In rare cases repayment of student loans can cause extreme hardship

Yes, in rare instances, it is possible to cancel a student loan debt. For most borrowers, however, cancellation is not an option, although loan deferments or forbearances may be available and can be very helpful. Student loans can be much larger and harder to pay off than short-term personal loans. In those rare cases when a student-loan debtor is eligible for a cancellation of the debt, exercising the option to cancel can provide an enormous financial relief.

Canceling student loan debt means that a borrower does not have to pay back a loan obtained to pay for a college education. Eligibility for a cancellation depends on the kind of loan involved and the reasons why the debtor is unable to repay it.

Very few student-loan borrowers qualify for cancellation

Normally, student loan cancellations are available only to persons who can prove that they are permanently disabled and to the estates of students who pass away with loans still outstanding. Other limited circumstances where borrowers may qualify for student loan debt cancellation include:

• Service in the United States military
• Employment in a law-enforcement profession
• Employment in a teaching profession for indigent populations
• Employment in a health-care profession for indigent populations when there is a shortage of professionals in the field
• And occasionally, service in the Peace Corps

Special program for childcare providers

According to the federal student aid website, part of an undergraduate Direct Stafford Loan or FFEL loan may be canceled under the Child Care Provider Loan Forgiveness Program, which is only available to qualified child-care providers who work with low-income populations and only when funding for this program is available.

Other special circumstances

Other special circumstances that may permit cancellation include:

• Closure of a school before completion of required course work
• Failure of a school to pay a lender a refund required under federal
• Forgery of a signature on a promissory note promissory note or authorization for electronic fund transfer
• Improper testing or false certification by the school of a borrower who lacked the ability to benefit from coursework

How to request a cancellation

If you think you may be entitled to cancellation of a Perkins-loan debt, you may apply either directly through the school or through the company servicing the loan. If you think you may be entitled to cancellation of a PLUS loan or a Direct Stafford loan, contact the Department of Education loan servicing center. Recipients of a PLUS loan or a FFEL Stafford loan may also contact the company that currently holds the loan and request information about canceling the debt.

A glimmer of hope

While everyone should plan on repaying student loans, there are situations where the obligation to pay creates an insurmountable financial hardship. Years after graduation, borrowers sometimes find themselves owing more on their loans than they did when they first graduated. In rare circumstances when the situation seems most hopeless, canceling student-loan debt may be possible.

When you or a member of your family is a member of the United States military, getting quick cash or personal loans can be very difficult. There are special restrictions on military loans that can limit the options of service members and their families. You still have options, however, when you need cash quickly.

Why is it more difficult?

In 2007, congress passed laws that restrict payday loans and cash advances to people in the military and their families. The law also put into place several new requirements for these loans. When military families need an extra boost of financing in rough situations, these restrictions mean many lenders will no longer consider making these loans. When this legislation when into effect, many loan service companies and creditors simply stopped accepting loan applications from anyone serving in the military.

Can military members and families still get loans?

All of this is not to say, however, that it is impossible to get quick cash in a pinch. Yes, it is still possible for US military service members and their members to get loans, even when they have bad credit. There are times where everyone needs a little bit of a financial boost, be there an unexpected expense or just a rough patch.

What do these loans require?

Much like loans for civilians, the simple application process often requires no credit check, and can be approved in as little as two hours. The money is deposited directly into your bank account, and is just as easily paid back. If you need more money than you can easily pay back in one paycheck, personal installment loans use a very similar process that is just as simple.

As a member of the US Military service, it is possible to get personal loans when you need cash quickly.

Apply Here for a Personal Loan!

There are many reasons that a traditional bank loan may not work for you – you’ve got bad credit, no credit, you’re in the military, or you just need quick cash at a low interest rate as soon as possible to avoid late-payment or overdrawn bank account charges. There are many options for low interest loans. Use this guide to help you determine which type of low interest unsecured loan will be best for you.

Payday Loan / Cash Advance

A payday loan is a form of cash advance that gives you a chunk of cash almost immediately, and it must be paid back within a few weeks. A payday loan is great when you need money quickly and want to pay it back quickly, a one-time booster shot to get you through until your next payday. A payday loan offers:

• Generally, No Credit Check
• No faxed paperwork required in most cases
• Online applications with secure encryption
• A one-time fee
• Quick cash – your money could be available in just two hours
• Low cost compared to overdraft fees or credit card interest rates

A payday loan does require that the entire amount of the loan be paid back on your next payday. If you are not sure that you can pay the money back on the due date, an Installment Loan may be a better option for you.

Installment Loan / Personal Loan

When you need money quickly, but need a month or two to pay it back, an installment loan is your best option. An installment loan in an unsecured personal loan that allows you to pay back the money borrowed in smaller easy-to-make payments. An installment loan is great when you need a low-interest loan and can pay it back in a few months. Rather than going to a bank, which would require collateral or a good credit rating, an installment loan offers a low interest rate and no-hassle terms. An installment loan offers:

• Generally, No Credit Check
• No faxed paperwork required in most cases
• Online applications with secure encryption
• A fee that is paid back with your installment payments
• Quick cash – your money could be available in just two hours
• Low cost compared to credit card interest rates or overdraft fees

An installment loan is great when you have an appliance that unexpectedly breaks down, need to get your car repaired, or any other expense you couldn’t otherwise pay for right away.

Military Loan

There are unique regulations for lenders offering low-interest loans to members of the US military and their family. However, it is still possible to get a low-interest payday loan or installment loan. Use the same secure application process for cash advances or installment loans. You’ll get the same quickly available cash you need in no time.

Be Smart About Borrowing

No matter what type of low interest loan you choose, remember to take out only the amount you feel you can reasonably pay back within the terms of your loan. By saving yourself money on interest, fees and charges, you can work towards improving your credit rating. A low interest rate loan can help you with the money you need quickly without the hassle of going to a bank.

Apply Now for Low Interest Loans HERE!

Whether you need a military loan or just a civilian short term loan or payday advance, now is as good a time as any to apply. (Photo: defenselink.mil)

Many people are doing it and are not having problems of any kind while they borrow money during the recession. If it can help you, then by all means go for it. People tend to think that part of the reason we are all in this mess is due to the banks and institutes lending money, but that had nothing to with it.

Irresponsible use of money is the cause and what it has to do with is people borrowing money from lenders for silly reasons when they know it is not within their realms to pay back. A loan can prove just as helpful now than it ever has, as long as you know you can pay it back.

Many Options for Those Who Need to Borrow

There are many types of loans available for those in need. It doesn’t matter what reason you need it for and the qualifications required are no longer as prohibitive as they once were. Whether you are in the Armed Forces and would like a military loan to support your family during difficult times, a regular busy bee looking for a payday advance or a self-employed businessman in need of a short term loan to make ends meet, there are options available.

Don´t Pay Application Fees

There are many companies out there that charge you high fees to process your application, and nine out of 10 times it is either rejected or accepted by a company that charges interest well over 50 percent.

Bad Credit Isn’t a Problem

It is understandable that most people don’t have impressive credit ratings, and the majority of the time it is through no fault of the individual. Why should you be penalized for something that may or may not have happened a few years ago? A loan company should access your application not on your past situation but the current.

See for Yourself; Apply Today

Instead of worrying what you are going to eat next week or wondering how you are going to afford petrol to get to your precious job, why not submit an application today and find that balance? Personal Money Market makes it easy to apply, and the process is quite speedy.

Apply for Military Loans HERE!

Do military loans put personnel on a collision course with financial catastrophe? (Photo: flickr.com)

Payday loans come in a variety of packages for consumers, and that includes those who are active members of the military. They’re called military loans in that instance, and they can be quite useful to military personnel who have had difficulty obtaining loans from banks and credit unions. While a variety of underwriting decisions could factor into such rejection, the fact that many military members who borrow are young and do not have established credit histories would appear to be the most obvious.

Military Loans are Highly Regulated

In October of 2007, the Department of Defense imposed a 36 percent APR cap on military loans to personnel and their family members. Considering that young military families must pick up and move frequently and are often on the lower end of the military pay scale, financial shocks do occur. Spending habits are clearly an important factor in whether a military family faces financial calamity, a factor that can lead to a need for military loans should the family budget fail to stretch between paychecks.

Do Military Loans Hamper Military Readiness?

That’s the question the study “In Harm’s Way? Payday Loan Access and Military Personnel Performance” by Scott Carrell of UC Davis and Jonathan Zinman of Dartmouth College and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia poses. Their study was conducted before the implementation of the 36 percent APR cap, between 1996 and 2007. U.S. Air Force airmen were the focus, but the authors claim there is no obvious reason to suggest that conditions would be appreciably different for other service men and women.

The authors suggest that the availability of military loans before the 36 percent cap correlated to a decline in military readiness of personnel, but it seems to this reviewer that the number of variables is much too great to affix the blame solely upon military loan businesses. There are so many possible psychological and educational variables in play that the mere presence of legitimate businesses within a military community (or online) couldn’t possibly be the sole cause of financial distress.

Access to High-Interest Debt: “Inconclusive” Affect on Borrower Behavior

Carrell and Zinman preface their work with that admission. So does that mean that we should take their conclusions as mere speculation? I can speculate regarding whether the presence of ice cream in a community contributes to dairy allergies, but that doesn’t mean it is unequivocally true.

In fact, analysis exists which indicates that the presence of military loans and related payday loans has a positive impact upon military personnel and their families.  On average, says Adair Morse in his 2007 study “Payday Lenders: Heroes or Villains?” and Bart Wilson, et al in the 2008 study “An Experimental Analysis of the Demand for Payday Loans,” military loans help personnel handle financial shocks. Dean Karlan and Jonathan Zinman found in 2008 with “Expanding Credit Access: Using Randomized Supply Decisions to Estimate the Impacts” that access to payday loans contributes to job retention. And it should also be noted that the 2008 Federal Reserve Study “Payday Holiday: How Households Fare After Payday Credit Bans” by Donald Morgan and Michael Strain indicates that families (military or otherwise) who experienced financial distress were able to obtain greater budget liquidity to alleviate the distress thanks to military loans and payday loans.

So Where’s the Connection Between Military Loans and Lack of Military Readiness?

Carrell and Zinman claim to have found “significant average declines in overall job performance and retention and significant increases in severely poor readiness,” which they attribute to military loans. Yet they say that “the welfare implications for military members are less clear-cut,” which indicates to me that this is more speculation than solid scientific research.

The study authors reference the Pentagon’s belief that military loans “cause financial distress and related distractions.” At the same time, however, they admit that another possible effect of access to military loans is that personnel and families will experience greater financial liquidity, which in theory enables them to invest in outside areas (greater opportunity in the private sector) that could make re-enlistment less necessary for personnel. That could then be a technically positive factor that skews the results of Carrell and Zinman’s rather negative study.

But Here are Their Findings

The authors suggest that airmen become “significantly” less eligible to re-enlist (by 1.1 percent). They find that military loans also contribute to poor readiness (more unfavorable information files present for personnel in areas where military payday loans are available). But they undercut their findings with the admission (once again) that “our data do not permit sharp tests of the welfare implications for military members.”

It seems likely that the youth and inexperience (as well as the transitory lifestyle) young airmen and their families are forced to live would have a greater effect on the financial burdens they face and their spending habits. Using military loans could simply be a means to an end for dealing with the shocks. As the military provides financial education to their members and their families – particularly since the 36 percent APR cap – using military loans irresponsibly should be a less likely occurrence.

We Aren’t Talking About Large Loans Here

A standard military loan amounts to anywhere from $100 to $300 in the authors’ study. The market rate was $15 per $100 loaned (a common rate found now), so the final cost would range from $115 to $345. Higher rates are charged at some lenders, however. But the more expensive substitute – overdraft protection, according to multiple sources – can prove to be an even greater financial burden. The APR charged can be hundreds of percentage points higher, depending upon the bank.

Military Loans and Being Fat

I found this interesting. One of the factors Carrell and Zinman found could appear on an airman’s profile that indicates lack of military readiness is weight problems. According to the U.S. Air Force, personnel must be physically fit enough to perform their duties. Among their military loan sample, the authors found that as much as 3.3 percent were enrolled in a Weight Management Program (WMP). This varies depending upon the length of service for personnel (first, second or third term; 3.3 percent came from the second term of enlistment).

Does this mean that military loans make airmen unfit because it makes them fat? I find that to be a laughable assertion. Education about diet and exercise correlate greatly to personal weight in every study I’ve seen. Not having access to more money via military loans or otherwise seems an unlikely correlation. Fast food consumption tends to be greatest among those with less money and overall education, which leads me to believe that education would have a similar impact upon one’s financial decisions (both health and money choices can be impulsive, but education lessens this likelihood).

It’s the State of Their Communities

In general, Carrell and Zinman find that Air Force bases in more distressed areas (where unemployment is greater) tend to be more prone toward dependence upon consumer credit like military loans. Areas with more positive employment numbers show a lesser dependence. This could link toward greater financial experience and education in those areas, which seems obvious to consider. Yet the authors tend to gloss over this potentiality.

Military Loans are a Tool. The User is the One Responsible

It’s impossible to get around the fact that Carrell and Zinman admit that “the social welfare implications of our results are less clear-cut.” They claim they support the Pentagon’s findings that military loans and payday loans damage the quality of life for military members and their families, but factors of education, psychology and the rigors of military life itself deserve greater study. Are these factors more accurate determiners of whether military families face financial distress? It seems that more study in these areas is called for.