How Americans Get Out of Credit Card Debt

http://www.violentacres.com/archives/32/drastic-measures/

Part of the problem is that when you're in debt, you get stressed, and when you're stressed, you tend to get tunnel vision and not see all of the possible alternatives. But the alternatives are out there. There are immigrant families that come here with nothing, sleep on sacks of rice in the back room of their workplace. There's the approach in the story above of going homeless and showering in the gym. There's roommates. You can live out of your car, if you have one.

The debate is actually about what informational tools people have available to them. This is demonstrated by your statement:

>It's not hard to stay out of debt - you simply have to heed the message that money is transmitting to you.

which is equivalently "It's not hard to stay out of debt if you're equipped with the attitudes that let you stay out of debt" which is tautological and therefore a non-statement. My point is that poverty _means_ being less likely to understand money.

My point is _not_ accurately summed up by "But one shouldn't have to forgo an education to avoid going into debt." I make no assertion about what a person _should_ do because that doesn't have anything to do with what they actually will do. I would prefer the phrasing "People _will_ choose a risk of debt in order to have their kids better educated" as that more accurately captures the situation. Not all of the people who put it all on the line to live in a better neighborhood ended up in debt. Some of them got lucky and did not have medical emergencies--for them, the risk paid off.

So your statement about whether or not schools are "overwhelmingly important" is true but irrelevant. Schools aren't overwhelmingly important, but they _are_ important. They improve the odds of success. Your personal success in a shit-hole school does not speak to the average of that school nor does it comment on whether or not it is sensible for a parent to risk additional debt for a better school.

That may be true in your situation, but when you have long-term obligations like a mortgage and kids in school, you're a bit less agile in your ability to respond to changing economic situations. If what you're suggesting is simply to not take on any long-term obligations that you don't absolutely know you can afford, that's a bit naive I think. For most people, being unable to work for a year will mean you either liquidate your life or you go into debt. Most people may not end up there, but according to your statement, everyone should live like they would.

I was laid off, and am receiving unemployment. I hate that, cause I do like working. I do have funds guaranteed to go back to school in the fall due to my injury. I do some IT consulting on the side, but business has been slow recently. Also unemployment is 11% in my area, with a glut of HS and university students chewing up what little this area offers.

I put out about 10-20 resumes a day to a 50 mile radius, and have only had back 4 legit replies, with 30 spammy-fake offers of selling insurance and other affiliate scams.

I will have garnishment applied to me, due to flat out not being able to pay when I do get a job. Fortunately, garnishment does not apply to unemployment in IN, only passed last July.

I am now applying as a volunteer to the local United Way to get more experience and as valuable sources for my resume.

So, yes. I am making something of it. But the situation sucks.

I don't have much CC debt right now, at all. What I do have is Student Debt, and bags of it.

I've rummaged through the relevant federal repayment and waiver options, and I don't see any efficient ways for a software engineer to deal with the debt except "push as much money at it as fast as possible". Loan management options seem to extend debt payments out to about 30-40 years, which generates some eye-hurtingly huge interest payments over time. (think 1.5x the original loan amount).

One of the nasty little twists in federal student loans is that bankruptcy won't affect them. They do have various deferment plans, but those can keep the interest ticking along, which can be harsh if loans are large.

So: my question is: does readyforzero.com have any plans to work on student loan debt in the future?