Post by: marblejane on December 31, 2018, 04:57:43 PM
Current balance: $19,885.67 (variable rate, 4.68% and rising)
Background:
Graduated MBA program in 2013 with ~$160k in student loan debt (plus an underwater mortgage, and some credit card debt)
Found MMM a few months later, buckled down, maxed out the 401k, sold the house, paid off the credit cards, refi'd the student loans
Plan:
Make regular $865/mo payment, put 100% of any annual bonus (due to be paid in March) to loan balance, and cash flow the remaining amount.
Post by: zeli2033 on January 01, 2019, 11:15:39 AM
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]
3/8/18: $62,846
3/20/18: $60,722
4/2/18: $59,399
4/18/18: $58,372
6/30/18: $ 58,175
7/13/18: $ 55,929
8/12/18: $54,868
8/15/18: $53,821
9/5/18: $52,622
9/18/18: $50,941
10/2/18: $46,212
10/17/18: $42,804
11/6/18: $40,746
12/4/18: $38,695
12/31/18: $36,419
We just made some adjustments to our 2019 retirement contributions to kill these a little sooner - if things go according to plan, hoping to have them paid off in April 2019.
Post by: haypug16 on January 02, 2019, 02:11:05 PM
Beginning Balance:
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
Goal for the end of the year is to pay off $17,000 and finish around ~$30,000. Depending on how much my bonus is this year I may be able to pay off a few grand more which would be great.
Post by: mckaylabaloney on January 04, 2019, 12:17:23 PM
1/1/2019: $146,280.17
If that sounds terrifying, just know that I started at more than $213K in 2018, so $146K is nothing! Just kidding it's a horrifying garbage fire BUT I am feeling good about the progress I've made. I'm not sure whether I'll do as well this year -- (1) I need to spend the next couple of months building up my emergency fund rather than paying down debt, and (2) most of last year's debt paydown came from my year-end bonus, and assuming I get a similar bonus this year, I may need to use it for other goals. (I might switch jobs and/or leave my current city in 2020, so I may need that cash for something like a down payment -- long story but given certain elements of my law school's loan repayment assistance program and other life and housing market details, buying a house in the location I'm most likely to settle in would probably be the wisest financial choice even if my loans are still in six-figure territory.) So! I'm going to set a goal of paying off $20K without considering my bonus, and then hopefully I will also have some funds to spare from my bonus.
I've been considering eliminating my 401k contributions this year (we don't have a match, just profit sharing that occurs whether or not I contribute) and devoting that money to my loans, but it's tough to think of sacrificing like $6000 more to taxes (plus missing out on additional gains over the years, etc.). The reason I'm thinking about it anyway is that it's a very very high priority for me to have the freedom to leave my current job in the next year or two, and in all likelihood my next job will pay less. So obviously the less debt I have, the more freedom I have to switch careers.
Another option is to eliminate my monthly contributions and then see what kind of bonus I get and what my 2020 cash needs might be, and potentially just max it out for the year out of my bonus.
Where have you all landed on investing vs. paying down debt?
Post by: Jim Fiction on January 04, 2019, 07:56:33 PM
Post by: zeli2033 on January 05, 2019, 07:20:59 AM
Where have you all landed on investing vs. paying down debt?
Last year when we were looking at the math to determine what to do, the math definitely said for us to decrease 401K savings and increase debt payoff but it was simply more emotionally and psychologically appealing to max out retirement while still doing damage on the loans.
This year, we just decided to decrease our 401K contributions to the employer-match levels so that we could accelerate the payoff of these loans. We have some other life stuff to plan for that the eventual and additional cash flow for 2019 will help with once we've paid these off in Spring. Still hard to swallow given the stock market being on sale but it's the right move for us...and if all goes to plan, it will be the last time we have to make that decision :)
Post by: Metalcat on January 05, 2019, 08:23:54 AM
Post by: Cool Friend on January 05, 2019, 08:52:01 AM
As of Monday, I'll have $7,000 remaining at 5.125%, coming from $20,000 in January 2018.
To slay it, I'll need to put in $583 a month, which I think I can do! I'll be debt-free if I do, to boot.
Post by: appleseed on January 05, 2019, 12:22:12 PM
DB1 - $1,467 @ 3.25%
DB2 - $1,569 @ 3.25%
N1 - $3698 @2.625%
N2 - $3231 @2.625%
Total as of 12/30/2018 - $9,965!! These are my husband's graduate loans from *ugh* 2005 (I took over finances once we got married in 2010, so I'm not positive about total to start but probably $80k ish).
As of today - Goal was to have them paid off by July 2019, which is doable at the rate I paid them this year. Unfortunately we do also have $27k in a personal loan from my mom that is next in line for paying off that may be prioritized for the overpayment above the two navient loans. I'm still planning on snowballing the payments from d1 and d2 to n1 and n2 though. The goal of getting rid of the student loan debt in 2019 continues though hopefullyby the end of the year unless we get a windfall. The first 2 I'll pay off by my husband's birthday in April (that's his present lol).
We are doing uber frugal January and meal planning, etc. more than usual to squeak anything extra to throw at our debt.
Happy New Year! Let's destroy debt in 2019.
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on January 06, 2019, 06:28:18 AM
Current balance: $58,245 at 3.15%. I have refinanced my loans twice to get to this rate
This is down from about 190k when I graduated from pharmacy school in 2015. I have always paid extra over the minimum payments, although how much extra has slowly increased overtime. At my current rate of payments, I will have these paid off by the end of November. Ideally, I will get this paid off sooner.
I noticed some thoughts about investing vs. paying off debt and I just thought I’d share mine. Both my husband and I max out out 401ks, but other investments have been minimal. To us, the mental stress of this debt, especially when it was such a high amount to start, has been a motivator to pay off the debt over investing beyond 401k. Of course, after it is gone, most of what we put towards the payments will be put in investment accounts, some as extra towards our mortgage, and some put aside for house improvements we would like to do.
Good luck to you all!
Post by: mckaylabaloney on January 07, 2019, 10:18:34 AM
When it comes to the pay-off-debt vs invest debate, go with whatever motivates you most. For some people, tackling the debt motivates them to throw every spare $5 they have towards it. Examine what motivates you most and plan from there.
Thanks to you and everyone else who's weighed in; this is helpful.
My strategy for the past year+ has been to max out my tax-advantaged accounts, then throw everything else at my loans, and I think I'm going to stick with that for now. I know I would look back and regret having passed up the opportunity to contribute to my 401k (especially since I wasn't able to start a 401k until I was nearly 30). Ultimately, I'm willing to hang onto my debt a touch longer if it means retiring a little sooner; hopefully that choice won't have a material impact on my near-term options.
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on January 07, 2019, 05:04:50 PM
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)
The goal is to knock these out by end of July. We are also aiming to max all tax advantaged accounts for the first time in 2019 so this goal may slip a bit to make sure the tax advantaged accounts get topped off.
Good luck to all!
Post by: TyGuy on January 13, 2019, 11:26:30 AM
Thanks for starting this thread, I will be sharing my progress, hopefully paying off my loans by the middle of 2020 (depending on if I land a new job that I am currently interviewing for). Additionally, I will be making a minimum payment of $1000 a month (self-enforced minimum, actual is ~$350), adding whatever additional funds I have to the principle.
1/12/19:
NGA $3,751.61 @ 3.86%
NGB $811.80 @ 3.86%
NGC $4,779.69 @ 4.66%
NGD $2,397.55 @ 4.66%
NGE $5,814.59 @ 4.29%
NGF $2,271.61 @ 4.29%
NGI $5,520.77 @ 4.45%
H1&2 $18,415 @ 5.00%
Total: $43,762.76
I am excited to knock these loans down significantly this year and look forward to tracking my progress with you all!
Post by: bbates728 on January 14, 2019, 12:50:35 PM
Hi everyone! Finally a thread that makes sense for me to contribute to :). Let's get these suckers paid off!
A little background: I am a 25yo CPA that moved to a HCOL last year and found MMM in July. Since then I have read the blog and made WAY too many spreadsheets. I am just now starting to make a foray into the forums. My wife and I have been frugal by nature throughout our marriage and have thrown money at these loans which started at $110-$120k but we didn't keep as good of track of them as we are now. These loans are entirely mine but my wife has no issue with working together to take them out. Her schooling was thankfully paid for by her parents. I have been out of school for a little over 2.5 years. Together we bring home roughly 97k after tax and 401k. We budget to put $4k to loans each month and put any surplus from our budgeting towards them as well (this month an extra $500!).
July '18: $70,870.81
Aug '18: $67,102.62
Sep '18: $63,319.24
Oct '18: $59,834.55
Goals:
Dec '18: $51,674
Dec '19: $4,712
Jan '20: $0
TLDR: Loans are stupid and we will get rid of them.
Let's keep the good times rolling. I moved across town in December so had less capital to use for loans to end the year. You will see that I recouped a large portion of those expenses in January and was able to right the ship plus a little extra.
Note: I am changing my reporting method to show balance after each month's payments instead of the balance at the beginning of each month.
Nov '18: $55,479.02
Dec '18: $54,781.60
Jan '19: $43,620.29
New goal Nov '19: $0
PS: How do I end a bolded section?
Post by: haypug16 on January 14, 2019, 01:28:14 PM
[/b] - ends the bold section
I'm changing my goal this year from $17,000 to $10,800. I will be putting more money towards maxing out my 401K. If I happen to do that and then have a bunch of money leftover (not too likely) then I'll put it towards paying more of the SL but the plan for now it to just pay the minimum which is about a little over $900 a month.
Post by: zeli2033 on January 15, 2019, 05:22:09 AM
Post by: zeli2033 on January 15, 2019, 05:25:13 AM
...
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900 (-3519)
Hoping to make another similarly-sized payment at the end of this month. Currently on track for payoff in April.
Post by: haypug16 on January 15, 2019, 07:37:20 AM
Solid plan, @haypug16 - I really enjoyed reading up on your Ask A Mustachian thread about coming to this decision!
Thanks, I always forget about that section of the forums. I'm glad I remembered and decided to ask. I think it's going to make a big difference with my overall financial plan.
Post by: Money Beets on January 29, 2019, 05:51:23 PM
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Post by: appleseed on January 31, 2019, 07:19:55 AM
Copying over from the 2018 thread:DB1 - $1,260.31
DB1 - $1,467 @ 3.25%
DB2 - $1,569 @ 3.25%
N1 - $3698 @2.625%
N2 - $3231 @2.625%
Total as of 12/30/2018 - $9,965!! These are my husband's graduate loans from *ugh* 2005 (I took over finances once we got married in 2010, so I'm not positive about total to start but probably $80k ish).
As of today - Goal was to have them paid off by July 2019, which is doable at the rate I paid them this year. Unfortunately we do also have $27k in a personal loan from my mom that is next in line for paying off that may be prioritized for the overpayment above the two navient loans. I'm still planning on snowballing the payments from d1 and d2 to n1 and n2 though. The goal of getting rid of the student loan debt in 2019 continues though hopefullyby the end of the year unless we get a windfall. The first 2 I'll pay off by my husband's birthday in April (that's his present lol).
We are doing uber frugal January and meal planning, etc. more than usual to squeak anything extra to throw at our debt.
Happy New Year! Let's destroy debt in 2019.
DB2 - $841.82
N1 - $3,616.39
N2 - $3,159.32
Total - $8,877.84
I wanted to send more and get the lowest one to a point I could pay it off next month, but we had too many end of year bills (planned like glasses, but higher than a typical month). Any extra income in February I'm throwing at the loans. Still on track for the first 2 done by April and the rest by the end of the year.
I went back and looked to see where we were a year ago. This forum helped motivate an over $16k pay off, which I wouldn't have thought possible, so thanks, everyone!
Post by: haypug16 on January 31, 2019, 07:45:46 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25 (782.11) decrease
2019 Goal
$782.11/$10,800
A little behind target for the month but I'm OK with that. I've increased my 401K contribution and just paying the min on these loans.
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on January 31, 2019, 08:09:12 AM
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244.97
Had some extra shifts and holiday that allowed me to pay a little more extra than planned. Also received a promotion with a good raise so I am hoping I will be able to pay off a couple months earlier than planned!
Post by: TyGuy on February 02, 2019, 10:57:20 AM
Hello,
Thanks for starting this thread, I will be sharing my progress, hopefully paying off my loans by the middle of 2020 (depending on if I land a new job that I am currently interviewing for). Additionally, I will be making a minimum payment of $1000 a month (self-enforced minimum, actual is ~$350), adding whatever additional funds I have to the principle.
1/12/19:
NGA $3,751.61 @ 3.86%
NGB $811.80 @ 3.86%
NGC $4,779.69 @ 4.66%
NGD $2,397.55 @ 4.66%
NGE $5,814.59 @ 4.29%
NGF $2,271.61 @ 4.29%
NGI $5,520.77 @ 4.45%
H1&2 $18,415 @ 5.00%
Total: $43,762.76
I am excited to knock these loans down significantly this year and look forward to tracking my progress with you all!
2/1/19:
NG Total: 25,145.92 @~4.20% (-$201.70)
H1&2 $17,415.14 @ 5.00% (-$1,000)
Total: $42.561.06 (-$1,201.70)
I am happy with my start to the year, I am still hopeful to be starting a new job with a significantly higher salary in the coming months! Nice job to everyone else, seems the year is off to a good start.
Post by: zeli2033 on February 04, 2019, 08:52:45 AM
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]
...
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351 (-2549)
Woohoo! Under the halfway point!
Unfortunately we owe quite a bit in taxes, which is a first for us. So instead of being able to pay these off in April, it looks like it will be the first half of May. It was a bummer to have to push the date out but that doesn't compare to how awesome it is to be able to cashflow significant and unexpected expenses when they come up. Would never have been in that position a couple of years ago.
Post by: bbates728 on February 15, 2019, 02:19:46 PM
Hi everyone! Finally a thread that makes sense for me to contribute to :). Let's get these suckers paid off!
A little background: I am a 25yo CPA that moved to a HCOL last year and found MMM in July. Since then I have read the blog and made WAY too many spreadsheets. I am just now starting to make a foray into the forums. My wife and I have been frugal by nature throughout our marriage and have thrown money at these loans which started at $110-$120k but we didn't keep as good of track of them as we are now. These loans are entirely mine but my wife has no issue with working together to take them out. Her schooling was thankfully paid for by her parents. I have been out of school for a little over 2.5 years. Together we bring home roughly 97k after tax and 401k. We budget to put $4k to loans each month and put any surplus from our budgeting towards them as well (this month an extra $500!).
July '18: $70,870.81
Aug '18: $67,102.62
Sep '18: $63,319.24
Oct '18: $59,834.55
Goals:
Dec '18: $51,674
Dec '19: $4,712
Jan '20: $0
TLDR: Loans are stupid and we will get rid of them.
Let's keep the good times rolling. I moved across town in December so had less capital to use for loans to end the year. You will see that I recouped a large portion of those expenses in January and was able to right the ship plus a little extra.
Note: I am changing my reporting method to show balance after each month's payments instead of the balance at the beginning of each month.
Nov '18: $55,479.02
Dec '18: $54,781.60
Jan '19: $43,620.29
Feb '19: $39,314.82
New goal Nov '19: $0
Post by: brandon1827 on February 15, 2019, 03:18:19 PM
Post by: zeli2033 on February 16, 2019, 10:01:17 AM
End of January Update
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]
...
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889 (-2462)
This payment gets me down to 4 individual loans (originally was 14). Now I can just focus on throwing money at those - exciting!
Post by: eightyeighttoone on February 17, 2019, 04:36:29 PM
Starting Balance: $2,277
Goal: Paid off SOON!
I've been in a holding pattern since August while I focus on lowering our mortgage enough to eliminate our PMI. Kind of a strange order, but once I did the math, it made sense to focus on that before finishing off this lower interest, Perkins loan.
I've been posting to these threads since 2017, when my balance was around 70k. This community has been a great encouragement!
Post by: catorbe on February 17, 2019, 10:14:14 PM
I'm currently paying $300 a month despite a graduated monthly requirement of just $168. I'm putting a few extra payments here and there, but want to get a little more serious about allocating the leftovers of each month towards it. Any bonus coming from work and any other extra cash inflows will be put towards student loans this year. I believe I have the cash flow to fully fund my Roth IRA as it is so this will become the priority. My plan is to do at least $6000 over the course of the year to get it below $7,500. Then 2020 I will be student loan free! Here we go!
Post by: Lady SA on February 18, 2019, 01:39:00 PM
Starting in 2016, we started maxing our 401ks, HSA, and IRAs, and got our living expenses down to the point where we had an extra $900 per month left over on top of our min SL payments of $2300 per month. So we've been doing the avalanche debt method with $3200 total in payments per month for what seems like forever. This month we paid off the second-to-last loan, and just today I switched the monthly auto-payment for the very last small loan (at 4.6%) to the full $3200.
After the loans are done, that $38k per year is going directly to our brokerage account and the beginnings of a house downpayment.
Post by: swearwolf on February 21, 2019, 02:38:03 PM
We've been good about paying more than the minimum every month since 2015, but now it's time to get serious. If my math is right, we'll have saved about $17k over the life of the loans by paying them off this year, vs. if we had only made the minimum payment for 10 years!
Current balance: total of $30,476 for 8 loans at rates between 3.15% and 6.55%.
Payoff goal: December 2019.
The plan: $3300 a month (prioritizing the highest-interest loans first) and more when we can spare it.
We're both fairly recent high-salary tech workers, so the last couple of years have been a horrifying volcano of wasteful spending on things like meals and drinks out and impulse buys online with justifications like, "We can afford it now! It's only $50 and I make more than that in an hour. Plus, I deserve a treat!"
Now we're punching ourselves in the face for being pampered sissies and killing the debt once and for all!
Post by: Money Beets on February 23, 2019, 10:15:07 AM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
Did not pay as much as I wanted towards the loans this month due to some upcoming medical and travel expenses. However, I should be able to make up for this next month and finish off my last loan at over 6% interest!
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on February 25, 2019, 07:25:31 AM
January Starting Balance: 58245.53
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244
February Payments:
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 4276.39
February Ending balance: 46940.55
Post by: Slow&Steady on February 25, 2019, 08:09:35 AM
I graduated in 2006 with only $38k in student loans. I paid off a $9k private loan quickly, I think around 2007 or 2008. I then hung on to the federal portion for forever, paying off the unsubsidized loan in 2015 or 2016 and I just scheduled a payment from my bank to the SL company for Friday that will pay off the remaining balance on the subsidized portion!! I had a horrendous interest rate, I do not suggest following my VERY slow path of paying these things off.
Post by: catorbe on February 25, 2019, 08:34:04 AM
March 1st will start with my standard $300 dollar payment. And I should be getting a bonus or two in the next few weeks to supplement that payment!
Post by: Metalcat on February 25, 2019, 09:31:28 AM
I literally don't even check it any more or think about it very much. Thanks to choosing the slow pay-off plan, we're able to make a significant property investment this year.
Post by: Slow&Steady on February 25, 2019, 09:42:29 AM
As I'm fully contributing to an HSA, I decided to start drawing out my old HSA from previous employer (with saved receipts) as their investment plan wasn't very accommodating and my new HSA plan is essentially no fee ETFs for Vanguard funds and comparable funds. With that said, I was able to put over $1500 towards my student loans this month. Some of that was already reported in my last post, but now we're down to $13,194.10
March 1st will start with my standard $300 dollar payment. And I should be getting a bonus or two in the next few weeks to supplement that payment!
There is usually a fee, but you can rollover an old HSA to the new HSA company if you didn't want to continue drawing it down.
Post by: catorbe on February 25, 2019, 12:21:07 PM
There is usually a fee, but you can rollover an old HSA to the new HSA company if you didn't want to continue drawing it down.
The first account's balance is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things so it will only take a few more dental/medical visits / purchases of glasses to take care of it.
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on February 26, 2019, 02:33:10 PM
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)[/b]
Post by: haypug16 on February 27, 2019, 10:55:10 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55 ($797.70 decrease)
2019 Goal
$1,579.81/$10,800
chipping away :)
Post by: appleseed on February 28, 2019, 09:42:24 PM
2nd loan - $1,194 - to be paid off in April
These last two are a lower interest (2.625), so I'll add the minimum I was paying to the other two loans to those payments, but diverting the extra payments to other higher interest debt and savings. We're still on track for paying off by the end of the year!!
$3,532
$3,086
Thanks for the motivation everyone! (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190301/3d5682db66c4167deffbced0f6c8a5cf.jpg)
Post by: eightyeighttoone on March 03, 2019, 09:44:59 PM
Best wishes to everyone with their goals this year!
Post by: zeli2033 on March 04, 2019, 12:31:11 PM
Well folks, I am happy to announce I no longer have student loans! It has been a great encouragement to check in here regularly over the past few years. Not really sure what's next economically-speaking for me. But it sure is nice to have these loans finished off.
Best wishes to everyone with their goals this year!
That is awesome. CONGRATULATIONS on accomplishing your goal!
Post by: TyGuy on March 04, 2019, 05:58:30 PM
Hello,
Thanks for starting this thread, I will be sharing my progress, hopefully paying off my loans by the middle of 2020 (depending on if I land a new job that I am currently interviewing for). Additionally, I will be making a minimum payment of $1000 a month (self-enforced minimum, actual is ~$350), adding whatever additional funds I have to the principle.
1/12/19:
NGA $3,751.61 @ 3.86%
NGB $811.80 @ 3.86%
NGC $4,779.69 @ 4.66%
NGD $2,397.55 @ 4.66%
NGE $5,814.59 @ 4.29%
NGF $2,271.61 @ 4.29%
NGI $5,520.77 @ 4.45%
H1&2 $18,415 @ 5.00%
Total: $43,762.76
I am excited to knock these loans down significantly this year and look forward to tracking my progress with you all!
2/1/19:
NG Total: 25,145.92 @~4.20% (-$201.70)
H1&2 $17,415.14 @ 5.00% (-$1,000)
Total: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
I am happy with my start to the year, I am still hopeful to be starting a new job with a significantly higher salary in the coming months! Nice job to everyone else, seems the year is off to a good start.
3/4/19
NG Total: $24,956.86 (-$189.06)
H1&2: $16,464.79 (-$950.35)
Total: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
Post by: TyGuy on March 04, 2019, 06:00:31 PM
Well folks, I am happy to announce I no longer have student loans! It has been a great encouragement to check in here regularly over the past few years. Not really sure what's next economically-speaking for me. But it sure is nice to have these loans finished off.
Best wishes to everyone with their goals this year!
Time to start building your stache! Exciting to see another person defeat their student loans, best of luck to you!
Post by: zeli2033 on March 05, 2019, 08:51:27 AM
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]
...
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889
3/5/19 $25,209 (-2680)
I'm feeling so motivated to crush these in the next couple of months. DH and I are both expecting a bonus, which should crush these by end of next month or early May at absolute latest. So excited to almost be debt free (despite still owing the amount of a new car...it feels so close!)
Post by: imadandylion on March 05, 2019, 10:46:24 PM
Post by: zeli2033 on March 07, 2019, 07:36:45 AM
I was a participant in the 2018 thread. Here's my final update - I made my last payment the other day ($3015), so now I don't owe a cent to anyone. ;) So happy, and it's a month ahead of schedule!
That’s awesome!!! Congratulations on being completely debt free, and earlier than anticipated to boot!
Post by: bbates728 on March 07, 2019, 12:11:30 PM
July '18: $70,870.81
Aug '18: $67,102.62
Sep '18: $63,319.24
Oct '18: $59,834.55
Nov '18: $55,479.02
Dec '18: $54,781.60
Jan '19: $43,620.29
Feb '19: $39,314.82
Mar '19: $34,975.38
New goal Nov '19: $0
Post by: marblejane on March 12, 2019, 09:40:42 PM
I'm killing the student loans this year....who's with me?
Current balance: $19,885.67 (variable rate, 4.68% and rising)
Background:
Graduated MBA program in 2013 with ~$160k in student loan debt (plus an underwater mortgage, and some credit card debt)
Found MMM a few months later, buckled down, maxed out the 401k, sold the house, paid off the credit cards, refi'd the student loans
Plan:
Make regular $865/mo payment, put 100% of any annual bonus (due to be paid in March) to loan balance, and cash flow the remaining amount.
Post by: appleseed on March 14, 2019, 12:57:29 PM
Post by: marblejane on March 15, 2019, 07:35:39 PM
Congratulations!!
thank you!! Still hasn't really sunk in...
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on March 20, 2019, 04:13:13 PM
Here is our March Update:
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
Mar: 19,550.64
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)[/b]
Getting excited to get rid of these. Leaving July as the goal to be free from them but actually looking like we'll be able to clear them by end of May! Keep up the awesome progress everyone!
Post by: catorbe on March 27, 2019, 07:49:25 AM
I'm currently at $13,847.52.
Little over 5 weeks later and I'm down to $12,410. Normal payment of $300 coming on 4/1. This will all be applied to the 3.61% interest "pile" and knock the smaller of 2 loans at that rate to under $500. Once that is gone I'll reallocate the remaining payments to the final 3.61% loan as the focus, and from then on out it's all on autopilot. I won't have to mess with MGL about how to allocate my payments any more!
Post by: Civex on March 28, 2019, 07:20:16 PM
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
Hoping to knock this loan down into the twenty thousands by year end. Recently paid off my auto loan, so after I top up my E-fund, I should be able to increase my payment by $500-700/month. This thing doesn't know when to die and I don't feel like I'm making a lot of progress. The rate is just low enough and income is just high enough that I feel obligated to max all tax advantaged accounts (401k, HSA, FSA, RothIRA, and 529) before putting extra towards my student loan and that makes it decrease.so.painfully.slowly. What a first world problem.
Post by: catorbe on March 29, 2019, 07:33:22 AM
...before putting extra towards my student loan and that makes it decrease.so.painfully.slowly. What a first world problem.
It will make the final payoff that much sweeter! Keep it up!!!
Post by: zeli2033 on March 29, 2019, 07:35:45 AM
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]
...
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889
3/5/19: $25,209
3/29/19: $20,625 (-4584)
Bonus 1 of 3 came in today so we were able to put a good amount toward the student loan. After today's payment, we only have 3 loans left from the original 14 - so close! Still tracking to have these paid off at end of April assuming everything goes according to plan.
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on April 04, 2019, 04:36:12 AM
January Starting Balance: 58245.53
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244
February Payments:
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 4276.39
February Ending balance: 46940.55
March Payments:
Min Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 8128.60
March Ending Balance: 37,753.86
March was a bit of a unique month in that I received my yearly bonus and it was a 3-paycheck month. I get paid biweekly, so usually only 2/month. This allowed me to put a bit extra towards the loans.
Also, to those of you who since paid off their loans, Congratulations!!
Post by: Lady SA on April 04, 2019, 01:38:37 PM
I can join this thread! Yay! DH and I started in early 2014 with $150k SLs combined. We are now down to just under $7k! Not a typo :D Our loans will be vanquished in April 2019.
Starting in 2016, we started maxing our 401ks, HSA, and IRAs, and got our living expenses down to the point where we had an extra $900 per month left over on top of our min SL payments of $2300 per month. So we've been doing the avalanche debt method with $3200 total in payments per month for what seems like forever. This month we paid off the second-to-last loan, and just today I switched the monthly auto-payment for the very last small loan (at 4.6%) to the full $3200.
After the loans are done, that $38k per year is going directly to our brokerage account and the beginnings of a house downpayment.
Its official - our SLs have been vanquished!!!
05-2014 -- ~$150k starting balance at graduation
11-2015 -- ~$127k, found MMM
09-2016 -- $99k! Finally out of the 6 figures!
11-2016 -- Finally reached positive net-worth!
01-2019 -- $9k! Finally out of the 5 figures!
04-2019 -- $0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DONE!! Today is our last EVER payment!
We paid these off in 4 years and 11 months, just under our goal (that we made right after we graduated) to kill them in 5 years.
Damn, it feels so good to be FREE!!
Post by: haypug16 on April 04, 2019, 02:58:13 PM
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on April 08, 2019, 11:14:04 PM
Keep at it @Civex they're days are numbered!
Here is our April Update:
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
Mar: 19,550.64
Apr: 8,257.92
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)
We decided to pull some funds out of the taxable investment accounts to knock these down to under 10k. July should be easily reachable, we're going to push and try and have these cleaned up by end of May. Keep up the great progress everyone!
Post by: catorbe on April 10, 2019, 08:59:26 AM
I'm currently at $13,847.52.
Little over 5 weeks later and I'm down to $12,410. Normal payment of $300 coming on 4/1. This will all be applied to the 3.61% interest "pile" and knock the smaller of 2 loans at that rate to under $500. Once that is gone I'll reallocate the remaining payments to the final 3.61% loan as the focus, and from then on out it's all on autopilot. I won't have to mess with MGL about how to allocate my payments any more!
Under $12k!
Post by: zeli2033 on April 15, 2019, 08:24:38 AM
...
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889
3/5/19: $25,209
3/29/19: $20,625
4/15/19: $17,550 (-3075)
Looking ahead to the next paycheck where these should be paid off due to it being bonus season.
Post by: haypug16 on April 15, 2019, 11:40:58 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 15th 2019 - $43,932.84
2019 Goal
$2,986.52/$10,800
I guess I forgot to do an end of March update. whoops.
Post by: Cool Friend on April 16, 2019, 12:37:10 PM
January: $7,000
February:$6,000
March:$4,700
April: $3,500
If I keep this pace up, I should be able to kill them by end of summer at the latest!
Related question: do you guys plan on doing anything special to celebrate once you knock them out? This is a huge milestone for me (thought I would be paying this off for another decade at least), and I want to give myself some kind of symbolic pat on the back, but I've never been one to get myself a nice gift or pamper myself in any way.
Post by: Rimu05 on April 16, 2019, 02:49:45 PM
Recent payment: 282.56
April Balance: $26,340.70
Sigh, sucks having these.
Post by: Kem on April 16, 2019, 07:45:17 PM
.
Edit: I view the mortgage in the same way... At 3.875% fixed its hard to get excited about an early payoff. Am I nuts that for the most part I invest the difference rather than paying off the SL? I could have it paid off in a bit over a year at the expense of no cash set aside or invested.... Or I could even pull out Roth contributions / taxable from VTI to wioe it out today.
.
It just feels like the cash in my hand/working for me holds more value and mental sanity than tossing it at some bank.
Post by: Metalcat on April 17, 2019, 04:01:50 AM
My view is a bit different on these. I graduated in 05 with over 100k in private SL. Every big rate drop, credit score improvement, etc I looked into a fresh 20 year refi. Currently on a fresh 20 year 5.01%fixed which gives me a min payment of $280/m (and the low payment floor gives peace of mind) . I actually pay $450/m which will payoff the loan in 10 years - - - - when I plan on crossing $1M liquid net worth and when my eldest daughter will be wrapping up high school.
.
Edit: I view the mortgage in the same way... At 3.875% fixed its hard to get excited about an early payoff. Am I nuts that for the most part I invest the difference rather than paying off the SL? I could have it paid off in a bit over a year at the expense of no cash set aside or invested.... Or I could even pull out Roth contributions / taxable from VTI to wioe it out today.
.
It just feels like the cash in my hand/working for me holds more value and mental sanity than tossing it at some bank.
Yep.
If I could refi mine or pay a lot less, I would.
I'm not in the US and my loan was refinanced as a business loan, so I don't have the refi options and long payback timelines that you have.
It's not my loan that's a weight on me, it's the large mortgage sized mandatory monthly payment that's a pain in my ass.
I have no choice but to have mine paid off in 3 years, and it's not the stupid account balance that I'm going to be excited not to see anymore, it's the nearly $3K withdrawal mid month that I'll be excited to not see anymore. If it was under $1000, I wouldn't even care.
Post by: Kem on April 17, 2019, 04:55:11 AM
Post by: Metalcat on April 17, 2019, 05:03:32 AM
Oh goodness! That's rough Malkynn :/
It's certainly not fun, but remember, I started with $420K of debt
Post by: Kem on April 17, 2019, 06:05:00 AM
That's a sizable monthly chunk that'll be freed up.
Have you defined plans for the 36K/year? Besides VTI/VTSAX/or equivalent that'd be a nice down payment on 1 rental property a year :). Or... I suppose... Lifestyle creep is an option (flees from mob).
Post by: Metalcat on April 17, 2019, 06:26:12 AM
3 years will fly by Malkynn :)
That's a sizable monthly chunk that'll be freed up.
Have you defined plans for the 36K/year? Besides VTI/VTSAX/or equivalent that'd be a nice down payment on 1 rental property a year :). Or... I suppose... Lifestyle creep is an option (flees from mob).
I have absolutely no desire for 3 years to fly by. The next 3 years are going to be very interesting and exciting and I intend to live the hell out of them.
Just bought a second property actually.
I have no idea what I will do. My career is tremendously diversified and fluid, I work in 3 distinctly different but related disciplines, and I have absolutely no idea where my focus will be in 3 years.
I'm not a employee/paycheque player, my income is whatever I choose it to be based on how much energy I decide to put towards various projects.
I may cut back, I may ramp up, I have no idea and I prefer it that way. I used to make plans until better options started showing up and I decided that being open to possibilities is a better path for me than making plans.
Post by: Civex on April 17, 2019, 07:13:47 AM
Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
Post by: haypug16 on April 17, 2019, 09:27:25 AM
Related question: do you guys plan on doing anything special to celebrate once you knock them out? This is a huge milestone for me (thought I would be paying this off for another decade at least), and I want to give myself some kind of symbolic pat on the back, but I've never been one to get myself a nice gift or pamper myself in any way.
My reward is to put all the money that was going to Student Loans into a Vanguard account and watching my worth take off even more causing me to be able to retire years early. :)
Post by: Metalcat on April 17, 2019, 09:54:23 AM
Related question: do you guys plan on doing anything special to celebrate once you knock them out? This is a huge milestone for me (thought I would be paying this off for another decade at least), and I want to give myself some kind of symbolic pat on the back, but I've never been one to get myself a nice gift or pamper myself in any way.
I will likely be doing kitchen renos in our new home. We just bought it, and I like living somewhere for a good amount of time before deciding on changing it. It has a whole empty eat-in section of the kitchen, which I was to add storage and maybe counter space to. 2.5 years is a perfect amount of time to live and cook there before committing to structural changes, so that will be my reward.
Post by: zeli2033 on April 17, 2019, 05:24:35 PM
Related question: do you guys plan on doing anything special to celebrate once you knock them out? This is a huge milestone for me (thought I would be paying this off for another decade at least), and I want to give myself some kind of symbolic pat on the back, but I've never been one to get myself a nice gift or pamper myself in any way.
My reward is to put all the money that was going to Student Loans into a Vanguard account and watching my worth take off even more causing me to be able to retire years early. :)
SAME! With the exception of blasting the news in every thread here that I can justify - cannot wait for that day!
Post by: Rimu05 on April 18, 2019, 02:32:20 PM
My view is a bit different on these. I graduated in 05 with over 100k in private SL. Every big rate drop, credit score improvement, etc I looked into a fresh 20 year refi. Currently on a fresh 20 year 5.01%fixed which gives me a min payment of $280/m (and the low payment floor gives peace of mind) . I actually pay $450/m which will payoff the loan in 10 years - - - - when I plan on crossing $1M liquid net worth and when my eldest daughter will be wrapping up high school.
.
Edit: I view the mortgage in the same way... At 3.875% fixed its hard to get excited about an early payoff. Am I nuts that for the most part I invest the difference rather than paying off the SL? I could have it paid off in a bit over a year at the expense of no cash set aside or invested.... Or I could even pull out Roth contributions / taxable from VTI to wioe it out today.
.
It just feels like the cash in my hand/working for me holds more value and mental sanity than tossing it at some bank.
For me, the interest simply isn't worth it. I have 26K left and noticed I pay $98 in interest monthly. At my income, $98 is a lot. I have been paying the minimum to cover the payment in 10 yrs but from the calculators online, that is easily thousands of dollars more in interest. Also, I feel it's impeding my mobility. I want to explore options that allow me to move to different parts of the world yet with the student loans, that is not a risk I am willing to make.
Post by: therethere on April 18, 2019, 02:42:35 PM
My view is a bit different on these. I graduated in 05 with over 100k in private SL. Every big rate drop, credit score improvement, etc I looked into a fresh 20 year refi. Currently on a fresh 20 year 5.01%fixed which gives me a min payment of $280/m (and the low payment floor gives peace of mind) . I actually pay $450/m which will payoff the loan in 10 years - - - - when I plan on crossing $1M liquid net worth and when my eldest daughter will be wrapping up high school.
.
Edit: I view the mortgage in the same way... At 3.875% fixed its hard to get excited about an early payoff. Am I nuts that for the most part I invest the difference rather than paying off the SL? I could have it paid off in a bit over a year at the expense of no cash set aside or invested.... Or I could even pull out Roth contributions / taxable from VTI to wioe it out today.
.
It just feels like the cash in my hand/working for me holds more value and mental sanity than tossing it at some bank.
I'm sorta in the same boat in that I'm investing in VTSAX instead of paying down my loans. I check for refinance every 6-12 months to lower the rate.
I started when I was down to 100k in loans. Any extra got send to VTSAX. My rates avg around 4% and by my detailed calcs I'm up $15,500 since Jan 2015. If you have the monthly cashflow and patience it's the way to go.
I don't really understand your strategy on having a 20year and paying off like it's a 10year... Why not refi to a 10-year and take advantage of the lower rate? If you get in a bind you could always refinance to a longer term or use your investments to supplement any cash flow issues.
Post by: Kem on April 18, 2019, 02:58:57 PM
.
My budget is so highly optimized that this hit was worth the flexibility.
.
Edit: the only reason I want to pay this off in 10 years is so that it's off my plate in time to buy 2 quads - 1 for my eldest daughter. It's silly I know, versus investing the difference, however in the scheme of money flows a GREAT deal more is going towards investing
Post by: therethere on April 18, 2019, 03:14:31 PM
Post by: FireLane on April 25, 2019, 05:00:08 PM
I finished grad school in 2006 with about $30,000 in loans. Since it was a federal loan with a low interest rate (3.5%), I've been letting it ride. But I'm officially sick of it. It's my last debt remaining, and it's become a weight on my mind out of proportion to what I actually owe. Plus, my planned 2020 FIRE date is approaching, and I want to have zero debt before I quit my job.
As of today, I have $11,700 left. If I stick to the schedule, it won't be paid off till 2026. Instead, I'd like to pay it off by the end of this year or early next year.
Post by: Money Beets on April 27, 2019, 08:36:18 AM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Post by: GetItRight on April 28, 2019, 04:05:31 PM
| Year | Student Loan | SL % Gross | SL % Net |
| 2018 | $9,999.84 | 8.77% | 12.54% |
| 2017 | $35,294.30 | 33.22% | 50.87% |
| 2016 | $18,135.61 | 18.23% | 26.32% |
| 2015 | $24,663.33 | 26.28% | 33.79% |
| 2014 | $15,635.75 | 17.77% | 22.89% |
| 2013 | $14,805.15 | 18.70% | 23.88% |
| 2012 | $16,963.50 | 22.03% | 28.00% |
| 2011 | $7,308.80 | 11.84% | 14.09% |
| 2010 | $5,000.00 | 11.45% | 12.50% |
For 2019 so far I've only paid $1695.20 toward student loans. $58,948.57 at 5.02% left to go, and $149,481.48 paid so far. I have been building cash reserves with the intention of paying off the rest in one shot when the time comes. I have $21k in cash and $10k in stocks, so about $31k burning a hole in my pocket. I'm considering making a large payment and resetting the emergency fund.
My recent encounter with my mortality had me on a mini spending spree treating a few close friends who are not as fortunate to a couple things. A trip with my best friend and covering some meals and random group expenses or gifts for some others. I'll likely spend $5k or so on something I've been wanting to do for a long time, a real splurge for me. Not the most financially prudent thing but it's nothing in the scheme of things and I'd rather be able to enjoy that thing while I'm still around. Overall I'm happy to be here living a good life and while a bit conservative with funneling money directly to student loans, I think I'm on a good course to pay them off.
Post by: appleseed on April 29, 2019, 08:20:48 PM
I just paid off the first loan! 3 more to go, but I'm doing a happy dance and celebrating (quietly because everyone else is sleeping lol).
2nd loan - $1,194 - to be paid off in April
These last two are a lower interest (2.625), so I'll add the minimum I was paying to the other two loans to those payments, but diverting the extra payments to other higher interest debt and savings. We're still on track for paying off by the end of the year!!
$3,532
$3,086
I've been MIA. Congrats to everyone who has paid off their loans! We're getting there!
I paid off another one this month! So we are down to two left:
3,258.43
2,846.52
Total - $6104
Both are at 2.625% - so I haven't been as aggressive in paying those down. We also wanted to max our SEP accounts for 2018 and owed ($%^!&*) $2600 in taxes for last year, so I didn't snowball the payments from the other two loans. Still plan to nix these by the end of the year, but I am going to build up cash first and make sure we're good for all our investments at the end of the year before the big pay off. We also have some work to do on our rentals in between tenants. Anyways, it feels like progress!
Post by: zeli2033 on April 30, 2019, 07:46:52 AM
3/8/18: $62,846
3/20/18: $60,722
4/2/18: $59,399
4/18/18: $58,372
6/30/18: $ 58,175
7/13/18: $ 55,929
8/12/18: $54,868
8/15/18: $53,821
9/5/18: $52,622
9/18/18: $50,941
10/2/18: $46,212
10/17/18: $42,804
11/6/18: $40,746
12/4/18: $38,695
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889
3/5/19: $25,209
3/29/19: $20,625
4/15/19: $17,550
4/30/19: $0!
I can't wait for my loan provider to actually show the $0 balance. But it's official. Final payment for the payoff amount made this morning. So happy to be free of the Student Loan Debt Shackles!
Keep up the awesome work, everyone!!
Post by: appleseed on April 30, 2019, 09:10:03 AM
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]That's fantastic! Congratulations
3/8/18: $62,846
3/20/18: $60,722
4/2/18: $59,399
4/18/18: $58,372
6/30/18: $ 58,175
7/13/18: $ 55,929
8/12/18: $54,868
8/15/18: $53,821
9/5/18: $52,622
9/18/18: $50,941
10/2/18: $46,212
10/17/18: $42,804
11/6/18: $40,746
12/4/18: $38,695
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889
3/5/19: $25,209
3/29/19: $20,625
4/15/19: $17,550
4/30/19: $0!
I can't wait for my loan provider to actually show the $0 balance. But it's official. Final payment for the payoff amount made this morning. So happy to be free of the Student Loan Debt Shackles!
Keep up the awesome work, everyone!!
Post by: Cool Friend on April 30, 2019, 10:43:35 AM
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]
3/8/18: $62,846
3/20/18: $60,722
4/2/18: $59,399
4/18/18: $58,372
6/30/18: $ 58,175
7/13/18: $ 55,929
8/12/18: $54,868
8/15/18: $53,821
9/5/18: $52,622
9/18/18: $50,941
10/2/18: $46,212
10/17/18: $42,804
11/6/18: $40,746
12/4/18: $38,695
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889
3/5/19: $25,209
3/29/19: $20,625
4/15/19: $17,550
4/30/19: $0!
I can't wait for my loan provider to actually show the $0 balance. But it's official. Final payment for the payoff amount made this morning. So happy to be free of the Student Loan Debt Shackles!
Keep up the awesome work, everyone!!
Congratulations! Where were you stashing that final $17,000 you dropped on it in the last couple weeks?
Post by: zeli2033 on April 30, 2019, 03:48:57 PM
2/28/18: $63,221 [Starting Balance]
3/8/18: $62,846
3/20/18: $60,722
4/2/18: $59,399
4/18/18: $58,372
6/30/18: $ 58,175
7/13/18: $ 55,929
8/12/18: $54,868
8/15/18: $53,821
9/5/18: $52,622
9/18/18: $50,941
10/2/18: $46,212
10/17/18: $42,804
11/6/18: $40,746
12/4/18: $38,695
12/31/18: $36,419
1/15/19: $32,900
2/3/19: $30,351
2/16/19: $27,889
3/5/19: $25,209
3/29/19: $20,625
4/15/19: $17,550
4/30/19: $0!
I can't wait for my loan provider to actually show the $0 balance. But it's official. Final payment for the payoff amount made this morning. So happy to be free of the Student Loan Debt Shackles!
Keep up the awesome work, everyone!!
Congratulations! Where were you stashing that final $17,000 you dropped on it in the last couple weeks?
Thanks for the congrats! We weren't stashing it beforehand, we knew we had a bonus coming in that would help us take it down :)
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on May 10, 2019, 03:32:16 PM
Here's our update for May.
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
Mar: 19,550.64
Apr: 8,257.92
May: 6,599.44
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)
We should be getting our tax refund back soon which will knock out a large chunk of what's left here... Should be hitting 0 by mid June!!
Post by: MotherFier on May 13, 2019, 12:15:30 PM
I'm starting at:
1/1/2019: $146,280.17
If that sounds terrifying, just know that I started at more than $213K in 2018, so $146K is nothing! Just kidding it's a horrifying garbage fire BUT I am feeling good about the progress I've made. I'm not sure whether I'll do as well this year -- (1) I need to spend the next couple of months building up my emergency fund rather than paying down debt, and (2) most of last year's debt paydown came from my year-end bonus, and assuming I get a similar bonus this year, I may need to use it for other goals. (I might switch jobs and/or leave my current city in 2020, so I may need that cash for something like a down payment -- long story but given certain elements of my law school's loan repayment assistance program and other life and housing market details, buying a house in the location I'm most likely to settle in would probably be the wisest financial choice even if my loans are still in six-figure territory.) So! I'm going to set a goal of paying off $20K without considering my bonus, and then hopefully I will also have some funds to spare from my bonus.
I've been considering eliminating my 401k contributions this year (we don't have a match, just profit sharing that occurs whether or not I contribute) and devoting that money to my loans, but it's tough to think of sacrificing like $6000 more to taxes (plus missing out on additional gains over the years, etc.). The reason I'm thinking about it anyway is that it's a very very high priority for me to have the freedom to leave my current job in the next year or two, and in all likelihood my next job will pay less. So obviously the less debt I have, the more freedom I have to switch careers.
Another option is to eliminate my monthly contributions and then see what kind of bonus I get and what my 2020 cash needs might be, and potentially just max it out for the year out of my bonus.
Where have you all landed on investing vs. paying down debt?
hi there! Just wanted to send a word of encouragement. You can do it. This is a noble quest (at least that’s what I told myself, hehe). Paid off student loan debt this April, whooo-hoo! Original loan a little over $148K. It feels freaking awesome. Go for it!
Post by: mckaylabaloney on May 13, 2019, 03:13:06 PM
Post by: catorbe on May 14, 2019, 01:23:13 PM
I'm currently at $13,847.52.
Little over 5 weeks later and I'm down to $12,410. Normal payment of $300 coming on 4/1. This will all be applied to the 3.61% interest "pile" and knock the smaller of 2 loans at that rate to under $500. Once that is gone I'll reallocate the remaining payments to the final 3.61% loan as the focus, and from then on out it's all on autopilot. I won't have to mess with MGL about how to allocate my payments any more!
Once my payment clears today I'm on to the last 3.61% loan. This means no more messing with reallocating or choosing which loan to pay off first. I just pay off the 3.61% and it will automatically switch to the final loans of 3.15% after I'm finished. So not a huge milestone, but just one less thing to check on all the time. ~$11,240
Post by: Cool Friend on May 17, 2019, 10:34:14 AM
January: $7,000
February:$6,000
March:$4,700
April: $3,500
May: $500
Gonna have it in the bag by the end of June! Can't wait!!!!!!
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on May 17, 2019, 11:32:43 AM
Post by: Cool Friend on May 17, 2019, 11:34:40 AM
Way to go Cool Friend !
Thank you! :) :) :)
Post by: Money Beets on May 17, 2019, 01:04:43 PM
May Update!
January: $7,000
February:$6,000
March:$4,700
April: $3,500
May: $500
Gonna have it in the bag by the end of June! Can't wait!!!!!!
That is so exciting! Congrats!
Post by: Civex on May 31, 2019, 08:16:28 PM
Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
May 2019-$40356 ($1250 auto payment and ~$600 extra)
I was hoping to get under $40k this month, but a weekend trip ate some of my discretionary. Will be able to knock $2k off principle next month due to FSA reimbursement. Feeling good about getting it under $30k this year; I'd like to pay it off before we try for/have baby 2, but I also don't want to postpone any vacations and will likely double my emergency fund.
Thanks for the support UnexpectedExpenseExpector!
Post by: Money Beets on June 01, 2019, 11:22:43 AM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Total Paid in May = $2,640.51
Targeted loan balance = $13,063.38
End May total balance = $16,137.01
Post by: ItsALongStory on June 01, 2019, 08:31:28 PM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Total Paid in May = $2,640.51
Targeted loan balance = $13,063.38
End May total balance = $16,137.01
Totally misread this initially as you being behind target by 3k but I realized it's the balance of the loan you are targeting next. Making some massive headway here so prepare for saying goodbye to this group.
Post by: bbates728 on June 03, 2019, 09:44:15 AM
July '18: $70,870.81
Aug '18: $67,102.62
Sep '18: $63,319.24
Oct '18: $59,834.55
Nov '18: $55,479.02
Dec '18: $54,781.60
Jan '19: $43,620.29
Feb '19: $39,314.82
Mar '19: $34,975.38
Apr '19: $30,648.33
May '19: $26,297.31
May be pushing my Nov '19 goal a month or two as my wife is now going for her Master's (Expected ROI is roughly 200% in the next eight years before retirement).
Post by: Money Beets on June 03, 2019, 06:48:48 PM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Total Paid in May = $2,640.51
Targeted loan balance = $13,063.38
End May total balance = $16,137.01
Totally misread this initially as you being behind target by 3k but I realized it's the balance of the loan you are targeting next. Making some massive headway here so prepare for saying goodbye to this group.
I am on course to pay them off by the end of November, which would be exactly 5 years since I went into repayment. I can't wait until I get to keep my money!
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on June 04, 2019, 04:31:40 AM
January Starting Balance: 58245.53
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244
February Payments:
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 4276.39
February Ending balance: 46940.55
March Payments:
Min Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 8128.60
March Ending Balance: 37,753.86
Seems that I missed an April update, so here is both April and May:
Total Paid in April: 6328.81
Total Paid in May: 6295.00
May ending balance: 25,448.91
Post by: haypug16 on June 06, 2019, 05:50:31 PM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
2019 Goal - $3,903.13/$10,800
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on June 10, 2019, 02:13:00 PM
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
Mar: 19,550.64
Apr: 8,257.92
May: 6,599.44
June: 3,888.78
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)
So close...
Post by: ItsALongStory on June 10, 2019, 07:16:49 PM
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on June 10, 2019, 08:55:30 PM
Post by: bbates728 on June 11, 2019, 09:07:33 AM
July '18: $70,870.81
Aug '18: $67,102.62
Sep '18: $63,319.24
Oct '18: $59,834.55
Nov '18: $55,479.02
Dec '18: $54,781.60
Jan '19: $43,620.29
Feb '19: $39,314.82
Mar '19: $34,975.38
Apr '19: $30,648.33
May '19: $26,297.31
Jun '19: $20,794.56
Goal - November 2019
Post by: penguintroopers on June 12, 2019, 09:38:17 AM
Very beginning of our debt payoff, June 2018: $103,413
Start of 2019:$81,096.72
January :$79,740.00
February: $78,222.06
March:$70,908.36 (big tax refund)
(Apparently I didn't do a good job recording April's totals)
May: $63,160.51
June: $56,032.36
Getting close to halfway there!
Post by: catorbe on June 12, 2019, 09:49:23 AM
Joining this challenge, but we won't finish until fall of next year.
Very beginning of our debt payoff, June 2018: $103,413
Start of 2019:$81,096.72
January :$79,740.00
February: $78,222.06
March:$70,908.36 (big tax refund)
(Apparently I didn't do a good job recording April's totals)
May: $63,160.51
June: $56,032.36
Getting close to halfway there!
Your payoff progress is insane! What sort of income are we talking here? Are you also still maxing out 401k and other goals or is 100% going to this?
Post by: bbates728 on June 12, 2019, 11:47:12 AM
Joining this challenge, but we won't finish until fall of next year.
Very beginning of our debt payoff, June 2018: $103,413
Start of 2019:$81,096.72
January :$79,740.00
February: $78,222.06
March:$70,908.36 (big tax refund)
(Apparently I didn't do a good job recording April's totals)
May: $63,160.51
June: $56,032.36
Getting close to halfway there!
Good job @catorbe! We are paying off our student loans at approximately the same rate. It certainly feels good seeing the balance go down a few thousand each month, doesn't it?
We started about half a year earlier than you so will be finishing soon. Good luck on your own adventure!
Post by: Metalcat on June 12, 2019, 12:05:36 PM
I'm refinancing my loan to an LOC at an even lower interest rate, comparable to my mortgage rate actually, and since it's an LOC, I only have to pay the interest. So initially my payoff timeline was set, but I think with this new absurdly low rate, I'm actually going to draw it out quite a bit longer and focus even more on investing and especially offsetting my taxes.
I'm honestly so unmotivated to pay it off at this point, if someone cut me a cheque for the exact remaining amount, just under 70K, I still probably would choose to invest it instead of paying off this last chunk of student debt! I'm that over it.
Post by: bbates728 on June 12, 2019, 12:22:06 PM
Investing on margin is still a concept that makes me nervous. I am not sure I could handle downturns as well knowing that the losses were compounded by the interest even if I know that the math shows that it ultimately is a winning idea.
So with this development, do you expect to be paying anything towards principle or just let it ride indefinitely?
Post by: Metalcat on June 12, 2019, 12:53:34 PM
Wow, way to go Malkynn! I looked at refinancing and SoFi didn't show that big of a difference in interest rates for me. Also, it wouldn't have been a LoC so it seems like you really did well!
Investing on margin is still a concept that makes me nervous. I am not sure I could handle downturns as well knowing that the losses were compounded by the interest even if I know that the math shows that it ultimately is a winning idea.
So with this development, do you expect to be paying anything towards principle or just let it ride indefinitely?
I'm not in the US, and I have access to special banking that's only available to certain professions, that's why I have so many more options.
For me, the returns actually don't even matter that much, because the bigger gain is offsetting my taxes. My marginal tax rate is nearly 50%, and I have A LOT of tax deferred account space to back-fill, and I don't plan on continuing at this high income for too many more years, so I'm running out of time to use up that space at the most beneficial time.
Our system is different, we have a tax-deferral account, which has no connection to our employer, where we can do whatever we want with the money inside it. I could leave it as cash if I wanted to.
The new rate is variable, so what I do long term will depend on what the rates do long term. Also, my motivation to get rid of it might return as well after a little while. It's just that after over 5 years of hyper focus on debt and tackling 350K already, I'm done even caring about it for awhile.
Post by: penguintroopers on June 13, 2019, 08:11:56 AM
Wow, way to go Malkynn! I looked at refinancing and SoFi didn't show that big of a difference in interest rates for me. Also, it wouldn't have been a LoC so it seems like you really did well!
Investing on margin is still a concept that makes me nervous. I am not sure I could handle downturns as well knowing that the losses were compounded by the interest even if I know that the math shows that it ultimately is a winning idea.
So with this development, do you expect to be paying anything towards principle or just let it ride indefinitely?
I didn’t have as much of a difference with sofi either, but I had great success refinancing my large private loans that were 8%, variable, and increasing to a fixed 5% with earnest and highly recommend. If you’re interested I have a referral link that would get us each $200 off for refinancing.
And @catorbe, thanks :) total income last year was $118k, affected some by me being hourly and putting in OT. 401(k) savings are 5% of household income to make employer matches. Hubs socks away a tiny amount for the HSA for if we have a big disaster in the meantime ($1300/year). Total tax burden around $15k for fed + state + local. Living on something like $35k/year. Annual giving around $9k (a priority for us, even while in debt).
Not gonna lie, I’m so ready for sallie Mae to be gone.
Post by: Plina on June 13, 2019, 11:07:24 AM
Sooo...
I'm refinancing my loan to an LOC at an even lower interest rate, comparable to my mortgage rate actually, and since it's an LOC, I only have to pay the interest. So initially my payoff timeline was set, but I think with this new absurdly low rate, I'm actually going to draw it out quite a bit longer and focus even more on investing and especially offsetting my taxes.
I'm honestly so unmotivated to pay it off at this point, if someone cut me a cheque for the exact remaining amount, just under 70K, I still probably would choose to invest it instead of paying off this last chunk of student debt! I'm that over it.
I am in a similar position with a ridiculous low interestrate at 0,16 %. It doesn’t make it sense financially to pay it off faster. I have about 15 years left and I hate the payments but when you do the math...
Post by: bbates728 on June 13, 2019, 11:21:17 AM
Wow, way to go Malkynn! I looked at refinancing and SoFi didn't show that big of a difference in interest rates for me. Also, it wouldn't have been a LoC so it seems like you really did well!
Investing on margin is still a concept that makes me nervous. I am not sure I could handle downturns as well knowing that the losses were compounded by the interest even if I know that the math shows that it ultimately is a winning idea.
So with this development, do you expect to be paying anything towards principle or just let it ride indefinitely?
I didn’t have as much of a difference with sofi either, but I had great success refinancing my large private loans that were 8%, variable, and increasing to a fixed 5% with earnest and highly recommend. If you’re interested I have a referral link that would get us each $200 off for refinancing.
And @catorbe, thanks :) total income last year was $118k, affected some by me being hourly and putting in OT. 401(k) savings are 5% of household income to make employer matches. Hubs socks away a tiny amount for the HSA for if we have a big disaster in the meantime ($1300/year). Total tax burden around $15k for fed + state + local. Living on something like $35k/year. Annual giving around $9k (a priority for us, even while in debt).
Not gonna lie, I’m so ready for sallie Mae to be gone.
Saying good bye to Sallie Mae was amazing. What a great day.
Post by: catorbe on June 13, 2019, 12:04:39 PM
Joining this challenge, but we won't finish until fall of next year.
Very beginning of our debt payoff, June 2018: $103,413
Start of 2019:$81,096.72
January :$79,740.00
February: $78,222.06
March:$70,908.36 (big tax refund)
(Apparently I didn't do a good job recording April's totals)
May: $63,160.51
June: $56,032.36
Getting close to halfway there!
Good job @catorbe! We are paying off our student loans at approximately the same rate. It certainly feels good seeing the balance go down a few thousand each month, doesn't it?
We started about half a year earlier than you so will be finishing soon. Good luck on your own adventure!
Ahhhh! I was referring to Penguintroopers great progress. Mine is a bit slower!
Post by: Metalcat on June 13, 2019, 12:31:17 PM
Sallie Mae?? Sofi?
Post by: FireLane on June 17, 2019, 01:41:49 PM
These friggin' names that your US loans have, has me chuckling every time. Where do these names come from?
Sallie Mae?? Sofi?
A lot of these loan companies were government-backed corporations originally, and the silly names come from efforts to turn their acronyms into something pronounceable.
Sallie Mae used to be the Student Loan Marketing Association, and I guess someone thought "SLMA" sounded like "Sallie Mae." We also have Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association or FNMA), Ginnie Mae (Government National Mortgage Association or GNMA), and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or FHLMC - okay, that one doesn't make sense at all).
Post by: Metalcat on June 17, 2019, 02:17:39 PM
These friggin' names that your US loans have, has me chuckling every time. Where do these names come from?
Sallie Mae?? Sofi?
A lot of these loan companies were government-backed corporations originally, and the silly names come from efforts to turn their acronyms into something pronounceable.
Sallie Mae used to be the Student Loan Marketing Association, and I guess someone thought "SLMA" sounded like "Sallie Mae." We also have Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association or FNMA), Ginnie Mae (Government National Mortgage Association or GNMA), and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or FHLMC - okay, that one doesn't make sense at all).
Honestly, I think that explanation makes it sound even stranger.
Post by: Civex on June 25, 2019, 07:52:50 PM
Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
May 2019-$40356 ($1250 auto payment and ~$600 extra)
June 2019-$38250 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra)
Feeling pretty good!! With the extra $1k I tossed at it this month, just the auto payments will get me under $30k this year. I feel like once I'm under $30k, it'll be able to knock it out in a year! Wohoo!
Post by: Money Beets on June 27, 2019, 03:25:30 PM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Total Paid in May = $2,640.51
Targeted loan balance = $13,063.38
End May total balance = $16,137.01
Total Paid in June = $4,340.51
Targeted loan balance = $8,797.40
End June total balance = $11,845.47
Post by: catorbe on June 27, 2019, 11:14:19 PM
I'm currently at $13,847.52.
Little over 5 weeks later and I'm down to $12,410. Normal payment of $300 coming on 4/1. This will all be applied to the 3.61% interest "pile" and knock the smaller of 2 loans at that rate to under $500. Once that is gone I'll reallocate the remaining payments to the final 3.61% loan as the focus, and from then on out it's all on autopilot. I won't have to mess with MGL about how to allocate my payments any more!
Once my payment clears today I'm on to the last 3.61% loan. This means no more messing with reallocating or choosing which loan to pay off first. I just pay off the 3.61% and it will automatically switch to the final loans of 3.15% after I'm finished. So not a huge milestone, but just one less thing to check on all the time. ~$11,240
With a payment made today and my auto payment on 7/1/19 i'll be under $10,000!!!!! Almost there!
Post by: Money Beets on June 28, 2019, 05:21:00 PM
I'm currently at $13,847.52.
Little over 5 weeks later and I'm down to $12,410. Normal payment of $300 coming on 4/1. This will all be applied to the 3.61% interest "pile" and knock the smaller of 2 loans at that rate to under $500. Once that is gone I'll reallocate the remaining payments to the final 3.61% loan as the focus, and from then on out it's all on autopilot. I won't have to mess with MGL about how to allocate my payments any more!
Once my payment clears today I'm on to the last 3.61% loan. This means no more messing with reallocating or choosing which loan to pay off first. I just pay off the 3.61% and it will automatically switch to the final loans of 3.15% after I'm finished. So not a huge milestone, but just one less thing to check on all the time. ~$11,240
With a payment made today and my auto payment on 7/1/19 i'll be under $10,000!!!!! Almost there!
Getting down to 4 figures is awesome. I should be there by the end of July and I am finally feeling like I can fantasize about what life will be like without this expense.
Post by: Cool Friend on July 01, 2019, 08:24:47 AM
I can no begin to describe the amount of relief I feel. 3 years ago I still had $30,000 in student loans, a small portion of which was in default. I had so many stretches of unemployment after the recession, and watching the interest accrue on my account while I struggled to pay anything at all on it was kindle for the blazing fire of depression I was in. I despaired heavily and thought I'd be paying these loans for at least another decade.
Then I had the great fortunate of landing a decent-paying job and took the advice of this website by making the discharge of this debt a serious priority. 3 years later, it's all gone.
I feel so free. I never want that kind of debt hanging over my head ever again. I'm going to keep saving as much as I can, starting with beefing up my emergency savings modestly and then increasing my 401k contributions.
So god damn relieved.
Post by: ItsALongStory on July 01, 2019, 12:29:07 PM
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
Post by: Money Beets on July 01, 2019, 03:57:16 PM
Post by: penguintroopers on July 02, 2019, 02:51:47 AM
Joining this challenge, but we won't finish until fall of next year.
Very beginning of our debt payoff, June 2018: $103,413
Start of 2019:$81,096.72
January :$79,740.00
February: $78,222.06
March:$70,908.36 (big tax refund)
(Apparently I didn't do a good job recording April's totals)
May: $63,160.51
June: $56,032.36
Getting close to halfway there!
Balance at the start of July: $50,663.45 :)
Post by: Metalcat on July 02, 2019, 05:00:20 AM
Didn't get what I wanted with the LOC, so I'll be keeping with my already low interest loan and it's set payment schedule for now.
The bank is apparently launching a better product for professionals like me sometime this year, so I'll see if that works out better.
Meanwhile, my balance is somewhere in the high 60Ks, and will be in the mid 50Ks by the end of the year. Sometimes it feels like nothing compared to the starting balance, but then it feels like a lot when I consider how much time is left to pay it off.
Post by: TyGuy on July 05, 2019, 09:16:44 AM
Hello,
Thanks for starting this thread, I will be sharing my progress, hopefully paying off my loans by the middle of 2020 (depending on if I land a new job that I am currently interviewing for). Additionally, I will be making a minimum payment of $1000 a month (self-enforced minimum, actual is ~$350), adding whatever additional funds I have to the principle.
1/12/19:
NGA $3,751.61 @ 3.86%
NGB $811.80 @ 3.86%
NGC $4,779.69 @ 4.66%
NGD $2,397.55 @ 4.66%
NGE $5,814.59 @ 4.29%
NGF $2,271.61 @ 4.29%
NGI $5,520.77 @ 4.45%
H1&2 $18,415 @ 5.00%
Total: $43,762.76
I am excited to knock these loans down significantly this year and look forward to tracking my progress with you all!
2/1/19:
NG Total: 25,145.92 @~4.20% (-$201.70)
H1&2 $17,415.14 @ 5.00% (-$1,000)
Total: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
I am happy with my start to the year, I am still hopeful to be starting a new job with a significantly higher salary in the coming months! Nice job to everyone else, seems the year is off to a good start.
3/4/19
NG Total: $24,956.86 (-$189.06)
H1&2: $16,464.79 (-$950.35)
Total: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
It has been a few months since I have updated my total, but I have been moving in the right direction. It is exciting to see the progress you all are making and it has been encouraging for me!
NG Total: $23,996.01
H1&H2: $13,905.62
Total: 37,901.63
I have been contributing significantly more to retirement accounts since landing the new job, but plan to continue with steady progress on the student loans.
Post by: haypug16 on July 05, 2019, 11:26:21 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
June 30th 2019 - $42,187.55 (-828.68 decrease)
2019 Goal - $4,731.81/$10,800
May not hit my goal exactly but I'm ok with that. My plan is to just make min payments this year so I can max my 401K and Roth IRA for the first time ever. Next year I should be able to max both those accounts and also add a couple hundred to my monthly SL payments.
Post by: Civex on July 17, 2019, 04:44:23 PM
Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
May 2019-$40356 ($1250 auto payment and ~$600 extra)
June 2019-$38250 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra)
July 2019-$36931 ($1250 auto payment and $100 "extra" in checking thrown towards principle
-hoping to throw an extra $300-500 yet this month at it; picking up an extra shifts and my daycare costs are *finally* going down!
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on July 22, 2019, 08:19:58 AM
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
Mar: 19,550.64
Apr: 8,257.92
May: 6,599.44
June: 3,888.78
July: 0.00
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)
We're debt free!!! We're looking forward to getting to reallocate the extra payment funds now!
Post by: bbates728 on July 22, 2019, 01:20:55 PM
Here's our update for July.
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
Mar: 19,550.64
Apr: 8,257.92
May: 6,599.44
June: 3,888.78
July: 0.00
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)
We're debt free!!! We're looking forward to getting to reallocate the extra payment funds now!
Congrats!!!!!!!!!
Post by: Photograph 51 on July 22, 2019, 02:06:47 PM
Oct 2018- $60,027.21
Nov 2018- $59.269.03
Dec 2018- $56,209.35
Jan 2019- $51,211.89
Feb 2019- $48,641.40
March 2019- $41,379.76
April 2019- $37,403.77
May 2019- $33,285.51
June 2019- $28,553.14
July 2019- $23,609.31
Balance as of today: $21,111.33
My goal is to have this paid off by the end of the year. I already have a paid off house, and I don't qualify for my employers 401 K yet, so I may as well crush my student loans.
Post by: UnexpectedExpenseExpector on July 22, 2019, 02:58:50 PM
Here's our update for July.
2018
Jul: 34,235.29
Aug: 31,126.76
Sep: 30,670.30
Oct: 29,554.17
Nov: 26,987.46
Dec: 25,869.79
2019
Jan: 23,886.93
Feb: 21,695.55
Mar: 19,550.64
Apr: 8,257.92
May: 6,599.44
June: 3,888.78
July: 0.00
...
2019 Jul: 0.00 (GOAL)
We're debt free!!! We're looking forward to getting to reallocate the extra payment funds now!
Congrats!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!!
Post by: bbates728 on July 22, 2019, 04:52:03 PM
Graduate with a master's in physician assistant studies May, 2018. Total cost of the program was about $90,000. I graduated with about $64,000 in debt. It took me a few months to start really earning money due to boards, licensing, finding a job, and such. These are my student loan statement amounts:
Oct 2018- $60,027.21
Nov 2018- $59.269.03
Dec 2018- $56,209.35
Jan 2019- $51,211.89
Feb 2019- $48,641.40
March 2019- $41,379.76
April 2019- $37,403.77
May 2019- $33,285.51
June 2019- $28,553.14
July 2019- $23,609.31
Balance as of today: $21,111.33
My goal is to have this paid off by the end of the year. I already have a paid off house, and I don't qualify for my employers 401 K yet, so I may as well crush my student loans.
Wow, that's awesome! I have been crushing my student loans but it took me a year or so before I really began in earnest. I think we will end up killing them off at about the same time.
Also, welcome to the forums! I hope to see you around more in the future!
Post by: actonyourown on July 22, 2019, 07:59:33 PM
30-Jun-2017 $(22,866.78)
31-Jul-2017 $(22,667.86)
31-Aug-2017 $(22,464.68)
30-Sep-2017 $(22,284.06)
31-Oct-2017 $(21,768.65)
30-Nov-2017 $(21,261.87)
31-Dec-2017 $(21,047.49)
31-Jan-2018 $(20,835.42)
28-Feb-2018 $(20,622.45)
31-Mar-2018 $(20,399.78)
30-Apr-2018 $(20,184.88)
31-May-2018 $(19,966.21)
30-Jun-2018 $(19,749.45)
31-Jul-2018 $(18,814.92)
31-Aug-2018 $(18,601.20)
30-Sep-2018 $(18,389.23)
31-Oct-2018 $(16,970.38)
30-Nov-2018 $(16,771.31)
31-Dec-2018 $(16,438.70)
31-Jan-2019 $(16,107.00)
28-Feb-2019 $(15,773.88)
31-Mar-2019 $(13,957.31)
30-Apr-2019 $(13,651.44)
31-May-2019 $(13,342.44)
30-Jun-2019 $(13,034.01)
31-Jul-2019 $(5,953.46)
Post by: Money Beets on July 27, 2019, 08:58:29 AM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Total Paid in May = $2,640.51
Targeted loan balance = $13,063.38
End May total balance = $16,137.01
Total Paid in June = $4,340.51
Targeted loan balance = $8,797.40
End June total balance = $11,845.47
Total Paid in July = $2,403.51
Targeted loan balance = $6,473.29
End July total balance = $9,484.13
Post by: trygeek on July 27, 2019, 10:31:31 AM
Post by: trygeek on July 27, 2019, 10:32:49 AM
Post by: penguintroopers on July 28, 2019, 04:20:30 PM
Joining this challenge, but we won't finish until fall of next year.
Very beginning of our debt payoff, June 2018: $103,413
Start of 2019:$81,096.72
January :$79,740.00
February: $78,222.06
March:$70,908.36 (big tax refund)
(Apparently I didn't do a good job recording April's totals)
May: $63,160.51
June: $56,032.36
Getting close to halfway there!
Balance at the start of July: $50,663.45 :)
End of July/beginning of August: $48,625.76
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on July 29, 2019, 10:07:31 AM
January Starting Balance: 58245.53
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244
February Payments:
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 4276.39
February Ending balance: 46940.55
March Payments:
Min Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 8128.60
March Ending Balance: 37,753.86
Seems that I missed an April update, so here is both April and May:
Total Paid in April: 6328.81
Total Paid in May: 6295.00
May ending balance: 25,448.91
Total Paid in June: 5887.92
Total Paid in July: 4709.50
July ending balance: 14916.16
Will have these paid off in September! I cannot wait for this to be gone!
Post by: penguintroopers on July 29, 2019, 05:18:53 PM
January Starting Balance: 58245.53
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244
February Payments:
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 4276.39
February Ending balance: 46940.55
March Payments:
Min Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 8128.60
March Ending Balance: 37,753.86
Seems that I missed an April update, so here is both April and May:
Total Paid in April: 6328.81
Total Paid in May: 6295.00
May ending balance: 25,448.91
Total Paid in June: 5887.92
Total Paid in July: 4709.50
July ending balance: 14916.16
Will have these paid off in September! I cannot wait for this to be gone!
YAY! We have one loan that we should be making our final payment in October, and we are SO ready for it to be gone.
And $15k paid in two months?! Insanity!
Post by: bbates728 on August 01, 2019, 10:19:39 AM
July '18: $70,870.81
Aug '18: $67,102.62
Sep '18: $63,319.24
Oct '18: $59,834.55
Nov '18: $55,479.02
Dec '18: $54,781.60
Jan '19: $43,620.29
Feb '19: $39,314.82
Mar '19: $34,975.38
Apr '19: $30,648.33
May '19: $26,297.31
Jun '19: $20,794.56
July '19: $16,018.50
Aug '19: $ $12,148.40
Goal - November 2019
This month marks the end of my federal student loans!! No more private or federal loans now!
I still have one more balance to take out but am unsure if I am going to be pursuing it heavily. My dad purchased one of my loans that he cosigned as he needed his credit score to go up for a house under the condition that I continue to pay it off to him at his bank account interest rate of 2%. I talked to him about increasing it because 2% is borderline robbery but he told me that this money would be sitting in cash anyway. He has no interest in me paying it early so I am thinking of hoarding some money and paying it off all at once so there is only one awkward conversation.
Anyway! No more federal loans! No more obsessively checking to make sure payments are made! WHEEEE
Post by: haypug16 on August 02, 2019, 08:20:27 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
June 30th 2019 - $42,187.55
July 31st 2019 - $41,380.14
2019 Goal - $5,539.22/$10,800
Just a couple months away from getting out of the $40ks :D
Post by: TyGuy on August 10, 2019, 02:06:56 PM
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
Great to see everyone's progress, keep it up! Working on building tax advantage accounts while also still making large payments on my loans. I should be able to reach a net worth of $0.00 by the end of the year!
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on September 10, 2019, 04:27:53 AM
January Starting Balance: 58245.53
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244
February Payments:
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 4276.39
February Ending balance: 46940.55
March Payments:
Min Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 8128.60
March Ending Balance: 37,753.86
Seems that I missed an April update, so here is both April and May:
Total Paid in April: 6328.81
Total Paid in May: 6295.00
May ending balance: 25,448.91
Total Paid in June: 5887.92
Total Paid in July: 4709.50
July ending balance: 14916.16
Will have these paid off in September! I cannot wait for this to be gone!
Total Paid in August: 8336.28
August ending balance: 6658.84
Paid a little less in August than I was hoping for, but still on track to have hem paid off by the end of this month! Can’t wait!
Post by: Civex on September 17, 2019, 08:52:02 PM
Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
May 2019-$40356 ($1250 auto payment and ~$600 extra)
June 2019-$38250 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra)
July 2019-$36931 ($1250 auto payment and $100 "extra" in checking thrown towards principle
-hoping to throw an extra $300-500 yet this month at it; picking up an extra shifts and my daycare costs are *finally* going down!
Missed a month
August 2019$1250 regular payment + $480 "extra"
September 2019: $34,264-$1250 regular payment
Very much feel like its been two steps forward and one step back this summer-every time I think I'll be able to pay down extra, something comes up. Starting to get caught up on home maintenance and prepaid for our winter vacation, so hopefully I won't have any >$1k random expenses in the next 6 months. Targeting sub $30k by 2020 ($1422 in principal/month or roughly $1600 gross/month for the rest of the year.)
Post by: catorbe on September 18, 2019, 07:36:35 AM
I'm currently at $13,847.52.
Little over 5 weeks later and I'm down to $12,410. Normal payment of $300 coming on 4/1. This will all be applied to the 3.61% interest "pile" and knock the smaller of 2 loans at that rate to under $500. Once that is gone I'll reallocate the remaining payments to the final 3.61% loan as the focus, and from then on out it's all on autopilot. I won't have to mess with MGL about how to allocate my payments any more!
Once my payment clears today I'm on to the last 3.61% loan. This means no more messing with reallocating or choosing which loan to pay off first. I just pay off the 3.61% and it will automatically switch to the final loans of 3.15% after I'm finished. So not a huge milestone, but just one less thing to check on all the time. ~$11,240
With a payment made today and my auto payment on 7/1/19 i'll be under $10,000!!!!! Almost there!
Been funding an IRA a little more heavily in the last few months with the volatility prior to the run up. Under 9,000!
Post by: Photograph 51 on September 19, 2019, 08:51:18 AM
Post by: FireLane on September 21, 2019, 05:15:37 PM
I'd like to join this thread!
I finished grad school in 2006 with about $30,000 in loans. Since it was a federal loan with a low interest rate (3.5%), I've been letting it ride. But I'm officially sick of it. It's my last debt remaining, and it's become a weight on my mind out of proportion to what I actually owe. Plus, my planned 2020 FIRE date is approaching, and I want to have zero debt before I quit my job.
As of today, I have $11,700 left. If I stick to the schedule, it won't be paid off till 2026. Instead, I'd like to pay it off by the end of this year or early next year.
I've been whittling away at this loan, paying a few hundred extra each month, but now I've decided to put the hammer down. I made a big payment and I'm down to about $2500 owed. Next month, I'm going to finish it off.
Post by: appleseed on September 21, 2019, 06:32:02 PM
I just paid off my student loans, 16 months after graduation. Once the balance got down to a 4 digit number, I decided I just wanted to be rid of the loans. Since I had enough money on hand to pay them off, I went ahead and did so. I though I would feel joyful, excited, or at least relieved. Instead I feel nothing. It's kind of a let down.Congratulations!
Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
Post by: appleseed on September 21, 2019, 06:40:04 PM
2,658I just paid off the first loan! 3 more to go, but I'm doing a happy dance and celebrating (quietly because everyone else is sleeping lol).
2nd loan - $1,194 - to be paid off in April
These last two are a lower interest (2.625), so I'll add the minimum I was paying to the other two loans to those payments, but diverting the extra payments to other higher interest debt and savings. We're still on track for paying off by the end of the year!!
$3,532
$3,086
I've been MIA. Congrats to everyone who has paid off their loans! We're getting there!
I paid off another one this month! So we are down to two left:
3,258.43
2,846.52
Total - $6104
Both are at 2.625% - so I haven't been as aggressive in paying those down. We also wanted to max our SEP accounts for 2018 and owed ($%^!&*) $2600 in taxes for last year, so I didn't snowball the payments from the other two loans. Still plan to nix these by the end of the year, but I am going to build up cash first and make sure we're good for all our investments at the end of the year before the big pay off. We also have some work to do on our rentals in between tenants. Anyways, it feels like progress!
2,322
Total - $4,980
I paid a little extra this month to get it down to under $5k, which feels like a big accomplishment. Our end of month payment goes in on the 28th, so that's another $160ish off.
I'm not as focused on paying these off by the end of the year, since we had a bunch of unexpected expenses for one rental, and I'm prioritizing retirement/HSA/529 contributions until those as maxed (retirement and HSA) or at my goal for the year (529s). Any time we have some additional income I throw a little to the loans, so new plan is by my husband's birthday in April. Completely doable and once they're below $2k, I'll probably be tempted to just pay them off for good.
Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
Post by: Metalcat on September 22, 2019, 05:47:51 AM
I just paid off my student loans, 16 months after graduation. Once the balance got down to a 4 digit number, I decided I just wanted to be rid of the loans. Since I had enough money on hand to pay them off, I went ahead and did so. I though I would feel joyful, excited, or at least relieved. Instead I feel nothing. It's kind of a let down.
This is the way with unpleasant things that you have to wait to be rid of. The presence of the unpleasant thing is very powerful and it feels like it's absence should be profoundly pleasant, but it isn't.
It's more that after a few months you notice pleasantly that you haven't wasted any thought on it in awhile. It's the absence of having to care about it that's so nice.
I'm looking forward to that with my last remaining loan, which is somewhere in the low 60K level, but is going to take a beating soon once I sell my old house. I doubt we'll make enough to wipe out the loan completely, but definitely by over half at the very least.
Post by: Photograph 51 on September 23, 2019, 03:50:40 AM
Everyone else, keep up the hard work towards getting the loans to go away. Not being in debt is worth it. (Although I am figuring that my credit score will take a hit.)
Post by: Metalcat on September 23, 2019, 03:53:50 AM
Thanks for the replies. I think I was feeling nothing because it didn't seem real. Now the payment has cleared Nelnet, and they're showing a $0.00 balance, so now it seems more real and it is a relief. Over the past couple of days I've been having moments of reminding myself that I am now debt free, which feels good. Now I need to start throwing money at my IRA and HSA so I can max them out for this year and enjoy the tax benefits.
Everyone else, keep up the hard work towards getting the loans to go away. Not being in debt is worth it. (Although I am figuring that my credit score will take a hit.)
Are you planning on taking on any more debt?
Post by: Photograph 51 on September 23, 2019, 07:26:56 AM
Post by: Metalcat on September 23, 2019, 07:39:14 AM
I have no plans to take on any more debt. My house is paid for. So I guess the credit score hit won't be that important. Every time I have paid off any of the loans- there were four total to begin with- my credit score has gone down. It just seems messed up that paying off debt makes a person less credit corthy, rather than more.
lol, you are less credit-worthy though, because people like you are less profitable for the credit companies.
Your credit score is irrelevant at this point, so don't give it a second thought.
Post by: Money Beets on September 28, 2019, 09:34:55 AM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Total Paid in May = $2,640.51
Targeted loan balance = $13,063.38
End May total balance = $16,137.01
Total Paid in June = $4,340.51
Targeted loan balance = $8,797.40
End June total balance = $11,845.47
Total Paid in July = $2,403.51
Targeted loan balance = $6,473.29
End July total balance = $9,484.13
Total Paid in August & September = $4,586.02
Targeted loan balance = $2,051.99
End September total balance = $4,961.21
I plan to split the remaining balance and pay half in October and finish it off in November.
Post by: Metalcat on October 01, 2019, 01:58:58 PM
So I'll be free a good 2 years early!
Neat-o.
Post by: haypug16 on October 02, 2019, 04:31:16 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
June 30th 2019 - $42,187.55
July 31st 2019 - $41,380.14
Augsut 31st 2019 - $40,605.86
September 30th 2019 - $39,829.16
under $40k woohoo!!!
Post by: catorbe on October 02, 2019, 07:41:30 AM
September Update:At the rate of 1/1 to 9/30 you have 4.27 years left! Wage increases, spending reductions, and simply more badassity will make that timeline shorter so keep it up!
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
June 30th 2019 - $42,187.55
July 31st 2019 - $41,380.14
Augsut 31st 2019 - $40,605.86
September 30th 2019 - $39,829.16
under $40k woohoo!!!
Post by: haypug16 on October 02, 2019, 09:48:20 AM
At the rate of 1/1 to 9/30 you have 4.27 years left! Wage increases, spending reductions, and simply more badassity will make that timeline shorter so keep it up!
Thanks, my hope is 3 more years. I should be able to add a little to my monthly payments starting in Janaury.
Post by: shadesofgreen on October 02, 2019, 03:44:27 PM
At 62K left of the initial 420K, it looks like I'll be paying it all off at the end of the month as we've sold one of our properties and will make almost exactly what I still owe.
So I'll be free a good 2 years early!
Neat-o.
That is excellent news for you. Piece of mind is a wonderful thing.
Post by: outdoorsyfreedom on October 02, 2019, 06:05:29 PM
January Starting Balance: 58245.53
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra payment: 4821.79
January Ending Balance: 52244
February Payments:
Min. Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 4276.39
February Ending balance: 46940.55
March Payments:
Min Payment: 1178.77
Extra Payment: 8128.60
March Ending Balance: 37,753.86
Seems that I missed an April update, so here is both April and May:
Total Paid in April: 6328.81
Total Paid in May: 6295.00
May ending balance: 25,448.91
Total Paid in June: 5887.92
Total Paid in July: 4709.50
July ending balance: 14916.16
Will have these paid off in September! I cannot wait for this to be gone!
Total Paid in August: 8336.28
August ending balance: 6658.84
Paid a little less in August than I was hoping for, but still on track to have hem paid off by the end of this month! Can’t wait!
I’m all done! My last payment just cleared the account today! Paid 190k in 4 years 4 months. So thrilled for this to be over with!
Post by: FireLane on October 03, 2019, 08:43:06 AM
I'd like to join this thread!
I finished grad school in 2006 with about $30,000 in loans. Since it was a federal loan with a low interest rate (3.5%), I've been letting it ride. But I'm officially sick of it. It's my last debt remaining, and it's become a weight on my mind out of proportion to what I actually owe. Plus, my planned 2020 FIRE date is approaching, and I want to have zero debt before I quit my job.
As of today, I have $11,700 left. If I stick to the schedule, it won't be paid off till 2026. Instead, I'd like to pay it off by the end of this year or early next year.
I've been whittling away at this loan, paying a few hundred extra each month, but now I've decided to put the hammer down. I made a big payment and I'm down to about $2500 owed. Next month, I'm going to finish it off.
And I'm officially done! I made the last payment this week. It feels good. :)
Post by: shadesofgreen on October 03, 2019, 10:03:20 AM
And I'm officially done! I made the last payment this week. It feels good. :)
I’m all done! My last payment just cleared the account today! Paid 190k in 4 years 4 months. So thrilled for this to be over with!
Congrats to you both.
Post by: dfm20 on October 05, 2019, 09:50:35 AM
I've been reading this blog for a couple years but this is my first time posting. I finally paid off my student loans and couldn't let the moment pass without expressing my gratitude to this amazing community of people! You have all inspired me and motivated me to push through the many challenges. Could not have achieved this without the MMM community. Thank you so much!! I am so relieved to finally be 100% #DEBTFREE!!!!
Payment: Balance:
1/16/17 $38,832
6/3/17 $37,428
8/9/17 $36,897
9/9/17 $36,622
10/9/17 $36,337
11/8/17 $36,059
12/8/17 $35,780
1/6/18 $35,487
2/9/18 $35,217
3/10/18 $34,924
4/6/18 $34,620
5/9/18 $32,312
6/9/18 $29,906
7/7/18 $29,617
8/11/18 $29,322
9/9/18 $28,995
10/6/18 $28,656
12/9/18 $28,018
1/17/19 $27,741
2/12/19 $27,392
4/13/19 $26,719
5/10/19 $24,373
6/30/19 $21,222
7/16/19 $19,286
8/14/19 $14,469
9/13/19 $8,959
9/17/19 $0
Post by: TyGuy on October 06, 2019, 10:53:42 AM
01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
Post by: shadesofgreen on October 07, 2019, 02:52:25 PM
Hello everyone,
I've been reading this blog for a couple years but this is my first time posting. I finally paid off my student loans and couldn't let the moment pass without expressing my gratitude to this amazing community of people! You have all inspired me and motivated me to push through the many challenges. Could not have achieved this without the MMM community. Thank you so much!! I am so relieved to finally be 100% #DEBTFREE!!!!
Congrats on being free from debt.
Post by: Civex on October 09, 2019, 08:17:00 PM
Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
May 2019-$40356 ($1250 auto payment and ~$600 extra)
June 2019-$38250 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra)
July 2019-$36931 ($1250 auto payment and $100 "extra" in checking thrown towards principle
-hoping to throw an extra $300-500 yet this month at it; picking up an extra shifts and my daycare costs are *finally* going down!
Missed a month
August 2019$1250 regular payment + $480 "extra"
September 2019: $34,264-$1250 regular payment
Targeting sub $30k by 2020 ($1422 in principal/month or roughly $1600 gross/month for the rest of the year.)
October 2019 *kicking ass thus far!* $32,118
Refinanced from 5.09% to 3.95% and should be getting a $300 bonus.
-Regular payment: $1250
-Extra $1k from vehicle sale
On target for sub $30k this year!
Post by: EscapedApe on October 16, 2019, 08:57:53 AM
I just paid off my student loans, 16 months after graduation. Once the balance got down to a 4 digit number, I decided I just wanted to be rid of the loans. Since I had enough money on hand to pay them off, I went ahead and did so. I though I would feel joyful, excited, or at least relieved. Instead I feel nothing. It's kind of a let down.
Now you take the money that you would have been flinging at your students loans and put it towards your retirement accounts. You might start feeling pretty joyful and excited when you see that balance growing.
Post by: EscapedApe on October 16, 2019, 09:02:23 AM
Now, about four moths later, it's down to ~$24K. I've been aggressively paying them down, and practicing extreme frugality in the process.
With the P/E ratio of the S&P500 being at around 22 as of this moment, it's a good time to destroy loans.
Post by: bradspartan on October 16, 2019, 02:52:53 PM
Taking a moderate approach to paying down debt. Opting to ride the waive of the S&P while paying at least minimum on the loans with a greater goal to get them paid off in 7 years.
September 2019: 87,757
October 2019: $87,139
Post by: Photograph 51 on October 21, 2019, 03:40:31 PM
I'd like to join this thread!
I finished grad school in 2006 with about $30,000 in loans. Since it was a federal loan with a low interest rate (3.5%), I've been letting it ride. But I'm officially sick of it. It's my last debt remaining, and it's become a weight on my mind out of proportion to what I actually owe. Plus, my planned 2020 FIRE date is approaching, and I want to have zero debt before I quit my job.
As of today, I have $11,700 left. If I stick to the schedule, it won't be paid off till 2026. Instead, I'd like to pay it off by the end of this year or early next year.
I've been whittling away at this loan, paying a few hundred extra each month, but now I've decided to put the hammer down. I made a big payment and I'm down to about $2500 owed. Next month, I'm going to finish it off.
And I'm officially done! I made the last payment this week. It feels good. :)
Congratulations! great job on paying it off fast.
Post by: Photograph 51 on October 21, 2019, 03:41:20 PM
And I'm officially done! I made the last payment this week. It feels good. :)
I’m all done! My last payment just cleared the account today! Paid 190k in 4 years 4 months. So thrilled for this to be over with!
Fabulous. Congratulations on this accomplishment.
Congrats to you both.
Post by: EscapedApe on October 22, 2019, 10:11:09 AM
Can't wait to be debt free again.
Post by: TyGuy on October 30, 2019, 10:16:12 AM
I should have my student loans paid off by around this time next year.
Can't wait to be debt free again.
Feel free to track you progress on this forum, it helps keep yourself and others accountable! :)
Post by: EscapedApe on October 30, 2019, 11:48:06 AM
I should have my student loans paid off by around this time next year.
Can't wait to be debt free again.
Feel free to track you progress on this forum, it helps keep yourself and others accountable! :)
I definitely will.
And as an interesting, side-note, it turns out that initial estimate was wrong.
According to the investment order post, I should only focus upfront on eliminating loans in the 6%+ range. Only half of my current outstanding loan balance has a 6% rate. The other half is ~3.75%.
So at current figures, I should have the 6% potion paid off by around May of 2020, and then I can begin properly packing money away into 401(k), tIRA, and so forth. At that point, my payments on my 3.75% loans will drop significantly in favour of maxing out retirement contributions so the loans will exist for longer, but over all my net worth should increase faster.
Watching my net worth rise is what will really motivate me to stay true to the path.
Post by: bbates728 on October 30, 2019, 05:00:17 PM
According to the investment order post, I should only focus upfront on eliminating loans in the 6%+ range. Only half of my current outstanding loan balance has a 6% rate. The other half is ~3.75%.
So at current figures, I should have the 6% potion paid off by around May of 2020, and then I can begin properly packing money away into 401(k), tIRA, and so forth. At that point, my payments on my 3.75% loans will drop significantly in favour of maxing out retirement contributions so the loans will exist for longer, but over all my net worth should increase faster.
Watching my net worth rise is what will really motivate me to stay true to the path.
Yeah, I thought I would do the same. Honestly, watching the net worth go up a predictable amount by reducing debt with a constant interest rate was almost addicting. I decided that getting debt free was more important to me than raising my NW by the marginal interest percentage.
All this to say, make sure to listen to your own values instead of a to-do list :)
Post by: haypug16 on October 31, 2019, 06:33:10 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
June 30th 2019 - $42,187.55
July 31st 2019 - $41,380.14
Augsut 31st 2019 - $40,605.86
September 30th 2019 - $39,829.16
October 31st 2019 - $38,997.33
Another month, another ~$800 paid off :) ~$8k paid off for the year. Love seeing that number go down. Looking forward to throwing some extra cash at these loans starting in January.
Post by: EscapedApe on October 31, 2019, 11:35:13 AM
Hello everyone,
I've been reading this blog for a couple years but this is my first time posting. I finally paid off my student loans and couldn't let the moment pass without expressing my gratitude to this amazing community of people! You have all inspired me and motivated me to push through the many challenges. Could not have achieved this without the MMM community. Thank you so much!! I am so relieved to finally be 100% #DEBTFREE!!!!
Payment: Balance:
1/16/17 $38,832
6/3/17 $37,428
8/9/17 $36,897
9/9/17 $36,622
10/9/17 $36,337
11/8/17 $36,059
12/8/17 $35,780
1/6/18 $35,487
2/9/18 $35,217
3/10/18 $34,924
4/6/18 $34,620
5/9/18 $32,312
6/9/18 $29,906
7/7/18 $29,617
8/11/18 $29,322
9/9/18 $28,995
10/6/18 $28,656
12/9/18 $28,018
1/17/19 $27,741
2/12/19 $27,392
4/13/19 $26,719
5/10/19 $24,373
6/30/19 $21,222
7/16/19 $19,286
8/14/19 $14,469
9/13/19 $8,959
9/17/19 $0
Damn dude, you suplexed that student debt. Nine g's in one whack, nicely done.
Post by: appleseed on October 31, 2019, 09:35:14 PM
End of October update:2,658I just paid off the first loan! 3 more to go, but I'm doing a happy dance and celebrating (quietly because everyone else is sleeping lol).
2nd loan - $1,194 - to be paid off in April
These last two are a lower interest (2.625), so I'll add the minimum I was paying to the other two loans to those payments, but diverting the extra payments to other higher interest debt and savings. We're still on track for paying off by the end of the year!!
$3,532
$3,086
I've been MIA. Congrats to everyone who has paid off their loans! We're getting there!
I paid off another one this month! So we are down to two left:
3,258.43
2,846.52
Total - $6104
Both are at 2.625% - so I haven't been as aggressive in paying those down. We also wanted to max our SEP accounts for 2018 and owed ($%^!&*) $2600 in taxes for last year, so I didn't snowball the payments from the other two loans. Still plan to nix these by the end of the year, but I am going to build up cash first and make sure we're good for all our investments at the end of the year before the big pay off. We also have some work to do on our rentals in between tenants. Anyways, it feels like progress!
2,322
Total - $4,980
I paid a little extra this month to get it down to under $5k, which feels like a big accomplishment. Our end of month payment goes in on the 28th, so that's another $160ish off.
I'm not as focused on paying these off by the end of the year, since we had a bunch of unexpected expenses for one rental, and I'm prioritizing retirement/HSA/529 contributions until those as maxed (retirement and HSA) or at my goal for the year (529s). Any time we have some additional income I throw a little to the loans, so new plan is by my husband's birthday in April. Completely doable and once they're below $2k, I'll probably be tempted to just pay them off for good.
Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
$2270.45
$1983.18
I sent an extra $250 to both loans last week, so I could get one under $2k finally! Two more scheduled payments of $176, but I'll send extra later this month to get them both under $2k. Still planning to pay them off by the end of March 2020!
Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
Post by: bbates728 on November 01, 2019, 01:34:00 PM
July '18: $70,870.81
Aug '18: $67,102.62
Sep '18: $63,319.24
Oct '18: $59,834.55
Nov '18: $55,479.02
Dec '18: $54,781.60
Jan '19: $43,620.29
Feb '19: $39,314.82
Mar '19: $34,975.38
Apr '19: $30,648.33
May '19: $26,297.31
Jun '19: $20,794.56
July '19: $16,018.50
Aug '19: $12,148.40
Sep '19: $8,105.68
Oct '19: $4,056.21
Nov '19: $0
Goal - November 2019
This month marks the end of my federal student loans!! No more private or federal loans now!
Anyway! No more federal loans! No more obsessively checking to make sure payments are made! WHEEEE
I hit my goal! I no longer have any student loans!! It may have taken 3.5 years but I killed them :D
Post by: TyGuy on November 04, 2019, 10:02:45 AM
01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
Post by: Metalcat on November 04, 2019, 01:24:46 PM
Started at a combined debt of 420K in 2014.
It's been a wild ride and I am very happy to hop off. Good luck everyone.
Post by: bbates728 on November 05, 2019, 10:20:19 AM
Dropped off a 62K cheque today to pay off the last of my student loan.
Started at a combined debt of 420K in 2014.
It's been a wild ride and I am very happy to hop off. Good luck everyone.
Congratulations Malkynn! It is one less thing to worry about.
Post by: shadesofgreen on November 05, 2019, 11:36:06 AM
Post by: Metalcat on November 05, 2019, 02:28:46 PM
Amazing progress Malkynn. Enjoy not having to pay those bills anymore.
Lol, yeah, considering my minimum monthly debt payment was about equal to all of our other monthly spending combined...yeah, I'm not going to miss that.
Granted, I won't actually see a financial difference as I'm just cutting back work to no longer have to feed the debt beast.
Post by: TyGuy on November 08, 2019, 09:14:56 AM
Amazing progress Malkynn. Enjoy not having to pay those bills anymore.
Lol, yeah, considering my minimum monthly debt payment was about equal to all of our other monthly spending combined...yeah, I'm not going to miss that.
Granted, I won't actually see a financial difference as I'm just cutting back work to no longer have to feed the debt beast.
Enjoy all those extra hours you will now have every week! :)
Post by: Metalcat on November 08, 2019, 09:42:31 AM
Amazing progress Malkynn. Enjoy not having to pay those bills anymore.
Lol, yeah, considering my minimum monthly debt payment was about equal to all of our other monthly spending combined...yeah, I'm not going to miss that.
Granted, I won't actually see a financial difference as I'm just cutting back work to no longer have to feed the debt beast.
Enjoy all those extra hours you will now have every week! :)
Lol, well, realistically, I'm only gaining one day of free time as I had already downshifted to 2 days a week last year.
Post by: Money Beets on November 08, 2019, 04:10:47 PM
Total Paid in January= $2,549.00
End January targeted loan balance = $3,921.21
End January total balance = $27,506.50
Total Paid in February = $1,740.51
End February targeted loan balance = $2,332.19
End February total balance = $25,862.64
I missed a March update, but most of my progress was made in April anyway.
Total Paid in March & April = $7,383.02
Targeted loan balance = $0 and paid off two smaller loans at 5.35% interest
End April total balance = $18,694.04
I have two loans left. One at 5.16% interest with a balance of $15,601.81 and the other at 4.25% interest and a balance of $3,092.23. Needless to say, I will be targeting the 5.16% loan next.
Total Paid in May = $2,640.51
Targeted loan balance = $13,063.38
End May total balance = $16,137.01
Total Paid in June = $4,340.51
Targeted loan balance = $8,797.40
End June total balance = $11,845.47
Total Paid in July = $2,403.51
Targeted loan balance = $6,473.29
End July total balance = $9,484.13
Total Paid in August & September = $4,586.02
Targeted loan balance = $2,051.99
End September total balance = $4,961.21
I plan to split the remaining balance and pay half in October and finish it off in November.
I did it! My loans are paid off just weeks before my 5th anniversary of entering repayment. I have already scheduled to maximize my deferred comp contribution and I'm going to use the next couple months to build up my cash emergency fund.
Thank you to everyone who has shared their progress. Seeing others payoff their loans really kept me motivated.
Post by: catorbe on November 12, 2019, 10:54:31 AM
I did it! My loans are paid off just weeks before my 5th anniversary of entering repayment. I have already scheduled to maximize my deferred comp contribution and I'm going to use the next couple months to build up my cash emergency fund.
Thank you to everyone who has shared their progress. Seeing others payoff their loans really kept me motivated.
My plan is to finish before the 5th anniversary of my repayment start as well! Good job!
Post by: Rimu05 on November 18, 2019, 02:06:23 PM
My goal is at least $4000 to student loans this year.
Recent payment: 282.56
April Balance: $26,340.70
Sigh, sucks having these.
Still sadly paying the minimum. I wish I could aggressively pay these off but I need to now pay off my credit card which has swelled from different purchases here and there. If I had a proper emergency fund, that wouldn't have happened.
Down to: 25,057.20
If I get a better paying job, these just have to go.
Post by: Civex on November 30, 2019, 07:37:16 AM
November-$29994!Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
May 2019-$40356 ($1250 auto payment and ~$600 extra)
June 2019-$38250 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra)
July 2019-$36931 ($1250 auto payment and $100 "extra" in checking thrown towards principle
-hoping to throw an extra $300-500 yet this month at it; picking up an extra shifts and my daycare costs are *finally* going down!
Missed a month
August 2019$1250 regular payment + $480 "extra"
September 2019: $34,264-$1250 regular payment
Targeting sub $30k by 2020 ($1422 in principal/month or roughly $1600 gross/month for the rest of the year.)
October 2019 *kicking ass thus far!* $32,118
Refinanced from 5.09% to 3.95% and should be getting a $300 bonus.
-Regular payment: $1250
-Extra $1k from vehicle sale
On target for sub $30k this year!
--Autopayment of $1250 + $750 extra
Post by: haypug16 on December 03, 2019, 07:26:26 AM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
June 30th 2019 - $42,187.55
July 31st 2019 - $41,380.14
Augsut 31st 2019 - $40,605.86
September 30th 2019 - $39,829.16
October 31st 2019 - $38,997.33
November 30th 2019 - $38,189.50
So far $8,729.86 paid off this year. Looking forward to tackling these a little more aggressively in 2020 since my income will be higher due to no Maternity leave :)
Post by: EscapedApe on December 06, 2019, 09:35:57 AM
Amazing progress Malkynn. Enjoy not having to pay those bills anymore.
Lol, yeah, considering my minimum monthly debt payment was about equal to all of our other monthly spending combined...yeah, I'm not going to miss that.
Granted, I won't actually see a financial difference as I'm just cutting back work to no longer have to feed the debt beast.
I'm betting you'll see a quality of life difference. Not having to do extra work will free up time for your own pursuits.
Post by: TyGuy on December 08, 2019, 10:21:47 AM
01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
12/08/19: $30,043.85 (-$1,663.63)
Looking forward to starting 2020 with less than 30k of student loan debt! Nice job everyone, its been a good year with you all!
Post by: EscapedApe on December 10, 2019, 11:37:24 AM
Student Loan Debt:
01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
12/08/19: $30,043.85 (-$1,663.63)
Looking forward to starting 2020 with less than 30k of student loan debt! Nice job everyone, its been a good year with you all!
Nice dude, killin it. Thirteen Gs in one year.
Post by: TyGuy on December 22, 2019, 01:06:06 PM
Student Loan Debt:
01/12/19: $43,762.76
02/01/19: $42,561.06 (-$1,201.70)
03/04/19: $41,418.69 (-$1,139.41)
07/05/19: $37,901.63 (-$3,517.06)
08/10/19: $36,673.79 (-$1,227.84)
09/01/19: $35,289.89 (-$1,383.90)
10/02/19: $33,624.85 (-$1,665.04)
11/04/19: $31,707.48 (-$1,917.37)
12/08/19: $30,043.85 (-$1,663.63)
Looking forward to starting 2020 with less than 30k of student loan debt! Nice job everyone, its been a good year with you all!
Nice dude, killin it. Thirteen Gs in one year.
Thank you! As of yesterday my net worth became positive, I'm very excited for 2020!
Post by: TyGuy on December 22, 2019, 01:24:37 PM
2020 Edition Thread: https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/throw-down-the-gauntlet/student-loan-challenge-(2020-edition)/
Post by: appleseed on December 31, 2019, 01:54:32 PM
Happy New Year!
Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk
Post by: Civex on December 31, 2019, 07:01:33 PM
November-$29994!Another year still in the student loan challenge. Great people, but this is my least favorite club. Copying from the 2018 thread, missed the 2017, and I think I was in the 2016 (or was it 2015?) thread.
Original balance-$90,400 @ 5.01 7/2014
End of January '18 balance-$64,481
End of June '18 balance-$55,411
Dec. 2018-$47,258 ($1250 payment)
March 2019-$44,088.31 ($1250 payment)
April 2019-$42,038 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra towards principle)
May 2019-$40356 ($1250 auto payment and ~$600 extra)
June 2019-$38250 ($1250 auto payment and $1k extra)
July 2019-$36931 ($1250 auto payment and $100 "extra" in checking thrown towards principle
-hoping to throw an extra $300-500 yet this month at it; picking up an extra shifts and my daycare costs are *finally* going down!
Missed a month
August 2019$1250 regular payment + $480 "extra"
September 2019: $34,264-$1250 regular payment
Targeting sub $30k by 2020 ($1422 in principal/month or roughly $1600 gross/month for the rest of the year.)
October 2019 *kicking ass thus far!* $32,118
Refinanced from 5.09% to 3.95% and should be getting a $300 bonus.
-Regular payment: $1250
-Extra $1k from vehicle sale
On target for sub $30k this year!
--Autopayment of $1250 + $750 extra
December 2019-$28208
--$1250 auto payment+$736 extra
Hit the 401k max on the first paycheck in December and had a larger than anticipated paycheck...extra+ bit left over from the Christmas budget tossed at the loans. Very happy with the progress, paid off my auto loan at the beginning of the year and our daycare costs decreased, so even with other random expenses progress has been made. Potential for a 2020 payoff, but I'm targeting May 2021.
Post by: haypug16 on December 31, 2019, 08:15:21 PM
January 1st 2019 - $46,919.36
January 31st 2019 - $46,137.25
February 27th 2019 - $45,339.55
March 31st 2019 - $44,518.99
April 30th 2019 - $43,796.91
May 31st 2019 - $43,016.23
June 30th 2019 - $42,187.55
July 31st 2019 - $41,380.14
Augsut 31st 2019 - $40,605.86
September 30th 2019 - $39,829.16
October 31st 2019 - $38,997.33
November 30th 2019 - $38,189.50
December 31st 2019 - $37,378.80
Total paid off in 2019 $9,540.56
2020 I hope to knock a few of the very small (~$2k) loans along with paying down the min on the others.