Why Can't People "Just Pay Back" Their Student Loans? Student Loan Lawyer Answers Your Questions 

The interest rate is keeping students on the hook. People may be able to pay it down over time if the interest rate wasn't compounding faster than I can type this sentence.

I remember in the late 90’s/early 2000’s that all these easy credit card approvals would set up all the time around campuses. They were mostly officially banned because teenagers did not have the financial literacy skills to handle them. Yet, we didn’t have to take in depth financial literacy classes before taking out student loans. It was just “sign here, initial here, you’re done… Next!” Who knew we were signing our lives away for decades? I didn’t. I thought if I worked hard, I would be able to easily pay them back. I was so wrong.

Graduate expectations of starting salary post graduation? $95,000. The real post-college starting salary is like $48,000. It's a problem.

I can honestly say that student loans have ruined my life. It was supposed to help and it only made things worse. I would have been better off never going to school.

My loans were forgiven. I went to the art institute and I felt scammed. What I actually borrowed and what was projected to be paid back was 10s of thousands of dollars in difference. I was paying diligently for years and the principal barely moved. In hindsight, I should have never went to that school and I should have never been allowed to borrow that much money. I understand where people are coming from when they paid their loans but others like me don’t have to. With that said, it has been a huge financial relief not having to pay $600 a month. What should happen in the future: the entire program should be done away with. That would likely bring the price of schooling back down. There should be private loans and they should be heavily regulated like mortgages are. I also want to point out that the government has bailed out so many people, the auto industry, PPP loans etc. why are some people never upset about that? Yes businesses offer jobs and contribute to the economy. But consumers also contribute to the economy. That $600 a month was used to pay other debt and buy goods and services for those businesses.

I'm exhausted. Been on PSLF since graduating with my Masters. Was debt free after my Bachelors but couldn't make real money without a Masters sigh. 2.5 years until forgiveness and am bearing down just in case PLSF is cancelled, indefinetly. I'm willing to pay what I borrowed, but I haven't even touched my principal. I've been trying to pay it down even while in school. Tuition cost and interest is the problem!

Lord I wished this could be shared with the world and let’s not talk about why a lot of us had to take out so much, the cost of books, fees, etc hits you hard and you can’t borrow books because they change often, on top of that my school had 0 housing after my first year of university and told us we had to take the max funding to use as a way to get an off campus apartment- the apartment complex would use our refund as a term of promissory and allow us to move in…can you imagine, I was 18 no job using my refund check to pay for rent, utilities, books, computer etc and now I work for companies that don’t require a degree…had I known I would have went straight into the work force

Compassionate and Informative video explaining the realities of Student Loan Debts. Thank you for this video.

I lost over $70k when everything started to tank. Not because I was in an exchange that went belly up. I was just stupid to hold and because that's what everyone said. I'm still responsible. It just taught me to be a better investor now that I understand more of what could go wrong. It took me over two years of being in the market, I'm really grateful I found one source to recover my money, at least $10k profits weekly. Thanks Natalie Strayer.

Even though a job may show it doesn’t require a degree, when all other things are equal, most recruiters will prioritize people who have degrees. I don’t need a degree in my current position as an executive assistant to c suite executives, but 90% of my peers within my department have degrees.

Well Alex paid back his loan, because he had the money. This is not rocket science.

I just sold my RV and threw it all at my student debt. I have 2k left. Looking forward to finishing it off.

Thanks for the information. I am finding out the hard way and the videos you make is very helpful, especially when you dont feel you are alone. Thank you

I hate that PSLF is called forgiveness, that’s part of how you decide what job you choose, if they offer that benefits, it’s no different than any other benefit like health insurance, if you work a job that promises health insurance, you deserve to get health insurance. If you work a job that promises PSLF, you deserve PS LF. You wouldn’t call health insurance forgiveness, you wouldn’t call stock options forgiveness, you wouldn’t call your salary forgiveness

I am 1000% ok with Student Loan Forgiveness. I want to live in an educated society! Other countries have do not put their citizens in medical and student loan debt! America is a first world nation??? How???

What Alex did is not remarkable. It is not an achievement. It's not commendable. It's expected. Making good on your obligations is the bare minimum. Rewarding and praising people for doing the minimum is how we got to this cultural place where ordinary is perceived as exceptional and substandard is ordinary. Alex hasn't gone above and beyond. A lot of people are limboing beneath a bar that was at ankle height.

Thank you for your breakdown. Realest explanation ❤

Simply the best explanation I have heard yet!!

It seems like it should be pretty easy to put together a table using common interest rates that would show folks what they can pay off in 10 years given a monthly payment based on a percentage of a realistic wage. Any loan over that amount would be a huge risk. For all the talk of loan forgiveness, what is stopping those who preach forgiveness from paying off the loans of anyone they want to help? Nothing. Most of the issue is that they want to pay off loans for people who should never have had them in the first place using other people's money. The motive usually is to gain political influence.

No one paid off my student loan but me. It sucked and I lived worse after college than I did during it. I got a second job just so I could make extra money to pay the principal down. Guess what and now No one is paying off my mortgage but me. Again I’m sacrificing trips and luxuries so I can pay down the principal. My debt, my choice and my responsibility for both.

I’ll pay my debts when the U.S. gov pays its debts

Here are my problems, while I agree with his points, they don't address what is distasteful about forgiveness: 1. Everyone got told the same lies. I get that student loans were shady. That is why I chose not to go to college. I had the grades and SAT scores to go. My parents were middle class and couldn’t afford it and I couldn't afford it. 2. Even at 18 I understood how loans work. A lot of people take every opportunity to not make a payment or only make the minimum, even when they CAN afford to pay more and then complain about how it never goes away. 3. This is the biggest for me; the people who lied to you about the loans. The people that lied to you about you have to go to college to be successful, these are the same people you are listening to and are promising debt forgiveness. They creates the problem and they are selling you a solution and you are still just taking their word that it all work out okay.

My loan interest was 4.5% and took me almost 20 years to pay off because it was my responsibility, not the taxpayer.

My daughter has been paying on her loan for almost 20 years.They keep raising the interest rates. She put her loan in deferment and the interest grows and is added to her loan. You can't ever pay them off.

I have $250k+ in student loans with an unfinished doctorate. I have NO issue in paying back what I owe. As a matter of fact, I would pay back my entire student loan balance with some interest if I had that kind of money. Unfortunately and sadly, I don't have that kind of job paying at least $100k a year. So, I'm stuck.

Hmmm...did Alex live at home or go to community college in-state, road the bus, still ate ramen noodles? 5 years paid off is great, but RARE! Congrats to him! Congrats to student loan forgiveness for anyone else.

I PAID $30K TO BE A SOCIAL WORKER BECAUSE I GIVE A F**K ABOUT FAMILIES!!!!!!!! Borrowed ~ 27.5k (Normal enough) and 20 Y.E.A.R.S later I owe $400 **less. HOW ON EARTH IS THAT DOABLE I wasn't trying to be rich and I wasn't trying to not pay my debts! I paid ~$250 a month every month and now I'm almost 50 years old - that's disgusting. It ABSOLUTELY hurt my family and will continue to hurt my teenage daughter who desperately wants to go to college ( Ijustcant....)

Step 1: get the Federal government out of higher education funding. If a college wants to charge so much that students need to go into debt to ‘afford’ the tuition, the college should be on the hook.

Excellent video

A financial literacy class should be taught before taking student loans. I have a bachelors, masters, and a nursing degree with zero debt. No tell grants either. I paid for my school.

I think another thing when it comes to college, make scholarships fair! I honestly feel like the majority of them are rigged or biased. I just don't understand why I have to put so much effort day and night on an essay just to "stand out from the crowd", which I get, but it's to get a slim chance of winning it. It's like a casino but yur gambling with time. I'm probably missing something but that's how I feel about it

Great video. I paid all my student loans in full over 10 years ago as did my wife. I do empathize with students and their massive debt. While I don’t agree with student loan forgiveness except in extreme cases like being disabled, death in family that prohibits re-payment then able-bodied adults need to re-pay their loans. I would be fine with interest rates being no more than 2%. Nobody should be getting rich off students.

I see where Alex is coming from. I will be taking the Alex route. However, I also understand how impossible it can be for some to get out of student loan debt. I came from a poor family, no one was formally educated (HS graduates only). It can be tough with certain backgrounds to navigate the right choice. Most of the time you’re going to school just to try to improve your circumstances. It’s important to see the other side even if you can pay it back.

So this Alex guy doesn't reveal anything about HOW MUCH he paid back or what his INCOME was after he graduated. Was he married? Did he have kids? Did he own a home? I get really pissed when people act all high and mighty for paying back their loans when they may have had circumstances that were out of the ordinary.

TATE FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have my vote!

Your paying interest on interest.

Alex probably had the luxury to live at home with mom and dad without paying or help paying your parents anything. some people have this luxury. Not me.

I am a public service employee, I’ve been making my payments for the last 7 years . Why shouldn’t I get loan forgiveness ?

There is no loan FORGIVENESS, there is only shifting of responsibility. Why in hell should I pay for your poor choices? If your degree is in engineering, law, medicine, etc. then you will be able to repay the loan. If it’s in gender studies, then you have screwed yourself. Don’t expect hard-working Americans to bail you out. Period. And what about those who struggled and sacrificed to fulfill their obligation? Asking them to pay your way is a slap in the face.

Obviously, Kobe Bryant was an amazing basketball player, but after watching that video you just showed with him and Mr. West, I can see that Kobe Bryant couldn’t act worth crap. 😂

No skin in the game. Universities binging on sovereign debt

They signed for the loans,if they were to dumb to know what the papers said it is not a society's problem

Which is better SAVE or IDR?

Do we know if the new update from 7/18 means pause for the 1 time adjustment and interest pause

Pay your own debts!

10 years to get free!!! Students just say NO

just make the interest start upon graduation lolll

I still don't get it. I believe any bank or credit organization is obligated to give you a payment schedule with interest, principal and balance for each month (but even if they doesn't there is a lot of online tools to calculate payment schedule). All you need to do is to pay more then your interest. That is it. So simple. And please don't tell "Oh but I can not afford it" because you probably can. There is a video on RU-vid about loan math with a great example: 70k loan for 8,69% interest (from early 2000s, modern rates are lower). The initial interest is about 490/month. Pay $500/month - and you will pay your loan in 44 (!) years. Pay just a little more - $600/month - and you will pay it for about 20 (!!!) years. Just $100 extra will give you huge relief.

Compound interest isn't a "hidden enemy." And a student loan isn't magic money from Santa Claus. Sorry, kids, but sometimes you have to do a little homework, and consider the long-term effect on your life, before committing yourself to something as serious as a massive loan. Welcome to Grownup Land! The terms are all there in the contract, which you're expected to read in full before signing, and ask about whatever you don't understand. It's not a scam or a conspiracy, it's a business. And if you can't handle the reality of a student loan, forget about a mortgage.

This makes me mad because the ones who took responsibility, and did the right thing and paid them off. Now you are asking the public to pay back other people's debts. I have debt that needs to be paid. Let the publuc pay off my debts so I can be debt free.