Student loan debt now tougher to tackle

In this week's debt adviser column, I try to help two readers struggling to pay their student loan debt.

Dear Debt Adviser,
Several years ago, I used unsecured private loans to finance my education. I currently hold six different loans (one of which is actually a federal loan) with two different lenders. The total amount of debt that I have is roughly $56,000 and all the loans (with the exception of the federal) have outrageously high interest rates.

My total monthly payments are $830, which is 35 percent of my take-home pay. This makes it virtually impossible to save anything after all of my other monthly expenses are paid. In fact, more often than not, I have a difficult time paying a lot of my bills at all, let alone on time.

My credit is putrid, hovering around the mid-500s. I am hoping you might have an answer, or at least some suggestions as to how I can finally get a grip on my student loan debt.
-- Cameron

Dear Debt Adviser,
I have a major student loan problem to the tune of $178,494.51. This breaks down to $1,250.68 per month for the next 30 years.

I am 51 years old now. I went to college late in life. My thinking was if I got a good education I could get a better-paying job. Guess what? That did not happen.

My payments started in December 2007. I could not make the full payment, but instead sent the lender $200. I did the same thing the next month. In February, I was able to send the lender $1,300, but I continue to have difficulty making payments.

Do you have any help or advice for me on this stressful matter?
-- Mike

Dear Cameron and Mike,
I chose to answer you both in one column because I want to impress upon you and my readers that student loan debt problems can happen to all ages and under many different circumstances.

I recently had a conversation with a delightful lady named Florence who used to be the credit manager at Princeton University in New Jersey. She told me how some of the smartest kids in the country had no clue when it came to debt ... and often, neither did their parents.

Student loan debt is one of a small number of unsecured debts that just will not go away. Under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, privately funded student loans are treated in the same way as loans funded and guaranteed by the federal government.