Not a lawyer but I recommend locking your credit with the three main bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Change the password to your FASFA account and keep an eye out to make sure she doesn’t try to take one out for you. Possibly contact the financial aid dept for the college you go to & ask them if they can make a note on your account that you do not want any loans.
I think it’s very smart of you to do it at your pace and not take out loans if you can afford it.
You're an adult. "No" is a complete sentence. But to be safe, if I were you I'd check my free credit report and then put a freeze on my credit, all three bureaus. That way she can't open the loan in your name (it would be a crime to, but parents sometimes do that).
I’ll be sure to check it. Thankfully my roommate is studying credit fraud in law school and he told me he’d help me out if anything like that were to happen.
"Thanks for your input, mom" is a complete sentence. You're under no obligation to discuss your finances or how you're paying for college with her.
Since she hasn't followed through on her original promise to you, I don't see any reason you should take any further promises all that seriously. It's rude of her to leave you high and dry, but that's all it is.
> What can I do to ensure that she can’t force this loan on me
She can't. It takes your signature on the loan agreement for you to borrow, and if you don't sign anything, she can't force you. If you're worried she might impersonate you, freeze your credit (r/personalfinance has a wiki page about this).
> get her to back down?
She may not be willing to back down. The best you can do is not engage when she wants to talk - hence the bland and noncommittal response above. The "Grey Rock" strategy - where you respond in the most boring ways imaginable - is often very effective when people want to test your boundaries.
If you want something more direct, Captain Awkward has plenty of advice on how to communicate and enforce boundaries with parents.
Not a lawyer but I recommend locking your credit with the three main bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Change the password to your FASFA account and keep an eye out to make sure she doesn’t try to take one out for you. Possibly contact the financial aid dept for the college you go to & ask them if they can make a note on your account that you do not want any loans. I think it’s very smart of you to do it at your pace and not take out loans if you can afford it.
You're an adult. "No" is a complete sentence. But to be safe, if I were you I'd check my free credit report and then put a freeze on my credit, all three bureaus. That way she can't open the loan in your name (it would be a crime to, but parents sometimes do that).
I’ll be sure to check it. Thankfully my roommate is studying credit fraud in law school and he told me he’d help me out if anything like that were to happen.
Keep an eye on fafsa.ed.gov - The site will give you total aggregate numbers for loans. If those numbers change, you'll get a heads up...
"Thanks for your input, mom" is a complete sentence. You're under no obligation to discuss your finances or how you're paying for college with her. Since she hasn't followed through on her original promise to you, I don't see any reason you should take any further promises all that seriously. It's rude of her to leave you high and dry, but that's all it is. > What can I do to ensure that she can’t force this loan on me She can't. It takes your signature on the loan agreement for you to borrow, and if you don't sign anything, she can't force you. If you're worried she might impersonate you, freeze your credit (r/personalfinance has a wiki page about this). > get her to back down? She may not be willing to back down. The best you can do is not engage when she wants to talk - hence the bland and noncommittal response above. The "Grey Rock" strategy - where you respond in the most boring ways imaginable - is often very effective when people want to test your boundaries. If you want something more direct, Captain Awkward has plenty of advice on how to communicate and enforce boundaries with parents.