Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Cost of College: You Must Pay Back Your Student Loans

By Michael Fleischner

There are a number of bad things that can happen if you default on your student loans. Before you borrow any money for college you must have the mindset that you are responsible for paying back your student loans and you will begin the repayment process on time and stick with it.

Going to school online or via a traditional institution will cost you money. In fact, it costs more than most can afford. As a result, the majority of individuals going to college today take out multiple loans in order to pay for this significant expense. Regardless of which loans you use to pay for college, you must pay them back upon graduation.

I'm often asked what happens if you don't pay back your student loans? The short answer is "nothing good." As more and more students default on their loans, the consequences continue to build. Loan default causes many financial difficulties and could have a negative impact on your ability to borrow money in the future. Furthermore, the responsibility to pay back the debt never truly goes away.

When you fail to pay back your loans, your credit score will be negatively impacted. In fact, this information can stay on your credit report for more than five years after it has been discharged. This significantly hurts your ability to get future loans, rent and apartment or buy a house. Anything that requires an application will more than likely reference your credit. Companies do not want to sell you anything unless they know that you have the ability to pay for it.

What many individuals don't consider is the impact your finances can have on your personal relationships. Failure to pay your loans can result in difficulties on both a professional and personal level. Every year, relationships struggle due to financial issues that result in assets being seized and the stress that goes along with being able to pay your bills. As you can see, defaulting on your loans starts a chain of events that can add strain to any relationship.

Even if you are able to recover from a failure to repay your loans, the stigma will stay with you for some time. Building good credit should be your goal and the best way to accomplish this is through making on time payments and only paying for those things for which you already have the money.

Once you default, you are still responsible Student loans are rarely forgiven by lenders or the government. If you lose your job or experience some other change in your status contact your lender before the problem becomes significant. Once people fall behind in there loan payments they almost never catch up.

You can work with your lender to restructure the loan or stretch it out, lowering your monthly payment. Although this adds to the life of the loan, it will certainly help you manage your expenses in the short term. Do not let difficult times ruin your entire future. Start with a mindset of responsibility and you will succeed. - 23802

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