how amazing did you feel when you finally paid off massive student loans?

[Anonymous]

We had a party. Even if the interest rate wasn't bad, it was just so liberating to be out from under those loans.

[Anonymous]

HI! This is OP - and CONGRATULATIONS to all of you who've gotten through the loans! Your stories are very motivating - and even though I know it might be smarter in the long run to pay less toward the loans and save the rest, I just want these suckers gone already.

I hope you all don't mind if I check in here every once in a while - it's not going to be easy to pay this much every month (my current interesting job is on the communications team at a nonprofit, so not the most remunerative thing in the world!). I can smell the end, finally, FINALLY, and I just want to know what it feels like to be an adult who does not have this massive obligation.

[Anonymous]

Dh now has 5-13 years of loans left. We cannot wait!!!!!!!!!

-5 if everything goes according to plan + job change and raise go as hoped next year, keeping big expenditures to a minimum, lucky with health/home etc etc etc.
-13 would be so super easy, just $1k/month that is easy for us right now.

It might be something in between but we push every month knowing it will feel so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I owed over 200k. I overpaid my last payment (by under $10, I wanted to be SURE the last payment was in fact the last!))and keep the refund check in my nightstand drawer. I can’t believe it’s over, ha!

This is OP - and what a great story

I am on the paperless billing system but I think when I do finally pay these off, I will print out the page showing a zero balance, and frame it to hang on the wall.

[Anonymous]

I guess I didn't feel anything. I was just annoyed at the student loan websites and glad to be done having to log onto them. Paid off 80k at 27.

[Anonymous]

Wasn’t THAT big of a deal. Had just over 100k at 2.8%. Made double payments for the most part and paid them off in 12 years. Could have paid them much earlier but I wasn’t willing to put cash into a 2.8% loan when we’ve had a market returning 10%+ for years. I don’t understand the - don’t build a nest egg for 5-10 or more years bc you’re throwing every $ at loans in times where S&P returns > interest rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t THAT big of a deal. Had just over 100k at 2.8%. Made double payments for the most part and paid them off in 12 years. Could have paid them much earlier but I wasn’t willing to put cash into a 2.8% loan when we’ve had a market returning 10%+ for years. I don’t understand the - don’t build a nest egg for 5-10 or more years bc you’re throwing every $ at loans in times where S&P returns > interest rates.

My student loan interest rates are in a range. But the highest two are 6.8. Each on 30-40k balances. So you can be sure I’m putting off investing for a couple years while I really work on those. Once I’m down to the 3-4% loans, I’ll weigh my options again.
-not op

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t THAT big of a deal. Had just over 100k at 2.8%. Made double payments for the most part and paid them off in 12 years. Could have paid them much earlier but I wasn’t willing to put cash into a 2.8% loan when we’ve had a market returning 10%+ for years. I don’t understand the - don’t build a nest egg for 5-10 or more years bc you’re throwing every $ at loans in times where S&P returns > interest rates.

My student loan interest rates are in a range. But the highest two are 6.8. Each on 30-40k balances. So you can be sure I’m putting off investing for a couple years while I really work on those. Once I’m down to the 3-4% loans, I’ll weigh my options again.
-not op

The market was up 19% last year? The 12% differential wasn’t worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t THAT big of a deal. Had just over 100k at 2.8%. Made double payments for the most part and paid them off in 12 years. Could have paid them much earlier but I wasn’t willing to put cash into a 2.8% loan when we’ve had a market returning 10%+ for years. I don’t understand the - don’t build a nest egg for 5-10 or more years bc you’re throwing every $ at loans in times where S&P returns > interest rates.

My student loan interest rates are in a range. But the highest two are 6.8. Each on 30-40k balances. So you can be sure I’m putting off investing for a couple years while I really work on those. Once I’m down to the 3-4% loans, I’ll weigh my options again.
-not op

The market was up 19% last year? The 12% differential wasn’t worth it?

The calculus is right looking at investment returns versus loan interest rates, however look at expected returns not realized returns. Hindsight maybe 20/20, but you don't know what next year's returns may be. Overpaying a 6% loan seems reasonable to me.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for starting this thread OP. We are on a similar journey but for our kids. We have 2 kids with special needs (dyslexia and possibly autism). And we ended up with 80k in loans for services for early intervention. And they have higher interest rates because they are in essence personal loans. It turns out there is no insurance coverage for dyslexia and intensive tutoring runs about 20k for 6 weeks and we ended up in a private school. And ABA therapy is only covered for autistic kids with diagnoses but we did it in preschool so that he could join mainstream classrooms.

It was so worth it because our kids are thriving. But we’ve had these “student loans” hanging over our heads. We are down to 20k more to pay off and we can almost taste it.

We don’t have any plans either. We will immediately start the retirement and college savings back up. But the idea of keeping a small refund check is lovely.

[Anonymous]

There’s a difference between personal loans for your kid’s health issues and students loans adults have been carrying for 10-30 years . . .

[Anonymous]

Graduated law school ten years ago. Have three more years of payments. Plan to buy myself something luxurious or take a trip maybe. But I haven’t been aggressively paying these babies off at all. Instead invested in some property, vanguard, maxing 401k, and bought our house that has appreciated 40%. But now the loans are starting to feel like dead weight and I want them gone/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a difference between personal loans for your kid’s health issues and students loans adults have been carrying for 10-30 years . . .

Not if you’ve been paying on them for 10 years.

[Anonymous]

The Death, Sex, and Money podcast did a whole series on student loans - I am sure that they would love to hear some of your stories!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a difference between personal loans for your kid’s health issues and students loans adults have been carrying for 10-30 years . . .

Not if you’ve been paying on them for 10 years.

Yes, it’s still different.