Support Group for Sallie Mae debt?

Hello everyone. I have been searching online, but cannot seem to find anything regarding this. I am looking for an online or offline support group for people with federal or private Sallie Mae loans. I know for many people this is a cause of severe anxiety and depression (myself included) and was looking for a place that a person could go for advice and to vent about the issues that having this debt can cause with other people who have been through it or are going through it.

Maybe reading other people's stories who are having a hard time or writing about your own will make you feel better? OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT

Thanks for the reply Perna. I have been reading a lot of other people's stories as well, but I had not seen that link so thank you for that. I have been wondering how I can help myself and other people in this situation. I feel like this issue is only getting worse and I wish the US society wasn't so tied down in debt that we could get together and make the government see our issues. But people are so busy with their own problems nowadays it is hard to get any type of issue going. I feel like most people in this country are fighting just to keep their head above water.

Yeah **** Sallie Mae.. But also thanks because I couldn't go to school without them. But seriously my student loan debt is reaching the legal limit on loans you can get for school and I'm seriously stressed about what I'm gonna do next year when Sallie comes knocking.

I agree I to have sallie Mae private loans. It a major burden and they don't care if I have no money to live. They expect me to live on like $100 a month. That not rent or food or anything. I still can't believe the government speaks about affordable education, how's it affordable when the price just keeps climbing?

Yeah or the answer is just "apply for more scholarships " like free money is growing on trees. It wouldn't be so bad if we could actually find jobs after graduation

Novel concept.....go to a state university that has costs that are payable as you go.....that was how I got my BS degree in Accounting information Systems with a computer science minor & ended up with a firmware design engineering position while the aerospace industry was existent in California.

I had a H who thought he was a failure in his career because he went to the state university rather than Cal Tech.....but his younger brother who was brilliant went to the same state university & even got his MSEE from that university & has ended up as an associate director of a local power company........attitude was more his reason for his failure.

Our country believes in living in debt or it wouldn't be $17trillion + in debt....a debt that will never be paid off.....wait long enough & the whole economy will collapse & no one will have money to pay back their sallie mae debts because our money will be totally worthless.....since bankruptcy doesn't discharge sallie Mae or IRS debts.

Dave Ramsey suggests going out & even getting a pizza delivery job to get the debt paid off just to get rid of it.....as in reality....it's not right to get one's education completely free either.

I'm not going to engage in much of a response for the sake of maintaining some civility in the forum but you shouldn't assume so much about other people. I did go to a state university and I had three jobs my senior year. I'm now in grad school and have a job. Sometimes it's just not enough (especially with so many meds and therapy sessions to pay for) . I'd be careful about passing judgements about people whose lives you know nothing about.

Thatssomething I agree. I worked multiple jobs while going to school and all I was able to do was pay off interest and occasionally eat. I don't think my education should have been free. I just think I we put the time and effort into it then as soon as we have that degree we should be able to make enough to pay our monthly amount and be able to survive. If it wasn't for my partner and her family I wouldn't even be able to live in government housing! It costs too much! That's te sad predicament a lot of college kids r going through. My home life was awful and abusive. If I had stayed I can pretty honestly say if be dead right now.

Going home after graduating was not an option. I had to live somewhere. I could have chosen the streets but then that's just a waste I all that time and education. Right now my partner pays the majority of the bills. He has student loans but hers are willing to work with her and she has no where near what I have. Her school helped her did grants and scholarships mine was lazy and did absolutely nothing but collect a check.

My nephew is in the same situation. He went to Full Sail several years ago for one semester, but it was very expensive. Now Sallie Mae are constantly harassing him. He went on to a different college and grad school and is working now but still unable to pay off the debt - he has to live, too. I'm a stay-at-home mom and have considered going back to school or part-time job, and I'm going with the job. School would just be another bill we'd have to pay. We are already barely getting by with nothing in the bank and just surviving on my husband's weekly paycheck week to week. After 11 years of marriage, we still have nothing.

while it's not specifically for sallie mae debt you might want to try debtors anonymous, the 12-step group. i knew someone who went years ago and he said it helped him immensely.

Would debtors anonymous have a sub group, the way other step programs do?

Because the 'moral obligation' (specific words used on me)to pay back a loan of enormity, after the sales pitches, implied post grad prosperity, even having had worked to buy books and make payments to school, during school is a cultural phenomena, for the ages.

There has to be a better way. No way, am I allowing this to happen to my children.

These people are horrible. They actively lied to me when I was negotiating the deal for one of my friends. They told me that there would be no issue, the principal balance would be lowered. Turns out it was just paying off the interest – then when I confronted them about it, the tape was nowhere to be found.

And none of the public assistance programs (food stamps, SSI, federal student loan income contingent repayment, public health insurance, etc.) are even willing to acknowledge a person's monthly payments to Sallie Mae when determining eligibility.

i don't know but when you look at the meetings list in your area it should indicate any meetings with a special interest. i know my friend did business owners debtors anonymous (BODA) so there is at least that sub group.

I know what your going through I too had sallie mae..but have you looked into bundling all your loans into one? I did that with sallie mae..and the ONE payment for those loans are a blessing...go to FEDLOAN.com to find out more info...hope this helps

I cant consolidate. I've looked into it and I need a cosigner. I won't let anyone take this on with me it's not fair to them if I simply can't pay and they put me into default.

I was able to consolidate, through American Education Services. No cosigner. Refilling paperwork every three years is a drag, mines lost somewhere and needs resolution. It can be done. There's forbearance and deferring and though interest racks up, they cannot possibly expect these ridiculous amounts...
My understanding is there's legislators that are realllll interested in these stories...

It is really depressing when 10 years ago when I took out the loans I thought I was doing the right thing by getting an education and thinking I would then be able to take care of myself and hopefully take care of my mom too. Neither my parents nor my older siblings had gone to college and we didn't have any experience with student loans. I wish we were not so ignorant in the difference between private and federal loans, but I can't do anything about that now. What was done was done. If I thought at the time it was a bad decision I would not have done it. Right now Sallie Mae wants me to send them 2/3 of my monthly pay check and that is on their lowest payment plan. It is just not possible and I am tired of having the same conversation with them week after week. They have even started calling my work, though my supervisor told them not to call anymore. It is very embarrassing to have to discuss on the phone with complete strangers my financial standings and what I need to spend money on. I send them $382 a month as it is, but it is not enough. I know I need to call them again for my weekly "check in" but I am terrified and the anxiety is killing me. I am not shirking my responsibilities, I work 2 jobs and barely make $15000 a year. Also, I am currently looking for better paying full-time jobs. I am not sitting on my couch, eating bonbons, and living off other people. I am working 2 jobs, studying for the GREs, and job hunting everyday. Yet every time I get a call from Sallie Mae I feel so lazy and worthless.

I have private loans through Sallie Mae so I cannot consolidate them with federal programs. Around 5 years ago I tried to consolidate them through Sallie Mae, but even with a cosigner we were told that we didn't make enough money to consolidate. Now I am basically going into default and has spoken with a lawyer who says there really isn't anything else that can be done. I may have to declare bankruptcy and have an adversary hearing involving the loans. This type of hearing can actually forgive or create a payment plan for student loans that cannot otherwise be forgiven in bankruptcy as long a you meet certain standards. I will probably be subject to wage garnishments before that though. It is a bad situation that a lot of people are stuck in and just feels so hopeless.

I have Sallie Mae too.... yuck. I have huge regrets about going to school and getting myself into that kind of debt. I was young and had magical thinking about how I would pay it off. If I had it to do over again, there is no way I would have gone to college. Not worth the debt, for me anyways.

I think there are percent of income limits on garnishments. I hope things work out for you.

Student loans are the unspoken epidemic that is killing a huge segment of our society. I've been paying mine off for nearly 18 years, and there's little to no end in sight. Even with a graduate degree and a decent income - I consolidated several years ago - but that just locked me in at a higher rate - you can only consolidate once. What a load of crap. So now, still nearly 50 K in debt, I wallow in the misery of this, and it contributes greatly to my depression. Like you said, I had that magical thinking too...no discussion when I was signing the papers at the school about what the payments would be - no thoughts about the future. It's my fault, and I have huge regrets about this too...

I am so sorry that you all are in this fix...and it is a fix by the government! I know I was nearly condemned back when so many were going after student loans and I tried to scream it from the rooftop: DON'T DO IT they are the worst debt to incur...and when the government took it over everyone should have known it was a cash cow then.

Don't ignore your debt. Keep in touch with them and do what you can.

It is our fault at 18,19,20+Years old, parents supporting, the signature. The pressure, lacking identity. The magical thinking, combined with the promise of fantastic income because we Were after all going to make more than the high school grad. Study hard,land those jobs. Noone calculated to me, my post grad obligation. That was the exit interview. I'll accept a portion of blame, but not all...

My children will be wiser for this knowledge.

We know car and house mortgage payments before leaping...student loans...just dive into the waterless pool...