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How much student debt to you still have?
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Anonymous
| None. Had $18k from undergrad, none from grad school (scholarships). Just paid off the balance last week! Husband had $20k, also from undergrad, also paid off last week. The only remaining debt we have is our mortgage. |
Anonymous
| About $8K from grad school which I finished in 2003. Borrowed $20K total for a $45K MBA program. The interest rate is extremely low (around 3%) so I haven't been in a real hurry to pay it off; had planned to pay it off with my next bonus, but my org hasn't paid bonuses in a few years so for now I'm just making payments as usual. |
Anonymous
|
Paid all mine off by age 30. It was all from law school.
Paid off DH's for our first anniversary when I was 32. |
Anonymous
| Graduated law school in 2008 - have about 65K in debt, went to a state school and got a partial scholarship. Interest rates range from 4-7%, all federal. I am unspeakably jealous of people who got to consolidate at these super low rates. Wish I could dump savings into it but in this economy you need to keep a cash cushion. |
Anonymous
|
Education is the key to upward economic/social mobility.
You can't spend too much money on education. Forty years from now you'll look back on the amount of money you spent on your education and it will seem tiny. |
Anonymous
Is this going to be true for those who just graduated or will be graduating soon? Think many will find their degrees worthless pieces of paper. Some may never be able to afford a home, properly save for retirement or put something away for the kids' college fund because they will be paying their debts until they are near retirement! |
Anonymous
Good for you, PP, for making the choice to go where your debt load would be lower. That was my situation, too. I also had about $1800 (no, there is not a zero missing; thanks Mom and Dad!) from undergrad. DH had $10-20K from law school. We paid it off years ago, which is why I don't remember what his total was exactly. Right now, it seems like a big number that looms in front of you. Unless you have kids, I predict it will be gone within five years. We had it all paid off and a nice house and cushion. Then we committed financial suicide by having kids. 
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Anonymous
| Had $12k from undergrad (state university). Paid off in about five years. No debt from grad school (went part-time) since my company paid the bulk of it and I had enough extra money to cover the rest along the way. |
Anonymous
Sadly, I have to disagree with this. Don't get me wrong, education is essential. I am the first person in my family to go to college let alone graduate school, and I now have a rewarding job with a rather good salary. However, there are numerous "educational institutions" out there that operate like businesses. Many community colleges and "tech" schools are this way--they encourage people to go get as much federal loans as possible and then provide useless educations that leave the students riddled with debt but no marketable skills. I have a cousin who has $35K in student loans--a fortune to him--because he completed a so-called radiology tech program. Turns out the curriculum isn't even enough to get certified for a radiology tech, he's competing against a lot of other people who have real qualifications, and he hasn't found a job in the field after 2 years of trying. |
Anonymous
| I paid undergrad and grad off with money my father left me when he died. If it weren't for that, I'd still be paying like most of my friends who went to undergrad and grad school. |
Anonymous
| $55,000 left to pay. Working as a teacher and I love it, but it will take many years to work down this debt. |
Anonymous
So jealous. Good for you! |
Anonymous
To add to this, someone I know went to school full time to become a boat mechanic. After spending 2 years and borrowing tens of thousands of dollars, he couldn't find a job. Turns out that the majority of places hire those with one of two types of certifications and the one he got was not the one that most places use. |
Anonymous
| None now. I borrowed $20K for law school and paid it back in 4 years. |
Anonymous
| I just finished paying it off a year ago!!!!!!!!!! DH's loan were paid off this year!!!! I graduated from law school in 1992 and he graduated in 1996. I can't believe we're done (and before our kids enter college -- sad, but that was my goal). It took a long time, but it's done and we have $80K saved for our kids (in K and 3rd grade). |