Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here Forum

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:26 pm

Sackboy wrote:
Mon Jun 20, 2022 1:41 pm
The market is currently 30-40% off from all-time highs. I would stop having $240k in cash. You can probably refinance your loans down to 3-4% on various timelines (i.e. 5/10/15/20 years). This is a market opportunity that you'll be thanking yourself for 100x over in 20 years if you jump in, despite the waters being rocky now. I wouldn't sit it out to simply kill some loans that you can refinance at low interest rates.
But jump into what? Tradition wisdom up until recently was a low-cost minimal-effort ETF, but those are mostly tech-heavy, and it's the tech stocks that, having been overvalued for so long, are not likely to rebound quickly. So -- understanding this is a law forum and not professional investment advise -- where's a guy to put money in the stock market, assuming it has to be an index/ETF?

(Assuming, again, that S&P tech-heavy indexes are not the way to go, maybe I'm wrong about that but I don't like the notion of relying on Elon Musk to keep my index's value rising...!)

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Sackboy » Mon Jun 20, 2022 10:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:26 pm
Sackboy wrote:
Mon Jun 20, 2022 1:41 pm
The market is currently 30-40% off from all-time highs. I would stop having $240k in cash. You can probably refinance your loans down to 3-4% on various timelines (i.e. 5/10/15/20 years). This is a market opportunity that you'll be thanking yourself for 100x over in 20 years if you jump in, despite the waters being rocky now. I wouldn't sit it out to simply kill some loans that you can refinance at low interest rates.
But jump into what? Tradition wisdom up until recently was a low-cost minimal-effort ETF, but those are mostly tech-heavy, and it's the tech stocks that, having been overvalued for so long, are not likely to rebound quickly. So -- understanding this is a law forum and not professional investment advise -- where's a guy to put money in the stock market, assuming it has to be an index/ETF?

(Assuming, again, that S&P tech-heavy indexes are not the way to go, maybe I'm wrong about that but I don't like the notion of relying on Elon Musk to keep my index's value rising...!)
I said in 20 years, not quickly. You invest for the long-term. A standard S&P 500 ETF will do just fine to diversify your exposure. Yes, it contains a lot of tech, but tech isn't going anywhere, unless you're as visionary as a ludite.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by BrowsingTLS » Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:55 pm

Thoughts on if biglawyers making market who started in 2020 and made less than $125K in their stub year get student loan relief? From the federal student aid website:

"Step 1: Check if you're eligible

You're eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2021 or 2020."

My federal income was below $125K in my stub year (2020) because I only worked three months, but was above $125K in 2021. So I get that sweet biden forgiveness, right?

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Res Ipsa Loquitter » Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:11 am

BrowsingTLS wrote:
Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:55 pm
Thoughts on if biglawyers making market who started in 2020 and made less than $125K in their stub year get student loan relief? From the federal student aid website:

"Step 1: Check if you're eligible

You're eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2021 or 2020."

My federal income was below $125K in my stub year (2020) because I only worked three months, but was above $125K in 2021. So I get that sweet biden forgiveness, right?
Yes, virtually all the current first years holding federal student debt qualify

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by uncle_rico » Tue Sep 13, 2022 11:54 am

Res Ipsa Loquitter wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:11 am
BrowsingTLS wrote:
Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:55 pm
Thoughts on if biglawyers making market who started in 2020 and made less than $125K in their stub year get student loan relief? From the federal student aid website:

"Step 1: Check if you're eligible

You're eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2021 or 2020."

My federal income was below $125K in my stub year (2020) because I only worked three months, but was above $125K in 2021. So I get that sweet biden forgiveness, right?
Yes, virtually all the current first years holding federal student debt qualify
Most second year associates will also qualify

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:00 pm

uncle_rico wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 11:54 am
Res Ipsa Loquitter wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:11 am
BrowsingTLS wrote:
Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:55 pm
Thoughts on if biglawyers making market who started in 2020 and made less than $125K in their stub year get student loan relief? From the federal student aid website:

"Step 1: Check if you're eligible

You're eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2021 or 2020."

My federal income was below $125K in my stub year (2020) because I only worked three months, but was above $125K in 2021. So I get that sweet biden forgiveness, right?
Yes, virtually all the current first years holding federal student debt qualify
Most second year associates will also qualify
I've been in too many years to even think I quality, but out of curiosity, does this mean there's a cohort of associates that managed to collect the stimulus payments AND the student debt relief, all while being in biglaw?

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:55 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:00 pm
uncle_rico wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 11:54 am
Res Ipsa Loquitter wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:11 am
BrowsingTLS wrote:
Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:55 pm
Thoughts on if biglawyers making market who started in 2020 and made less than $125K in their stub year get student loan relief? From the federal student aid website:

"Step 1: Check if you're eligible

You're eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2021 or 2020."

My federal income was below $125K in my stub year (2020) because I only worked three months, but was above $125K in 2021. So I get that sweet biden forgiveness, right?
Yes, virtually all the current first years holding federal student debt qualify
Most second year associates will also qualify
I've been in too many years to even think I quality, but out of curiosity, does this mean there's a cohort of associates that managed to collect the stimulus payments AND the student debt relief, all while being in biglaw?
FWIW I was deferred 4 months with almost no money from my firm so the stimulus payments were very helpful.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:07 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:55 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:00 pm
uncle_rico wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 11:54 am
Res Ipsa Loquitter wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:11 am
BrowsingTLS wrote:
Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:55 pm
Thoughts on if biglawyers making market who started in 2020 and made less than $125K in their stub year get student loan relief? From the federal student aid website:

"Step 1: Check if you're eligible

You're eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2021 or 2020."

My federal income was below $125K in my stub year (2020) because I only worked three months, but was above $125K in 2021. So I get that sweet biden forgiveness, right?
Yes, virtually all the current first years holding federal student debt qualify
Most second year associates will also qualify
I've been in too many years to even think I quality, but out of curiosity, does this mean there's a cohort of associates that managed to collect the stimulus payments AND the student debt relief, all while being in biglaw?
FWIW I was deferred 4 months with almost no money from my firm so the stimulus payments were very helpful.
Hey, no judgement from me. I'd take the cash too, if I could. I was just wondering if some people had the pure luck to have been able to collect both. FWIW I refinanced a couple years ago and got a super low rate. I suspect that's not available to anyone who would want to refinance now, which is just a much less sexy form of windfall than outright forgiveness.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:41 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 2:00 pm
uncle_rico wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 11:54 am
Res Ipsa Loquitter wrote:
Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:11 am
BrowsingTLS wrote:
Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:55 pm
Thoughts on if biglawyers making market who started in 2020 and made less than $125K in their stub year get student loan relief? From the federal student aid website:

"Step 1: Check if you're eligible

You're eligible for student loan debt relief if your annual federal income was below $125,000 (individual or married, filing separately) or $250,000 (married, filing jointly or head of household) in 2021 or 2020."

My federal income was below $125K in my stub year (2020) because I only worked three months, but was above $125K in 2021. So I get that sweet biden forgiveness, right?
Yes, virtually all the current first years holding federal student debt qualify
Most second year associates will also qualify
I've been in too many years to even think I quality, but out of curiosity, does this mean there's a cohort of associates that managed to collect the stimulus payments AND the student debt relief, all while being in biglaw?
Yes—I am part of this cohort as a second year. I’d maybe try to argue that the complete fiasco that was the bar exam in 2020 and the stress of worrying about whether we would even have jobs balances out but I think most of us ended up well along with this windfall.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:10 pm

Any chance the loan repayment deferral gets extended again due to the deteriorating economy?

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:40 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:10 pm
Any chance the loan repayment deferral gets extended again due to the deteriorating economy?
Given the announcement of loan forgiveness combined with the statement that this was the absolute last extension, I'd be really surprised. But it's not like I have a crystal ball for this stuff.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:32 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:40 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:10 pm
Any chance the loan repayment deferral gets extended again due to the deteriorating economy?
Given the announcement of loan forgiveness combined with the statement that this was the absolute last extension, I'd be really surprised. But it's not like I have a crystal ball for this stuff.
The student loan deferral will be extended until Republicans win the White House again, this isn't exactly hard to predict.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:55 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:32 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:40 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:10 pm
Any chance the loan repayment deferral gets extended again due to the deteriorating economy?
Given the announcement of loan forgiveness combined with the statement that this was the absolute last extension, I'd be really surprised. But it's not like I have a crystal ball for this stuff.
The student loan deferral will be extended until Republicans win the White House again, this isn't exactly hard to predict.
only b/c of idiots who filed for injunctions against the loan forgiveness.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:02 pm

Hi everyone, looking for some advice.

I’m currently clerking and will continue clerking until August 2024. I currently owe a little under $250,000 (all principal, no interest) of unsubsidized/Grad PLUS loans with an average interest rate of 5.9%. I will start working at a market-paying firm in September or October 2024 (already have the offer, but have not worked out details).

While clerking, I may qualify for “partial” LRAP. Under the new JSP, my salary will be above the school’s LRAP income threshold, but I could petition the financial aid office for partial assistance. At the very most, the school would chip in $5,640 (Sept 2023 to Aug 2024 REPAYE/PAYE monthly payment of ~$470).

I have signed up for the graduated repayment plan, which sets my monthly payment until going to the firm around $1,650. I have around $30,000 from my summer job sitting in a high-interest savings account that I am planning to pull my loan payments from. I have an additional $10,000 emergency fund.

Once I start working at the firm, I plan to put the bulk of my clerkship bonus toward the loans and refinance at a more favorable rate (at least for my highest interest loans). I want to pay the lowest amount of interest over time, but also do not want loan payments to detract from retirement savings. I am married, and my spouse will make $33,000 for the next two and a half years (until the end of my first year at the firm). Their salary may increase after that, but that is not guaranteed. They don’t have much student debt, and theirs will all be forgiven if SCOTUS upholds Biden’s plan.

I assume loan repayment will begin in September 2023. As I see it, my options until refinancing are--

1: Standard Repayment ($2,700/mo for 15 months)
  • To do this, I would need to supplement my loan savings with around $10,500. If I start now, I can do this by contributing around $525 to my loan account each month until I join the firm. I can manage that.
2: Graduated Repayment ($1,670/mo for 15 months)
  • Just set up automatic payments and let it go.
3: Graduated Repayment with with additional monthly payments to highest interest loan
  • Pay $1,670/mo and throw an additional $500/mo or so at the highest interest loan ($60,000 at 7%).
4: Pay down some of the highest interest loan some before repayments begin
  • E.g., bring down the 7.08% loan by $15,000. But that will only lower my weighted average interest rate from 5.9% to 5.8%.
5: Go on REPAYE, try to get school to chip in with LRAP, and keep saving for paying down principal before refinancing
  • Under REPAYE, my monthly payments would be around $470 until August 2024. Maybe the school would cover some of that—I’m not sure.
  • I have been leery of this option for several reasons. I don’t have high faith in my school or loan service provider being very reliable. I don’t want to deal with negative amortization. I am unsure if the interest subsidy would be worth it in my case, and I am concerned about whether capitalization upon refinancing would negate the effect of lower monthly payments while clerking.
  • The other big question is what, exactly, Biden’s revised REPAYE will include and when it will go into effect. If it really means that no interest would accrue on my loans so long as I make my monthly payments, of course I would want to do that. Whatever the new REPAYE will be, I assume it will not be available until at least early 2024, so I would benefit from it for less than a year.
Bottom line
I am unsure if it is worth the marginal benefit to pick a more complicated option rather than just stick with graduated repayment until it’s time to refinance. What would you do?

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by sparty99 » Thu Jan 12, 2023 9:24 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:02 pm
Hi everyone, looking for some advice.

I’m currently clerking and will continue clerking until August 2024. I currently owe a little under $250,000 (all principal, no interest) of unsubsidized/Grad PLUS loans with an average interest rate of 5.9%. I will start working at a market-paying firm in September or October 2024 (already have the offer, but have not worked out details).

While clerking, I may qualify for “partial” LRAP. Under the new JSP, my salary will be above the school’s LRAP income threshold, but I could petition the financial aid office for partial assistance. At the very most, the school would chip in $5,640 (Sept 2023 to Aug 2024 REPAYE/PAYE monthly payment of ~$470).

I have signed up for the graduated repayment plan, which sets my monthly payment until going to the firm around $1,650. I have around $30,000 from my summer job sitting in a high-interest savings account that I am planning to pull my loan payments from. I have an additional $10,000 emergency fund.

Once I start working at the firm, I plan to put the bulk of my clerkship bonus toward the loans and refinance at a more favorable rate (at least for my highest interest loans). I want to pay the lowest amount of interest over time, but also do not want loan payments to detract from retirement savings. I am married, and my spouse will make $33,000 for the next two and a half years (until the end of my first year at the firm). Their salary may increase after that, but that is not guaranteed. They don’t have much student debt, and theirs will all be forgiven if SCOTUS upholds Biden’s plan.

I assume loan repayment will begin in September 2023. As I see it, my options until refinancing are--

1: Standard Repayment ($2,700/mo for 15 months)
  • To do this, I would need to supplement my loan savings with around $10,500. If I start now, I can do this by contributing around $525 to my loan account each month until I join the firm. I can manage that.
2: Graduated Repayment ($1,670/mo for 15 months)
  • Just set up automatic payments and let it go.
3: Graduated Repayment with with additional monthly payments to highest interest loan
  • Pay $1,670/mo and throw an additional $500/mo or so at the highest interest loan ($60,000 at 7%).
4: Pay down some of the highest interest loan some before repayments begin
  • E.g., bring down the 7.08% loan by $15,000. But that will only lower my weighted average interest rate from 5.9% to 5.8%.
5: Go on REPAYE, try to get school to chip in with LRAP, and keep saving for paying down principal before refinancing
  • Under REPAYE, my monthly payments would be around $470 until August 2024. Maybe the school would cover some of that—I’m not sure.
  • I have been leery of this option for several reasons. I don’t have high faith in my school or loan service provider being very reliable. I don’t want to deal with negative amortization. I am unsure if the interest subsidy would be worth it in my case, and I am concerned about whether capitalization upon refinancing would negate the effect of lower monthly payments while clerking.
  • The other big question is what, exactly, Biden’s revised REPAYE will include and when it will go into effect. If it really means that no interest would accrue on my loans so long as I make my monthly payments, of course I would want to do that. Whatever the new REPAYE will be, I assume it will not be available until at least early 2024, so I would benefit from it for less than a year.
Bottom line
I am unsure if it is worth the marginal benefit to pick a more complicated option rather than just stick with graduated repayment until it’s time to refinance. What would you do?
Do the standard repayment and pay off your smallest debt first then move to the second smallest. $240k is a lot at 5.6 interest and will grow quickly. 2024 is 2 years away so you want to make significant progress on the loan repayment. Scotus will knock down Biden's plan.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Mar 03, 2023 2:58 am

Looking for advice about my loans. I have $40-50k from law school. I am currently clerking and will finish this fall and then work at a biglaw firm with clerkship bonus and class credit.

I am trying to balance the hassle of refinancing, interest rates versus investment return rates, and the mental burden (if any) of carrying loans.

My risk-averse inclination, given the (comparatively) low amount of the loan, is just to pay it off with the clerkship bonus and save aggressively. I am not super into finance stuff--I generally spend/save competently but prefer passive, low-maintenance investments.

If it matters, I have around $150k invested in retirement-geared ETFs.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Mar 03, 2023 8:43 am

Not at all an expert, but as a relatively-risk averse grad, I think that makes perfect sense. I don't think that's enough to be worth refinancing/dealing with over time if you can just knock them out in one go, and then you never have to worry about them again. I suppose the only caveat would be that if you have absolutely no emergency nest egg built up, some people would suggest getting that established before you knock out the loans. But otherwise, like you're thinking, I'd get rid of them as quickly as I could. Admittedly, my overall financial goals are comfort/peace of mind rather than absolute maximization of every cent, so others may disagree.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Mar 03, 2023 12:34 pm

I wouldn't repay anything until the loan repayment pause is lifted - take the free 0% interest as long as you can. Once the interest kicks in at the 4%+ level, then yeah, I'd prioritize paying those off vs. investing (assuming you have an emergency fund and no major purchases you need to save up for). If you can somehow secure an interest rate lower than 4% through refinancing, then I'd probably just pay the minimums per month since then the delta is big enough where it makes more sense to invest the remainder. That's based on a pretty standard risk tolerance (historic market returns are >7%).

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Antetrust » Mon Mar 06, 2023 8:12 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Mar 03, 2023 2:58 am
Looking for advice about my loans. I have $40-50k from law school. I am currently clerking and will finish this fall and then work at a biglaw firm with clerkship bonus and class credit.

I am trying to balance the hassle of refinancing, interest rates versus investment return rates, and the mental burden (if any) of carrying loans.

My risk-averse inclination, given the (comparatively) low amount of the loan, is just to pay it off with the clerkship bonus and save aggressively. I am not super into finance stuff--I generally spend/save competently but prefer passive, low-maintenance investments.

If it matters, I have around $150k invested in retirement-geared ETFs.
I think you should hold the loans and invest the money instead, particularly with the markets as low as they are currently. Obviously, the markets can go lower, but they are set for outsized returns.

Also, if you pay off your loans in full, your credit score will likely drop because your average debt age will likely drop. It's probably best to milk to credit score bumps with timely payments at least until you buy your first house (assuming you plan to do so in the near future).

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:44 am

Wrong on both counts. The market is not “set for outsized returns,” the market is unpredictable but on average will get you around 7% return a year, *with variance.* Anyone who claims to know otherwise is lying.

This second claim is more pernicious. Paying off loans will have a negligible impact on your credit score in the short term and will help it in the long term.

I would strongly advise ignoring Antetrust in the future based on both of these idiotic claims, and I would advise Antetrust not to post answers on this - or any personal finance related - thread in the future unless they’re asking questions, as they are quite clearly misinformed and actively spreading misinformation.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 06, 2023 4:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:44 am
Wrong on both counts. The market is not “set for outsized returns,” the market is unpredictable but on average will get you around 7% return a year, *with variance.* Anyone who claims to know otherwise is lying.

This second claim is more pernicious. Paying off loans will have a negligible impact on your credit score in the short term and will help it in the long term.

I would strongly advise ignoring Antetrust in the future based on both of these idiotic claims, and I would advise Antetrust not to post answers on this - or any personal finance related - thread in the future unless they’re asking questions, as they are quite clearly misinformed and actively spreading misinformation.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:43 am

I am the OP of the most recent debt question ($40-50k of debt etc.).

Clearly, the messages here are mixed. But everyone (including me) seems in agreement that I should not pay anything toward the loan as long as the moratorium is in effect.

Additional insights/perspectives welcome on whether to refinance or what refinancing rate would justify not paying them off right away/in short order.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Wanderingdrock » Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:01 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:43 am
I am the OP of the most recent debt question ($40-50k of debt etc.).

Clearly, the messages here are mixed. But everyone (including me) seems in agreement that I should not pay anything toward the loan as long as the moratorium is in effect.

Additional insights/perspectives welcome on whether to refinance or what refinancing rate would justify not paying them off right away/in short order.
Basically there's "good debt" and "bad debt." These designations have nothing to do with what the debt is for and everything to do with the opportunity cost of carrying it. Bad debt can be taken on for good reasons, but counts as bad because carrying it is costing you money. Good debt is basically free money because you're using the cash on hand to cheaply do something productive.

The dividing line isn't always clear as it depends on a lot of factors which can differ from person to person, but essentially you're asking where that line falls and there's no reason people ITT can't offer useful perspectives on how to determine that for yourself.

Long term, based on history, you should expect the stock market to return around 10% annually including dividends (not adjusted for inflation). This is a decent starting point - by not paying off your debt, you have money you can invest which should return 10% nominal in the long run. There is a fair amount of volatility in the market, though, and some risk if you think you're going to pull your money out before a long enough period has elapsed for you to have a decent chance of having realized that average return, so there needs to be a risk premium - in other words, it's not as simple as just saying "My interest rate is lower than 10%, so if I carry the debt and instead invest my cash in the market, I'm getting free money." There may also be other things you want/need to do with that money, or other factors like debt getting in the way of qualifying for a mortgage, etc.

I don't know what the right answer is, but for me, my sub-3% mortgage is very good debt (lower than current inflation!). I'll only pay that off as slowly as they let me, investing every extra dollar I keep, with no intention of pulling that money from the market for the next 20 years. There are also CDs and relatively stable bond offerings currently giving over 4% yield, so if I were paying 4% on money I borrowed and had a choice of either paying off the debt or keeping the cash (but couldn't invest it in the stock market), I'd still keep the cash and just put it in a CD. If I were paying above 7% right now in interest, I'd pay that debt off first. Anything between about 4% and 7%, I'd have to do some serious thinking and weigh a lot of other, more specific factors.

sparty99

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by sparty99 » Sat Apr 08, 2023 6:14 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:43 am
I am the OP of the most recent debt question ($40-50k of debt etc.).

Clearly, the messages here are mixed. But everyone (including me) seems in agreement that I should not pay anything toward the loan as long as the moratorium is in effect.

Additional insights/perspectives welcome on whether to refinance or what refinancing rate would justify not paying them off right away/in short order.
I would start paying on the loans today, who cares if it's 0 percent. Start making payments into it and when payments restart you can have paid off maybe 5,000 or so. The student loans are not a pet, get them out your life!

DisappointedSummer

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by DisappointedSummer » Sun Apr 09, 2023 9:47 am

This guy is a known troll - mods should ban him. Paying off loans at 0% interest is quite literally throwing away money. If you want to pay for a fake peace of mind then go ahead. You can also just let it sit in a HYSA getting 4% interest risk-free. If someone offered you a free loan and let you keep 4% interest would you take it? That’s basically the situation with the moratorium.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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