I went back to school at 37 years old, after having been out for nineteen years. I only went to 10th grade, and didn’t finish that, Both of my kids were grown, and it was my turn to go after a better career than waitressing.
I started city college in 1988, at the back of the bus. Math one, English one, etc., and finished on the Deans Honor List, and a few scholarships to UCSB in Santa Barbara. I went there two years, graduated with honors and a BA in Psychology and Sociology.
I went after work in Vegas, and also enrolled at UNLV. I graduated there with honors, and a MA in Western History. Not very practical any of it for finding future work, unless you wanted to be a teacher.
When I left school in 1997, I immediately had to go to my mother’s house and take care of her. She had fallen, broke her hip and couldn’t walk. This began a downward spiral, and I stayed on her couch for two years while caring for her until she died.
I had not paid student loans, and they were gathering interest. I owed on them now $30,000. Suffice it to say I didn’t make enough money to start paying them anything for another three years. I started paying them $150 dollars a month in 2003. I paid them that until 2005, when I started paying them $280. I paid them that amount until 2008, when I began paying them $340. In 2010 I began paying them $400, and am paying them that at the present time.
I’ve done the calculations of the amount I’ve paid Sallie Mae, after consolidating with them. I’ve paid them approximately $25,000, five thousand short of the original $30,000 when I consolidated. At the present moment I owe them $63,000, and will never be able to pay it off in my lifetime.
They are government sanctioned loan sharks, and I think it’s completely unfair. My husband has been out of work for three years now, my overhead is steep, and I still can’t wrap my head around them being able to cheat people this way.
I have a good job, but don’t know how long I can keep it, with this economy. My company is downsizing, and after ten years I could be one of the ones to go soon. My mother in law has stage four cancer, and Chase bank is foreclosing on her mortgage. So you see everyone is having troubles.
