Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here Forum

[skers]

Btw, all of you have been a tremendous help and I can't thank you guys enough. I was literally having nightmares about getting deep into debt but knowing that there are people out there that are making it work, especially in the public sector puts me a little more at peace. Thanks again. All of you.

This is probably the exact opposite takeaway most posting ITT wanted you to have.

[philosoraptor]

Btw, all of you have been a tremendous help and I can't thank you guys enough. I was literally having nightmares about getting deep into debt but knowing that there are people out there that are making it work, especially in the public sector puts me a little more at peace. Thanks again. All of you.

This is probably the exact opposite takeaway most posting ITT wanted you to have.

Yup.

[Bronx Bum]

Btw, all of you have been a tremendous help and I can't thank you guys enough. I was literally having nightmares about getting deep into debt but knowing that there are people out there that are making it work, especially in the public sector puts me a little more at peace. Thanks again. All of you.

lmao wut?

[Anonymous User]

Married, 2011 grad and 2010 grad, both biglaw for now, one leaving for biggov soon.

Total debt: $260k (we both had about one year tuition that we did not need loans for, T10 school)
Minimum monthly payment: $3.5k (we pay about $600/mo extra to the Sofi loans noted below, in addition to the $3.5k)
Repayment plan: 10 year (hoping to be done more quickly than that)
Current household income: $365k (bonuses excluded)
Next year household income: $312k (bonuses excluded)
Other: Purchasing a condo soon so we have not made many extra payments in the past 6 months since we need >$50k for closing; we both refinanced about 60-75k with Sofi to reduce interest rates.

Happy to answer questions about any of the above.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Agreed. It's B.S. Both the $2,500 interest cap and the $80k income cap should be abolished, and I don't see any principled reason to have either. I just don't have any illusions about it happening. These are provisions that hit people who have huge student loan debt and relatively high incomes, and to the extent there's any movement toward student loan relief it seems to be targeted at people with lower incomes and/or who are typically attending public schools to get associates or bachelors degrees. (Which makes sense.)

If I understand this right…for clarity. In '14 we can take a $2.5K interest deduction since our '14 income will be limited (figure that most will only be on payroll under six months). After that we cannot write off any of our school debt (tuition or interest). That’s just not right fair.

correct. Unless your income remains under the phase out cap which is $75 or $80k I think.

[ManoftheHour]

Btw, all of you have been a tremendous help and I can't thank you guys enough. I was literally having nightmares about getting deep into debt but knowing that there are people out there that are making it work, especially in the public sector puts me a little more at peace. Thanks again. All of you.

lmao wut?

[Anonymous User]

Btw, all of you have been a tremendous help and I can't thank you guys enough. I was literally having nightmares about getting deep into debt but knowing that there are people out there that are making it work, especially in the public sector puts me a little more at peace. Thanks again. All of you.

*sees people stranded in shark-infested waters* *feels relieved to see them still alive and concludes everything is going to be okay*

Edit: oops, didn't mean for this to be Anon. -Biglaw_Associate_V20

[Anonymous User]

Total debt: ~$85,000 ($50,000 scholarship + spousal income put towards living expenses and tuition during school)
Combined household income: ~$225k
Minimum monthly payment: ~$750 (will actually pay ~$3k a month)
Repayment plan: standard 10 years (hoping to knock it out in 2-3)

Knowing I can leave biglaw in a few years really relieves the pressure. If I didn't know that I would be panicking right now- this is no way to live life (and I actually really like my firm). Although things have worked out for me, I'm very very lucky that they did so and that I was able to have another source of income during law school so my debt wasn't quite so soul crushing. I would not go to law school again if I could do it over. It's just not worth it, even when everything works out according to plan. After getting to this stage, you are basically in a grueling sort of service industry at the beck and call of everyone above you- until you make partner, then you're at the beck and call of your clients. There are plenty of better ways to make money, and plenty of other career paths that would probably be more enjoyable.

[Total Litigator]

You can take the standard deduction and still take the student loan interest deduction. The problem is the income cap.

If you are correct, then Turbotax gone and done me wrong.

[fenton]

You can take the standard deduction and still take the student loan interest deduction. The problem is the income cap.

If you are correct, then Turbotax gone and done me wrong.

He's right.
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc456.html

Generally people who make less than $70k don't itemize their deductions. That would be a particularly cruel joke for congress to play.

[helfer snooterbagon]

You can take the standard deduction and still take the student loan interest deduction. The problem is the income cap.

If you are correct, then Turbotax gone and done me wrong.

He's right.
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc456.html

Generally people who make less than $70k don't itemize their deductions. That would be a particularly cruel joke for congress to play.

The issue is that interest on student loans is an adjustment to income - it is taken off at the top and reduces your adjusted gross income (AGI). Deductions are applied a bit later on in the process. I am almost positive tubo tax did not do the calculation wrong, it is a solid program. Edit: Sorry for going off topic.

[Anonymous User]

Debt: $210K (dat sticker...)
Payments: $600/month under IBR, currently moving to PAYE for $400/month, Standard Payment Plan: $2,400/month (Um, nope, can't do that...)
Income: $90k (that's before taxes kiddos!), PSLF eligible job.
Plan: currently transfering from IBR to PAYE.

Misc info: Fed gov job (but not BIGFED), started trying to repay under the standard plan (almost $30k per year), decided that living like a hobo wasn't worth it, now I'm on the 10 year PSLF PAYE plan...

I do not understand how these loan repayment programs like IBR and PSLF work, I thought you had to have under like $60k salary to qualify for PSLF?

Does anyone know of a website that might explain these things in an easy to understand manner, because they really confuse me. Maybe public interest loan repayment for dummies?

[Void]

Debt: $210K (dat sticker...)
Payments: $600/month under IBR, currently moving to PAYE for $400/month, Standard Payment Plan: $2,400/month (Um, nope, can't do that...)
Income: $90k (that's before taxes kiddos!), PSLF eligible job.
Plan: currently transfering from IBR to PAYE.

Misc info: Fed gov job (but not BIGFED), started trying to repay under the standard plan (almost $30k per year), decided that living like a hobo wasn't worth it, now I'm on the 10 year PSLF PAYE plan...

I do not understand how these loan repayment programs like IBR and PSLF work, I thought you had to have under like $60k salary to qualify for PSLF?

Does anyone know of a website that might explain these things in an easy to understand manner, because they really confuse me. Maybe public interest loan repayment for dummies?

Try googling.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/f ... ic-service

http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/un ... come-based

http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/un ... s-you-earn

[Young Marino]

Has anyone with Stafford and Grad PLUS loans been able to consolidate it into one loan? How hard or easy was the process and what is the interest rate on the loan now?

[linkx13]

Most def tagged

[fenton]

Has anyone with Stafford and Grad PLUS loans been able to consolidate it into one loan? How hard or easy was the process and what is the interest rate on the loan now?

Consolidation is no longer a good idea (unless you're doing PLSF). It used to be that you could consolidate all of your loans into one loan with a lower overall interest rate. Now you can only consolidate them into one loan where the interest rate is the weighted average of all of your loans. It's more convenient if you're physically writing out a check each month, but you lose the ability to focus extra payments toward the high interest loans. The best plan is to put everything on the longest payback plan possible, sign up for autopay with your checking account, and be diligent about making extra payments every month on the loans with the highest interest rates.

Edited based on post below re: PLSF

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone with Stafford and Grad PLUS loans been able to consolidate it into one loan? How hard or easy was the process and what is the interest rate on the loan now?

I consolidated my law school and undergrad loans into one direct loan so they'd all be eligible for PSLF (only direct loans are eligible). The process was fairly easy; there was some paperwork, and I was able to figure out how to fill it out using the instructions online. The interest rate is the weighted average of your interest rates, so, as another poster said, consolidation may not be the best route if you're not aiming for PSLF.

[wbrother]

Debt: around 66K with scholarships
Income : 160K

Paid off within 10 months of biglaw. Paid about 20K after 2L SA employment, knocking total down to $46K, did TA/RA while 2L/3L which knocked off another $10K. Paid around $36K within 10 months of biglaw by being incredibly stingy. Wife works and helped with bills which helped, but I paid for rent.

Currently have $30K in the bank and another $20K in 401K. Live in NYC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l03M-auVuU‎

[Anonymous User]

Debt: 180k
Salary: 160k
Plan: PAYE
Payment: ~$1,200

Really screwed this up by telling them my salary changed to 160k.

[xylocarp]

Tagging. This thread is terrifying.

[Bronx Bum]

Tagging. This thread is terrifying.

What is really terrifying is that most of the people posting have $160k jobs or government forgiveness jobs when IRL, that's not the case.

[wiseowl]

Tagging. This thread is terrifying.

What is really terrifying is that most of the people posting have $160k jobs or government forgiveness jobs when IRL, that's not the case.

meh, TLS is not and never will be IRL. this isn't ever going to be a representative sample.

[rad lulz]

m

[wiseowl]

I know. To expect otherwise will lead to disappointment.

[Amicus_Curiae2013]

Great thread. I wished it also included school rank e.g HYS, CCN, MVP etc...
Thanks for the great contribution!