Hoggirl Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 So, I was talking to my former college roommate on the phone yesterday. She lives in CA and her just-finished-her-freshman-year-college-aged niece had recently been out for a visit. Unbeknownst to my friend, niece had recently acquired some "bOOks." This was observed when niece got off the plane. To my friend's dismay these "bOOks" had been purchased with student loan money. Not to mention the fact that she said niece looked as though she were wearing a coconut bra...but I digress. I don't know anything about student loans or what kind of student loans this young lady has. Maybe student loan money can be used to buy anything one wants. But, I was wondering if there wasn't usually some contractual obligation to spend student loans on things that pertained to being a student? At least tangentially.? Could she have committed some kind of fraud by doing this??? Friend was alarmed by the lack of responsibility (niece is following in her mother's footsteps of making poor financial decisions and friend has tried to educate her sister for years about being financially responsible to no avail - I think it saddens her that niece appears to be taking the same path), but after I got off the phone with her, I started wondering if niece hadn't done something in breach of contract. What says the hive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I need more sleep because I really thought you meant books! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susann Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I always wonder about that, too. My college roommate used her student loan to buy a car.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Have things changed since the '90s? When I was in school the check went directly to the school and they notified you to come in and sign it over. Ah, perhaps this is a personal school loan? Not a federal one? I'm sure they don't care what you spend the money on...as long as they get their percentage. Whatever the case she's probably going to be sorry later. If I was her mother I'd be asking what kind of college environment made her think she needed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 My cousin bought her new bOOks with her child support money.:glare: I have a friend who constantly uses her student loan money for clothes, new computers, a new car, etc. The sad thing is that she's 30 and married with three kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindergretta Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Typically, because it is a loan, with interest, that has to be paid back, it can use it for whatever you need. (Or want. :glare:) My sister and her dh used all the financial aid available to them while in college so they "wouldn't lose it" the following year. It was stupid b/c they ended up owing SO much! You should only take and use what you really need because it is a LOAN, not a gift! They went to Europe, bought a high end video camera, etc. I know other people, who, by necessity, use their loans to cover rent and food while in school. So I don't think it is any kind of "breach of contract," just really foolish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Only read the title. A used-to-be-friend of mine did close to the same thing. She took out a loan for her bOOks, but paid that loan with her student loans and grants. I think it's beyond wrong. You need books, not bOOks for college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Generally, whatever loan money needs to be applied to your tuition and fees is automatically applied to tuition and fees (and room and board, if you live at school). Anything that you get above that you can do with what you want. Many students apply the extra to their actual books, since those can run $500+ a semester (I had one semester in grad school where I spent $900 on books). That money can also be used to cover living expenses, since some students can't work enough while in school to cover their basic living expenses. If you want to buy plastic surgery with it, I don't think there's anything stopping you. You still need to pay it back, with interest, so I'm not sure they care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 She's just trying to look better for her first "real job" interview :) My husband's wife took some of hers for a trip to Sweden with her two kids. Perhaps it was a "study" of some sort, right?? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 A lady I went to church with before made the comment (in the church nursery of all places) "I think I am going to use some of my student loan money to buy me some new boobies." I think you could have heard a pin drop after she said that. The rest of us were all kind of staring open mouthed and wide eyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunD Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 A relative of mine has a super-awesome plan now that he's out of work. Step 1: Take out maximum amounts in student loans and grants. Step 2: Live on the money. Use it to pay the mortgage, charge everything else and use the student loan money to make the minimum payments on the credit cards used to charge everything else. Step 3: Step straight into a great high-paying job immediately after graduation. Step 4: Make minimum payments on student loans while living the high life with his family, including such luxuries as yearly cruises and a vacation home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Come on, everyone knows that a great set of booKs is what a girl needs to succeed at college!(sorry, couldn't resist!) I have a sister(who no longer speaks to me) who financed several trips to Thailand and other exotic places with her student loan money. And we wonder why our country has such financial troubles? oy vey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
july19 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Yeah I think we all hope for step # 3, but that isn't always in our control. I wish I had realized that earlier on. Me too. I had my own student loans before meeting my husband, and then we met as he was deciding on which grad school to choose, and is now close to obtaining his Ph.D.. Sounds great, but reality is we will probably have to dip heavily into our savings (I guess I should be grateful we *have* a savings!) until he can find a job that pays higher than his current one (again, should be grateful he has one! :001_smile: ). And, honestly, if our calculations are correct and we continue paying what we are currently on both of our loans, we will still be paying them off in 45 years. And that....that just seems wrong! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Could be that she has an alternate career path in mind and needs those bOOks........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I always wonder about that, too. My college roommate used her student loan to buy a car.:glare: I used a federal student loan to buy a car. My father made me apply for the loan even though I was on a 100% athletic scholarship. I got the loan anyway, $5,000 at 5% interest (this was back when interest rates were astronomical, so this was a great deal.) It was completely legal, I did not lie about anything on the application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 And, honestly, if our calculations are correct and we continue paying what we are currently on both of our loans, we will still be paying them off in 45 years. And that....that just seems wrong! :glare: We're in a similar boat. It's depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I'm in the middle of reading Debt Free U, and it just makes me sick. But, I dont' have to worry about filling out FAFSA's for my kids :D We took out more student loans than what we needed for tuition, b/c we used it as income. We had a couple of kids, so it would have cost more for me to work, so we took out just enough to cover rent and food plus tuition. Looking back, I wish I would have begged the grandparents to babysit and just worked full-time, but oh well. But yeah it's legal...you still have to pay back the loan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 "Transportation" is even specified on the student loan website as an acceptible use for the loan money. So buying a vehicle is perfectly ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 :lol: Sad thing is that probably pays better than many other career paths. A couple of girls I went to high school with now make a living dancing in "gentleman's clubs"... they make great money, but the one horror story I heard from a naive young friend of my brother (about meeting these REALLY nice people who let her rent a room in their house... and then held her against her will & tried to sell her) is enough to make that something I would physically stop my daughter from doing if it came to that. I would let her live with me rent-free for the rest of her life if the alternative was exotic dancing. I know a lot of young women make a lot of money that way, and it's an honest living.... But. No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Have things changed since the '90s? When I was in school the check went directly to the school and they notified you to come in and sign it over. Ah, perhaps this is a personal school loan? Not a federal one? I'm sure they don't care what you spend the money on...as long as they get their percentage. Whatever the case she's probably going to be sorry later. If I was her mother I'd be asking what kind of college environment made her think she needed them. Allegedly, mom says she will pay daughter back for the bOOks when she graduates. But, mom won't have the money to do that. She is the bad example that daughter is following. My friend is frustrated b/c she has dealt with this for so long with mom (her sister) and now she sees the pattern repeated in daughter (her niece). Mom is VERY into outward appearance. Well, foolish as it was, I am glad to know that there is nothing legally wrong with her having done this. I had this fear she was going to get "caught" spending the money in a way she shouldn't and then she wouldn't get any more for her actual schooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaLady Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 When I first went away to school it was to a large state university. They would hand me my student loan check every semester and I'd use it however I wanted. Now, I would always pay tuition, buy actual books for class, pay dorm fees, etc. I transferred to a private Christian school for Nursing school and I never saw my student loan check there. It came to the school and they applied it all to tuition. J ps...I'm guessing her interest rate on her bOOks is way more than if she'd attempted to get a medical loan for them instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 LOL that is great.....Well at least with most student loans, you can't file bankruptcy on them, so she will be paying for those coconuts and 6+% for a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 :lol: Sad thing is that probably pays better than many other career paths. I hate to say it, but it seems to me that some parts of CA, almost require "BooKs". And yes they might pay off better than her student loans in the long run, but I would hate for my daughter or niece to be more valued for what is on their chest then in their head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I believe the official line on student loans is that they can be used to buy things relating to education. So one could buy a car (to get to and from school) and school supplies. One could also use the student loan money for living expenses. I think that, officially, bOOks would *NOT* qualify as any of the above. However, the People In Charge don't keep tabs close enough to realize that she did that. AFAIK, student loan money goes to the school, and what the school doesn't use for direct costs they give to the student in a refund check. Once it's in a refund check, I don't think anyone can really track what happens to it except the student herself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I don't know anything about student loans or what kind of student loans this young lady has. Maybe student loan money can be used to buy anything one wants. But, I was wondering if there wasn't usually some contractual obligation to spend student loans on things that pertained to being a student? At least tangentially.? Could she have committed some kind of fraud by doing this??? Friend was alarmed by the lack of responsibility (niece is following in her mother's footsteps of making poor financial decisions and friend has tried to educate her sister for years about being financially responsible to no avail - I think it saddens her that niece appears to be taking the same path), but after I got off the phone with her, I started wondering if niece hadn't done something in breach of contract. What says the hive? Nope! Student Loans are now counted as "Income" the year you take them out on your tax returns and to get loans (car loans for example). I was appalled by this, but it's true. As someone who is STILL paying on her student loans, I hope she enjoys her bOOks because they were a waste of money. The student loan companies have cart blanc and can do whatever they want. They have the same rights as the IRS and you can't EVER get rid of them unless you just pay them off. In other words, they are bankruptcy proof. They are exactly what the Bible means when it says, "The borrower is slave to the lender." Dorinda Can you tell my SL make me a little bitter?:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I think there are some loans where -- though it is assumed you will use it toward school -- you can unofficially use it for anything. I mean, it all goes into the same pot, doesn't it? If she uses the loan money for something other than school, then she has to use her OWN money for school. She could just as easily say she used her loan money for school and her own money for the bOOks. Either way, she has to pay the loan money back. I'm not saying I approve of her choice. I think it was foolish of her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Well, is it any worse than my SIL who asked us not to give her gifts for Christmas. Instead she wanted cash, so she could afford to buy herself some new b00ks. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfamilygal Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Only read the title. A used-to-be-friend of mine did close to the same thing. She took out a loan for her bOOks, but paid that loan with her student loans and grants. I think it's beyond wrong. You need books, not bOOks for college. Depends on what college you go to. Is she at Velvet Diamond's Pole Dancing University? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted May 20, 2011 Author Share Posted May 20, 2011 Depends on what college you go to. Is she at Velvet Diamond's Pole Dancing University? :lol: Hilarious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 the possibility that she doesn't want to tell her mother how she really paid for them. Sure, she probably could have used loan money. But if she's in college and needs the money for that, I think it's also likely that she has another source of income - that she's dancing for money, has a man who paid for them, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Well, is it any worse than my SIL who asked us not to give her gifts for Christmas. Instead she wanted cash, so she could afford to buy herself some new b00ks. :tongue_smilie: NICE!!!!! MY MIL asked us to give cash to my SIL's private catholic school to help fund her kid's education. You can imagine my response :blink: So. . . Did you chip in? And, what's the return investment for you if you help fund someone else's book job?:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 NICE!!!!! MY MIL asked us to give cash to my SIL's private catholic school to help fund her kid's education. You can imagine my response :blink: So. . . Did you chip in? And, what's the return investment for you if you help fund someone else's book job?:lol: I did not chip in--sent her a framed pic of Jesus (which now that I think of it I've never seen displayed! :glare:), but appears that enough people did chip in for the book job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnL Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Okay, I am a total doorknob, because it took me reading an entire page of posts before I figured out what you meant! :lol: Nothing surprises me anymore. An ex-boyfriend of my sister's went to college and blew his entire student loan on "stuff". His parents had to pay for his schooling out of pocket after that. I think I would have let him suffer the consequences. And Pico, I love your avatar! One of my cats is named Newt, after that little girl. The other is named Scully, from the X-files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I did not chip in--sent her a framed pic of Jesus (which now that I think of it I've never seen displayed! :glare:), but appears that enough people did chip in for the book job! :lol: A framed picture of Jesus. That's priceless!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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