I am 36 years old and have been making payments on student loans for the past 11 years. I owe about $28,000 and want to pay it off in one lump sum.


My loans were originally a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans. Not sure who owns them now, but EdFinancial services them.

Has anyone been successful in settling their student debt for a lesser amount than what was owed with a lump sum payment? Any government programs out there that allow for student loan forgiveness? Any magic pill I should know about before I drop that amount of cash? Any insight from someone that has been down this road is greatly appreciated.

I'm 5 years into certified PSLF payments. 5 years to go. Have current payments as low as they can go in REPAYE program. Tax free forgiveness at the completion.

**There was some talk of ending the PSLF program recently. At this point there has been agreement across both sides of the aisle that folks with certified payments currently would be grandfathered in should the program be scrapped.

Million said:

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I am 36 years old and have been making payments on student loans for the past 11 years. I owe about $28,000 and want to pay it off in one lump sum.


My loans were originally a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans. Not sure who owns them now, but EdFinancial services them.

Has anyone been successful in settling their student debt for a lesser amount than what was owed with a lump sum payment? Any government programs out there that allow for student loan forgiveness? Any magic pill I should know about before I drop that amount of cash? Any insight from someone that has been down this road is greatly appreciated.

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That did happen some like 30+ years ago. Now it likely is only available with a private lender and limited prospects of you avoiding bankruptcy.

John Francis Donaghy said:

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Well, you owe about $28,000. So if you want to pay it all off in one lump sum payment, you're going to need about $28,000.

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Now that's why I come to this board for hard hitting, no nonsense, straight to the point financial advice.

I heard that it was possible to negotiate a payoff amount in the past but not anymore now that all student loans are federally guaranteed. Essentially the student loan companies have no incentive to cut their losses.

fwiw, if biden wins i wouldnt be surprised to see a 10k writeoff package, might be worth treading water a month or two to see how it turns out

Damn, how much u borrow? Im six years older and my all in was $14k to start.

What's the interest rate? At sub 3%, it's essentially free money when you take into account inflation.