Money question of the week: How have student loans affected your financial life?

How have student loans affected your financial life? If you had to do it over again would you still borrow the money?

In this week's column, I wrote about a new law that will help people with big student loan debts in relation to the size of their incomes. The income-based repayment program caps the size of the monthly payment and subsidizes interest payments in some instances. This calculator will allow you to figure out how you might benefit from the program. In addition, many loans can be forgiven after 25 years of payments. Those working in certain jobs (including teaching, government, social work) can have their loans forgiven after 10 years.

If you would like your comments to be considered for pubilcation in The Times, please include your first and last names and city.

Comments

[PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN]

PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN here,
I wonder how much more education one would get from a standard university as compared with an online one?
PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN,
Sweden

[PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN]

PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN here,
It is sad that often one is paying for the name of the educational institution rather than the inherent education.
PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN,
Sweden

[Peter Teiman-Franklin]

Peter Teiman- Franklin here,
Educational value has to be estimated over the long-term.
Peter Teiman- Franklin,
Sweden

[Peter Teiman-Franklin]

Peter Teiman- Franklin here,
Loans for college can pay off, providing one chooses a degree which has a high-societal perceived worth.
Peter Teiman- Franklin,
Sweden

[DOCTOR PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN]

DOCTOR PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN here,
Student loans are entities wainting to bite one.
DR PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN
Sweden

[Kim]

If I had it to do all over again, I too would have never gone to such a high priced school. I graduated from college over 20 years ago and still have the financial burden of paying back my student loans. I have an 11 year old who has already stated she needs a scholarship to go to college because she doesn't want to have to pay for school for the rest of her life. When you have children that young thinking that far ahead and concerned over how they can afford it without going into debt, then obviously the price for an education has gotten out of hand. I believe the interest rates are extremely high on student loans and in turn makes it very difficult to pay off the loans in a timely manner.

Kim Ridgeway, Seminole

If I had to do it over again, I would not have attended a high-priced school. Ivy League schools are great, but too overpriced. I probably would have been better off attending a state college like my colleagues and been in far less debt and in better financial condition than I am now. I became a teacher and had no loan forgiveness. But at 18 we want to reach for the stars at any price and hindsight is always 20/20.

Now I have three children in college and I am refusing to put myself in debt all over again. Let them invest in themselves like I had to do and they will ultimately reap the rewards of their own hard work, not mine. They can attend community college, live at home and commute to college or work and go part-time to college. There are many options available to them so they do not to go into major debt for their education.

Obviously today’s generation expects more from their parents, but if we continue to hand it to them, which is the easy way, how will they survive when the financial situation starts to get tough? Life-long lessons can be learned when it pinches their own pockets. These lessons are called budgeting, doing without and buying used.

My kids accuse me of not being as generous as their friends’ parents. However, there is a plus side that they do not see yet. My own parents did not borrow on my behalf and they are now comfortable in their retirement years. So I, too, choose to be a bit of a selfish parent now, so that I do not become a burden to my kids in the future.

Tess Jordan, Trinity