Author Topic: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)  (Read 83796 times)

fallstoclimb

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #200 on: August 05, 2014, 09:05:42 AM »
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!  Enjoy that feeling!

Akscal

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #201 on: August 05, 2014, 04:13:55 PM »
Congrats apfroggy0408

My progress thus far: I AM DEBT FREE!

Total student loans on 1/2014: 64,900  at 5.375%
                                     5/2014:  45,000  at 5.375%
                                     7/2014: 29,000 at 5.375%
                                     8/2014 $0 

I decided to sell some VTSAX I had in a taxable acct and pull the trigger.  THIS feels so good, time to work on building that stache.

Wanderlusting

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #202 on: August 05, 2014, 07:27:11 PM »

Private #1 - 13,920 @ 6% $37.50 Weekly
Private #2 - 12,920 @ 6% $37.50 Weekly
Nelnet #1 - 1596 @ 8.5% $25 Monthly, currently paid forward until Feb 2015, but i'm going to start paying monthly again.
Nelnet #2 - 4580 @ 5.3% $53 Monthly
Nelnet #3 - 9920 @ 8.5% $114 Monthly
Nelnet #4 - 6350 @ 8.5% $87 Monthly (Currently paying this one down with extra cash)


Changed the plan to kill off the smaller 1596 loan first, it was actually about ~2k when I went to looked at it, so I threw $700 against it this last paycheck, should have it paid off by the end of August thanks to some extra items being sold.

Nelnet #1 $2000(act) -> $1300~ current
Nelnet #4 6350 -> $5840

I'm pushing for <40k by the end of the year, currently at 48.2k

Wolf_Stache

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #203 on: August 05, 2014, 08:30:25 PM »
Wow, Congrats APfroggy and Akscal!

Mazzinator

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #204 on: August 06, 2014, 01:37:42 PM »
Wow, Congrats APfroggy and Akscal!

I'll second that!!! Congrats!!!!

mrfilthyrich

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #205 on: August 06, 2014, 02:20:14 PM »
Another $500 payment posted today, which puts my current balance at $80,783.54. 

March direct payment posted so balance is at $80,092.59.  Will try to put an additional 1k toward the balance in the month of March.

Unfortunately, I had 3,000 owed in taxes this year so that was $3000 I couldn't put forth to my loan.  Made two payments in April totaling 1340.75 and will likely make another smallish one when I get paid tomorrow.  Balance is currently at $79,380.99 which is obviously much higher than I wanted if I am trying to get the balance to 60k by the end of the year.

In the meantime, I have built my emergency savings up to 5k so I could always dip into that to pay off my student loans, but it would be nice to keep that cushion.

Didn't make any other payments in April, but I have now made 3 payments in May totaling $2,920.75.  The balance is about $76,900 now.   The goal at the beginning of the year was to get it to $60,000 so have to keep plugging away!

Regular payment of $920.75 posted, which brought the account to $76,152.20.  And today we just made a big payment of $6,152.20 that will bring the balance close to $70,000 (we came into a little money, but nothing crazy).  Set the goal of $60,000 by the end of the year so we are definitely on track after this month.

Regular payment of $920.75 posted last week so we are now at $69,489.18.  Need to average $2500 a month to meet the goal set at the beginning of the year.

Made two additional payments totaling $1200 in July and just had the monthly payment of $920.75 post yesterday, which puts the balance at $67,622.26.

mango

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #206 on: August 07, 2014, 06:51:07 PM »
Just sent in $900 and will be student loan/debt free on August 11th when they post the payment.

May 2012: Graduated with -$18k SL debt and no job (shit job prospects, temped)
August 2013: -$16,500 SL debt (collective and in varying amounts/rates) - I started a good job
August 2014: $0 - Still plugging away at good job

So glad I did it and I hope you all make your goals too!
« Last Edit: August 07, 2014, 06:53:45 PM by mango »

EUmustache

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #207 on: August 11, 2014, 02:57:23 AM »
$65,531 ------> $63,218
Reduction since last post: $2,313
Reduction since gauntlet started: $31,779


$63,218 -----> $60,899 (soooooooo close to the 50's)
Reduction since last post: $2,319 (weird - almost identical as last month)
Reduction since gauntlet started: $34,098

Not sure how much we'll pay toward over the next month... at least $1000 or so. If possible, I'd like to kill my smallest loan (currently sits at $1,700), but that may not be possible this month. Definitely next month at the latest. UGH.... it feels like this will never end.

Apples

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #208 on: August 19, 2014, 01:50:50 PM »
We had some large bills this month, so basically took money out of savings to put extra on SL #1 to keep our momentum going and cut off another month of repayment.  As we slowly get closer to paying off the loans, we are getting more comfortable with less in savings, because we will quickly add it back up once we're done.  So this month our savings went down about $1400, just less than the large mostly unexpected bills this month.  And by "this month" I mean May.  I like to wait until the month is truly over to see how things shake out.

SL #1  $35,926.80 ---> $33,357.76
SL #2  $16,900  --->    $16,800   approximation

I don't know the login info for SL #2 off the top of my head and am wayyy too lazy to go look it up right now since it's on automatic $200 payments until we're done w/ SL #1.  It's falling very very slowly until next year.

Sometimes I listen to the Dave Ramsey show for general motivation about paying off debt when I'm at work.  I mix it in with financial, history, and knitting podcasts for some added flavor :p  While I won't empty our savings to then go after the debt, it is partially why we took money out of savings to keep the momentum going.  I am a spreadsheet nerd and track payoff dates.  Our "worst case" is doing minimum payments rounded up to the next multiple of $100.  That one is depressing. I also have a realistic payoff where we would be done in early 2017.  I have realized that if we get a decent amount of wedding money, increase our current monthly contribution by $150,and use those 5-paycheck months well, and decrease savings by another $2,000, we could be done by the end of next year!  That is way motivational for me.  So that was fun to figure out. :)

I just figured out how to easily quote a post in the top of my post.  I'm a little slow sometimes, but glad I know now.  I've missed posting here for a few months, mostly because we got married in June and then I spent July changing my name and beginning to merge finances.  So many forms to fill out.  But an added bonus (kind of) of getting married is that I took $20,000 I had set aside in my savings to put on my man's student loans! (Which I now fully consider our student loans).  We also put about $1500 we had set aside for the wedding towards SL #1 in July.  Unfortunately, my now-husband doesn't enjoy his current work, neither what he's doing or a few of the people he works with, so he's considering changing jobs.  Right now it looks like he might go to part time work, and when that happens our budget will be considerably tighter.  We've agreed to save 10% of our net income for retirement and 20% on student loans, even if our income drops (and potentially increase those %s as it goes up, but that's not in the near future).  So now I am hoping we will be done by the end of 2016 instead of 2015.  Ho hum....and now looking up our August final amount (I calculate out the interest ahead of time...we lost a rebate from last year because the first few payments weren't paid on time.  Add back in $150.  A drop in the bucket in the scheme of things, and it is fun to see such a low loan amount number :)  Now our emergency savings are greater than SL #1!  Woohoo!

SL #1 May $33,357.76 ---> June $29,478.34 ---> July $25,593.81 ---> August $5,488.92   Wooooo! 4 digits on this one!
SL #2 May $16,795.24 ---> June $16,676.54 ---> July $16,549.36 ---> August $16,430.90  Still on auto pilot until the one above it is completed, probs early next year.
Total owed: $21,819.82  We have approximately that amount in retirement accounts, and it seems like a much more manageable number, though the serious decrease in my/our savings doesn't feel great.

Wanderlusting

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #209 on: August 19, 2014, 03:42:16 PM »

Changed the plan to kill off the smaller 1596 loan first, it was actually about ~2k when I went to looked at it, so I threw $700 against it this last paycheck, should have it paid off by the end of August thanks to some extra items being sold.

Nelnet #1 $2000(act) -> $1300~ current
Nelnet #4 6350 -> $5840

I'm pushing for <40k by the end of the year, currently at 48.2k

Nelnet #1 $1300 -> $580

Total: 48.2k -> 47.3k

I'm shooting to pay this off next paycheck, which thanks to come well timed Ebay/amazon sales and some side hustle cash coming in i'll be able to accomplish the goal. Next up is the $5800 one, which i'm setting a tentative payoff target of March, but I try to be aggressive in my payment schedule in order to accomplish the goals.

RedRumbler

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #210 on: August 20, 2014, 06:57:44 AM »
June 2014 update:

Direct Loan - Sub       $2,523.00    2.1%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $3,383.83    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,933.66    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $5,317.46    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $2,063.10    5.35%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $4,108.91    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $8,217.80    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $8,217.80    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $6,273.00    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $6,680.49    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $7,220.48    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $14,196.57    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $13,397.06    6.55%   
Direct Grad PLUS       $6,005.03    7.65%
Direct Loan- Unsub    $21,528.14    6.55%

Total Remaining         $111,066.33

Ended up doing IBR so that I could funnel most of my funds into the highest interest loan.

Great job everyone!

August 2014 update:

Well I was extremely fortunate this month and received a windfall sum, which was directed straight toward my loans. I added my regular $1900 monthly contribution toward demolishing specific loans afterward.

Direct Loan - Sub       $394.21       5.35%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,025.21    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $591.35       6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,583.68    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,583.68    5.35%       
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,314.26    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,401.19   6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,511.43    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $2,969.44    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $2,804.30    6.55%   
Direct Grad- Unsub     $4,496.42    6.55%

Total Remaining         $19,675.17

Great job everyone!

LanceBurkhart

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #211 on: August 22, 2014, 03:45:58 PM »
Congrats on doing the smart thing with your windfall. Practically a knockout punch to those loans. I just paid off two loans today, including the last of the 8.25% interest loans. Also broke the $50,000 barrier today. Feels great.

February 2014 -  $75,000, some 8.25% some 6.55%
Aug 2014 - $48,000, all at 6.55%



Wanderlusting

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #212 on: August 28, 2014, 09:35:04 PM »
Nelnet #1 $1300 -> $580

Total: 48.2k -> 47.3k


Nelnet #1 $580 -> $0, Paid off!

Total: 47.3k -> 46.7k

Next up is the $5800 loan, which I am targeting a payoff date of around February now, which is aggressive, but with tax season and other incidental money from work over the next 3-4 months it should be a fairly reasonable target. I don't think i'll be able to push it by the end of the year, but that's my super-whamodyne target.

fantabulous

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #213 on: August 29, 2014, 03:42:21 PM »
August check in. Things are looking better and better now. Like no student loan debt at the end of the tunnel better. I might even get this ALL paid off at the end of December with just a bit of budget tightening.

Loans:  $8,669 -> $7,109

Nelnet:
$4,031 [5.6%] -> $2,785
$925 [4.5%] -> $914
$1,354 [2.35%] -> $1,327
$1,162 [2.35%] -> $1,137
$965 [2.35%] -> $946

Apples

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #214 on: September 01, 2014, 04:43:37 PM »

SL #1 May $33,357.76 ---> June $29,478.34 ---> July $25,593.81 ---> August $5,488.92   Wooooo! 4 digits on this one!
SL #2 May $16,795.24 ---> June $16,676.54 ---> July $16,549.36 ---> August $16,430.90  Still on auto pilot until the one above it is completed, probs early next year.
Total owed: $21,819.82  We have approximately that amount in retirement accounts, and it seems like a much more manageable number, though the serious decrease in my/our savings doesn't feel great.

August correction!  We put more money on it this month!
SL #1 $5,214.44
SL #2 $16,430.90 autopilot
Total owed $21,604.71

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #215 on: September 06, 2014, 12:51:46 PM »
OK, I'm back on the SL payoff bandwagon, starting with a teensy tiny payment today -- $95.
I have a few checks in the bank that need to clear, and once they clear I'll make another payment of $2008
Hopefully at the end of the month I'll be able to make another payment of $800 ::crossing my fingers::

The SL I'm zeroing in on has a balance of $12,174.20.

Now it's $10,085.06!

We paid $2,200 on this loan last week, so now it's ... $7,636.44!

(I swear, this feeling of elation when we make a big payment just does not get old. I'm seriously giddy here, looking at our new balance)

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #216 on: September 06, 2014, 12:52:29 PM »
Count me in.  I owe $13,021 @ 3.5%.   
  January 2014 Update - Balance $11,894
    February 2014 Update - Balance   $10,400
      2013 Tax Refund - Balance   $8,900
        March 2014 Update - Balance   $7,400
          April 2014 Update - Balance   $6,000    (More than half way there!!!)
            May 2014 Update - Balance   $4,500
               June 2014 Update - Balance $3,000

July 2014 Update - Balance $0.00     

That's it, I'm done.  Thanks for throwing out the challenge.  It was just what I needed to get serious about getting rid of this albatross.  Good luck everyone!!!!

Well done!!!

Wanderlusting

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #217 on: September 08, 2014, 09:50:46 PM »

Nelnet #1 $580 -> $0, Paid off!

Total: 47.3k -> 46.7k


Nelnet @ $5880 -> 5350

Put $500 on the next loan i'm targeting, hopefully adding another 4-500 by the end of the month, but we'll see. I'm shooting to have this paid off by the end of the year, somehow.

Total on loans: 46.5k -> 46k

EUmustache

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #218 on: September 16, 2014, 02:00:51 AM »

$63,218 -----> $60,899 (soooooooo close to the 50's)
Reduction since last post: $2,319 (weird - almost identical as last month)
Reduction since gauntlet started: $34,098


Latest progress - finally cracked a milestone I had been aiming for. Next stop sub $50k!

$60,899 -----> $58,592
Reduction since last post: $2,307
Reduction since gauntlet started: $36,405

Unsure if I'll be able to crack the $50k barrier by EOY, but I'm still gunning for it. We are moving back to the US at EOY, so we may need to shift some $ that would normally go to the loans to our savings/moving fund.

Congrats to everyone on the progress! Keep up the good work!

clarkfan1979

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #219 on: September 17, 2014, 04:45:16 AM »
The first two years were a little slow because I bought a house and fixed it up. Now I don't have any more excuses, so it's time to get serious. I graduated with approximately 56K. Approximately 38K at 6.8% and 18K at 2.4%. I'm registered for the 25 year plan at 333/month. I make 200-300 extra payments a month toward the 6.8% loan. I also get the .25% discount for the auto-payment. I recently broke the 50,000 mark and it felt great. I'm currently at 49,500 today.

2011: 56,000
2012: 54,500
2013: 53,000
2014: 48,000 (goal)
2015: 40,000 (goal)
2016: 30,000 (goal)
2017: 20,000 (goal)
2018: 10,000 (goal)
2019: 0         (goal)

nyanks

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #220 on: September 19, 2014, 05:07:52 PM »
Too late to join? I'm just starting to hit these bastards aggressively. I've been paying 1400/mo for 6 years on my student loans, and they've barely budged. I have ~150k with 3 servicers:  Sallie Mae, Nelnet, and ACS. I pay the highest interest rates on Sallie Mae (and I hate them the most), so going after those first.

As of 9/9/14:

Sallie Mae
1. $22,158  7%
2. $7,414    5.5%
3. $10,131  5%
4. $9,394    4.25%
5. $17,376  3.5%
Total SallieMae: 66,473

ACS
6. $18,203  3.727%
Total ACS:  18,203

Nelnet
7. $39,819  2.875%
8. $25,389  2.875%
Total Nelnet:  65,208

TOTAL:  149,884

I'm targeting the 7%-er. 

Shooting for Sallie Mae loans 1 and 2 paid off by end of 2014.
« Last Edit: October 24, 2014, 04:52:18 PM by nyanks »

bugbaby

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #221 on: September 21, 2014, 11:35:23 AM »
My update:
Jan: 79k @2.75-3%
July: 65k @2.75-3%
Sept: 42k @2.75 %
yay !!  my 2014 goal is 40k balance or stretch goal 30k... but I'll stick to 40 k despite variable rate just to build an emergency fund, pay it down if interest rates jump...

RedRumbler

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #222 on: September 23, 2014, 06:30:16 PM »
June 2014 update:

Direct Loan - Sub       $2,523.00    2.1%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $3,383.83    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,933.66    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $5,317.46    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $2,063.10    5.35%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $4,108.91    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $8,217.80    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $8,217.80    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $6,273.00    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $6,680.49    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $7,220.48    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $14,196.57    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $13,397.06    6.55%   
Direct Grad PLUS       $6,005.03    7.65%
Direct Loan- Unsub    $21,528.14    6.55%

Total Remaining         $111,066.33

Ended up doing IBR so that I could funnel most of my funds into the highest interest loan.

Great job everyone!

August 2014 update:

Well I was extremely fortunate this month and received a windfall sum, which was directed straight toward my loans. I added my regular $1900 monthly contribution toward demolishing specific loans afterward.

Direct Loan - Sub       $394.21       5.35%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,025.21    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $591.35       6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,583.68    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,583.68    5.35%       
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,314.26    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,401.19   6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,511.43    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $2,969.44    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $2,804.30    6.55%   
Direct Grad- Unsub     $4,496.42    6.55%

Total Remaining         $19,675.17

Great job everyone!

September 2014 Update:

Direct Loan Unsub @ 6.55%: $16,046.54

Main goal was to initially knock out Sallie Mae, but I also have another loan through my alma mater that I can begin to tackle as well since the progress toward Sallie Mae has been greater than originally anticipated.

Private Loan @ 5%: $7,475.56

Total Student Loans balance: $23,522.10

Gonna dominate these loans! Great job everyone!

coffeefueled

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #223 on: September 26, 2014, 10:46:25 AM »
I joined the forum so I could join this challenge -- hope it's not too late for the year.

I've made a lot of progress this year, particularly after refinancing and switching to a pretty aggressive payment plan in March. I also decided to throw every extra dime at the monster for the last couple of months and paid almost an additional $7,000 since August. I'm wishing I hadn't been quite so ambitious because I have an unexpected dental bill that will make things pretty slim next month.

SoFi  @4.75%  $43,403  ($950 monthly)

I really want to be done by 2016, but my extra payments have been pretty erratic so far. I'm not sure what's sustainable. I'm still amazed how much is eaten by interest.

fantabulous

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #224 on: September 26, 2014, 05:16:48 PM »
September check in. I definitely want to kill off those 5.6% and 4.5% loans ASAP. Unsure if I should continue with more or less my current pace and kill off those 2.35% loans, which would have me completely out of student loan debt near the end of the year. Basically, math vs my emotions. I realize some people might even skip over the 4.5% loan,but that's high enough for me to want to slaughter it.

Loans:  $7,109 -> $5,137

Nelnet:
$2,785 [5.6%] -> $893
$914 [4.5%] -> $904
$1,327 [2.35%] -> $1,299
$1,137 [2.35%] -> $1,115
$946 [2.35%] -> $926

Apples

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #225 on: October 02, 2014, 10:03:57 AM »

August correction!  We put more money on it this month!
SL #1 $5,214.44
SL #2 $16,430.90 autopilot
Total owed $21,604.71

September:
SL #1   $3,221.62
SL #2 $16,140.70

We got to use our 5 paycheck month in August for our expenses in September, so had a bigger than normal payment on SL #1 this month!  It was great!  It might be possible to kick SL #1 to the curb this year :)

minimos

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #226 on: October 02, 2014, 12:32:07 PM »
Missed out the past few months -- had a cross country moved that just sucked up all my free time.  But even through that, made some good progress!

October Update!

Loan1 - 27,276 @4.75%
Loan2 - 104,889 @4.75%
Loan3 - 7,682 @2.35%
Loan4 - 4,524 @6.8%
Loan5 - 36,978 @2.35%
Loan6 - 0 @6.8% <-WOOHOOOOOOO
Loan7 - 4,342 @2.1%
Total: $185,692

A decrease of $6352 in principle payment, $22790 since the start of the challenge.  Now focusing on Loan #4!  Lets not even talk about how much interest has been paid this year alone! 
Hope everyone is chugging along!

mrfilthyrich

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #227 on: October 02, 2014, 12:55:54 PM »
Another $500 payment posted today, which puts my current balance at $80,783.54. 
March direct payment posted so balance is at $80,092.59.
Made two payments in April totaling 1340.75 and will likely make another smallish one when I get paid tomorrow.  Balance is currently at $79,380.99
I have now made 3 payments in May totaling $2,920.75.  The balance is about $76,900 now.
Regular payment of $920.75 posted, which brought the account to $76,152.20.  And today we just made a big payment of $6,152.20 that will bring the balance close to $70,000 (we came into a little money, but nothing crazy).
Regular payment of $920.75 posted last week so we are now at $69,489.18.
Made two additional payments totaling $1200 in July and just had the monthly payment of $920.75 post yesterday, which puts the balance at $67,622.26.
Been a few months, but made a $1420.75 in payments for Sept.  Balance is at $66,844.04

Wanderlusting

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #228 on: October 04, 2014, 02:47:51 PM »
Nelnet @ $5880 -> 5350

Put $500 on the next loan i'm targeting, hopefully adding another 4-500 by the end of the month, but we'll see. I'm shooting to have this paid off by the end of the year, somehow.

Total on loans: 46.5k -> 46k

Nelnet @ $5400 -> $4800
Total: 46k -> 45.3k

Got to put another $600 down on this sucker, so i'm still keeping track to pay it off by february. I wish I had time to work a side hustle but work has been way too busy to get anything off the ground, but I'm still gonna try! One other side note that i've noticed is that it's slightly harder for me to keep motivated and disciplined when I know the payoff target for a loan is more than a month away, so I end up spending over budget or just forget about the longer term goals that i've set. That's one area i'm hoping to improve on within the next couple months.

manonfire1007

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #229 on: October 16, 2014, 12:51:31 AM »
I'm committed to dropping my debt principal from 310k down 50k next year. Most student loans are below 5%, but we'll use it as an average.
Starting jan 1 I pay an extra 2k per month on the loans, which speeds things along. We pay off highest rates first.

Lhammo721

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #230 on: October 22, 2014, 11:37:06 PM »
I just graduated from college this past year, and my grace period is finally coming to a close. I'm so glad I found this site and the Mustachian ideas so early in my post-grad life, as I am fully prepared to tackle my loans as aggressively as I possibly can. What's so great about being Mustachian is that it basically turns life into a game, a game that can be won, with early retirement and a fantastic life as the win! This new way of thinking is making me competitive with my financial decisions, as I'm constantly trying to tighten budgets and better my financial decisions in every way possible. And, what better way to start than to get rid of these no good, horrendous student loans. Compared to a lot of other people in this forum, it looks like I'm not doing to badly, with $27k in loans to shed (not to mention the interest!). Still, I'm working in early childcare, so that means I have to pay off college loans with an income that is significantly less than it should be after 4 years of undergraduate education.

This is the breakdown:
-DLUNST (6.8%)-   3,490.00
-DLUNST (6.8%)-   2,000.00
-DLUNST (6.8%)-   2,000.00
-DLUNST (3.86%)- 2,000.00
-DLSTFD (3.4%)-   4,500.00
-DLSTFD (3.4%)-   5,500.00
-DLSTFD (3.86%)- 5,500.00
-DLSTFD (4.5%)-   2,010.00

Grand Total: $27,000

My goal is to have my loans all paid off within three years. I am planning on first paying the minimums, and then paying more toward my highest interest-rate loans with the money from my budget that I didn't spend (I seem to have a lot of extra money that I budget for but don't end up spending), and with the rest of all of my paychecks, minus $100 each month toward savings. I can't wait to shed these loans and get started with the real investing! Best of luck to everyone else, we can do this!

nyanks

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #231 on: October 24, 2014, 04:49:44 PM »
Too late to join? I'm just starting to hit these bastards aggressively. I've been paying 1400/mo for 6 years on my student loans, and they've barely budged. I have ~150k with 3 servicers:  Sallie Mae, Nelnet, and ACS. I pay the highest interest rates on Sallie Mae (and I hate them the most), so going after those first.

As of 9/9/14:

Sallie Mae
1. $22,158  7%
2. $7,414    5.5%
3. $10,131  5%
4. $9,394    4.25%
5. $17,376  3.5%
Total SallieMae: 66,473

ACS
6. $18,203  3.727%
Total ACS:  18,203

Nelnet
7. $39,819  2.875%
8. $25,389  2.875%
Total Nelnet:  65,208

TOTAL:  149,884

I'm targeting the 7%-er.

Shooting for Sallie Mae loans 1 and 2 paid off by end of 2014.

UPDATE 10/24/14:

Sallie Mae (now Navient)
1. $9,984    7%
2. $7,398    5.5%
3. $10,105  5%
4. $9,365    4.25%
5. $17,314  3.5%
Total SallieMae: 54,166

ACS
6. $18,083.12  3.734%
Total ACS:  18,083

Nelnet
7. $39,679.29  2.875%
8. $25,300.56  2.875%
Total Nelnet:  64,979

TOTAL:  137,228
« Last Edit: October 24, 2014, 04:52:48 PM by nyanks »

RedRumbler

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #232 on: October 26, 2014, 06:30:16 PM »
June 2014 update:

Direct Loan - Sub       $2,523.00    2.1%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $3,383.83    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,933.66    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $5,317.46    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $2,063.10    5.35%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $4,108.91    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $8,217.80    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $8,217.80    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $6,273.00    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $6,680.49    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $7,220.48    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $14,196.57    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $13,397.06    6.55%   
Direct Grad PLUS       $6,005.03    7.65%
Direct Loan- Unsub    $21,528.14    6.55%

Total Remaining         $111,066.33

Ended up doing IBR so that I could funnel most of my funds into the highest interest loan.

Great job everyone!

August 2014 update:

Well I was extremely fortunate this month and received a windfall sum, which was directed straight toward my loans. I added my regular $1900 monthly contribution toward demolishing specific loans afterward.

Direct Loan - Sub       $394.21       5.35%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,025.21    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $591.35       6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,583.68    6.55%   
Direct Loan - Sub       $1,583.68    5.35%       
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,314.26    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,401.19   6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $1,511.43    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $2,969.44    6.55%   
Direct Loan- Unsub    $2,804.30    6.55%   
Direct Grad- Unsub     $4,496.42    6.55%

Total Remaining         $19,675.17

Great job everyone!

September 2014 Update:

Direct Loan Unsub @ 6.55%: $16,046.54

Main goal was to initially knock out Sallie Mae, but I also have another loan through my alma mater that I can begin to tackle as well since the progress toward Sallie Mae has been greater than originally anticipated.

Private Loan @ 5%: $7,475.56

Total Student Loans balance: $23,522.10

Gonna dominate these loans! Great job everyone!

October 2014 update:

Navient now, boy oh boy: $15,897.17 @ 6.55%
Other student loan: $7,365.38 @ 5%

Total: $23,262.55

Can't wait til the total reads $0. Currently in a switch between jobs so I'm saving all earnings for cushion; however I'll be back to dominating these soon : ). Dang I can't wait to not depend on paychecks for debt payments, SHEESH

Lentils5eva

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #233 on: October 27, 2014, 01:28:35 PM »
Wow!  Congrats HowNowBrownCow - I can't wait to get to where you are!

I'm now done with the 3rd of my 4 loans - paid the last of it in full in February.  My Mint informs me that I've spent 12,992.31 on my student loans in the last 30 days.  Just made my first substantial payment on the fourth loan a few days ago of $5000.

Current and only remaining balance: $36,057.08 (down from around $107,000 over four loans in February, 2013).  Wow.  That's a lot of money - almost $71k of principal reduction in a little over a year.

Have not posted in a while, but I'm excited to say that I'm down to my last $3,415 on my Stafford (6.55%).  I think I'm going to be done next week!

MWM1220

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #234 on: October 29, 2014, 04:52:38 AM »
I'm very late to this thread (and this forum) but this has been my goal since about March, we started around $24k when we got married (I think he took them out around $30k) and here's where I sit now:

Stafford #1: $915 @6.8%
Stafford #2: $3369 @5.6%
Stafford #3: $3999 @4.5%
=================
Total: $8,283 left to pay off!

We're hoping to be done around Christmas time, just in time to start 2015 out right! Vamos!

Apples

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #235 on: October 30, 2014, 10:26:17 AM »

August correction!  We put more money on it this month!
SL #1 $5,214.44
SL #2 $16,430.90 autopilot
Total owed $21,604.71

September:
SL #1   $3,221.62
SL #2 $16,140.70

We got to use our 5 paycheck month in August for our expenses in September, so had a bigger than normal payment on SL #1 this month!  It was great!  It might be possible to kick SL #1 to the curb this year :)

October:
SL #1  $1,770.79
SL #2  $16,020.35

We put $1,660.71 towards student loans this month, mostly from my husband finally seeing his raise (and all the back pay to reflect back to when he got it), which added a nice chunk to our debt payment.  With October being a 5 paycheck month, in November we should be able to kick SL #1 to the curb.  Can't wait :)
« Last Edit: November 01, 2014, 06:09:50 AM by Apples »

Lentils5eva

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #236 on: October 31, 2014, 09:13:09 AM »
Just submitted my last payment!  On 11/1/2012 when my loans entered repayment, my balance was $109,087.74 at a weighted average interest of 7.05%.  Today, I paid the last $3418.12, and I am officially 100% debt free!!!.  In the last two years, I've paid $117,807.03 into the loans, meaning I paid $8719.29 in interest over the principal.   The Student Loan calculator at FinAid.org tells me that if I'd done the standard 10 year repayment plan, I'd have paid $43,241.89 in interest. 


Wow, this feels amazing.  Even though I was paying them off really fast, it still felt really slow.  Strangely, the second year felt much slower than the first.   Keep on keepin on everybody! 

fantabulous

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #237 on: November 01, 2014, 12:47:30 AM »
Congrats Lentils5eva!

Hope to be done around Christmas with my student loans. I've decided that the 2.35% loans aren't large enough for me to want to play a game of attrition vs being DONE IN 2014.

October check in:

Loans:  $5,137 -> $2,871

Nelnet:
$893 [5.6%] -> gone!
$904 [4.5%] -> gone!
$1,299 [2.35%] -> $1,273
$1,115 [2.35%] -> $1,091
$926 [2.35%] -> $507

Apples

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #238 on: November 01, 2014, 05:56:46 AM »
Congrats Lentils2eva!  That's a HUGE amount of money to pay off in just two years!  Fantastic!

And fantabulous-getting those loans out of your life is going to be awesome!

MWM1220

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #239 on: November 01, 2014, 05:58:19 AM »
Just submitted my last payment!  On 11/1/2012 when my loans entered repayment, my balance was $109,087.74 at a weighted average interest of 7.05%.  Today, I paid the last $3418.12, and I am officially 100% debt free!!!.  In the last two years, I've paid $117,807.03 into the loans, meaning I paid $8719.29 in interest over the principal.   The Student Loan calculator at FinAid.org tells me that if I'd done the standard 10 year repayment plan, I'd have paid $43,241.89 in interest. 


Wow, this feels amazing.  Even though I was paying them off really fast, it still felt really slow.  Strangely, the second year felt much slower than the first.   Keep on keepin on everybody!

WOW! SO amazing! Absolutely inspirational!!!

DrowninginDebt

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #240 on: November 03, 2014, 05:24:43 PM »
Hi Everyone,

I just found the MMM blog about a month ago and this is my first forum post! My fiance and I have about $85,000 in student loans and we've challenged ourselves to paying it off by January 2016. Here's our breakdown:

Me (All loans at 6.55%):
1: $7,402.33
2: $8,331.25
3: $6,581.11
4: $15,152.44

Total: $37,467.13

Him:

$9,593.59 (7.99%)
$9,664.61 (7.99%)
$2,257.77 (7.99%)
$4,629.44 (6%)
$1,501.87 (6.8%)
$13,743.77 (6%)
$6,110.60 (6.55%)

Total: $47,501.65

Total from both: $84,968.78

I'm looking forward to posting on here periodically!

TeresaB

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #241 on: November 03, 2014, 06:00:32 PM »
We just got under $80k! I am so excited!

EUmustache

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #242 on: November 05, 2014, 02:34:49 AM »

$63,218 -----> $60,899 (soooooooo close to the 50's)
Reduction since last post: $2,319 (weird - almost identical as last month)
Reduction since gauntlet started: $34,098


Latest progress - finally cracked a milestone I had been aiming for. Next stop sub $50k!

$60,899 -----> $58,592
Reduction since last post: $2,307
Reduction since gauntlet started: $36,405


$58,592 -----> $55,084 (effective on Friday when the pending payments clear)
Reduction since last post: $3,508 (to be fair, it has been about a month and a half since I updated)
Reduction since gauntlet started: $39,913

UGH, I see the numbers changing, but it still feels like such a long road ahead of us. We've slowed down due to our upcoming move, and we're about to be on one income again. Hopefully those two factors don't slow progress too much. Onward to sub $50k...

MWM1220

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #243 on: November 05, 2014, 12:12:41 PM »

Stafford #1: $915 @6.8%
Stafford #2: $3369 @5.6%
Stafford #3: $3999 @4.5%
=================
Total: $8,283 left to pay off!


Paid off Loan #1 in full, which meaves me with:

Stafford Loan: $3369 @5.6%
Stafford Loan: $3999 @4.5%
=================
Total: $7368 left to pay off!

Merlion

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #244 on: November 09, 2014, 09:54:17 AM »
Congrats to all on continuing to make progress (and in some cases finishing!)


A November update:

Wedding and related costs slowed repayment over the summer, but with those out of the way we are throwing every extra cent at the loans. Since my original post in April, my student loan balance has been reduced by $27,986.68. Monthly interest has been cut from approximately $690 to $520.

The original target was to pay down $60k of the student loans in 2014. That's not going to happen, both because of the wedding, some other unforeseen expenses and also because I decided to use $15k to repay all family loans.

Combined, the outstanding principal on my loans including family loans has been reduced by $42,986.68 in the last 7 months. The new target for year-end is to pay off the remaining $17,000 loan at 7.65% (bringing student loan payoff to $45k for the year, and payoff including famiy loans to the original target of $60k), which would bring the total balance down to about $80k.

I'm still optimistic about full pay-off by end-2015.

It's exciting to see these balances dropping after almost no movement in prior years.



Details below (it's painful):

$8,764.24 @ 7.65%
$34,321.56 $17,017.94 @ 7.65%

$8,277.53 @ 6.55%
$8,277.53 @ 6.55%
$4,138.76 @ 6.55%
$15,194.60 @ 6.55%
$14,341.16 @ 6.55%
$4,244.82 @ 6.55%
$6,977.98 @ 5.00%
$4,168.34 @ 5.00%
$8,484.38 @ 4.50%

Total: $97,934.83 @ 6.39% Average Rate

I have a couple of separate loans from family members for nearly $15,000 at much lower interest rates, but I have accelerated pay-off schedules in mind for these as well, and am considering paying these this year to remove any potential family friction. Paid

My target for payoff is:

$60,000 by year-end 2014, bringing the principal down to $65,921.51 approximately $80,000.
Complete payoff of $125,921.51 by year-end 2015, 21 14 months from today.


Lentils5eva

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #245 on: November 09, 2014, 11:42:43 AM »
Congrats to all on continuing to make progress (and in some cases finishing!)


A November update:

Wedding and related costs slowed repayment over the summer, but with those out of the way we are throwing every extra cent at the loans. Since my original post in April, my student loan balance has been reduced by $27,986.68. Monthly interest has been cut from approximately $690 to $520.

The original target was to pay down $60k of the student loans in 2014. That's not going to happen, both because of the wedding, some other unforeseen expenses and also because I decided to use $15k to repay all family loans.

Combined, the outstanding principal on my loans including family loans has been reduced by $42,986.68 in the last 7 months. The new target for year-end is to pay off the remaining $17,000 loan at 7.65% (bringing student loan payoff to $45k for the year, and payoff including famiy loans to the original target of $60k), which would bring the total balance down to about $80k.

I'm still optimistic about full pay-off by end-2015.


Merlion, this is amazing progress.  If you can get this much done this year WHILE handling a wedding (I did the same this year), you can definitely be done by December 2015.  You've done an incredible job this year, and I think it's really honorable to take care of the family loans first, too. Getting rid of those 7.65 loans will feel so great, and will drop that monthly interest cost even more.  Best of luck.

Mazzinator

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #246 on: November 12, 2014, 03:35:26 AM »
Jan 2014

Debt
-$7,000 (0%) (my high interest SL moved to a CC that offered 0 fees)
-$33,534 (4.75 % fixed) fed SL
-$22,482 (4.75% fixed) fed SL
-$11,485 (3.5% vary) private SL
-$10,274 (3.5% vary) private SL
Total = -$84,777 (-85k)

July 2014

Debt
$55,590 federal
$10,091 private
$2,312 private

-$68,803 total (-69k)

Aug
$54,309 federal
$10,805 private
$2,249 private

-$67,363 total (-67k)

Nov 2014

9,341 cc
23,237 fed sl ($165 accrued interest)
22,320 fed sl ($156 interest to be forgiven) ($1,290 interest ytd)
10,506 private sl
2,056 private sl ($36 interest, $500 interest ytd)

-67,460 total (-67k)

So, uummm, yikes!!! This number is getting higher!?! I did get a windfall, so next month this will be much lower! These numbers are from the beginning of the month when i normally calculate it.

Wanderlusting

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #247 on: November 13, 2014, 10:07:43 PM »
Quick update for november:

I pushed another larger payment through this week, bringing my grand total to below 44k! With the loan im targeting currently to $3400~ once the payment clears. I don't think i'll be able to eliminate this loan by the end of the year, but I would like it to get under $2k. However, I did have to buy plane tickets for the holiday season so that's going to eat a chunk of my budget for the month, plus I need to replenish my savings account a bit as well.

 Overall, i'm still a bit ahead of schedule and I should be debt free in about two more years. I'd like to find a way to shave a couple months off that target, but unfortunately with my job it's hard to get any side hustles going though i'll have extra time going forward to work on a few things, so we'll see!

clarkfan1979

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #248 on: November 19, 2014, 05:02:21 AM »
In an effort to make myself more accountable, I will post my numbers.

Approximately 17K at 2.1% and the rest is at 6.8%. I signed up for the 25 year plan with an automatic payment of $333/month. When I make extra payments I get to pick the 6.8% loan. My goal/plan has always been 10 years.

December 2011 (56,500)
December 2012 (55,000)
December 2013 (53,000)
December 2014 (48,500)

Things got off to a slow start because I bought a house in Jan 2012. I needed 10K to close and another 16K to fix it up. About 95% of the repairs and improvements are done, so I have gotten more serious about the student loans within the past 6 months. I've been paying an extra $250/month for the past 6 months. I should have no problem paying off the 6.8% within the next 5 years (8 year total), maybe sooner. However, once I am left with $15,000 at 2.1% I'm not sure if I am going to make extra payments to get it paid off within 10 years. We will see when I get there. 

 


Splendid

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Re: New Year Student Loan Challenge (2014 edition)
« Reply #249 on: November 25, 2014, 08:35:59 PM »
I was waiting until next year to join. I wanted to start fresh at the beginning of the new year. I thought it would be silly to join for just the last month. But you know what? I'm making large payments on my dumb loans, and I want to get support and watch these things shrink. So I'm joining! I just made a large payment ($1200), and have a $300 payment scheduled to be drafted tomorrow. So these numbers are the numbers after those payments go through.

Loan 1: $8,752.44 @ 6.310 (just dropped below $10,000 today!!! That felt so good!)
Loan 2: $2,905.15 @ 5.35%
Loan 3: $11,699.99 @ 5% (deferred until 03/2015)
Loan 4: $4,306.01 @ 4.25%

for a total of $27,663.59. My goal is to wipe them out by December 2015. Which means I need to pay roughly $2,150/mo on them. I already did that this month, so obviously it's doable despite being uncomfortable.