Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here Forum

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JenDarby

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by JenDarby » Fri May 19, 2017 12:22 pm

bk1 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Even if I live in a state where FRB isn't at? I even cold called one of their bankers one day and they straight said no because of where I work and reside (TX)
If you're not in one of their areas, you're SOL as far as I know.
Yep, this is true. Not that you ever need to go to a branch to refi, but they want you to build a banking relationship so they require you're near: San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, San Diego, Portland (Oregon), Boston, Palm Beach (Florida), Greenwich or New York City.

I still think you could do better with commonbond or earnest though. Probably someone around here for referral bonuses for both of those (I know one for earnest).

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Calvin Murphy

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Calvin Murphy » Fri May 19, 2017 8:14 pm

JenDarby wrote:
bk1 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Even if I live in a state where FRB isn't at? I even cold called one of their bankers one day and they straight said no because of where I work and reside (TX)
If you're not in one of their areas, you're SOL as far as I know.
Yep, this is true. Not that you ever need to go to a branch to refi, but they want you to build a banking relationship so they require you're near: San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, San Diego, Portland (Oregon), Boston, Palm Beach (Florida), Greenwich or New York City.

I still think you could do better with commonbond or earnest though. Probably someone around here for referral bonuses for both of those (I know one for earnest).
I refinanced a portion fixed with Earnest and a portion variable with CommonBond. I like Earnest's user interface better, and they offered the lowest fixed rate among the companies I looked at. CB was lower variable for me when compared to SoFi and DRB.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Mr. Peanutbutter » Fri May 19, 2017 8:55 pm

Wait is there another palm beach?

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JenDarby

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by JenDarby » Fri May 19, 2017 9:21 pm

Mlk&Ckies wrote:Wait is there another palm beach?
lol I copied that from the FRB website

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by bk1 » Fri May 19, 2017 9:27 pm

JenDarby wrote:
Mlk&Ckies wrote:Wait is there another palm beach?
lol I copied that from the FRB website
There's no way this place is appropriately named.

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Danger Zone

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Danger Zone » Fri May 19, 2017 11:36 pm

I ended up getting a good rate at DRB if you want a referral
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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North

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by North » Mon May 29, 2017 7:01 pm

Just put in the PAYE paperwork. Thanks Dechert for the reminder that things can go to shit real fast and that liquidity is preferable.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Johann » Mon May 29, 2017 7:07 pm

North wrote:Just put in the PAYE paperwork. Thanks Dechert for the reminder that things can go to shit real fast and that liquidity is preferable.
There's really not much down side to a year on these plans if you aren't blowing your money. But prolly smart all things considered.

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North

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by North » Tue May 30, 2017 2:31 am

Johann wrote:
North wrote:Just put in the PAYE paperwork. Thanks Dechert for the reminder that things can go to shit real fast and that liquidity is preferable.
There's really not much down side to a year on these plans if you aren't blowing your money. But prolly smart all things considered.
Yeah, wish I would have done it right out of LS, I'd have so much more in the bank rn. Shouldn't have listened to the loan counselor lady at uva. If I end up just KILLING IT in biglaw/corp exit ops, I can just write a check out of my savings. If I end up in gov, win. If I end up working something way less lucrative, win. Should have done this earlier. (260k debt fwiw)

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Pokemon

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Pokemon » Tue May 30, 2017 6:02 am

North wrote:
Johann wrote:
North wrote:Just put in the PAYE paperwork. Thanks Dechert for the reminder that things can go to shit real fast and that liquidity is preferable.
There's really not much down side to a year on these plans if you aren't blowing your money. But prolly smart all things considered.
Yeah, wish I would have done it right out of LS, I'd have so much more in the bank rn. Shouldn't have listened to the loan counselor lady at uva. If I end up just KILLING IT in biglaw/corp exit ops, I can just write a check out of my savings. If I end up in gov, win. If I end up working something way less lucrative, win. Should have done this earlier. (260k debt fwiw)

I am on the same page as you but what have u been doing so far? 10-year repayment? Even if you want to pay it all in ten years without refinance you need to still be on paye since you can always overpay on paye.

Personally, my first year when I could probably have paid next to nothing if on page I nevertheless tried to pay as much as I could to lower my debt. After first year I realized that is just too stressful so I switched to minimum payments and have not looked back. Psychologically, I am ok with that much debt as long as I am building savings. Financially not ideal but I sleep better at night.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Mr. Peanutbutter » Tue May 30, 2017 7:20 am

Thanks to PAYE, if I quit or got fired next week I'd be fine. Sure, I'd need to find a sublessee for my apartment and things might be rough for a minute, but I'd be ok no matter what comes next. Definitely a huge plus when things get bumpy at work, knowing I could leave at any moment and I don't *need* this job.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Fireworks2016 » Tue May 30, 2017 12:58 pm

Interested to hear what others would do in my situation:

All loan obligations:

$24,000 at 6.2%
$15,000 at 5.8%
$8,000 at 5.3%

-------------
Just under $50,000 total debt

The Plan

I'm clerking (beginning this August) for at least two years in a flyover district, with an eye toward adding a third year of clerking. Is there a downside in starting off in PLSF while clerking, even if I end up in private practice after my 2-3 years clerking? Alternatively, I was considering refinancing as soon as possible to cut my interest rates. I suppose the downside there is that a government gig is slightly less attractive 5 years down the road or so.

Additional question: Is it worth paying off accrued interest before it capitalizes? I have around 12k laying around, and the accrued interest is about 4k. I would almost certainly be able to live off of the remainder until I start work.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Outis Onoma » Sat Jun 03, 2017 6:30 pm

You probably won't be able to lower your interest rate by refinancing while clerking. I checked - I had an 800+ credit score and around $50k in student loan debt. I only got low to mid 5% refinancing rate offers, I think. JSP 11 and 12 salaries are too low to get good rates.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jun 05, 2017 1:33 pm

Looking for some insight. I have around 100k in loans.

Would it be a good idea to do PAYE during stub year and first year, and then refinance? Based on my understanding, you can still pay extra under PAYE if you wanted, right?

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Danger Zone » Mon Jun 05, 2017 1:34 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Looking for some insight. I have around 100k in loans.

Would it be a good idea to do PAYE during stub year and first year, and then refinance? Based on my understanding, you can still pay extra under PAYE if you wanted, right?
Yes and yes. That's the strategy I followed on about the same amount of debt and was able to build up some nice savings before I refi-ed.
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Pokemon

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Pokemon » Tue Jun 06, 2017 7:13 am

So repaye people, instead of making monthly payments have your even considered doing one payment at beginning of the year or for the next 6 months.

The benefit is that instead of just lowering interest amount, you would also hit some of the principal thus eliminating interest from that tiny section. I am tempted to do this but wondering if anyone else has experience.

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JenDarby

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by JenDarby » Tue Jun 06, 2017 7:25 am

Pokemon wrote:So repaye people, instead of making monthly payments have your even considered doing one payment at beginning of the year or for the next 6 months.

The benefit is that instead of just lowering interest amount, you would also hit some of the principal thus eliminating interest from that tiny section. I am tempted to do this but wondering if anyone else has experience.
If you're only making minimum payments, you're already going to be drowning in interest anyways. I wouldn't risk having any payments misapplied or anything with how notoriously bad government loan servicers are just to save a few dollars. If I was still on PAYE, I'd just lean in with my fingers crossed, that's a necessary part of that choice IMO.

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Pokemon

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Pokemon » Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:03 am

JenDarby wrote:
Pokemon wrote:So repaye people, instead of making monthly payments have your even considered doing one payment at beginning of the year or for the next 6 months.

The benefit is that instead of just lowering interest amount, you would also hit some of the principal thus eliminating interest from that tiny section. I am tempted to do this but wondering if anyone else has experience.
If you're only making minimum payments, you're already going to be drowning in interest anyways. I wouldn't risk having any payments misapplied or anything with how notoriously bad government loan servicers are just to save a few dollars. If I was still on PAYE, I'd just lean in with my fingers crossed, that's a necessary part of that choice IMO.
I am in biglaw so not really drowning in interest. More kind of like a stable very slow growth in debt, like .5-1% a year. With the method described above I could probably lower by 1%-1.5% the debt, rather than having it grow slightly (that is of course if my provider applies it correctly). Of course there is also the risk of getting shitcanned in next few months and having already paid the extra cash, which will really suck.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Nebby » Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:20 am

You'd need to call your servicer because I don't think they let you pay a lump sum and then not require subsequent monthly payments

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Danger Zone » Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:23 am

I wouldn't trust the service provider to not fuck that up (no matter what they say on the phone) even though they technically do apply payments forward by default
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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JenDarby

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by JenDarby » Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:05 am

Pokemon wrote:
JenDarby wrote:
Pokemon wrote:So repaye people, instead of making monthly payments have your even considered doing one payment at beginning of the year or for the next 6 months.

The benefit is that instead of just lowering interest amount, you would also hit some of the principal thus eliminating interest from that tiny section. I am tempted to do this but wondering if anyone else has experience.
If you're only making minimum payments, you're already going to be drowning in interest anyways. I wouldn't risk having any payments misapplied or anything with how notoriously bad government loan servicers are just to save a few dollars. If I was still on PAYE, I'd just lean in with my fingers crossed, that's a necessary part of that choice IMO.
I am in biglaw so not really drowning in interest. More kind of like a stable very slow growth in debt, like .5-1% a year. With the method described above I could probably lower by 1%-1.5% the debt, rather than having it grow slightly (that is of course if my provider applies it correctly). Of course there is also the risk of getting shitcanned in next few months and having already paid the extra cash, which will really suck.
How much are your current PAYE monthly payments and what is your total debt wherein your total loan balance is only growing by .5-1% a year, considering federal loan rates?

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Pokemon

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Pokemon » Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:20 am

JenDarby wrote:
Pokemon wrote:
JenDarby wrote:
Pokemon wrote:So repaye people, instead of making monthly payments have your even considered doing one payment at beginning of the year or for the next 6 months.

The benefit is that instead of just lowering interest amount, you would also hit some of the principal thus eliminating interest from that tiny section. I am tempted to do this but wondering if anyone else has experience.
If you're only making minimum payments, you're already going to be drowning in interest anyways. I wouldn't risk having any payments misapplied or anything with how notoriously bad government loan servicers are just to save a few dollars. If I was still on PAYE, I'd just lean in with my fingers crossed, that's a necessary part of that choice IMO.
I am in biglaw so not really drowning in interest. More kind of like a stable very slow growth in debt, like .5-1% a year. With the method described above I could probably lower by 1%-1.5% the debt, rather than having it grow slightly (that is of course if my provider applies it correctly). Of course there is also the risk of getting shitcanned in next few months and having already paid the extra cash, which will really suck.
How much are your current PAYE monthly payments and what is your total debt wherein your total loan balance is only growing by .5-1% a year, considering federal loan rates?
Total is less than 260,000, about 4,400 is interest. I pay about 1,200 a month. So far my debt neither grows nor does it decline.

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JenDarby

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by JenDarby » Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:32 am

ah thanks for answering, I'm always interested in the data points

I was calculating the numbers with substantially lower monthly payments and didn't see how your debt could be stagnating

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jun 12, 2017 5:43 pm

I just graduated in May and I have a job clerking for a state judge.

Current loan balance: 51k
Salary is 49.5k
I just refinanced my loan with SoFi.... payments will be about $700/month for 7 years at a 5.24% fixed rate. If anyone wants to refinance with SoFi, if you use my referral link you get $100 for free and I do as well. Thanks!


http://www.sofi.com/share/335613

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Pay off Loans or Invest (...In What)?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 15, 2017 12:17 pm

Thought this might be useful for a bunch of similarly situated individuals who have loads of debt (and know nothing about finance) but who are studying for the bar so can't really read through the 30 pages of "Finance 101 for Young Lawyers" thread (although I'm sure there's valuable info there).

To keep this fairly narrow (although people are more than welcome to expand the scope if this thread gains any traction), if one has 150k in debt, but has a biglaw job paying market, and a spouse making ~50k, is it more financially responsible to aggressively pay off loans (~6k a month), or pay just the bare minimum and instead invest in something? If the latter, what should one invest in?

I understand that investments depend on one's comfort with risk, but I'm assuming one wo has 150k in debt is fairly adverse to taking on even more debt.

TIA!

(I'll also put up a poll if people would find that helpful)

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