BE SMART: AVOID STUDENT LOANS

If you or your child are going to be attending college, you will find many different student loan options. Be extremely careful about taking out student loans, and NEVER co-sign for someone else’s student loan.

It is much better to attend a lower-cost school, get a part-time job, or attend night school after your full-time job than to have a high amount of student loan debt.

Student loan debt can last for decades. It is extremely difficult to discharge student loans through bankruptcy, so if you or your child go through financial difficulties, the student loan burden will not go away.

If you have co-signed for someone else’s student loan, you will be stuck paying it off if they are unable to. If you are going to co-sign for a loan, you should assume that you will be the one to repay it. Are you really able to afford decades of student loan payments? Many people have had to delay their retirement plans because they co-signed for a child’s student loans, and later found their child unable to repay them.

Student loans must be repaid whether or not the student graduates. If you are not anticipating having a high-paying job after graduation, or if you drop out and are unable to get a high-paying job, you DO NOT want to be saddled with large amounts of debt. College dropouts have the highest rate of student loan defaults.

Do your research before getting involved with student loans. Make sure you understand exactly how much you will have to pay, and for how long. Consider carefully whether those payments will be realistic for you. You will be better off if you borrow less, or nothing at all.

What should you do if you are already involved with student loans and they are causing financial difficulties for you? We have answers. Contact our office and ask about our student loan analysis program.