Surviving Your Student Loan Crisis - The Financial Survival Guide
In Germany, riding the subway without buying a ticket is called schwarzfahren—quite literally “riding in the dark.” While it saves you money on the ticket, you’re always riding the train with a lingering fear that a fare inspector is going to discover you and slap you with a massive fine. Defaulting on your student loans is pretty much the millennial American version of schwarzfahren. You can’t ignore your student loans into going away (even declaring bankruptcy won’t get rid of them). Not paying on them might save you money month-to-month, but it will cost you a lot more in the long run.
Having student loans in default will hurt your credit—which can really impact your ability to get a place to live in Portland’s competitive market. But more than that, it also tends to weigh on your psyche, just waiting for that student loan “fare inspector” to find you.