Author Topic: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)  (Read 68486 times)

sweetkerryline

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Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« on: January 03, 2018, 11:19:09 PM »
It's 2018 y'all and time to get cracking on getting rid of our student loans. 2017 was a promising year and I'd like to keep up my momentum.

Background: Lawyer, Graduated in 2013
Debt at Graduation: Law School (Around $90,000); Undergraduate (Around $15,000)
Background: Full Scholarship for Law School (But Cost of Living; Interest) and Near Full Scholarship from Undergrad; Refinanced with SoFi in very late 2013 (3.31%; now 4.025%) and got serious about repaying Loans in 2016.
Total Current Debt: $11,405.63
Required Payment: $206.31
2017 Payments: From $39,919.00 to $11,405.63

2018 Goals: Pay off the remaining 11,405.63 student loans by my birthday (November)
, as they are variable rate loans, by:
(1) Paying a minimum of $1000/month;
(2) using performance bonus (if any) to pay down student loans;
(3) continuing to liquidate non-efficient investments and use proceeds to pay down student loans; I was previously restricted from selling certain assets due to my job.

What are your goals for 2018?

Slow&Steady

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2018, 06:31:55 AM »
The 2018 challenge has started!  I graduated in 2006 with over $30k and only occasionally focused on paying them off, but I have now been out of school for over 10 years and these need to be gone.

Goals (Jan 2018):  Wait until baby gets here safe and healthy (and maybe until after maternity leave) then pay these suckers off!  Assuming no hiccups with baby or maternity leave I would like to pay these off when or before I return from maternity leave around June/July.

Total: 02/18/16 = $16,505.16 (7.5% interest)
         01/09/17 = $10,572.09
         01/04/18 = $7,849.41
       
         12/31/18 = $0 (Goal)


CounselorBob

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2018, 07:17:56 AM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

birdman2003

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2018, 07:50:54 AM »
We should be able to kill the remainder of our student loans in the first quarter of 2018!

sweetkerryline

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2018, 08:46:46 AM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?

sweetkerryline

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2018, 08:47:39 AM »
Congratulations! I look forward to seeing your "paid off" post.

We should be able to kill the remainder of our student loans in the first quarter of 2018!

Jim Fiction

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2018, 10:02:45 AM »
A big thanks to sweetkerryline for starting the 2018 thread!

Background
Tax Accountant, graduated with an MSA in 2015. All told I had around $37,500 in student loans upon graduation. I finally got serious about paying down loans in early 2017, joining the 2017 challenge at the end of February. Here is what my loan situation looked like at that time:

Loan 1: $1,050 @ 0.40%
Loan 2: $3,900 @ 2.15%
Loan 3: $13,225 @ 4.50%
Loan 4: $15,050 @ 4.78%

Total: $33,225

The goal in 2017 was to pay off loan 4 in full, which I did in November.

Beginning balance and goals for 2018

Loan 1: $461 @ 0.40%
Loan 2: $2,859 @ 2.15%
Loan 3: $12,302 @ 4.50%

Total: $15,622

The goal is to pay off all student loan debts by the end of 2018. My first focus is on loan 3, where I will be putting extra payments in each month. Loan 1 will be paid off this year simply by making the minimum month payments. If I only made the minimum payments on loan 2, I would pay it off during the summer of 2019. I may go this route, since the interest rate is so low. However, the emotional pull of being completely debt free is rather strong, so I will likely just try to pay it all off this year.

The potential wrinkle to this plan is that my wife and I are expecting our first child in June, but I think we should be in good shape and it shouldn't impact repayment plans much.

Good luck to everyone!

appleseed

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2018, 10:37:47 AM »
Thanks for starting a 2018 thread! I kept trying to update my balances for the end of December in the old thread, instead  I'll start here new for 2018.

These are my husband's loans from 2005ish. They've been low interest and low priority, but I'm so sick of them and sending money to a loan instead of stashing it.

Loans:

DB1 - 2.5% - $5,991.33 (monthly payment - $182.67)
DB2 - 2.5% - $6,388.29 (monthly payment - $194.77)
N1 - 2.625% - $6,171.61 (monthly payment - $91.08) 
N2 - 2.625%  - $5,392.19 (monthly payment - $79.59 

Total - $23,943.42

I only starting increasing our payments in August by about $500/month to the N1 and N2 loans due to lurking in this forum and seeing so many people have great progress.

My goal for 2018 is to get the total under $10k, which will be a stretch but I think doable especially with motivation from here.

recklesslysober

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2018, 02:31:48 PM »
I'm back as well!

Started with $130,000 on two loans ($50,000 & $80,000) from undergraduate, grad school, and law school. I'm not a lawyer though so I don't have quite as high of an income. In 2016 I paid $10,000 off just paying the minimums and being frivolous; in 2017 I buckled down a bit and paid $30,000.

My goal this year is $40,000 which is fairly ambitious but that's why we're here right!

The first loan should be gone by the end of the year and it will be such a relief to close that account and focus on my last debt for 2019 - if I really kill it I should be debt free by the end of next year but possibly 2020.

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2018, 05:43:54 PM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

CounselorBob

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2018, 07:27:55 AM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

That's something I plan to look into soon.  We both started off on the government track.  So they're consolidated federal loans.  However that has changed.  I will also confess that while we've always followed the general word of advice of save 15% of your income, we didn't really put much thought into paying the loans off quickly.  Our original plan was loan forgiveness. 

I'm a recent convert to the mustachian train of thought.  So I'm slowly working towards incorporating some of those ideals.
« Last Edit: January 05, 2018, 07:30:13 AM by CounselorBob »

sweetkerryline

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2018, 06:12:35 PM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

That's something I plan to look into soon.  We both started off on the government track.  So they're consolidated federal loans.  However that has changed.  I will also confess that while we've always followed the general word of advice of save 15% of your income, we didn't really put much thought into paying the loans off quickly.  Our original plan was loan forgiveness. 

I'm a recent convert to the mustachian train of thought.  So I'm slowly working towards incorporating some of those ideals.

Totally understand. I've always been a bit miserly, but am also a recent convert to the mustachian mindset. Good luck with the pay down plan!

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #12 on: January 05, 2018, 07:41:37 PM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

That's something I plan to look into soon.  We both started off on the government track.  So they're consolidated federal loans.  However that has changed.  I will also confess that while we've always followed the general word of advice of save 15% of your income, we didn't really put much thought into paying the loans off quickly.  Our original plan was loan forgiveness. 

I'm a recent convert to the mustachian train of thought.  So I'm slowly working towards incorporating some of those ideals.

Ah, I too fell into the income driven repayment trap. http://upwardlymobile.life/income-based-repayment-plans-are-the-death-of-upward-mobility-for-young-professionals/

I also reformed and have been shedding my student loan debt. http://upwardlymobile.life/student-loan-debt-servitude/

Started 2018 with just over $107,000 in student loan debt fixed at 4.64%.  I paid my fee sharing and bonuses and an extra several hundred dollars with my monthly payment.  Balance is currently $90,855.33.  I’m looking to pay it all down within 24 months. Roughly $55,500 per year for 2 years. I’m documenting the process to motivate me. http://upwardlymobile.life/the-first-big-milestone-in-the-war-on-student-loans/

tanzee

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2018, 05:58:42 AM »
I had a good December in terms of student loan payoff.  I'm set for a couple more good months with tax returns etc.  My highly ambitious goal for this year is to have the loans totally paid off, though I'm not sure how feasible that is.  Here is my situation:

Loan 1:  4178.88  @  5.16%
Loan 2:  1802.99  @  5.16%
Loan 3:  9517.22  @  5.31%

Total:   15,499.09


palebluedot

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2018, 06:52:06 PM »

Another loan was killed off this month! I had to take a little bit from my buffer to get rid of the 3.61% loan. Just three left and can't wait to get started in the New Year.



Welcome back everyone! Happy to say this will be my last year participating in the student loan challenge. I will be done in the fall, just about 3 years after finishing school in 2015 @ total debt of ~22k.

Update for January payment total $750:






alphapi

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #15 on: January 12, 2018, 04:31:04 AM »
Hi all - first post ever here (previous reader/lurker of course)!

I'm just getting started on this journey, but back in 2012 left grad school with $41,000. I had been planning on taking advantage of the PSLF, but recently I'm valuing professional AND financial flexibility sooner than my possible eligibility for that (5-6 years), so I'm taking charge. Down to $34,000 now, all from FAFSA at 6.55%. I've always been on the fence about the saving/paying argument, but with a lot of the strategies I've put in place I'm confident I'll be able to do both.

My goal this year is to have $15,000 in December 2018, and that will put me on track to kill off the rest by the end of 2019.

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #16 on: January 12, 2018, 05:46:32 PM »
Hi all - first post ever here (previous reader/lurker of course)!

I'm just getting started on this journey, but back in 2012 left grad school with $41,000. I had been planning on taking advantage of the PSLF, but recently I'm valuing professional AND financial flexibility sooner than my possible eligibility for that (5-6 years), so I'm taking charge. Down to $34,000 now, all from FAFSA at 6.55%. I've always been on the fence about the saving/paying argument, but with a lot of the strategies I've put in place I'm confident I'll be able to do both.

My goal this year is to have $15,000 in December 2018, and that will put me on track to kill off the rest by the end of 2019.
if you’re repaying, you should refinance those to a lower rate and save a couple thousand dollars you’d otherwise pay on interest.

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #17 on: January 13, 2018, 09:10:43 AM »
I'm back as well!

Started with $130,000 on two loans ($50,000 & $80,000) from undergraduate, grad school, and law school. I'm not a lawyer though so I don't have quite as high of an income. In 2016 I paid $10,000 off just paying the minimums and being frivolous; in 2017 I buckled down a bit and paid $30,000.

My goal this year is $40,000 which is fairly ambitious but that's why we're here right!

The first loan should be gone by the end of the year and it will be such a relief to close that account and focus on my last debt for 2019 - if I really kill it I should be debt free by the end of next year but possibly 2020.
. I’m aiming for 55,000 this year.  I’ve paid 17000 so far in 2018. 38000 more to go in 2018. Balance is ~91,000. 

What’s your income level? You may be able to do more.

Jim Fiction

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #18 on: January 13, 2018, 11:09:57 AM »
Beginning balance and goals for 2018

Loan 1: $461 @ 0.40%
Loan 2: $2,859 @ 2.15%
Loan 3: $12,302 @ 4.50%

Total: $15,622

January payments are in the books:

Loan 1: $411 @ 0.40%
Loan 2: $2,768 @ 2.15%
Loan 3: $10,941 @ 4.50%

Total: $14,120

eightyeighttoone

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #19 on: January 13, 2018, 06:33:46 PM »
Hello Everyone! Best wishes to all in paying down student loans.

Starting 2018 Balance: 27,416

Loan 1 -         $0.00 6.800%
Loan 2 -         $0.00 6.800%
Loan 3 -         $0.00 6.800%
Loan 4 - $16,913.65 5.160%
Loan 5 -         $0.00 6.210%
Loan 6 -         $0.00 5.590%
Loan 7 - $10,502.35 5.060%

2018 GOAL: Paid in full

These just entered repayment (graduated law school '14; LLM in '17). All told, I borrowed over 100k, but have been paying them down as I go, so the highest my balance ever got was $75,841 in 2014. So I just made (on 1/4) my first required monthly payment of $317.07. I plan to pay that plus an extra $1600 in the middle of each month. It will be tough, but if I can stay the course and find a little extra push from somewhere, I really think I can finish these in 2018!

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #20 on: January 13, 2018, 07:13:56 PM »
Hello Everyone! Best wishes to all in paying down student loans.

Starting 2018 Balance: 27,416

Loan 1 -         $0.00 6.800%
Loan 2 -         $0.00 6.800%
Loan 3 -         $0.00 6.800%
Loan 4 - $16,913.65 5.160%
Loan 5 -         $0.00 6.210%
Loan 6 -         $0.00 5.590%
Loan 7 - $10,502.35 5.060%

2018 GOAL: Paid in full

These just entered repayment (graduated law school '14; LLM in '17). All told, I borrowed over 100k, but have been paying them down as I go, so the highest my balance ever got was $75,841 in 2014. So I just made (on 1/4) my first required monthly payment of $317.07. I plan to pay that plus an extra $1600 in the middle of each month. It will be tough, but if I can stay the course and find a little extra push from somewhere, I really think I can finish these in 2018!

Depending on your job, that should be totally doable for a lawyer. Good luck!

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #21 on: January 13, 2018, 07:16:26 PM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

That's something I plan to look into soon.  We both started off on the government track.  So they're consolidated federal loans.  However that has changed.  I will also confess that while we've always followed the general word of advice of save 15% of your income, we didn't really put much thought into paying the loans off quickly.  Our original plan was loan forgiveness. 

I'm a recent convert to the mustachian train of thought.  So I'm slowly working towards incorporating some of those ideals.

Ah, I too fell into the income driven repayment trap. http://upwardlymobile.life/income-based-repayment-plans-are-the-death-of-upward-mobility-for-young-professionals/

I also reformed and have been shedding my student loan debt. http://upwardlymobile.life/student-loan-debt-servitude/

Started 2018 with just over $107,000 in student loan debt fixed at 4.64%.  I paid my fee sharing and bonuses and an extra several hundred dollars with my monthly payment.  Balance is currently $90,855.33.  I’m looking to pay it all down within 24 months. Roughly $55,500 per year for 2 years. I’m documenting the process to motivate me. http://upwardlymobile.life/the-first-big-milestone-in-the-war-on-student-loans/

I just made an unexpected extra payment.  http://upwardlymobile.life/using-a-windfall-wisely-kill-debt/  When the transaction clears on Monday, I’ll post the updated balance.

BluePhoenix75

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2018, 08:42:05 PM »
Hullo!

I'll join this challenge!  We set the audacious goal to pay down my husband's student loans by $80K this year.  It is the last item on our snowball list before we get to scream "we're debt free (except for the house)!"

$142,000..........October 2017
$134,237..........December 2017
$130,604..........January 2018

Let's do this!!

eightyeighttoone

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #23 on: January 13, 2018, 11:16:15 PM »

Depending on your job, that should be totally doable for a lawyer. Good luck!

Thanks, Mr. Up! I look forward to seeing your posts as you demolish your loans! Best wishes.

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #24 on: January 14, 2018, 10:02:39 AM »
Hullo!

I'll join this challenge!  We set the audacious goal to pay down my husband's student loans by $80K this year.  It is the last item on our snowball list before we get to scream "we're debt free (except for the house)!"

$142,000..........October 2017
$134,237..........December 2017
$130,604..........January 2018

Let's do this!!
this challenge is awesome. Good luck.  Crush those loans.

Ms. Maggie

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #25 on: January 14, 2018, 10:08:24 AM »
Hi Everyone!

I'm back in for this year! Really looking forward to finishing these off sometime this Spring (APRIL is my goal depending on the tax refund situation). Here we go!

Student Loan total Aug 2016: 41,000
June 2017: 24,005
August 2017: 18,561
October 2017: 15,222
December 2017: 11, 632
January 2018: 8,728

Goal for 2018: down to 0

Loan 1: 2,437 @ 6.55%
Loan 2: 0       @ 6.55%
Loan 3: 0       @ 6.55%
Loan 4: 6,290 @ 5.16%
Loan 5: 0        @6.55%

minimos

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #26 on: January 15, 2018, 03:33:51 AM »
Was in the 2016 and 2017 challenge ---- and jumping in on the 2018 thread now!
Looking at probably 1.5 more years before final pay off.

Loan 1 - 24,370  (3.28 Variable)
Loan 2 - 28,217  (3.04 Variable)

Total:  52,587

We fell short of our goal last year -- mainly because I flip flop between paying them off vs investing.  Many suggest the math of investing while rates are so low makes sense, but they feel like such a heavy weight on our shoulders that I really just want them eliminated.  Also, decided to start taking advantage of some of those student loan refinance bonuses again - and in the process of refinancing Loan 2 for a slightly lower rate -- but with a $500 bonus.  Figure the bonus is almost equivalent to what we pay in interest during the year.....   

Good Luck everyone in 2018!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #27 on: January 15, 2018, 06:57:33 AM »
Was in the 2016 and 2017 challenge ---- and jumping in on the 2018 thread now!
Looking at probably 1.5 more years before final pay off.

Loan 1 - 24,370  (3.28 Variable)
Loan 2 - 28,217  (3.04 Variable)

Total:  52,587

We fell short of our goal last year -- mainly because I flip flop between paying them off vs investing.  Many suggest the math of investing while rates are so low makes sense, but they feel like such a heavy weight on our shoulders that I really just want them eliminated.  Also, decided to start taking advantage of some of those student loan refinance bonuses again - and in the process of refinancing Loan 2 for a slightly lower rate -- but with a $500 bonus.  Figure the bonus is almost equivalent to what we pay in interest during the year.....   

Good Luck everyone in 2018!
the market goes up and down but paying off the student loans and removing the shackles of debt has a guaranteed return. Good luck and crush those loans.

sweetkerryline

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #28 on: January 15, 2018, 11:08:47 AM »
January 2018 Update

Debt at Graduation: Law School (Around $90,000); Undergraduate (Around $15,000)
Total Current Debt: $11,405.63 $9,735.82
Monthly Payment [Monthly Payment Goal] (Required Payment): $1,700.50 [$1,000] ($218.50) (Monthly Payment Goal Met)
Total 2018 Payments: $1,700.50

It's 2018 y'all and time to get cracking on getting rid of our student loans. 2017 was a promising year and I'd like to keep up my momentum.

Background: Lawyer, Graduated in 2013
Debt at Graduation: Law School (Around $90,000); Undergraduate (Around $15,000)
Background: Full Scholarship for Law School (But Cost of Living; Interest) and Near Full Scholarship from Undergrad; Refinanced with SoFi in very late 2013 (3.31%; now 4.025%) and got serious about repaying Loans in 2016.
Total Current Debt: $11,405.63
Required Payment: $206.31
2017 Payments: From $39,919.00 to $11,405.63

2018 Goals: Pay off the remaining 11,405.63 student loans by my birthday (November)
, as they are variable rate loans, by:
(1) Paying a minimum of $1000/month;
(2) using performance bonus (if any) to pay down student loans;
(3) continuing to liquidate non-efficient investments and use proceeds to pay down student loans; I was previously restricted from selling certain assets due to my job.

What are your goals for 2018?

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #29 on: January 15, 2018, 08:52:37 PM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

That's something I plan to look into soon.  We both started off on the government track.  So they're consolidated federal loans.  However that has changed.  I will also confess that while we've always followed the general word of advice of save 15% of your income, we didn't really put much thought into paying the loans off quickly.  Our original plan was loan forgiveness. 

I'm a recent convert to the mustachian train of thought.  So I'm slowly working towards incorporating some of those ideals.

Ah, I too fell into the income driven repayment trap. http://upwardlymobile.life/income-based-repayment-plans-are-the-death-of-upward-mobility-for-young-professionals/

I also reformed and have been shedding my student loan debt. http://upwardlymobile.life/student-loan-debt-servitude/

Started 2018 with just over $107,000 in student loan debt fixed at 4.64%.  I paid my fee sharing and bonuses and an extra several hundred dollars with my monthly payment.  Balance is currently $90,855.33.  I’m looking to pay it all down within 24 months. Roughly $55,500 per year for 2 years. I’m documenting the process to motivate me. http://upwardlymobile.life/the-first-big-milestone-in-the-war-on-student-loans/

I just made an unexpected extra payment.  http://upwardlymobile.life/using-a-windfall-wisely-kill-debt/  When the transaction clears on Monday, I’ll post the updated balance.
$89,570.81!

sweetkerryline

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #30 on: January 16, 2018, 09:08:16 AM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

That's something I plan to look into soon.  We both started off on the government track.  So they're consolidated federal loans.  However that has changed.  I will also confess that while we've always followed the general word of advice of save 15% of your income, we didn't really put much thought into paying the loans off quickly.  Our original plan was loan forgiveness. 

I'm a recent convert to the mustachian train of thought.  So I'm slowly working towards incorporating some of those ideals.

Ah, I too fell into the income driven repayment trap. http://upwardlymobile.life/income-based-repayment-plans-are-the-death-of-upward-mobility-for-young-professionals/

I also reformed and have been shedding my student loan debt. http://upwardlymobile.life/student-loan-debt-servitude/

Started 2018 with just over $107,000 in student loan debt fixed at 4.64%.  I paid my fee sharing and bonuses and an extra several hundred dollars with my monthly payment.  Balance is currently $90,855.33.  I’m looking to pay it all down within 24 months. Roughly $55,500 per year for 2 years. I’m documenting the process to motivate me. http://upwardlymobile.life/the-first-big-milestone-in-the-war-on-student-loans/

I just made an unexpected extra payment.  http://upwardlymobile.life/using-a-windfall-wisely-kill-debt/  When the transaction clears on Monday, I’ll post the updated balance.
$89,570.81!

Outstanding! Keep up the great work!

haypug16

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #31 on: January 16, 2018, 02:00:01 PM »
I'm back for 2018! I hope to make a much bigger dent this year as my Credit Cards are almost paid off and I can put that money towards the Student Loans. I also refinanced my loans with interest rates over 5.84% some where up as high as 6.8%!


January 1 2018 balances to start;
Loan 1to4 - 5.5%      33,513.13
Loan 5 - 5.375%         7,119.11
Loan 6 - 4.66%           2,551.94
Loan 7 - 4.5%             3,361.66
Loan 8 - 3.86%           5,408.83
Loan 9 - 3.4%             3,877.09
Loan 10 - 3.4%           5,378.41
Total 2018 beg. bal. 61,210.17

Between now and September I'll be putting about $850 towards paying these down. Then from October to December I'll be able to put in an additional ~$750 which I'll put towards the 5.5% loan. That'll be close to $10K in payments, I'm curious to see what kind of a dent that will actually make.

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #32 on: January 16, 2018, 06:06:09 PM »
Good luck sweetkerryline!  I'm also a lawyer at the age of 32.  Between my wife and myself, we have 82k left in student loans at about an average of around 6.8 - 6.9 percent.  I've upped payments to $1,300 a month.  We were paying $1000.  Prior, before we really put any thought into finances, we were paying about 800.  Running an online calculator, the extra $300 will shorten the length of the payoff by close to three years (I used a few to make sure and they were consistent). 

I will also be putting parts of extra cash received in payments.  I'm also thinking of moving a portion of some less tax-efficient assets from my taxable account over to extra payments.  At our current rate, we're slotted to pay them off in a little under 7 years.  But I hope to cut that in half.

Thanks for the good wishes fellow advocate! Here's to hoping I stay the course!

Also, may I ask why you haven't refinanced those student loans to a lower rate?
yeah I was curious about that too. Refinancing my loans + increased payments allowed me to actually start making a dent in my student loans.

That's something I plan to look into soon.  We both started off on the government track.  So they're consolidated federal loans.  However that has changed.  I will also confess that while we've always followed the general word of advice of save 15% of your income, we didn't really put much thought into paying the loans off quickly.  Our original plan was loan forgiveness. 

I'm a recent convert to the mustachian train of thought.  So I'm slowly working towards incorporating some of those ideals.

Ah, I too fell into the income driven repayment trap. http://upwardlymobile.life/income-based-repayment-plans-are-the-death-of-upward-mobility-for-young-professionals/

I also reformed and have been shedding my student loan debt. http://upwardlymobile.life/student-loan-debt-servitude/

Started 2018 with just over $107,000 in student loan debt fixed at 4.64%.  I paid my fee sharing and bonuses and an extra several hundred dollars with my monthly payment.  Balance is currently $90,855.33.  I’m looking to pay it all down within 24 months. Roughly $55,500 per year for 2 years. I’m documenting the process to motivate me. http://upwardlymobile.life/the-first-big-milestone-in-the-war-on-student-loans/

I just made an unexpected extra payment.  http://upwardlymobile.life/using-a-windfall-wisely-kill-debt/  When the transaction clears on Monday, I’ll post the updated balance.
$89,570.81!

Outstanding! Keep up the great work!
thanks.  I cannot wait until my tax return so I can make another extra payment.

MEJG

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #33 on: January 17, 2018, 05:44:28 AM »
I think I'll join this year but modify my own race.  We currently have three debts, two low interest, one med interest.  I've been following the Investment Order mostly- which has me not accelerating payments on anything above 5.569% (3 points above the current treasury note yield).  But the payments are a drag, so DH and I recently decided to accelerate the highest interest rate, and also use some of our taxable investing money as an "offset" account.  I'll call my challenge done when the highest interest rate loan is paid off, and the two lower ones are offset by a separate taxable account.

12/31/17
Loan #1:  $24,241.81   @ 7.73%  required payment $200
Loan #2:  $17,133.55   @ 4%       required payment $105.57
Loan #3   $15501.47     @ 2.1%    required payment  $350

Plan will be minimums on loan #2&3, and $550 per month on loan #1 with taxable offset account accumulating to $3000 before opening a Vanguard taxable account and then offsetting remaining balances.  I'll update at the beginning of the months.

2018 Goal:  Taxable offset at >$5000 invested at vanguard, and Loan #1 down to < $18,000

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #34 on: January 17, 2018, 05:48:57 AM »
I think I'll join this year but modify my own race.  We currently have three debts, two low interest, one med interest.  I've been following the Investment Order mostly- which has me not accelerating payments on anything above 5.569% (3 points above the current treasury note yield).  But the payments are a drag, so DH and I recently decided to accelerate the highest interest rate, and also use some of our taxable investing money as an "offset" account.  I'll call my challenge done when the highest interest rate loan is paid off, and the two lower ones are offset by a separate taxable account.

12/31/17
Loan #1:  $24,241.81   @ 7.73%  required payment $200
Loan #2:  $17,133.55   @ 4%       required payment $105.57
Loan #3   $15501.47     @ 2.1%    required payment  $350

Plan will be minimums on loan #2&3, and $550 per month on loan #1 with taxable offset account accumulating to $3000 before opening a Vanguard taxable account and then offsetting remaining balances.  I'll update at the beginning of the months.

2018 Goal:  Taxable offset at >$5000 invested at vanguard, and Loan #1 down to < $18,000

Can you refinance that 7.73% loan?  That’s actually pretty expensive. You could potentially save hundreds per year if you could get it down to ~5%. A lot of people recommend sofi.  I found they were tough to get below 6% interest. You might look at earnest or citizens bank, both were better than sofi for me.

MEJG

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #35 on: January 17, 2018, 06:50:36 AM »
12/31/17
Loan #1:  $24,241.81   @ 7.73%  required payment $200
Loan #2:  $17,133.55   @ 4%       required payment $105.57
Loan #3   $15501.47     @ 2.1%    required payment  $350

Can you refinance that 7.73% loan?  That’s actually pretty expensive. You could potentially save hundreds per year if you could get it down to ~5%. A lot of people recommend sofi.  I found they were tough to get below 6% interest. You might look at earnest or citizens bank, both were better than sofi for me.

Well, see, it isn't exactly a student loan, and doesn't qualify for SL refinancing.  I see it as my student loan because money is fungible.  In mid-2017 I had two student loans that had been refinanced by personal family loans- loan #2 is a family loan, and I also had just over $100,000 @ 5% loan from a family member.   

Three things happened - #1 we found ourselves unexpectedly pregnant (shit happens) and could seriously have benefited from selling our current home and moving so we #2 planned some updates to get sale ready and hired contractors and #3 the family member with the $100,000 ish loan asked us to pay him back about $20,000 and he would forgive the rest.

We had cash in hand for the repairs and updates (well most of it) and decided to open and HELOC, pay our VERY GENEROUS family member back $20,000 and use the HELOC to pay for the updates and repairs, sell the house and pay off the HELOC.  We had more than enough equity for paying off the HELOC, a down payment on a new home, and helping cash cushion a maternity leave.  Citizen's bank did a bait and switch on the rate, ON THE DAY OF CLOSING, from 4.8 to 7.73 sitting that they could only approve us for $48,000 vs the $50,000 pre-qual letter they'd given us.  We were in the middle of work, thought the house would sell and figured since we were planning on closing the HELOC in the next 6 mo it wasn't worth the headache and hassle of trying with one of the lenders we had ruled out previously.

In the end the house didn't sell, the updates are great and all but two of the projects would really have needed to be done in the next year anyhow.  We're $75,000 less in debt.  We've decided NOT to move with an infant and wait it out another few years in this house.

So it's a SL in my head, but technically it is a HELOC.  I suppose I can look into a refi for that as well, I hadn't gone down that road in my head.

recklesslysober

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #36 on: January 17, 2018, 06:30:08 PM »
I'm back as well!

Started with $130,000 on two loans ($50,000 & $80,000) from undergraduate, grad school, and law school. I'm not a lawyer though so I don't have quite as high of an income. In 2016 I paid $10,000 off just paying the minimums and being frivolous; in 2017 I buckled down a bit and paid $30,000.

My goal this year is $40,000 which is fairly ambitious but that's why we're here right!

The first loan should be gone by the end of the year and it will be such a relief to close that account and focus on my last debt for 2019 - if I really kill it I should be debt free by the end of next year but possibly 2020.
. I’m aiming for 55,000 this year.  I’ve paid 17000 so far in 2018. 38000 more to go in 2018. Balance is ~91,000. 

What’s your income level? You may be able to do more.

My net income should be about $60K so this is ambitious enough, at least for me. I live in the most expensive city in Canada and just my rent/bills will be $14K.

recklesslysober

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #37 on: January 17, 2018, 06:31:49 PM »
$1,400 principal paid so far / $40,000 = 3.5%

eightyeighttoone

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #38 on: January 17, 2018, 10:14:52 PM »

However, I’m not actually making any extra payments on my student debt. I’m saving it up until I have a lump sum large enough to pay the entire balance off. My monthly payments are ~3K/mo, so the lump sum will act as an emergency fund until I can zero out the entire thing. The interest is low, so it won’t cost me much, and it will give me great security in the event of illness or injury before the debt is gone.

Nice work paying so much off in the last 4 years! I have also been tempted by the idea of saving up for one final big payment. I know I would pay for it in interest, but the security would be nice. And it would be just plain old fun to make such a huge lump sum payment. I usually end up just making the regular monthly payments because I can't resist it. :)

eightyeighttoone

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #39 on: January 17, 2018, 10:16:52 PM »
Starting Balance: 27,416
January Balance: 25,831

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #40 on: January 18, 2018, 06:31:50 AM »
Starting Balance: 27,416
January Balance: 25,831
Looks like you’re in the homestretch! When do you estimate that you’ll get it done?

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #41 on: January 18, 2018, 06:34:58 AM »

However, I’m not actually making any extra payments on my student debt. I’m saving it up until I have a lump sum large enough to pay the entire balance off. My monthly payments are ~3K/mo, so the lump sum will act as an emergency fund until I can zero out the entire thing. The interest is low, so it won’t cost me much, and it will give me great security in the event of illness or injury before the debt is gone.

Nice work paying so much off in the last 4 years! I have also been tempted by the idea of saving up for one final big payment. I know I would pay for it in interest, but the security would be nice. And it would be just plain old fun to make such a huge lump sum payment. I usually end up just making the regular monthly payments because I can't resist it. :)

Thanks!
I actually had no idea what the number was because it was so many different sources of debt between the two of us and we just kept hacking away at it. I sat down recently and looked at the balances and was pleasantly surprised to see that we were closer to 300k paid off than 200K. (DH is hopeless with remembering numbers and many of the debts were his accounts. I knew how much we had paid, but I drastically mentally over estimated how much we had paid in interest over 4 years)

For me, waiting to pay it all with a lump sum is all about security.
I’m a dentist, and if I’m not working, I’m not paid, and because I have some serious pre-existing conditions, disability insurance is insane and not worth it. So I’m one sprained ankle away from bankruptcy unless I have a solid cushion to float my 3K/mo minimum debt payments. I have disability, but it only pays 2K/mo and only after 3 months.

That stresses me out, so the bigger an emergency fund I have, the less pressure there is on me. Once I use that sum to zero out the debt, the pressure is gone forever. We don’t actually need my income.

I got the idea from one of the many many threads about paying off mortgages. People kept explaining that there is absolutely no added security to making extra mortgage payments because unless the mortgage is elimintated, then you are actually increasing your risk by having fewer liquid assets and still having a big monthly payment. If you lose your job just months before finishing paying off your house, you still lose your house AND all of the extra payments, but if you had those extra payments collected and liquid, you could cover a period of job loss.

For some people, the additional motivation of watching that balance drop is worth it. They’re likely to put more money towards it if they can see a tangible and immediate change to their balance. Personally, I’m not like that. Feedback doesn’t have much impact on my motivation, hence why I didn’t even know how much debt we had paid off over 4 years.

It won’t cost me much in interest, at least not this year, because my principal payments are already huge, and I’m paying off other debt this year as well. Just the car, the loan, and my principal payments add up to nearly 50K. If there’s extra, I’ll clear the LOC as well.
professional degree debt can be crushing, but it something nds like you’re kicking butt.  Have you and your husband considered refinancing into one or two loans? It’s a hell of a lot easier to manage if it’s all at one or two lower rates and in one place.  I feel like refinancing a year or so ago was really what turned the tide for me.  One huge horrifying balance was easier to wrap my head around than lots of 20k balances.
« Last Edit: January 18, 2018, 06:45:06 AM by MrUpwardlyMobile »

birdman2003

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #42 on: January 18, 2018, 10:53:11 AM »
We just sent our payoff check for $3k, once it clears next week we will be free from our student loans (over $150k)!

alphapi

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #43 on: January 18, 2018, 06:03:47 PM »
Hi all - first post ever here (previous reader/lurker of course)!

I'm just getting started on this journey, but back in 2012 left grad school with $41,000. I had been planning on taking advantage of the PSLF, but recently I'm valuing professional AND financial flexibility sooner than my possible eligibility for that (5-6 years), so I'm taking charge. Down to $34,000 now, all from FAFSA at 6.55%. I've always been on the fence about the saving/paying argument, but with a lot of the strategies I've put in place I'm confident I'll be able to do both.

My goal this year is to have $15,000 in December 2018, and that will put me on track to kill off the rest by the end of 2019.
if you’re repaying, you should refinance those to a lower rate and save a couple thousand dollars you’d otherwise pay on interest.

After a payment to kick start the repayment I'm down to: $26,797.51

Holy smokes, I'm already feeling so much better (and exploring refinancing options)!

MrUpwardlyMobile

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #44 on: January 18, 2018, 06:19:21 PM »
We just sent our payoff check for $3k, once it clears next week we will be free from our student loans (over $150k)!

Congrats!  I totally envy you!

appleseed

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #45 on: January 19, 2018, 07:04:08 AM »
We just sent our payoff check for $3k, once it clears next week we will be free from our student loans (over $150k)!
Congratulations! What a feeling of relief and accomplishment you must have. 

birdman2003

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #46 on: January 19, 2018, 07:57:02 AM »
Congrats!  I totally envy you!
Congratulations! What a feeling of relief and accomplishment you must have.

Thanks you guys!  This community has been a great source of fuel for me as my wife and I focus on these goals.  Now we are going to focus on our mortgage, but after that, the next challenge will be "what should our next challenge be?"  Don't get me wrong, I don't like being in debt, but the one good thing is that you are clearly united in what your goal should be.  After the debt is gone, it's easy to ease off the full-steam-ahead mentality.

eightyeighttoone

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #47 on: January 19, 2018, 08:02:15 PM »

However, I’m not actually making any extra payments on my student debt. I’m saving it up until I have a lump sum large enough to pay the entire balance off. My monthly payments are ~3K/mo, so the lump sum will act as an emergency fund until I can zero out the entire thing. The interest is low, so it won’t cost me much, and it will give me great security in the event of illness or injury before the debt is gone.

Nice work paying so much off in the last 4 years! I have also been tempted by the idea of saving up for one final big payment. I know I would pay for it in interest, but the security would be nice. And it would be just plain old fun to make such a huge lump sum payment. I usually end up just making the regular monthly payments because I can't resist it. :)

Thanks!
I actually had no idea what the number was because it was so many different sources of debt between the two of us and we just kept hacking away at it. I sat down recently and looked at the balances and was pleasantly surprised to see that we were closer to 300k paid off than 200K. (DH is hopeless with remembering numbers and many of the debts were his accounts. I knew how much we had paid, but I drastically mentally over estimated how much we had paid in interest over 4 years)

For me, waiting to pay it all with a lump sum is all about security.
I’m a dentist, and if I’m not working, I’m not paid, and because I have some serious pre-existing conditions, disability insurance is insane and not worth it. So I’m one sprained ankle away from bankruptcy unless I have a solid cushion to float my 3K/mo minimum debt payments. I have disability, but it only pays 2K/mo and only after 3 months.

That stresses me out, so the bigger an emergency fund I have, the less pressure there is on me. Once I use that sum to zero out the debt, the pressure is gone forever. We don’t actually need my income.

I got the idea from one of the many many threads about paying off mortgages. People kept explaining that there is absolutely no added security to making extra mortgage payments because unless the mortgage is elimintated, then you are actually increasing your risk by having fewer liquid assets and still having a big monthly payment. If you lose your job just months before finishing paying off your house, you still lose your house AND all of the extra payments, but if you had those extra payments collected and liquid, you could cover a period of job loss.

For some people, the additional motivation of watching that balance drop is worth it. They’re likely to put more money towards it if they can see a tangible and immediate change to their balance. Personally, I’m not like that. Feedback doesn’t have much impact on my motivation, hence why I didn’t even know how much debt we had paid off over 4 years.

It won’t cost me much in interest, at least not this year, because my principal payments are already huge, and I’m paying off other debt this year as well. Just the car, the loan, and my principal payments add up to nearly 50K. If there’s extra, I’ll clear the LOC as well.

That makes a lot of sense about keeping your liquidity top of mind, especially in the mortgage world. One interesting thing I have noticed now that my loans are in repayment. When I make extra payments, it goes toward principal and all, but my service provider also records me as being "paid ahead" by so many months. (I missed the re-fi train and still have mine with Great Lakes) So for example I've made two larger, extra payments since my loans went into repayment, and now I am "paid ahead" until December 2018. I haven't looked into it very hard as I expect I can keep up the pace, but I think I could stop paying for 10 months if an emergency comes up, which is basically the same benefit as saving up for a big payment, with an added bonus of eliminating interest if you can stay the course. Certainly this is one benefit of NOT refinancing (though if you can knock 3% off your interest rate....that's a better deal) :)

eightyeighttoone

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #48 on: January 19, 2018, 08:06:41 PM »
Starting Balance: 27,416
January Balance: 25,831
Looks like you’re in the homestretch! When do you estimate that you’ll get it done?

I have a new job so my bonus will be a bit of a wildcard. If that goes the way I expect, I think November of this year I will have them paid off. Cant wait!

eightyeighttoone

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Re: Student Loan Challenge (2018 Edition)
« Reply #49 on: January 19, 2018, 08:09:20 PM »
We just sent our payoff check for $3k, once it clears next week we will be free from our student loans (over $150k)!
Congratulations! What a feeling of relief and accomplishment you must have.
Congrats Birdman2003, thats awesome!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!