I'm in.
This year I decided to embark on Operation Student Loan Annihilation 2013, but have been dragging my feet on posting the goal here. My total balance remaining is $55,913.53, split between 2 loans. One loan is a fixed interest rate of 3.25%, the other is a variable interest private student loan at 5.25%. The latter's balance is currently $17,454.78 and is the focus of annihilation. I net $38,480 annually and my husband (a SAHD) brings in about $3k annually (side jobs). It started the year at $19,506.21, and I want to pay down the loan balance to $10k (or lower if possible).
Strategy:
-Halt contributions to 401k, RothIRA, and savings. Done.
-Monthly payments of $700. In progress.
-Two extra payments of $1400 each from "extra" paychecks from fortnightly pay schedule.
-Reduce monthly spending on gas, groceries, and cell phones. In progress.
-LS payment of $1500 from tax return. I effed up my withholdings last year by forgetting to take into effect lower wages from maternity leave, so I have a larger than expected tax return.
I'm in.
This year I decided to embark on Operation Student Loan Annihilation 2013, but have been dragging my feet on posting the goal here. My total balance remaining is $55,913.53, split between 2 loans. One loan is a fixed interest rate of 3.25%, the other is a variable interest private student loan at 5.25%. The latter's balance is currently $17,454.78 and is the focus of annihilation. I net $38,480 annually and my husband (a SAHD) brings in about $3k annually (side jobs). It started the year at $19,506.21, and I want to pay down the loan balance to $10k (or lower if possible).
Strategy:
-Halt contributions to 401k, RothIRA, and savings. Done.
-Monthly payments of $700. In progress.
-Two extra payments of $1400 each from "extra" paychecks from fortnightly pay schedule.
-Reduce monthly spending on gas, groceries, and cell phones. In progress.
-LS payment of $1500 from tax return. I effed up my withholdings last year by forgetting to take into effect lower wages from maternity leave, so I have a larger than expected tax return.
Glad to hear your in, your debt is an order of magnitude higher then mine but your household income is about half, you are 10x the mustachian then I am! I guess I need to step up my game.
Heh! I think you may be paying off at a faster rate than I. July puts me at about $5k-$6k paid. I want to see if I can match your $7.5k.
| Loan 10/1/2010 - - - $32,445.00 1 11/1/2010 250.00 81.11 168.89 32,276.11 2 12/1/2010 250.00 80.69 169.31 32,106.80 3 1/1/2011 250.00 80.27 169.73 31,937.07 4 2/1/2011 250.00 79.84 170.16 31,766.91 5 3/1/2011 250.00 79.42 170.58 31,596.33 6 4/1/2011 250.00 78.99 171.01 31,425.32 7 5/1/2011 250.00 78.56 171.44 31,253.88 8 6/1/2011 250.00 78.13 171.87 31,082.02 9 7/1/2011 250.00 77.71 172.29 30,909.72 10 8/1/2011 250.00 77.27 172.73 30,737.00 11 9/1/2011 250.00 76.84 173.16 30,563.84 12 10/1/2011 250.00 76.41 173.59 30,390.25 13 11/1/2011 250.00 75.98 174.02 30,216.23 14 12/1/2011 250.00 75.54 174.46 30,041.77 15 1/1/2012 250.00 75.10 174.90 29,866.87 16 2/1/2012 250.00 74.67 175.33 29,691.54 17 3/1/2012 400.00 74.23 325.77 29,365.77 18 4/1/2012 400.00 48.94 351.06 29,014.71 19 5/1/2012 400.00 48.36 351.64 28,663.07 20 6/1/2012 400.00 47.77 352.23 28,310.84 21 7/1/2012 400.00 47.18 352.82 27,958.02 22 8/1/2012 3,400.00 46.60 3,353.40 24,604.62 23 9/1/2012 400.00 41.01 358.99 24,245.63 24 10/1/2012 400.00 40.41 359.59 23,886.04 25 11/1/2012 400.00 39.81 360.19 23,525.85 26 12/1/2012 400.00 39.21 360.79 23,165.06 27 1/1/2013 1,800.00 38.61 1,761.39 21,403.67 28 2/1/2013 4,600.00 35.67 4,564.33 16,839.34 29 3/1/2013 1,800.00 28.07 1,771.93 15,067.40 30 4/1/2013 1,800.00 25.11 1,774.89 13,292.52 31 5/1/2013 1,800.00 22.15 1,777.85 11,514.67 32 6/1/2013 1,800.00 19.19 1,780.81 9,733.86 33 7/1/2013 1,800.00 16.22 1,783.78 7,950.09 34 8/1/2013 1,800.00 13.25 1,786.75 6,163.34 35 9/1/2013 1,800.00 10.27 1,789.73 4,373.61 36 10/1/2013 1,800.00 7.29 1,792.71 2,580.90 37 11/1/2013 1,800.00 4.30 1,795.70 785.20 38 12/1/2013 786.51 1.31 785.20 0.00 |
Expenses:
Housing: $1,100.74
Rent: $825
Good job DebtDerp!
I'm trying to keep my student loan balance from going up (still in school) so I'm paying as I go. Damn if I don't like those $2400 classes every 7 weeks! I've been able to keep it holding steady, and only 4 classes to go!
Welcome to the gauntlet Buttercup!But in the US you can't bankrupt student loans, they follow you for life in almost all situations. Total disability or death is the only thing (other than paying them off) that will make them go away.
The size of some of these American student loans take my breath away. In Canada, in most cases, 40-60% of higher education is paid upfront by government which makes our student loans much lower. We pay for that as a society by having higher (progressive style) taxes. In the US you get to graduate into a lower tax environment (hopefully) which gives you more choices and take home pay. The extra pay makes it easier to pay off the massive loans but I know there are some people who are going to spend it on "penny whistles and moon pies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGi6iSNdhEQ)" no matter what and go bankrupt as a result.
in the US you can't bankrupt student loans, they follow you for life in almost all situations. Total disability or death is the only thing (other than paying them off) that will make them go away.
Welcome to the gauntlet Buttercup!But in the US you can't bankrupt student loans, they follow you for life in almost all situations. Total disability or death is the only thing (other than paying them off) that will make them go away.
The size of some of these American student loans take my breath away. In Canada, in most cases, 40-60% of higher education is paid upfront by government which makes our student loans much lower. We pay for that as a society by having higher (progressive style) taxes. In the US you get to graduate into a lower tax environment (hopefully) which gives you more choices and take home pay. The extra pay makes it easier to pay off the massive loans but I know there are some people who are going to spend it on "penny whistles and moon pies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGi6iSNdhEQ)" no matter what and go bankrupt as a result.
But in the US you can't bankrupt student loans, they follow you for life in almost all situations. Total disability or death is the only thing (other than paying them off) that will make them go away.
I don't know if this is motivating or not, but in December 2010 I calculated my net worth for the first time and it was negative due to student loan debt, which I had been paying off in a half-hearted sort of way for some time. I paid off my loans in a big push by June 2011, and since then my net worth has increased in a quite lovely way...just clocked in at $162k, not including home equity or my spouse's investments, just my own personal savings. In less than two years since paying them off! So once you ditch that millstone, good times are ahead.
April standing:
Starting balance : $16,802.44
Payment: -$700.00
Current Balance: $16,162.99
This was a spendy month for us also. The baby got her first and second colds within a few days of each other, and DH also got two colds, which left me to take care of both of them and keep the house running. We're in the middle of a diet change to dairy free in additional to gluten free (increasing our food budget), that plus CST and chiro for the baby to correct chronic constipation. Bottom line is that we spent more than I budgeted, so the next month will be lean spending month. The good news is that both baby and husband on are on the mend. (the bad news being that the first molar appeared this week. Not awesome.)
I'm most of the way through a home equity loan. It's at about $7,740 right now and I want to have it paid off by the end of June. So I'm right with you on this one!We got some things sorted out, so the money we were holding onto was able to go to the student loan. Made a huge payment that will go through next week of $3,493.07, bringing the total owed down to $3,377.93. Whee! Half of the remainder gone in one swoop!
Reading through these, what kind of education did you pursue, was it worth it and would you do it again?
Reading through these, what kind of education did you pursue, was it worth it and would you do it again?
Kaytee.. Have you checked ou the irs withholding calculator?? You can adjust your withholdings now so you can keep your money..
I will probably pay the whole thing off when I get my pay cheque this month, that's 2 months earlier then planned.
QuoteI will probably pay the whole thing off when I get my pay cheque this month, that's 2 months earlier then planned.
Do it! Then post a picture of the zero balance. It'll be inspirational for the rest of us.
I have the exact opposite feeling when I pay something off. I am filled with giddy glee a la carte empowerment, in a "another one bites the dust" kind of way.
Thanks to a job change for DH (with no 401-K, mixed blessing) our take home pay has increased. The final $3,400 will be mostly gone by the end of May, woot! Then one tiny payment left in June, that will have to be a certified check mailed in, what a pain. So it looks like I'll make my end of June goal with time to spare!I'm most of the way through a home equity loan. It's at about $7,740 right now and I want to have it paid off by the end of June. So I'm right with you on this one!We got some things sorted out, so the money we were holding onto was able to go to the HEL. Made a huge payment that will go through next week of $3,493.07, bringing the total owed down to $3,377.93. Whee! Half of the remainder gone in one swoop!
From here on out we'll slow down to half of what's left each month, because of a fallen retaining wall that really needs to be fixed.
I just paid off the rest of my school loan. I am a more free then I was before, it feels great! It was totally worth the short term pain to pay off the loan.
Quote
Kaytee.. Have you checked ou the irs withholding calculator?? You can adjust your withholdings now so you can keep your money..
Why have I not known about this before? Gah! This is way more accurate than my back of hand rough calculations. According to this, I've practically paid all the income tax that I need to for the year already. Thank you for sending this to me. Although, I'm not truly keeping money these days. It passes from my hands where I immediately use it to attack my student loans with mindful, tenacious ferocity.
I just paid off the rest of my school loan. I am a more free then I was before, it feels great! It was totally worth the short term pain to pay off the loan.
No problemo..we did the same thing..soo stupid..we have two little tax credits running around here..who knew kids could actually save us money?? We also already overpaid uncle sam (as of april) dumb!!! We also are paying off a shit ton of debt, but no way will we be done by july..sigh.. $99k left..yikes..
AHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (we howl to celebrate good news on occasion)
You did say that you might be able to shed this debt in May and so you have done. Congratulations! An enviable position indeed.
This post has been inspiring to me.....
NO MORE! Now every penny above the $1,000 mark is going into my student loan each month.
I'm proud to say I just put in $121.29.
I plan to have this puppy paid off by October.
Wish me luck!
All done, sent in the final payment on Thursday. It had to be certified funds sent to a special address, so it will hopefully process by the middle of next week. Yay, one more loan down, only one monster to go!Thanks to a job change for DH (with no 401-K, mixed blessing) our take home pay has increased. The final $3,400 will be mostly gone by the end of May, woot! Then one tiny payment left in June, that will have to be a certified check mailed in, what a pain. So it looks like I'll make my end of June goal with time to spare!I'm most of the way through a home equity loan. It's at about $7,740 right now and I want to have it paid off by the end of June. So I'm right with you on this one!We got some things sorted out, so the money we were holding onto was able to go to the HEL. Made a huge payment that will go through next week of $3,493.07, bringing the total owed down to $3,377.93. Whee! Half of the remainder gone in one swoop!
From here on out we'll slow down to half of what's left each month, because of a fallen retaining wall that really needs to be fixed.
Also, we've decided to wait until late summer to fix the retaining wall. We can take it down ourselves so it's no longer a danger, the rest can wait.
Hi Everyone,
I got my final letter from the Canadian government declaring that my student loans are paid in full!
This is the end of my 6 year journey from $20.8k in student loan debt in 2007 to no student loan debt today.
Congratulation Peter and Zaga! So how does it feel? I still have 2 more months to go. I like the mustache on your letter by the way.
Wow this thread is really inspiring! We won't be done by July, but we are on track to finish up by next July. Between my husband and I we have 3 degrees from the USA (a Bachelor's for each of us, and my husband has a Masters).
Our grand total for student loans was $114k in 2011 which is so hard to look at even now!!! But I thank god for the loans every day because they turned us into Mustachians, and the rest of our life will be better off for it. We've learned so much about ourselves and each other in this time that we have been aggressively paying off the loans.
Currently our balance is "just" $36k. I will post our progress for end of July!
Congratulation Peter and Zaga! So how does it feel? I still have 2 more months to go. I like the mustache on your letter by the way.Awesome! Still one monster loan to go, but it's great to be down to just the one!
First loan officially paid off. Now *55k* to go. Can't wait to be free of student loans.
Because this is a challenge, I probably need to come clean and report the hiccups as well as the successes, right? I have $519 remaining left to pay in the challenge - same place I was at the end of May, and 28 days to do it. I have paid over $1700 in medical bills in May and June. Another $600 coming down the pipeline this month, plus some supplementary expenses such as a water filter that we will need to install to help address the medical issues. This has consumed all of my discretionary income allotted for this challenge. This has not pushed me further into debt, but I have not had much appreciable progress on my existing debt. My goal for this month is to see if I can pound out that last $519. Still optimistic.
Met the goal by the deadline! AAAahhhhhhhwwwwoooooooooo!
When the debt is paid just keep living the same lifestyle and invest wisely, compounding and time will take care of the heavy lifting.
Guess what! I sent in a lump sum of $21,494 to pay off my student loan! I'm just waiting for it to clear. This gauntlet throw down really held me accountable, so thanks for everyones support! Now that I'm debt free I need a new challenge.
Alright all, here is an end of month update for our loans:
June 2013: $36,255.62
July 2013: $34,657.15
Difference: $1,598.47
A little disappointed with this difference, but we also took 2 road trips during this month to visit family, so there were some extra expenses there. We definitely can be more Mustachian next month!
We were supposed to get to pay off our 'spotlight loan' this month, but the people over at our lending office Edgeucation Loans are always getting confused, and they applied our payment wrong. Usually I call back, but we have a few massive payments coming in August, and I'd rather just make sure those go through correct. There is only so much time that I can spend on hold with these people :-/
Also, I just found out the loans are getting sold again! They were just sold in April from Direct Loans to Edgeucation, and in Sept. they are heading off to MOHELA. Ugh. There was such a headache in the last transfer that I am NOT looking forward to another one. Its really a great motivation to get these loans gone... every time they get sold off I feel like such a chump, since, you know, my debt is somebody else's asset. :(
I am also going to do a 0% balance transfer for one of our loans over to my Discover card in August. Its great timing to be able to do it before they sell to MOHELA, because at least Discover has their shit together enough to know how to apply payments! Not sure how much MOHELA is going to suck, but I haven't heard many positive reviews online.
Anyway, August is going to rock because it is triple paycheck month, bonus month, and we don't have any planned big expenses. YAY!
Hey everyone! Just wanted to say that we paid off our Student Loan balance in full last week!!