How to minimize monthly interest ($550/month) accruing on student loans?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have any home equity that you could refinance them into?

Uh why would you change unsecured debt into secured debt?!?!?

Do student loans count as unsecured debt when they're not dischargable in bankruptcy?

student loan companies can’t get your house. You have pledged no collateral (tho if it’s a federal loan they can garnish wages and take your tax return). Mortgage companies can get your house, because the loan is secured by your house.

[Anonymous]

Why didn’t you do PAYE wtf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - it's law school (HYSCCN) debt. Three years of loans to cover tuition only with interest accruing before I went into repayment. I took out $150k, decided not to do big law, and graduated with $175k because of interest. I'm a government attorney now making very low six figures with a combined HHI around $250k. My consolidated interest rate was about 7.5% before I refinanced with SoFi and the interest was just making it impossible to put a dent in the principle.

Yes, the extra payments go toward the principle. I spoke to Mohela (SoFi) today and they gave me instructions for spreading out the additional payment. They have to be individual payments, so I'll set up a weekly auto bill through my bank and have already designated that all payments go to the principle.

I hate to say it, the various ideas kicked around won't really allow you to make much of a dent or cut interest owed. The only real way to do that is to make more money to be able to pay things back much sooner. With that kind of debt, I can't imagine deciding not to do big law at least for a while.

Would you have ability to move into big law now? How about something else that pays more than very low six figures? There is no other magic bullet, unless you want to try your luck at the Mega Millions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why didn’t you do PAYE wtf

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - it's law school (HYSCCN) debt. Three years of loans to cover tuition only with interest accruing before I went into repayment. I took out $150k, decided not to do big law, and graduated with $175k because of interest. I'm a government attorney now making very low six figures with a combined HHI around $250k. My consolidated interest rate was about 7.5% before I refinanced with SoFi and the interest was just making it impossible to put a dent in the principle.

Yes, the extra payments go toward the principle. I spoke to Mohela (SoFi) today and they gave me instructions for spreading out the additional payment. They have to be individual payments, so I'll set up weekly auto bill through my bank and have already designated that all payments go to the principle.

You’re doing it wrong. Unless you’re planning on leaving government work some day, pay the minimum and get public service loan forgiveness after ten years. Your balance sheet and finances will be stressful for ten years, but you’ll be much better off in the end. As long as you start PSLF certifications before the program is changed, you’ll likely be grandfathered in and retain the benefit of the program.

[Anonymous]

^ sorry, just read the rest of your post and saw you refi’d so PSLF is off the table. Why not pursue PSLF when you had the chance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, just read the rest of your post and saw you refi’d so PSLF is off the table. Why not pursue PSLF when you had the chance?

What is the point in discussing this? What's done is done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, just read the rest of your post and saw you refi’d so PSLF is off the table. Why not pursue PSLF when you had the chance?

What is the point in discussing this? What's done is done.

To add to the community knowledge base. OP might have had a perfectly good reason in forgoing PSLF and the rest of us might learn something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, just read the rest of your post and saw you refi’d so PSLF is off the table. Why not pursue PSLF when you had the chance?

What is the point in discussing this? What's done is done.

To add to the community knowledge base. OP might have had a perfectly good reason in forgoing PSLF and the rest of us might learn something.

NP. Many of those who once thought straight old government work would qualify for PSLF have been sadly disappointed when they are denied the repayment after 10 years of work. PSLF is for very specific public interest jobs, many of which wouldn't come with a six-figure salary. I think it was reported that 95% of those who applied in the last year or two (as the program has only been around long enough for a few cohorts to actually have completed their 10 years of work) were denied. That would be a punch to the gut, for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, just read the rest of your post and saw you refi’d so PSLF is off the table. Why not pursue PSLF when you had the chance?

What is the point in discussing this? What's done is done.

To add to the community knowledge base. OP might have had a perfectly good reason in forgoing PSLF and the rest of us might learn something.

NP. Many of those who once thought straight old government work would qualify for PSLF have been sadly disappointed when they are denied the repayment after 10 years of work. PSLF is for very specific public interest jobs, many of which wouldn't come with a six-figure salary. I think it was reported that 95% of those who applied in the last year or two (as the program has only been around long enough for a few cohorts to actually have completed their 10 years of work) were denied. That would be a punch to the gut, for sure.

I was wrong. It's apparently 99%

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2018/09/24/public-service-loan-forgiveness-rejected/#305721e71824

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, just read the rest of your post and saw you refi’d so PSLF is off the table. Why not pursue PSLF when you had the chance?

What is the point in discussing this? What's done is done.

To add to the community knowledge base. OP might have had a perfectly good reason in forgoing PSLF and the rest of us might learn something.

NP. Many of those who once thought straight old government work would qualify for PSLF have been sadly disappointed when they are denied the repayment after 10 years of work. PSLF is for very specific public interest jobs, many of which wouldn't come with a six-figure salary. I think it was reported that 95% of those who applied in the last year or two (as the program has only been around long enough for a few cohorts to actually have completed their 10 years of work) were denied. That would be a punch to the gut, for sure.

I was wrong. It's apparently 99%

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2018/09/24/public-service-loan-forgiveness-rejected/#305721e71824

Yeah the program sucks as far as I’m concerned. I was all ready to apply when I found out I was on the wrong repayment plan. If I had switched to the right one, my 10 year clock would have started ticking at that point (after already having 5 years of payments), and I would have had my loan paid off before then anyway.

[Anonymous]

The PSLF program is appalling - https://www.npr.org/2018/10/17/653853227/the-student-loan-whistleblower

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/18/658447443/i-am-heartbroken-your-letters-about-public-service-loan-forgiveness

You'd be crazy to base any loan decisions on it. I feel awful for the people who counted on it and have been defrauded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ sorry, just read the rest of your post and saw you refi’d so PSLF is off the table. Why not pursue PSLF when you had the chance?

What is the point in discussing this? What's done is done.

To add to the community knowledge base. OP might have had a perfectly good reason in forgoing PSLF and the rest of us might learn something.

NP. Many of those who once thought straight old government work would qualify for PSLF have been sadly disappointed when they are denied the repayment after 10 years of work. PSLF is for very specific public interest jobs, many of which wouldn't come with a six-figure salary. I think it was reported that 95% of those who applied in the last year or two (as the program has only been around long enough for a few cohorts to actually have completed their 10 years of work) were denied. That would be a punch to the gut, for sure.

I was wrong. It's apparently 99%

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2018/09/24/public-service-loan-forgiveness-rejected/#305721e71824

Department of Education says all government jobs are eligible for PSLF.

While some rejections are certainly due to non-qualifying jobs, there is no requirement that it be a specific type of government job to be PSLF eligible.

[Anonymous]

^ here’s the DOE website:

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

“Government organizations at any level”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what kind of degree do you have and do you make? Just trying to wrap my head around the amount of student loan debt you have.

Not OP but my husband had almost this much student loan debt.

Just from law school, since he had a full ride to college.

This was twenty years ago.

Yeah seriously. I graduated law school 18.5 years ago with $160k in loans. Now I hear of kids graduating with two and three times that much. (Which blows my tiny little mind - I am still 4 years from being done with my loans; I can't imagine how these new grads are ever going to get done with theirs).