<prompt> Human: I have over 150,000 worth of private student loans that end up costing me 1,400month in payments, of which only 300month goes toward the principle loan amount. I make 40,000 a year and Im putting 34 of my income toward these loans I have two other loans that total 300mo but they are federal and I dont have trouble paying those. I thought I would be able to budget for this, but it seems nearly impossible to finance this, especially if I have no emergency fund and am putting off important expenses like fixing my car or getting my glasses fixed.Ive been doing some research, and from what I have read, my options are as follows:1 Filing for Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy if my loans qualify as an undue hardship 2 Simply ignoring my loan payments, allowing them to default and be harassed by a collection agency, impacting my credit score, and crossing my fingers that the collection agency doesnt sue be within the statute of limitations of three years in the state of Maryland and also live a life where I dont have anxiety about loan payments and I can do enjoyable things like visit my family or get an oil change3 A settlement where a third party company settles my debt and I then pay the third party back with whatever the lower and adjusted debt ends up being4 Change nothing and continue paying my loans and be broke for the next 20 years while I end up paying roughly 260,000 after interest is added.I additionally have roughly 55,000 in federal student loans but I understand those are nearly impossible to negotiate and I can afford their monthly payments since they are based on my income. Ive been in communication with lawyers to see what my best option is... does anyone have advice on what I should do? Thanks!EDIT: I took the private loans out for a Bachelors degree in Behavioral Neuroscience, went to a private university, and took out loans for basically everything. Since I had no experience in the field and didnt receive income-based work study because my father made too much money, I was working temp jobs for two years until I began a Masters degree in Entomology. Now Ive completed the degree and have been in the work force for a year making money, but Im struggling making my payments on time. My private loans dont negotiate based on my income or other expenses, they simply want 1,400mo no matter what the circumstances are.The 50,000 federal loans I had to take out for my Masters degree not because I had to pay for that degree, but because my private student loans from my Bachelors degree refused to defer my payments and my stipend barely covered my entire monthly payments, I had to take federal loans out to pay my private undergrad loans, wonderful cycle.  <response>: Whyhow you went from behavioral neuroscience in undergrad to a masters in entomology is irrelevant to your current situation but you got a lot of flack for it. Im sorry about that. Whatever happened happened. The context is not important, your need to resolve the present situation is what matters. As many above have suggested, cut costs where you can and look into obtaining a higher income even if that means a second or third job. Please do not allow yourself to default if you can avoid it. Im surprised that the commenters suggesting you default on the loans failed to mention that wage garnishment is a thing that happens. Dont use credit cards as credit card interest rates are higher than student loans interest rates. Check out banks and see if any canwill consolidate private student loans not defaulting would helpful with this one, Im on the east coast and some banks wells fargo that will but they dont advertise this very much and I dont know the particulars. Call your federal loan servicer and explore your options for repayment. Call your private loan servicer and dp the same. You need some to extend the repayment or lower the payment or both There must be some options for the private loans. Your chances for filing for bankruptcy, undue hardship or whatever and escaping this are grim. Please dont beat yourself up over this. Please dont give up on yourself. You dont deserve to be in this situation. You were very young and you didnt know better but now you do and cleaning up this mess will be challenging. You can do this. 