First off, the CARD Act does not override state laws prohibiting credit card transaction surcharges. If your state laws ban such surcharges, they're still banned.

Depending on where you live, it can be illegal as well. For instance, California has VERY specific circumstances for eligibility to be an exempt employee. Salaried or not, most employees are supposed to be compensated time and a half for anything over an 8 hour day. This being said, many CA companies break this…

"I know someone who's been practicing over 10 years and still has $100k to pay off."

I see a lot of self-righteous judging in the comments. "You took out the loan, you pay it back. Boo hoo on you!" This should be a very obvious point, but this is NOT a meritocratic world. Hard work does not always equal success. It just DOESN'T. There is a luck factor. And for you to pass judgment on someone else…

Another possible consequence that I didn't see listed:

You may lose eligibility for interest rate reductions, which could cost you a lot more in the long run — especially if you have hefty student loans that will take you the full term to pay off — than a one-time late fee or a ding on your credit report. Many lenders…

Don't forget that the Library of Congress is saving all those tweets.