How the hell did you manage to rack up that amount of coin in debt?

you could consolidate your loans with one of those companies that specialize in that. Or you could declare bankruptcy but that will royally screw your credit history and possibly you will never get another loan. for what it' worth.

you can do it.
live cheap.
pay it off a little bit at a time.

it's only money.
don't let it beat you down.

have you spoken to a financial advisor? i'd do that before acknowledging defeat.

how much is your monthly payment?

if you haven't consolidated...do so...consolidation lowered my monthly payments by 250 bucks.

at this point, you literally have to monitor every dollar in your possesion...I'm trying to streamline my finances...cigarettes are costing me $400 a year, alcohol is costing me $960 a year...i'll cut down my drinking in half (I'll just attend more parties where there's alcohol) which will save me $480 a year...that's $880 a year in savings or $73 a month...

then do some side jobs, which i'm doing...

dammson you deserve canonization.

Sheetrock-Call Direct Loans and tell them whatever your situation is. Theyll work with you for you to not go under, nad for them to get theur money back.

thanks for all the advice guys, i just have to get my "shit" straight.
i have been looking hard for gigs but i can't find any, i work full time.

if anyone in the LA/Hollywood area need me, please contact me.

What are you selling?
In LA all is game Im sure.

hehe

one word for ya -hardship deferment.

250 a month is what I will pay when leaving grad school, after consolidation\thats if my grad school doesn't help to pay previous loans, etc...
500 without consolidation for 10yrs.
On the bankrupt issue, it won't cover school loans, its on the paperwork given when you sign your name.
Call your school\s, talk to them and call all consolidation peeps., find the best one. If you need ##'s i have a surplus of em i put in a nice folder for reference or informaton, and a couple sites with options for repayment.
DO NOT GIVE UP.

thanks myname. i am in the process of consolidating. i just need to find a gig. thanks again

I think I will be in your same boat when I get out, sheetrock.

Move to Africa, they will never find you. I moved to Germany but they actually tracked me down, a friend moved to Africa and he is now loan free.

I hear there are jobs in Angola.

...i might not be qualified in africa..i don't have any goat herding skills

uhh, vado, that's two words...maybe your counting issues are why you can't pay your loans off? (kidding, darlin')

sheetrock, the key thing (and this is what vado is suggesting) is not to hide from whoever owns your loans. You can keep in good standing and keep your credit rating intact if you go through the efforts of calling them, making arrangements, in other words, a hardship deferment. I stopped paying loans for 8 months when I called them and told them I had unexpected medical bills that I could pay off in 8 months, then I could resume my student loan payments. They said no problem, thanks for telling us, your interest will keep accruing and we'll see you in 8 months. What I did NOT tell them was that the medical bills were for my dog...ha!

I also consolidated and stretched out my payments for 15 years instead of 7. I'm paying much more interest in the long run but there was just no possible way for me to meet the larger payments to pay them off quickly.

Just keep communicating with them, and it will work out. And believe me I know it sucks to count every single penny and not even allow yourself the luxury of affording a single freakin' latte in the morning, but after you've been working several years you WILL start to make more money and things WILL get easier (until you have kids) - hang in there.

liberty, you have nailed it. i can't spend 5 dollars without debating, it drives me nuts.