Milestone Today: $100K left on my private loans (down from $140K in 3.5 years) Student Loans |
- Milestone Today: $100K left on my private loans (down from $140K in 3.5 years)
- The snowball is rolling...Just paid off my second loan!
- Paid off About 8,000 in loans!
- Would you support Congress passing a law to allow insolvent student loan borrowers to enter the normal bankruptcy process after 7 years of insolvency rather than trying to "cancel all student loans"?
- Viewing interest rate of loans paused by pandemic
- I really need help and advice to help my sister go to her dream school. She was accepted but we can't find ways to pay for it.
- Pay off last $50k in loans?
- Best repayment option?
- Refinancing Advice for Private Loans
- Changing my mind about Grad school
- Can Parent Plus be used for summer housing?
- Different Loan Amounts
- My servicer just told me my Stafford loans aren't eligible for COVID relief. I've read news sources stating otherwise.
- Loans Not Distributed Through the School
- How does principle amount increase over a loan?
- Advice
- Help Deciding Which Loan to Pay Next
- Wife student loan
- Pay off loan based in interest rate or based on amount of interest accruing each day?
- Sallie Mae Loans & Refinancing
| Milestone Today: $100K left on my private loans (down from $140K in 3.5 years) Posted: 03 Mar 2021 06:05 PM PST Today I hit $100k left on my private student loans! This has been a meaningful personal goal for the last 4 years. Detailed history below including loan balances, interest rates, salaries, and some strategy. Hoping this can help redditors plan and execute on their large loan balances. June 2017: Graduated 4 year college with upwards of $140,000 in private loans through Discover. Variable interest rates on four loans were between 6.5% and 13%. Got a job in tech making $70K my first year. April 2018: Consolidated 3 of 4 loans with SoFi with a 6.625% interest rate on $105K balance. My fourth Discover loan had a slightly better interest rate, with a ~$35K balance, so I left it alone. In May 2018, I got a new job making $85K + 15% bonus, but it came with a move to NYC with higher rent and cost of living. April 2019: Consolidated that fourth loan and refinanced with SoFi at a new rate of 6.29% on $139K total balance. In this year, I just want to highlight how I paid about $1000 a month, and in 10 months I paid something like $7,000 in INTEREST and only knocked down the principal balance to $134,000. It just felt like such slow momentum, and such a big mountain to climb before the balance would actually start to meaningfully drop. In two full years I had only lowered the balance by about $11,000 since so much of the payments went towards interest. In March 2020 I put my entire $8k-after-taxes bonus directly towards the loan. Added a big payment from my dad (~$2K) and my tax refund ($2.5k) and went looking for a better rate in the spring of 2020. Also: received a promotion in October 2019: 95K base + 15% bonus. I think this was key in helping secure my next refinance rate... April 2020: Refinanced with Citizens: 4.87% on $124K. Felt lucky to get a low rate, but I think it went hand in hand with the economic measures put in place for the pandemic (e.g. low interest rates in general). I was able to put a lot of WFH savings straight into the loan, like the $130 subway card I was no longer paying for, lunches I could make cheaply at home instead of buying out, no weekend bar tabs and group dinner dates. I balanced my bank account at the end of the month and was able to find $200-500 a month in savings and throw it at the loan. In June, I moved out of my Manhattan apt for something cheaper, and since then have thrown the rent savings towards the balance, bringing it to an extra $500-1000 a month in payments. On March 1, I received my $9k-after-tax bonus in my account and moved it straight over to the loan, getting me down to $100K. March 2021: Shopped around and just received a quoted rate from LendKey for 4.03% on 100K. Thrilled to get such a better rate than even what I got a year ago! I really feel like the momentum is there now! I think the biggest factor was the extra payments over the last year: simple math, but a lower principal balance means less interest to pay on it. I do think I was clever with my refinancing each spring, too, right after I put my bonus & tax refund into the loan and had a better balance to negotiate with. And I know I am lucky working in 6-figure job a few years out of college, though I worked my a$$ off in a difficult major in college to have that financial stability upon graduation, knowing that I had these huge loans. Also want to note I have always had a high credit score of 700+ (currently 765). Hope this helps anyone struggling and not seeing any progress on their high balance. Your balance will come down, but have patience, have a plan, and throw whatever you can at it as early as possible. I have an amortization schedule in Excel that I mark up all the time with "goal balances". My new goal is that in 5 years I'll write in again with a final $0 balance update! Lastly, don't hesitate to refinance your private loans. Shop for rates! I went through Nerdwallet's list of ~10 lenders and got a wide range in the rates offered. Best of luck to all you here in r/studentloans and thanks for the motivation and strategy along the way! [link] [comments]  |
| The snowball is rolling...Just paid off my second loan! Posted: 03 Mar 2021 04:55 AM PST 31F Graduated law school in 2015. Starting Debt: $225,000 Current Debt: $158,000 First Loan Paid off in November 2020 Second Loan Paid off TODAY Lawyer Salary 2016: $41,000 😔 2017: $57,000 2018: $67,000 2019: $86,000 2020: $69,000 Current Salary: $92,000. Remaining Loans: $47,000 private loan at 3.25% $111,000 federal loams at 6% Lived in HCOL city until November 2020 when I lost my job due to Covid. Moved across the country to live with my parents until WFH ends. If anyone is curious, the two loans I paid off were federal FFEL loans at 0%. The first loan didn't qualify for 0% interest under the Cares act. They both dropped to 0% based on my income based repayment plan. The quasi nature of these federal loans and the relatively lower balances made it right for me to target these two. I'm so happy with my decision because I finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel after years of repayment with no tangible results. [link] [comments]  |
| Paid off About 8,000 in loans! Posted: 03 Mar 2021 09:35 AM PST Just celebrating a little here, I got hip to the whole "you'll have to pay this back" mindset my senior year of college, so I worked my ass off over the summer and saved enough to make sure that I wouldn't take out another loan for my final year. Successfully did this and put money toward my loans, in which I know have paid off almost $8,000 in a matter of 10 months! Originally was $18,809 and now it is down to $10,900. Getting closer everyday. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 12:32 PM PST Why can corporations and individuals enter into bankruptcy but heavily indebted students cannot? [link] [comments]  |
| Viewing interest rate of loans paused by pandemic Posted: 03 Mar 2021 10:01 PM PST How can I see the original federal loan interest rates? Right now they all say 0% because of the COVID pause. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 09:04 PM PST Hi guys. I need some advice. My sister was just accepted to UPenn and she was really excited. Best day ever for us. However, she now finds herself struggling as FAFSA denied any loans, no scholarships received, and it's really all because of our parent's income. The thing is they can't even really afford it as it's so expensive and they have 6 children. She has tried to find opportunities in the army to see but it has been a struggle. Does anybody have any advice on this? I see her suffering because she is slowly giving up on her dream and I feel terrible. I really want to try to help her I just don't know-how. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 11:20 AM PST My original balance was $225k for loans. Working my butt off, I have paid down that balance to almost exactly $50k over about 7.5 years. Along the way, i refinanced my federally originated loans to SoFi. Wonderfully, I now have the $50k on savings to pay the balance to zero. While my plan had been to pay off my loans at the end of 2020 in an amazing end of year hoorah, I didn't because there seemed to be some momentum for debt cancellation. Given the below notes, what would you do? Pay off loans now or hang tight and wait for more clarity on cancellation?
Anyway, I am looking for any sort of opinions, whether they be well-reasoned or gut reactions. I think it's unlikely I benefit from any forgiveness/cancellation, but I don't want to be wrong. What do you all think I should do? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 07:51 PM PST I just took out $85k in student loans. It's about $50k in federal (~4.2% interest) and about $35k in private (~7%) that my boyfriend co-signed on. I should graduate into a job making $70k minimum to start. Potentially, if I get desperate for work or the healthcare job market tanks the lowest starting would still be $60k. I have no debt and 100% supported by my bf. Which of these options would be the best in your opinion? Pay the bare minimum to federal and pay down the private ASAP to get my bf off the hook, pay both equally until fully paid off, or contribute to household bills and slowly pay off the loans over time? I should add bf has no expectation of me helping with bills or a timeframe for me to pay back the loan but since we're not married I would just feel better to set him free of this ASAP. [link] [comments]  |
| Refinancing Advice for Private Loans Posted: 03 Mar 2021 06:51 PM PST Hey everyone! I want to refinance my private student loans to receive a better interest rate. I have both federal and private students loan, but I intend to use an income-driven repayment plan for my federal loans (so I am focusing on the private ones). I work as a freelancer and part-time for a company so my monthly income is flexible. However, I also do not have many other expenses because I live at home. Here is the breakdown for my student loans:
If anyone can recommend or give insights to refinancing companies that would be helpful. Thanks in advance!! [link] [comments]  |
| Changing my mind about Grad school Posted: 03 Mar 2021 06:14 PM PST I got accepted into a MSF program and I'm thinking of going into commercial real estate with it. The program is 32k but I have 56k worth of undergrad debt putting me to about 90k total if I choose to attend the program. However, I've been noticing that a lot of entry level jobs start at about 65-75k which concerns me that I won't even break even with my future potential salary. My gut is telling me to drop out of the program and see if I can get a entry level job in commercial real estate without the degree. My current job is in fund accounting but I'm burning out since it's the same thing every day and month as we just close the books at month end. I also discovered I don't like to be behind a chair all day. So I figured that asset management in commercial real estate would be the best fit for me since I like the numbers behind things and are able to wear different hats as well as visiting sites (break from my desk). Here's the catch, CRE requires specific skills to be able to do the financial part of it. This MSF program would teach me that. What do you guys recommend me doing? [link] [comments]  |
| Can Parent Plus be used for summer housing? Posted: 03 Mar 2021 06:03 PM PST I'm currently in the process of finding a house with a few trustworthy friends. All of our options are within COA and are actually cheaper per month than on campus housing. I know that parent plus can be used for that kind of cost. But 1: how does one go about getting approved and getting the money. 2: If I sign a lease and move in June 1st will the loan cover this first summer of rent even though I wouldn't be going to school at the time. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 04:49 PM PST Two of my loans did not make the PSLF cut. So they've been hanging out there. Because of the Cares Act, Ive been throwing the money I would've been paying monthly on my PSLF note in a savings account so that I can pay off the two loans that didn't make the cut. I almost have all the money now. Ok, so I recheck the amount and notice that studentaid.gov shows $34,560.00 on their website but the loan servicer that Dept of Ed's funky a$$ is using (Coast Professional) quoted me $39,211.00. Anybody dealt with this foolishness before? I for damn sure don't want to send the servicer almost $5,000 more!!!! Suggestions? Thoughts? TIA [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 12:57 PM PST Since the CARES Act, I have been getting an automatic suspension of payments on my Stafford loans. I thought this suspension was extended until September. Well, I just submitted my annual IBR renewal, and the suspension of payments stopped. I called my servicer, who said that I don't qualify for the automatic suspension of payments because my Stafford loans are not owned by ED. I've seen sources stating otherwise. The rep I spoke to had me apply for something called a "verbal forbearance," which would suspend my payments, but the interest would keep accruing and be added to the loan's capital. Would some kind soul please clue me in about any part of this? Jesus! [link] [comments]  |
| Loans Not Distributed Through the School Posted: 03 Mar 2021 12:37 PM PST Hello! I am looking for some insight and guidance for my issue here. I am a current graduate student, and my school offers this "payment plan" method to cover tuition. It's basically 5 interest-free payments once a month. I am fortunate enough that my father is able to pay these. I need to take out loans for rent, however. I learned that I cannot take out my available federal loans through my school since it will instead go through my student account and will be applied to the principal amount of that payment plan instead of going to me directly. I am unsure what to do here. Even when I was looking into private loans, those seem to also get distributed through the school as well. What do you think I should I do? Is it worth it to find a private student loan that does not go through the school? [link] [comments]  |
| How does principle amount increase over a loan? Posted: 03 Mar 2021 08:12 AM PST I started with a $6000 loan from Wells Fargo with variable interest. To date I've paid $6500 "towards the principle" and $1800 "towards interest" with a balance that would currently have me pay $11000 on a $6000 loan. How is that possible? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 11:39 AM PST 80k in student loans with quite a high interest rate. I've never had trouble making monthly payments but like 85% of my monthly payments go to paying off interest and I feel like I'm barely moving the needle with the principal. I have good credit and a good job and we've just been pre-approved to buy a 160K home. I'm looking for any advice, should I find a better lender that offers a better interest rate because my credit score has gone up in the last 2 years? Should I continue with payments and in a year or so refinance with my mortgage to get a better interest rate there? Crypto loans? Thanks in advance for the help. [link] [comments]  |
| Help Deciding Which Loan to Pay Next Posted: 03 Mar 2021 07:39 AM PST Hi All, So I have been using the avalanche method to repay my loans and it's been going well so far! However, I don't understand enough about loans or interest accrual to understand which loan I should be focusing on next (numbers are below). My loans are direct unsubsidized from my graduate program which I graduated from ~6 months ago. I have already paid off two of the loan groups and my three remaining loans are as follows: Loan 1: 46,217.64 at 5.8% interest Loan 2: 43,440.64 at 5.31% interest Loan 3: 28,282.52 at 6% interest So in total I have about 117,940.42 left (for context I started out with 168,349.35). I have been paying 3,200/month towards my loan and plan to continue to do so for the foreseeable future (although payments will be less directed following the end of the COVID forbearance). The avalanche method would direct me to pay the third loan as it is the highest interest rate, however, wouldn't loan 1 accrue interest more quickly as the balance is already so high? Would it not be better to start aggressively hitting that since the interest rate is almost equal to loan 3? Any help would be appreciated, I am not a math person and am probably looking at this wrong. Thank you in advance!!! [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 03 Mar 2021 07:06 AM PST Any options for me when it comes to paying off my wife's Discover student loans. She does not work and takes care of our two kids during the day when i work...we would be paying more for day care on top of the student loans if she even went to work....she went to a school 4 years and didn't graduate (i know i know that's a discussion for another day), so it's not like she could get anything other than a minimum wage job. Financially, her not working makes sense when you consider the day care costs (approx 2000 a month). her discover student loans are approximate 450 bucks, she started paying 10 years ago (11, 10, and 6% interest). we still have 31k left. From what i can tell, she has paid off her original loan when you take into account all the interest she paid. Do I have any options with discover to use this as leverage or nah? thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Pay off loan based in interest rate or based on amount of interest accruing each day? Posted: 03 Mar 2021 06:15 AM PST I've been making payments on my federal loans during COVID and originally my plan was (1) pay off all interest, (2) pay down loans starting from highest interest rate down to lowest interest rate. I'm almost done paying off all the interest, about 6k left, and I noticed that some of my lower interest rate loans are accruing more interest per day (6% accruing $3.24) than my highest interest rate loan (7% accruing $2.50) because the principal is much larger. Would it make sense to pay down the bigger principal until it accrued same/less than the higher interest rate loan and then switch to paying off loans based on interest rate? Ultimately, I'm trying to figure out what saves more money in the long run, avalanche method talks about paying highest interest rate loan off first but I think that's based on the assumption that it accrues the most interest. Any tips on how to figure out what makes most sense overall? [link] [comments]  |
| Sallie Mae Loans & Refinancing Posted: 03 Mar 2021 10:00 AM PST I'm hoping to go get my MPH soon in France & my only student loan option is Sallie Mae - does anyone have experience with this provider ? Also, for those who got loans, what was your average borrowing amount ? I'm trying to come to terms with mine 😠I know their interest is very high so if anyone has tips in refinancing and that process I'd love some! Thanks in advance! [link] [comments]  |
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