I am in the grips of a student loan nightmare. I know many are receiving good news on this

[theophilus]

subject but we are not. My wife and I are retired on a meager SS and outside income. We had co-signed for our son -in-law's college loans. He did well in college and then got a good job with an IT company doing software engineering. Then: My wife and I were basically thrown out of our business in 2021. Not long after our sinl was terminated from his job. He had a meltdown. We didn't learn about it for some time. They tried door dashing and were doing pretty well but then we learned, last October, that they lost their house. They had only been in it for about a year. We had given them $20,000 so they could make the down payment. Since then they have been living with his grandmother and we are taking care of their cats. He is trying to find an IT job but the leads are not turning out to be good. My daughter fell and badly broke her leg last October right before they were both to start working at a local retail business. He started but had issues with a manager after having to miss work with covid (he had been fully vaccinated) and other issues with a bad back. Mgt. didn't believe his "excuses", etc.

So, my wife and I are now having to pay the PRIVATE loan outfit, Discover, over $800 dollars a month for nothing real. The interest is so high that a payment doesn't touch the principle. Our savings are slowly going down. Our sinl owes. $74,000 to Discover. He will not get a good enough job possibly for them to even help for some time. They are, in effect, homeless. Our daughter is just now able to walk well enough to do anything. They are bringing in around $100 a night in door dashing but they have car payments, insurance, phone, etc and are just making it.

I would hate to pay off the debt but we are co-signers and are stuck. My wife says she would rather die. She worked very hard, harder than I did honestly, for decades to help build up our "nest egg". Paying the debt would more than cut our savings in half.

I understand "woulda, coulda, shoulda" but what is done is done. I would really appreciate any advice. Could we escape this situation? I don't want our relationship with our daughter to be destroyed. If it was we would still be stuck with the debt. It is eating us alive and is our biggest challenge going forward. We aren't getting any younger.
And just now: My daughter texted that their car has been repossessed. A nightmare.

Thanks for any advice, etc.

(I am posting in multiple areas on good advice....)

[bucolic_frolic]

1. You are wise to seek multiple opinions from multiple venues

I haven't a lot of advice to offer, but

Non-profit credit counseling. Supposedly they can help with payment terms, interest rates, and set up a plan that is more in balance with income and monthly expenses. I have no experience or tales to relate.

Some of these are listed in social agencies locally. Your county website, social services might be a good place to start. Or Google. Whether they all refer to the same agency, I dunno.

[Ocelot II]

2. You might consider filing bankruptcy. It's kind of drastic but you could talk to a lawyer

to find out whether it would be feasible in your circumstances. Good luck to you, that sounds like a tough situation, hope you can find a solution.

[XanaDUer2]

3. I'm so sorry you all are experiencing this

That's all I can say other than talking to a bankruptcy lawyer

[XanaDUer2]

4. Keep us updated

We care

[moonscape]

5. Nightmare is right, and

I wish I had more to offer than validating what you already know.

Agree you need to speak to a professional. In my area we have Senior Network Services and retired ofessionals volunteer their time. There is staff that is incredibly knowledgeable, offering advice and guidance. Hopefully you can tap into free services like this in your area.