Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Is it a terrible idea? I have enough for school.

It's your money, you're the one who has to pay it back. As long as you're financially ok for school, I say go for it. I know of people who have blew their student loans on guitars or tv's that cost thousands. There's worse things that you could spend it on.

Quote from: Emery on January 05, 2014, 08:42:39 PM
Is it a terrible idea? I have enough for school.

It's a low interest loan with a good payback schedule.  If you can make it work, hey, go for it.

Hugs,

Jen

Legally the money is not allowed to go to anything other than your education or living expenses while you obtain your education, so I can't advise that you go that route.

However, it is perfectly ok to use the loans to pay for your living expenses and save the money you earn from working towards surgery though.  ;)

Technically, it's not supposed to be used like that. But on the other hand, who's checking? It's a low interest long term loan, you have to pay it back eventually, so it's yours. If you're absolutely sure you have enough to live I would personally go for it - my partner is working so I used my first student loan payment to purchase the teeth you can see in my avatar xD best money I ever spent

I used about $3000 from student loans to go towards top surgery, don't regret it at all. I'm in the same situation as all my friends who graduated college around the same time I did. Everyone spent it on something and now we all owe money. The fact that I spent a portion of mine on surgery seems to make no difference at all at this point.

Practical pointer - student loan money might be cheap, but it's one of the few types of money that you have to pay back one way or another.  Those student loan collectors will hound you until you die, literally until you die because there is no bankruptcy for student loan debt.  And if you default, student loans become very expensive in terms of penalties and collection fees.  Those lenders have made themselves a real nice set of regulations through extensive lobbying over the years, and student loans are often not student-friendly.

Unless, of course, you're eligible for public service loan forgiveness or some other niche debt relief programs.  Then it might be worth it, but that stuff only applies to federal loans, not private loans.

In my mind, as someone who is struggling with student loans still almost fifteen years after graduating, it's cheap money but be careful how much you borrow.  Those things have a habit of spiraling out of control.  Whereas a regular lender will look at your ability to repay before lending you the money, student lenders don't, not because they know you'll easily pay it back, but because they have rigged the rules and you have to pay it back no matter what, plus their huge fees if you slip up and default.  And don't even consider having your parents or relatives co-sign for student loans, because it often binds them to the same burden.  I've seen many an elderly parent get absolutely screwed in retirement when their kid's forgotten student loans catch up with them.

Depending on how much your surgery costs, it might be a good deal though.  As long as we're not talking thousands rather than tens of thousands, then I imagine it'll work out.

Quote from: Michele on January 07, 2014, 04:35:13 PM
Practical pointer - student loan money might be cheap, but it's one of the few types of money that you have to pay back one way or another.  Those student loan collectors will hound you until you die, literally until you die because there is no bankruptcy for student loan debt.   And if you default, student loans become very expensive in terms of penalties and collection fees.  Those lenders have made themselves a real nice set of regulations through extensive lobbying over the years, and student loans are often not student-friendly.

Unless, of course, you're eligible for public service loan forgiveness or some other niche debt relief programs.  Then it might be worth it, but that stuff only applies to federal loans, not private loans.

In my mind, as someone who is struggling with student loans still almost fifteen years after graduating, it's cheap money but be careful how much you borrow.  Those things have a habit of spiraling out of control.  Whereas a regular lender will look at your ability to repay before lending you the money, student lenders don't, not because they know you'll easily pay it back, but because they have rigged the rules and you have to pay it back no matter what, plus their huge fees if you slip up and default.  And don't even consider having your parents or relatives co-sign for student loans, because it often binds them to the same burden.  I've seen many an elderly parent get absolutely screwed in retirement when their kid's forgotten student loans catch up with them.

Depending on how much your surgery costs, it might be a good deal though.  As long as we're not talking thousands rather than tens of thousands, then I imagine it'll work out.

It is rather odd to read that a person should consider not taking a specific loan because they will be "locked in" to actually paying the money back.

They take your tax returns if you qualify for one and file. Trouble is, it is never enough to even put a dent in the debt. I have a friend who remains a perpetual student because of deferment and she can't afford to pay them back.

Quote from: LordKAT on January 07, 2014, 07:49:19 PM
They take your tax returns if you qualify for one and file. Trouble is, it is never enough to even put a dent in the debt. I have a friend who remains a perpetual student because of deferment and she can't afford to pay them back.

Isn't that only if you are not paying on your loan, as agreed?  I understand the concept of not having the money to pay, I am just clarifying the statement about the tax return.

Quote from: Brett on January 07, 2014, 08:39:58 PM
Isn't that only if you are not paying on your loan, as agreed?  I understand the concept of not having the money to pay, I am just clarifying the statement about the tax return.

True

I'd personally advise against it and use that specifically for student related things and save the money you have outside of that for surgery.

The reason being if you run out of your alternative sources of income, like lose any job you have or can't work much because of studies or illness, etc, you're going to end in trouble. But if you survive on what the loan is intended for and use your outside money for necessities then you can't end up in trouble.

End of the day, students do waste their loans on non student related items, but that doesn't mean it's a smart thing to do. If you're so secure in thinking you can put the loan money towards surgery, then would it take much longer to save and keep yourself safe?