Hello, I am not sure if what I am seeing here is just a symptom of a broken, predatory, but ultimately legal system; or if I am just being ripped off. Maybe both.
13 years years ago I took out $49,275 in student loans. After graduating I enrolled in IDR, which by the way is also broken. To date, I have paid $30,359, of which $29,000 went to interest (!). I now owe $53K, which is $3K more than the original amount. This is despite apparently $6K being applied to principal. Right now I am on track to be done with this in 20 years at $576 per month. How is this possibly legal? I know we love enriching the investment class with Student Loan Backed Securities, but this is pure insanity.
How am I supposed to save for retirement? Who is going to take care of us once we’ve given our best earning years to the investment class?
-Conor