Financial Woahs!

Following the terrible day I had yesterday, I knew I absolutely had to call Sallie Mae today.  I did not want to do this.  Here's been the gist of my experience with them so far:

1st time calling:  I can't pay $420/month on student loans.  I cannot afford it.  I make about that a pay check.  You're asking me to pay an entire pay check a month when I have almost $800 in bills to cover a month.  You're asking me not to eat or to have money to get to work.  The best you can do is make it $210?  I can't afford that. Again, I will not be able to eat or get to work.  Oh!  You can send me paperwork to fill out so I can have affordable payments?  Do that.

2nd time calling (1 month later):  I never received the paperwork.  No, it did not come by e-mail.  I never asked for it by e-mail, it was supposed to arrive by mail by now.  You can't work with me to make affordable payments over the phone at all?  Filling out paperwork is the only chance I have to be approved?  I can't make this $420 payment this month, I just can't.  Okay, you'll defer my loans without penalty again and send me the paperwork?  Good, thanks.

I sent out the paperwork almost a month ago, paying to have it sent express mail so they'd receive it ASAP.  They proceeded to send me a bill this month for $425.  So much for deferring my loans without penalty.  So here I was, sitting on an even MORE expensive bill I couldn't pay with a company who won't work with me other than through paperwork to pay back a loan I never took from them nor wanted to, because the company I went with sold my account to this one.  I had no idea what I could possibly say to them to convey that I could in no way afford $425/month if I couldn't afford $420/month, and my confusion for why it's become more expensive now AND what is my status on all that paperwork I just paid to have sent to them anyway.

So I went to check the mail as a last ditch effort to see if anything had changed.  I had received a letter from them this week after all.  I had no idea what to expect from it, I was certain I was going to be turned down because I couldn't send my tax information from last year because I no longer have it.  I had to send my pay check stubs which make it seem like I make more money/month than I actually do.

Imagine my intense surprise, relief, and joy when I learned they'd approved me.  I now owe them whatever I can afford to pay.  I'm so grateful that this happened, because I was absolutely certain I wasn't going to be approved.  Thank God!  Now I'm going to celebrate by paying off the other bills I owe and have been sitting on with worry over Sallie Mae.  Being an adult is 'awesome'.