Cosigning, don't do it!

Don't cosign loans for your parents and don't let them cosign for you! You shouldn't have to anyway, lenders just want to get more people on the hook!

Even if you aren't paying back a loan that your parents took out and that you cosigned or if they aren't paying one back that you took out and they cosigned. IT STILLS SHOWS UP ON BOTH OF YOUR CREDIT REPORTS.

Even if the main endorser is responsible and makes the payments on time, it still shows the loan balance on the consignors credit. Which effects your debt to income ratio and your overall credit score!

Now that is the best case scenario. The worst case is what happens if the primary on the account is late with a payment? Or if they become delinquent? That also shows up on the consignors credit!

So a word to the wise say no to cosigning.

AES Scam Continued - Electronic/Online Payments

Turns out that AES and Sallie Mae decided to put in some extra fine print when you go to make that payment online. You essentially forfeit your right to apply any extra amounts towards the principle! So your ONLY option is to mail in a check with a letter indicating that any extra amount be applied toward the principal.

What a rip off!

AES Repayment Scam - Paid Ahead Status

So when you pay more than your monthly minimum, you are thinking to yourself "I am going to save money by paying my loan off faster by making payments for more than the statement amount". Well thanks to paid ahead status, that assumption is WRONG. Other lenders may call it something different, but most of them have this stipulation in there somewhere.

So what do you do about these chicken f****** rules? Well, you could:

1) Refuse to pay all of your student loans on principle and have them destroy your credit and garnish your wages

2) Refuse to pay all of your student loans on principle and have them destroy your credit and live incognito for the rest of your life

3) Refuse to pay all of your student loans on principle and have them destroy your credit, but move out of the country and laugh at them because they CAN'T garnish your wages. And only move back when you are dead or the government has collapsed.

4) (Most realistic) - Mail in your payments by check and write a letter indicating that you want the extra amounts (make sure you state what amount is extra) to be applied towards the principal, NOT towards future payments. Also feel free to write nasty things in the memo field of your check.

Remember, STAY VIGILANT and check out the back of your student loan bills. This is what mine from AES said, but after research it turns out that Sallie Mae also states something similar.

Paid Ahead Status: When you make a payment that is greater than your monthly installment amount, the payment is credited first to satisfy any outstanding installments due and then any additional amount is applied toward future installments (and is pro-rated across all loans).