that and the teachers were flat out disappointed if you
expressed any inclination to not at least _aim_ to go to university..

~~~
sp332
I went to a private high school, and there were two tracks: the college prep
track and the college-isn't-for-me track. There wasn't really any pressure to
go to college if you already had other plans for your life.

~~~
petercooper
I went to high school in the UK and my tail-end years were the start of the
Blair era when the government was on a huge "as many people must go to
university as possible" push (which has only _just_ begun to recede). That
might explain the attitudes I encountered.

------
dytrivedi
If I were you, I'll take up a job, get a Mac, learn some Objective C and churn
out an iOS app. Lowest investment (both money and time) required to make some
serious money. Plus no risk as there's a job already.

------
pktm
I don't know the details of this (sorry!), but I seem to recall reading that
the laws were recently changed to allow relief of student debt if the debtor
had worked in the public sector, education, etc. for a certain period of time.

Since you're in a bit of a tough spot, and could continue your business
efforts on your own time, you might consider seeking a job in those fields.

I hope that helps.

And, for the record, I thought the kickstarter idea was a great one.
Certainly, I think you'd have to be quick about it, as that's the sort of
thing where it pays to be first to market.

~~~
vln
Look up the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. After 10 years of
working in public service where you have made 120 payments toward the loan,
they will discharge the rest of it. There's always the military.

[http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/PSF....](http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/PSF.jsp)

------
cdk
I believe there is a fairly new program where if you work for a government
agency or non-profit you can have the remainder of your student loan forgiven
after making 120 minimum payments on a income based repayment program.

I quick Google search turned up this website:
<http://www.ibrinfo.org/index.php>

------
olegious
I'm in a similar boat ($120,000 student loan debt), although I'm getting
married with a fiance who won't be able to support herself (contribute any
money to the family) for about a year.

1\. Extend the payments to 30 years (instead of 15, this "saved" me about $600
a month in payments)

2\. Do the income sensitive repayment plan that others have suggested.

Good luck.

------
bakbak
Declare bankruptcy (dont be shameful), go to china or middle-east (or any
other country) to teach english, make some good $$$ & awesome saving, come
back after 7yrs and start a new life with new credit score(because bad credit
after bankruptcy stays only for 7yrs) and start a new business with saved
money...

------
webbruce
Shit man, that's intense. Do you have programming skills? Or what is your
skillset?

~~~
heavilyindebt
Design & sales

~~~
heavilyindebt
front end

~~~
vnorby
do you have an online portfolio of your work?

~~~
heavilyindebt
yes, but I would like to keep my identity private for the current time being,
if you would like, I can email you privately

~~~
vnorby
sure, email is revolutions@gmail

------
alsomike
<http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=user+experience+designer>

------
lwat
Expatriate?

~~~
maxharris
What are the probable consequences, short and long-term, of doing this?

I don't expect that this is advisable, but does anyone actually know if the
government will come after you if you move to say, Thailand to escape your
debt to the government?

~~~
anigbrowl
Good luck renewing your passport in a case like that. Extradition is unlikely,
but getting back into the US could be sticky to say the least.

~~~
compay
> Extradition is unlikely

An understatement, to say the least.

> but getting back into the US could be sticky to say the least

Really? They're not going to allow you back into the USA, or arrest you at the
border for defaulting on a loan? That doesn't sound very credible at all. Any
evidence to back that up?

~~~
lwat
I have never heard of them doing this for only $150k. They'll do it for Wesley
Snipes maybe but that's a different story.

~~~
oomkiller
That was for taxes, not student loan debt.

~~~
lwat
My point still stands.

~~~
westicle
I don't think it does...

Defaulting on student loans is a civil debt. Filing fraudulent tax returns is
a crime. I have never heard of someone being extradited or having their
passport cancelled for defaulting on a civil debt (probably because
governments have no direct interest in civil debts per se)

~~~
maxharris
But student loan debt is almost entirely held by the federal government now.
Does this mean it's still civil debt? I'm inclined to think that it isn't.

------
russell
The Feds (of some color) are investigating private schools that screw
students, but I suspect that the best outcome we will get is a slap on the
wrist with no relief to those who were swindled. It is probably true that all
for-profit schools are a swindle.

If I were in your shoes. I would look on-line for discussion groups of people
with similar problems. You shouldnt trust the advice, but it might give you
the lay of the land. (Dont trust me either. I'm thinking off the top of my
head.) Try to find a class action law suit that you could join, especially
against your school.

Often the collection agencies are subcontractors to the federal agency
actually guaranteeing the debt. Maybe the feds can give you some relief, like
forbearance. Unlike a private creditor, they are often able to give you
reasonable courses of action.

If I were you, I would get some legal advice. Maybe they cant just have their
way with you.

Fight back.

~~~
kovar
How does the original post relate to private schools that screw students over?
The poster incurred debt, ignored it for years, failed to make any efforts to
pay it back, made risky investments, and now is at risk of legal action.

Sounds like an individual version of the recent financial crisis and you're
siding with the banks.

