Hello all,
My wife and I are in the process of paying off about $180k of student loans, split between 6.65% ($70,986.56) and 7.75% ($107,430). We started paying this May. In our first four months, we'll have pumped just over $15k into the loans. I've made some more detailed posts about our budget in the past, some brief details:
Our standard monthly payment is $3000, plus $5000 from a depcare FSA over the course of a year, plus any bonuses/side income we bring in over the course of the year. So with our two jobs, we are on track to pump $40-50k into the loans per year. Other assets: $20k in cash and $45k in retirement accounts. We rent.
Now because we are banging SO much money into these loans for SO long, I am obsessed with any tricks and shortcuts to optimize the process. My latest idea is this card:
http://www.nerdwallet.com/card-details/card-name/Chase-Slate-EliteThe card offers 15 months of 0% interest with absolutely 0 fees. So, suppose I balance xferred $20,000 onto this card. At $1500 monthly payments, the card balance would be paid off in 14 months, saving $970.44 in interest. And if I wanted to be a real smartass, I could even invest the payments until payoff day, adding maybe $500-$1k of profit on average.
I guess the main problem is the risk of job loss. If we fail to pay this $20k in 15 months, the remaining balance snaps to 13%, 18% or 23% APR, which would quickly devour potential interest savings and then some.
Thoughts? Is this too much risk for too little gain? Thank you.