student loans/private loans

stevesmj

hi everyone. my debt situation has got the best of me and i need some advice. the situation might not seem an issue to most of you but it has clouded my judgement now knowing that it is in the background all the time.
having read these forums i am aware that some people on this site are quite antagonistic. i would like some advice about clearing these things up rather than how wrong ive gone with my management.

1. i went through university from 1997-2000 where i took 3 students loans of around 2k 2k and £1700. i then did an MA which finished in 2002. i received nothing for that. i am unsure if all my loans are under the 'old' system. i was under 40 at the time of the last loan. can these ever be written off? i defer them yearly.
2. i have borrowed from a friend around 6k. i dont suppose i can do anything about that as there was no paperwork or anything.
i am self employed and only dont take more than 14-15k less materials in the present climate.
3. i also have 2 credit cards on 0% till may 13 and jan14. there is 780 on each. i understand that i have a bit of time with them. does the interest start going on the may card in april?
many thanks

somethingcorporate

1. If you defer them it sounds like the old style mortgage version. If you check out the SLC guide or the student loans bit of this website it will tell you when they are going to be written off.

2. If there was no paperwork or anything to suggest it would be a loan there would be little way for your "friend" to enforce this debt (via courts) so assuming you do not mind losing your friend you can de-prioritise this debt.

3. Yes, the interest starts from the interest free end dates, it will be your agreement(s). Suggest you start looking for other 0% cards to tart the debt to so you can avoid incurring interest.

If you want particular advice on your approach to money I suggest you fill in a statement of affairs or SOA for short (google it) so we can see how and where your money is going, there is not enough detail to understand how you have accrued your debt.

londonTiger

hi

student loan should be ok until you are able to pay it back, with your income level there is no need to pay anything right now. There are written off after 15 years.

borrowing from friend of 6k, you have agenerous friend. Are you suggesting not paying it? Because I dont agree with that at all. Although no loan agreements were made - he/she can still prove that they lent you the money and not a gift so it would still be enforcable by small claims court (up to 5k). any tect messages/emails/recorded phone calls would also be used as evidence and can prove that it was a loan.

credit cards, pay off thr may one, and pay minimum on jan 14 one. It will revert to standard interest rate when the time comes up.

Thomas_Hardy

londonTiger wrote: »

hi

student loan should be ok until you are able to pay it back, with your income level there is no need to pay anything right now. There are written off after 15 years.

It's 25 years for pre 1998 loans. The OP would be under this system if they started in 1997.

OP, why not look for a proper job, given that your self employment is not paying sufficient for you to manage your debts?

stevesmj

does that mean that the 98-99 and 99-2000 loans are on the new system was what i was asking.
no i am not going to knock my friend. i didnt explain myself. i was trying to ask that if i tried to clear all these things up (if i cant pay anything in the near future) would i be able to put the private 6k in with the others if i were to consolidate them in some way. also would it be worth doing that? yes i dont have to pay the student loans on that sort of money but i would like to repay it and the whole lot is playing has been hanging around so long that its affecting my mood.
regards

somethingcorporate

IF you are not paying any interest on your friends debt and your credit card debts it would not be a great idea to consolidate these into an interest bearing loan.

I'd suggest you try and keep any interest free debts interest free (by shopping around for other interest free cards etc) and avoiding consolidating them since you cannot get a better rate than 0%.