Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here Forum

[JenDarby]

In anticipation of rates going up, my variable rate was just raised by .1% (or maybe .15%, one of those two)

[UnfrozenCaveman]

Another question/statement: I know that invest vs. pay down has been discussed earlier ITT ad nauseam, but if you can get rates around 4% or lower, there's almost no reason to pay down the debt that quickly unless you plan on taking long periods of time in between jobs, want to get out of the paycheck grind, or worry about job security.

Discuss.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone give me a good idea about timeframe for paying off my loans? Current 3L with job offer in hand.

I'll have about ~140k in loans. I'll be making 145k/yr in a lower COL city. Take home will be about 7600-7800 after taxes. I don't plan to live too luxuriously, but I would like a relatively nice apartment for my area (~1500/month). I plan on paying about $3k/month to these loans. Calculators online are telling me about 4.5 years, but those aren't taking into account increases in salary + bonuses (both of which I'd put towards these loans). Anyone in a similar situation that was able to pay off in say <3 years?

I graduated with around 200k after interest (maybe upper 190ks). I paid it off in around 2.75 years living in a very expensive area. I paid like 500 a month in rent the first year though (shared a room with my s/o and had roommates), and commuted, so I lived pretty cheaply. After that I only paid like 1k a month in rent splitting a place and commuted. I also didn't buy any furniture on my own - either secondhand, inherited it or gifted. I wouldn't have bought any new period. Paying it off in <3 years is doable, if you're willing to sacrifice. For my own peace of mind, it was worth it. Not everyone is willing to slum it for a while though - but they end up still owing a ton of debt as a midlevel.

[fats provolone]

wow that is insane

[Danger Zone]

In anticipation of rates going up, my variable rate was just raised by .1% (or maybe .15%, one of those two)

My obsessive tendencies are getting the best of me here, but the direct cause of your rate increasing was likely because your variable rate is linked to some measure of LIBOR, all of which have been steadily rising over the past year (probably in anticipation of the Fed raising rates, so yeah a minor distinction).

[Anonymous User]

wow that is insane

I lived worse than I did in college...it was like 5 people in an apartment with 2 bathrooms. Totally worth it though. I also never buy anything expensive. My biggest buy was a $400 laptop and I am a gamer....you can save a lot of money if you are dedicated.

[Johann]

wow that is insane

I lived worse than I did in college...it was like 5 people in an apartment with 2 bathrooms. Totally worth it though. I also never buy anything expensive. My biggest buy was a $400 laptop and I am a gamer....you can save a lot of money if you are dedicated.

shouldve bought stocks and paid the min. youd be a lot wealthier if you did.

[JenDarby]

In anticipation of rates going up, my variable rate was just raised by .1% (or maybe .15%, one of those two)

My obsessive tendencies are getting the best of me here, but the direct cause of your rate increasing was likely because your variable rate is linked to some measure of LIBOR, all of which have been steadily rising over the past year (probably in anticipation of the Fed raising rates, so yeah a minor distinction).

I get the whole tied to LIBOR aspect, but the base rate has remained stable for the year until I got an email officially saying they were raising it by .1% in accordance with the variable terms.

[Anonymous User]

wow that is insane

I lived worse than I did in college...it was like 5 people in an apartment with 2 bathrooms. Totally worth it though. I also never buy anything expensive. My biggest buy was a $400 laptop and I am a gamer....you can save a lot of money if you are dedicated.

shouldve bought stocks and paid the min. youd be a lot wealthier if you did.

I doubt it. My fed interest rates were insane and I refi'd in the middle of it, but it was still above 5% for some reason (fixed - the market is too unstable for variable imo).

There's also peace of mind that you can't put a price on (at least for me) not having any debt. If you can live with the burden of a lot of debt, then more power to you. But for me, it was worth it since this profession is too unstable - you can be fired at any time, etc. I am now in the six figure net worth (saved a shitload after I paid off my loans).

[Johann]

Also what are my reporting obligations re: collecting a bonus?

none.

[Johann]

So, I've gone through this thread a few times to try and begin planning for how I am going to handle my repayment since I will be graduating in May. To be honest, it's a lot to digest, and I wanted to post to see if anyone might help by letting me know what my best approach may be.

Debt: ~$90k (at repayment)
Income: $160k
Other Info: No undergrad or credit card debt. Car is paid off. Will be living in a relatively low COL city (Houston). Fiancée will be helping with bills and makes ~$55k (she has no debt). I'll be living rent-free from Aug. - Nov. '16.

My original thought was simply the pay-of-as-quickly-as-possible plan. With this approach, is it realistic to think I could be debt-free within 1.5 - 2 years? Also, is immediate refinancing (and losing the fed. loan protections) a better option for those with this approach?

Most importantly, is there anything about my situation that would make a different strategy better? I know this depends largely upon personal preferences/aversion to risk, but is there anything I might be looking past that I should be mindful of?

i would probably lock in the 20 year govt rate at 90k. invest, invest, invest. if you can get a 15 year from a private lender thatd be ideal. trying to pay that down fast is stupid.

[Johann]

i really doubt you will be able to refi by then.

damn

blessing in disguise. PAYE for 2-3 years and save up money. if your credit is in that bad of shape you are gonna need the cash for a massive down payment to get a house loan.

[Anonymous User]

So, I've gone through this thread a few times to try and begin planning for how I am going to handle my repayment since I will be graduating in May. To be honest, it's a lot to digest, and I wanted to post to see if anyone might help by letting me know what my best approach may be.

Debt: ~$90k (at repayment)
Income: $160k
Other Info: No undergrad or credit card debt. Car is paid off. Will be living in a relatively low COL city (Houston). Fiancée will be helping with bills and makes ~$55k (she has no debt). I'll be living rent-free from Aug. - Nov. '16.

My original thought was simply the pay-of-as-quickly-as-possible plan. With this approach, is it realistic to think I could be debt-free within 1.5 - 2 years? Also, is immediate refinancing (and losing the fed. loan protections) a better option for those with this approach?

Most importantly, is there anything about my situation that would make a different strategy better? I know this depends largely upon personal preferences/aversion to risk, but is there anything I might be looking past that I should be mindful of?

i would probably lock in the 20 year govt rate at 90k. invest, invest, invest. if you can get a 15 year from a private lender thatd be ideal. trying to pay that down fast is stupid.

I doubt you'd make enough in the market to compensate for the high gov rates....wasn't the market averaging 5% in recent years? This year it's shit.

[fats provolone]

wow that is insane

I lived worse than I did in college...it was like 5 people in an apartment with 2 bathrooms. Totally worth it though. I also never buy anything expensive. My biggest buy was a $400 laptop and I am a gamer....you can save a lot of money if you are dedicated.

shouldve bought stocks and paid the min. youd be a lot wealthier if you did.

I doubt it. My fed interest rates were insane and I refi'd in the middle of it, but it was still above 5% for some reason (fixed - the market is too unstable for variable imo).

There's also peace of mind that you can't put a price on (at least for me) not having any debt. If you can live with the burden of a lot of debt, then more power to you. But for me, it was worth it since this profession is too unstable - you can be fired at any time, etc. I am now in the six figure net worth (saved a shitload after I paid off my loans).

I have tons of debt and it doesn't burden me at all. But I have PAYE which from your timeline I'm guessing you didn't have access to

[Anonymous User]

wow that is insane

I lived worse than I did in college...it was like 5 people in an apartment with 2 bathrooms. Totally worth it though. I also never buy anything expensive. My biggest buy was a $400 laptop and I am a gamer....you can save a lot of money if you are dedicated.

shouldve bought stocks and paid the min. youd be a lot wealthier if you did.

I doubt it. My fed interest rates were insane and I refi'd in the middle of it, but it was still above 5% for some reason (fixed - the market is too unstable for variable imo).

There's also peace of mind that you can't put a price on (at least for me) not having any debt. If you can live with the burden of a lot of debt, then more power to you. But for me, it was worth it since this profession is too unstable - you can be fired at any time, etc. I am now in the six figure net worth (saved a shitload after I paid off my loans).

I have tons of debt and it doesn't burden me at all. But I have PAYE which from your timeline I'm guessing you didn't have access to

PAYE was passed after I graduated. I don't think I qualified, but honestly, I didn't really look into any of the repayment plans. I'm not entirely confident in the government.

I didn't realize how much debt would affect me mentally. Biglaw is still bad, but more doable without loans, imo.

[fats provolone]

lol what does that mean

[Anonymous User]

lol what does that mean

Dunno - they might rescind the program or screw borrowers over and not grandfather people in, or impose a limit on how much can be PAYE'd. Probably unlikely, but who knows. Kind of like with Social Security - who knows.

[fats provolone]

I mean, even if they scrap forgiveness retroactively, I'll just keep tithing for the rest of my life. I'm alright with that. It's no worse than an ex-wife

[Anonymous User]

I mean, even if they scrap forgiveness retroactively, I'll just keep tithing for the rest of my life. I'm alright with that. It's no worse than an ex-wife

fair point

for me, it was the mental burden. but practically speaking, except for getting loans to buy a house/car, etc., there's not much that having loans would affect.

[Johann]

I mean, even if they scrap forgiveness retroactively, I'll just keep tithing for the rest of my life. I'm alright with that. It's no worse than an ex-wife

plus it gives you something to relate to partners about ("i know it's not quite as bad as your ex-wife but ..."). sounds like you are partnership track to me.

[fats provolone]

I mean, even if they scrap forgiveness retroactively, I'll just keep tithing for the rest of my life. I'm alright with that. It's no worse than an ex-wife

plus it gives you something to relate to partners about ("i know it's not quite as bad as your ex-wife but ..."). sounds like you are partnership track to me.

ironically making partner is like the one scenario where PAYE-yoloing was a mistake

[Danger Zone]

wasn't the market averaging 5% in recent years? This year it's shit.

...No??

Eta: well this year yes but first part is totally wrong

[Anonymous User]

wasn't the market averaging 5% in recent years? This year it's shit.

...No??

Eta: well this year yes but first part is totally wrong

So what have they been averaging?

And what should I be investing on Vanguard?

[Tiago Splitter]

But for me, it was worth it since this profession is too unstable - you can be fired at any time, etc.

This is exactly why I'm not hurrying to pay off my loans.

[Anonymous User]

But for me, it was worth it since this profession is too unstable - you can be fired at any time, etc.

This is exactly why I'm not hurrying to pay off my loans.

I saved up a ~20k emergency fund, but threw the rest into my loans like crazy. I can always live with my parents or inlaws for free. Plus, I'm willing to break my lease at any time and not GAF about the consequences so you wouldn't need to stay in NYC or whatever if you get fired. Most of these cases settle...