Here is my story

I suppose the best way for me to start this would be by giving a nutshell of my student loan situation. I know that many people don’t even want to talk about the amount they borrowed or how much they owe now. I didn’t talk about it until I realized I was not alone and there was such a huge amount of people in the same, or much worse, situation as I am in.
By my calculation I received about $60,000 in private loans which comes out to around $70,000 after origination fees. I can’t get over how fabulous it is to pay a couple thousand just to get a loan and get charged interest on that money that I have never had in my possession. That is how the ‘system’ works so I will not waste much time on that ridiculous issue. My Federal loans come out to about $21,750. I was told this was all I was eligible for in terms of government loans and was not eligible for any grants based on my family’s EFC. That amount is now about $105,000 ‘Outstanding’ with an estimated payback of about $200,000. My monthly payment of $600 to my private loans is INTEREST ONLY. My federal loans have been put into Economic Deferment until April 2011. Before they were frozen my total loan payments were about $800 each month.
When I was in school I truly believed that investing in my education was going to be worth it. I was raised to think a college education was what I needed to be successful and to get a good job. In regards to loans, I assumed that Sallie Mae was a good company and would work with students on payments while they found their first career and began to make money. After I graduated I slowly came to realize this was not the case and the only ‘payment options’ available to me were to put my loans in forbearance, accrue and capitalize interest and watch my original balance grow at an amazing rate. Watching this happen changed my mind about wanting to continue on to grad school. The thought of adding to my debt any more made me ill. Good decision on my part, the economy shut down shortly after and has yet to recover.
Graduating into this economy can be ruthless. There are so many strikes against young adults entering the workplace to start their career. They find themselves competing for jobs against older, more experienced people who had been laid off at the start of the recession. Who wants to hire an assistant or someone for an entry level position with 1-2 years experience when they have seasoned professionals with 10+ years experience applying for the same entry-level position? To make matters worse, the Baby Boomers who would normally be retiring and leaving their positions to be filled by those of us entering the workforce are not retiring. The economy crushed retirement and 401k plans and many are working longer to re-stabilize their financial future.
That brings me to now where I currently work in a call center of a physicians practice making $13 per hour with no hopes of a raise. We were just told that our company will not be giving any employee an annual raise like we used to get at our yearly review. It doesn't make too much of a difference anyhow, we got a 3% raise if our performance was 'exceptional'. Oops, I lied, I make $13.39 per hour after my raise last year but after taxes my check looks the same as it did before my 'raise'.
I have a beautiful daughter who is 7 months old today! So on top of rent, electricity, gas, food, daycare, Nola's expenses and insurance bills I have a sky high student loan bill. Sour? A little. I am glad I have a degree and have an education but it is beyond frustrating, draining and difficult to pay for a degree with a job that doesn't even require a High School Diploma. But hey, at least I have a job, right???
If you have a similar story please share, there is strength in numbers. If you think I am wrong, a deadbeat or all of us in this movement are ridiculous then please post your response as well, I am always up for a good debate. Just a warning, please research this topic before you ramble off nonsense. Idiocy does not equal a good debate.