Friday, October 21, 2005
new car, new anxiety
I bought a new car today, a 2006 Kia Optima, because my old one, a 1992 Buick Regal, up and died on me last weekend.
I'm naturally very excited about the car. It's the first one I've ever bought.
I'm also fighting off anxiety attacks because of the amount of my monthly payments and guilt pangs because my parents have stepped up to the plate to help, even though they really can't afford to (and over my objections).
The whole experience would have been a lot more positive if I hadn't been told that I could not lease the car. Apparently, my years of on-time and in-full student loan payments don't count as a factor in leasing a car. I have excellent credit, with a score above 700, thanks largely to my dutiful payments toward reducing my student loan debt. But apparently the only factor more important than my credit score to Hyundai Motors Financial Company is whether or not I've bought a car before.
In essence, I was penalized for earning a degree and having to pay for it. People who don't go private colleges or who are wealthy enough to actually afford it have advantages over us poor schmucks who wanted to better ourselves but had to get financial assistance to do so.
People who don't go to college at all are actually in better shape than me because they have more disposable income without any student loan debt and are more likely to establish revolving credit accounts because they have, on average, lower incomes than I do.
The people who didn't need to incur any loan debt to attend fancy private colleges and universities are also the ones who don't have to worry about cash down or credit ratings or FICO scores because if you can afford eight semesters at Ithaca College with no debt, you can probably afford just about anything.
I really feel penalized for following the rules and working hard. My loan payments ought to count for something.
So now, instead, I've come close to doubling my debt over the next six years and three months when I could be paying a lot less each month during a much shorter period.
The system is broken, but I don't expect my members of Congress to do anything about it. After all, if I'm having anxiety about my financial health, how is that any of their business?
I'm naturally very excited about the car. It's the first one I've ever bought.
I'm also fighting off anxiety attacks because of the amount of my monthly payments and guilt pangs because my parents have stepped up to the plate to help, even though they really can't afford to (and over my objections).
The whole experience would have been a lot more positive if I hadn't been told that I could not lease the car. Apparently, my years of on-time and in-full student loan payments don't count as a factor in leasing a car. I have excellent credit, with a score above 700, thanks largely to my dutiful payments toward reducing my student loan debt. But apparently the only factor more important than my credit score to Hyundai Motors Financial Company is whether or not I've bought a car before.
In essence, I was penalized for earning a degree and having to pay for it. People who don't go private colleges or who are wealthy enough to actually afford it have advantages over us poor schmucks who wanted to better ourselves but had to get financial assistance to do so.
People who don't go to college at all are actually in better shape than me because they have more disposable income without any student loan debt and are more likely to establish revolving credit accounts because they have, on average, lower incomes than I do.
The people who didn't need to incur any loan debt to attend fancy private colleges and universities are also the ones who don't have to worry about cash down or credit ratings or FICO scores because if you can afford eight semesters at Ithaca College with no debt, you can probably afford just about anything.
I really feel penalized for following the rules and working hard. My loan payments ought to count for something.
So now, instead, I've come close to doubling my debt over the next six years and three months when I could be paying a lot less each month during a much shorter period.
The system is broken, but I don't expect my members of Congress to do anything about it. After all, if I'm having anxiety about my financial health, how is that any of their business?
