Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here Forum

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:37 am

mak_ wrote:Why are you shotgun posting the same silly responses throughout this thread? Not only is not immediately paying off your loans always “dumb,” it is often objectively the right move. His/her loans are only at 1.95%. You could be that even by just putting your cash in a high-yield savings account.
It's an odd troll/schtick. Maybe some Dave Ramsey acolyte? Regardless, it's someone who clearly doesn't understand how to use basic finance Excel functions like NPV and XIRR.

My brokerage account is in tax exempt bond funds so I'm exceeding the loan rate by 1%+ and only paying state income taxes on the interest with low risk/low volatility. And another reason I'm not paying off loans yet is the house purchase I alluded to in the 2018 post.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:55 am

Anonymous User wrote:My stats:
3rd yr associate in biglaw in secondary market. Had $15k total scholarship at T6. For my first year, I kept my federal loans, which were around 6.5-9%. Then once I realized I wasn't getting fired anytime soon, I refinanced with SoFi for a 5yr fixed rate of 3.865%. My monthly payment is $3,700, but I pay $4,300, then put a good chunk of my bonus towards them. Hoping to pay them off in another 2.5 years.

February 2016: $223k
February 2017: $199k
February 2018: $157.5k

Investments:
Maxed out 401k each year
~$11k in Wealthfront at 9.0 risk. Contribute $500 a month.
~$9k in a rainy day fun. Contribute $100/m (my first year I contributed around $600/m). Admittedly, I consider wealthfront to be my very rainy day fund, at least while the market is good.
~$10k in crypto (I sold enough to recoup my initial investment so this is more play money. Not used to calculate net worth/what mortgage i could afford/or to be actually relied on etc.)
This is me from year ago, so I wanted to update my stats:

Now 4th yr biglaw associate in primary market. My monthly payment is still $3,700. I started paying $5k a month since last summer. Last year, I put a good amount of my bonus into moving and furniture. I am hoping to pay off the loans in March 2019 when my bonus hits, but that might get pushed back to save up for a down payment on a home. My biggest decisions right now are how to apportion between paying off loans and saving for a house, and whether I should leave biglaw immediately after paying off my loans or stick around as long as possible to get that paycheck.

February 2016: $223k
February 2017: $199k
February 2018: $157.5k
February 2019: $105.5k

Investments:
Max out 401K
~$18k in investments
$14k rainy day fund
lol@crypto.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by KingTax » Wed Mar 20, 2019 10:35 pm

This page is actually really deterring me from going for a Tax LL.M

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:09 am

Been thinking about mixing this up some:

I'm a 2nd year at a market-paying firm in a major market, so I'll gross $225k or so with bonus in 2019. (Maybe we will get summer bonuses again!)

I have $135k in student debt on a private loan at 3.9%. I also have $20k in an emergency fund yielding 2.2%.

This year I'll put $10k in 401(k), $5k in HSA, $5k in market-tracking ETFs, and every other penny after expenses toward the student loan. I think that if I continue being extremely aggressive, I could pay off the debt entirely after my 3rd year bonus in about 20 months. My substantial emergency fund gives me a lot of peace of mind to plug away at that loan, too.

I imagine the day I make the last loan payment will be a feeling of pure freedom... that is, until I get a mortgage or take on some other huge commitment. Or maybe just until I get the next email from a partner.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:41 am

Mr. Peanutbutter wrote:
mvp99 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Graduating in a few weeks, here is my info:

Debt: 121k. All fed student loans with various rates, averaging at 6.3%
Payments: About $1,360/month under standard 10 year plan
Income: 160K

Important info: NYC Biglaw. Currently living very cheaply in an outer-borough for 400/month with roommates.

My current plan: Stay living in the super cheap apartment as long as possible. I really don't mind it and the commute isnt TOO bad (about 50 minutes door to door). Max out 401k. Pay at least 3k towards my loans per month, focusing on high interest rate loans first. Save whatever I have left until I have a decent emergency fund of about 25k, then increase my monthly loan payments even higher to maybe 4k.

If anyone has any suggestions or improvements I can make to this i'm all ears.
How much is your rent? where do you live?
$400/month. Somewhere in the outer-boroughs.
OP from this post here. Thought I would provide an update on my situation. Just paid off my loans and recently became a 3rd year in biglaw. After a few months in the super cheap apartment I couldn't stand the commute anymore (also it was an absolute dump) and moved closer for about $2100/month rent. Refinanced my loans about a year ago with First Republic at a 2.5% rate. Kept paying the loans pretty aggressively every month, but haven't saved that much. 35K emergency fund in a checking account and 30K in my 401K. Now just trying to figure out how to invest the extra monthly income that would have otherwise gone towards paying my debt.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:19 pm

Just made my 35th PSLF-eligible payment, at $550 this year, ugh, last year we got it cut to around $300 because I applied for a recalculation after my wife left her job. We put as much as possible into TSP and traditional IRA, which reduces our adjusted gross income, which is what the loan companies use to determine our payment. Also helps that we have a house that we're renting out that loses money for tax purposes because of depreciation. Still, my loan repayments are going to end up being in the $60-70k range by the time I am eligible for PSLF, then tax bomb, so it doesn't feel like that great of a deal when my actual loan amount was only $150k.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by wesker » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:06 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Just made my 35th PSLF-eligible payment, at $550 this year, ugh, last year we got it cut to around $300 because I applied for a recalculation after my wife left her job. We put as much as possible into TSP and traditional IRA, which reduces our adjusted gross income, which is what the loan companies use to determine our payment. Also helps that we have a house that we're renting out that loses money for tax purposes because of depreciation. Still, my loan repayments are going to end up being in the $60-70k range by the time I am eligible for PSLF, then tax bomb, so it doesn't feel like that great of a deal when my actual loan amount was only $150k.
No tax bomb for PSLF.
Last edited by QContinuum on Tue Apr 30, 2019 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Euphonious4 » Fri Apr 19, 2019 5:55 pm

Class of 2019 in a 100 attorney law firm
Debt: $158k (unconsolidated at the moment)
Credit Debt: $18k
Savings: $0
Rent: $1250 per month
Income: $80,000
Plan: ????

Looking to figure out the best plan for my situation. I haven't consolidated my loans yet because I wasn't sure if that would mess anything up. On top of that, not sure about refinancing or anything like that.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Apr 19, 2019 7:15 pm

Anonymous User wrote: No tax bomb for PSLF.
Wow, I thought you were talking out of your ass and was all set to correct you, but I checked and it turns out I'm the idiot, and I've been slightly worried about the tax bomb for like three years. Thanks!

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Apr 19, 2019 7:43 pm

Hi all! I’m a 2L going to a firm this summer (generally 100% offers and 190k/yr). When I graduate I’ll have abou 65k in loans. I’m super risk averse so, while I could manage this loan doing a gov/public interest job I’d rather just knock it out. That said, firm life is not something I want to do long term. Anyone have experience paying this much off in 1-2 years and if so, how manageable is this?

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Hikikomorist » Sat Apr 20, 2019 11:10 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Hi all! I’m a 2L going to a firm this summer (generally 100% offers and 190k/yr). When I graduate I’ll have abou 65k in loans. I’m super risk averse so, while I could manage this loan doing a gov/public interest job I’d rather just knock it out. That said, firm life is not something I want to do long term. Anyone have experience paying this much off in 1-2 years and if so, how manageable is this?
Even if you're really risk averse, you shouldn't rush to pay it off. Having liquidity is more important for personal security. Also, with that income (high) and debt load (low), you'd probably qualify (currently, as rates could rise) for a 1.95% interest rate on a five-year loan with a 2% refund if you pay it off in four years.
Last edited by QContinuum on Tue Apr 30, 2019 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Euphonious4

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Euphonious4 » Mon Apr 22, 2019 2:55 pm

Euphonious4 wrote:Class of 2019 in a 100 attorney law firm
Debt: $158k (unconsolidated at the moment)
Credit Debt: $18k
Savings: $0
Rent: $1250 per month
Income: $80,000
Plan: ????

Looking to figure out the best plan for my situation. I haven't consolidated my loans yet because I wasn't sure if that would mess anything up. On top of that, not sure about refinancing or anything like that.
Update:

My current plan is to consolidate by $18k credit card debt (between 2 credit cards) to get a lower rate and focus on paying those off immediately.
Next, consolidate my law school debt and use either PAYE or REPAYE (not sure which is better for me yet).
- Can I swap from one to the other? Which makes more sense in my financial situation?
Max out IRA/401/HSA + start putting money into savings (~15k for rainy day fund)
Potentially refinance law school debt to pay it off asap once my credit is a bit better?

Fireworks2016

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Fireworks2016 » Mon Apr 22, 2019 9:00 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Hi all! I’m a 2L going to a firm this summer (generally 100% offers and 190k/yr). When I graduate I’ll have abou 65k in loans. I’m super risk averse so, while I could manage this loan doing a gov/public interest job I’d rather just knock it out. That said, firm life is not something I want to do long term. Anyone have experience paying this much off in 1-2 years and if so, how manageable is this?
I'm fed clerking in a LCOL area, so I made ~65k my first year and 73k in year two -- and I will have paid off my 50k in loans by the end of my second year clerking and built a 10-15k E-Fund. Even accounting for high rent, etc., it should be very doable.

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sparty99

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by sparty99 » Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:49 pm

Euphonious4 wrote:
Euphonious4 wrote:Class of 2019 in a 100 attorney law firm
Debt: $158k (unconsolidated at the moment)
Credit Debt: $18k
Savings: $0
Rent: $1250 per month
Income: $80,000
Plan: ????

Looking to figure out the best plan for my situation. I haven't consolidated my loans yet because I wasn't sure if that would mess anything up. On top of that, not sure about refinancing or anything like that.
Update:

My current plan is to consolidate by $18k credit card debt (between 2 credit cards) to get a lower rate and focus on paying those off immediately.
Next, consolidate my law school debt and use either PAYE or REPAYE (not sure which is better for me yet).
- Can I swap from one to the other? Which makes more sense in my financial situation?
Max out IRA/401/HSA + start putting money into savings (~15k for rainy day fund)
Potentially refinance law school debt to pay it off asap once my credit is a bit better?
You need to transfer your credit card debt to a 0% interest credit card. Next, put your student loan debt on deferment for a year so you can pay off the credit card debt. You should be able to pay $18k in a year. Do not save $15,000. Save $3,000. Get a side job. Do Uber. You have too much student loan debt. In year you need to start tackling that debt, ASAP. You should not max out retirement accounts with your high debt load. You should plan to trying to lateral a year to 2 years. $80,000 is way too low with your debt load. You need to get a Big Law job a year from now.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by cheaptilts » Wed Apr 24, 2019 12:20 am

“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by mak_ » Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:28 pm

cheaptilts wrote:“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:
I hope people know by now not to listen to sparty.
Last edited by QContinuum on Tue Apr 30, 2019 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Outed for anon abuse.

sparty99

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by sparty99 » Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:52 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
cheaptilts wrote:“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:
I hope people know by now not to listen to sparty.
Enjoy making $80k with $170,000 in debt. Not man enough. You gotta hide.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by cheaptilts » Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:27 pm

sparty99 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
cheaptilts wrote:“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:
I hope people know by now not to listen to sparty.
Enjoy making $80k with $170,000 in debt. Not man enough. You gotta hide.
Thousands of students are on loan repayment plans without "doing Uber" after three years of law school. "Doing Uber" after work each day isn't going to service that 170k debt in any meaningful way. It will probably just make OP burnout from the law (and OP's 80k/year job) sooner.

sparty99

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by sparty99 » Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:57 pm

cheaptilts wrote:
sparty99 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
cheaptilts wrote:“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:
I hope people know by now not to listen to sparty.
Enjoy making $80k with $170,000 in debt. Not man enough. You gotta hide.
Thousands of students are on loan repayment plans without "doing Uber" after three years of law school. "Doing Uber" after work each day isn't going to service that 170k debt in any meaningful way. It will probably just make OP burnout from the law (and OP's 80k/year job) sooner.
Who the hell said do Uber every day? No one. His take home income after rent and taxes and paying off the 18k in year 1 is only $23,000 and that is not even including utilities, food, or anything else. Subtract another $5,000 at least. So $16,000 a year if he is lucky to be applied at the $170,000. An extra $1,000 a month doing Uber or a side job turns that $80k to $92,000. I have a side job. It is really not that difficult. And he is talking about maxing out 401k? He can't even do that. Please....It would take over 10 years to pay that off at his current income, not even factoring the interest on that $170,000. Get a side job. Pay off that $18,000 in credit card debt in year one quickly and then start tackling that student loan debt. You will need to lateral after year one or two to Big Law. Even a big law salary would be a struggle for your debt load. You have been spending too much and are not focused as evident by that high debt load.

sparty99

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by sparty99 » Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:04 am

Also, OP, outside of a 0 percent balance transfer, you can get a lower interest rate by stop paying on your credit cards for 3 months. Tell them you can no longer pay and have a hardship. They will put you on a balance liquidation program after you demand to be on this program. Generally these rates are like 0% or maybe 2% depending on the company. You can generally have the late fees removed once you get into the program. You will also no longer be considered late on the cards. Otherwise, you usually can have late fees removed if you call them and tell them you want it removed even if you are not in the program. You will take a short-term hit on your credit, but your plan is to pay the $18k in a year, so in 12 months it will be higher because the debt will be gone.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by mak_ » Sat Apr 27, 2019 12:19 am

sparty99 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
cheaptilts wrote:“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:
I hope people know by now not to listen to sparty.
Enjoy making $80k with $170,000 in debt. Not man enough. You gotta hide.
Accidental anon. I’m in biglaw, but that has nothing to do with your ridiculous points. But please go ahead and continue to tell people to do Uber and open credit cards and threaten to default on them. Clearly the more reasonable approach.

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Apr 27, 2019 11:27 am

fenton wrote:My wife and I each graduated in 2009 and then I did a tax LLM. All figures below represent our combined debt and payments.

Debt: we borrowed about $390,000, which means we had about $435,000 outstanding by the time we started repayment (capitalized interest).
Payments: $5400/month required minimum for the 10 year plan. This year we've averaged $10k/month and have focused every extra payment on one of the 8.5% grad plus loans. When that is paid off (next month) our monthly minimum required payment will be $4300.
Income: Wife $210,000 plus bonus. Me: $110,000 plus bonus (4 figure).
Plan: 10 year.
0L's: The first year that we each had full time jobs after law school we paid $36,000 in interest alone. My wife went to HLS so her chances at biglaw were significantly better than most grads will have. My results, $110K small-law job as a 3rd year associate, are not typical and are a direct result of my having an LLM in tax. Most are much worse. That said, for us the debt is manageable and our goal is to have it either paid off by 2016 or paid way down so that our required monthly nut isn't so bad. I should also note that my wife hates her job and only does it because it pays well and allows us to pay down this debt as quickly as possible. She's billed an average of 2500 hours/year since 2010. Remember, she "won" at law school.
This is very helpful insight. Thanks for sharing. I was feeling a little hopeless but this gives me hope.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Apr 27, 2019 11:42 am

Debt: 435k +
Payment: $1100+ REPAYE
Income: $185k
Plan: Pay the minimum for now, pay off all my credit cards in the next year (20k) then pay as much as I can on my student loan debt.

Note: My debt is high because I deferred my loans for almost 3 years due to divorce & medical issues. Plus I did a 45k parent plus loan for one of my kids. I’m just starting the journey of climbing out of this hole. It’s a little overwhelming but I got here through my own choices so I have to get out through my own choices... & I will, eventually.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by sparty99 » Sat Apr 27, 2019 2:23 pm

mak_ wrote:
sparty99 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
cheaptilts wrote:“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:
I hope people know by now not to listen to sparty.
Enjoy making $80k with $170,000 in debt. Not man enough. You gotta hide.
Accidental anon. I’m in biglaw, but that has nothing to do with your ridiculous points. But please go ahead and continue to tell people to do Uber and open credit cards and threaten to default on them. Clearly the more reasonable approach.
I had 20k in debt and student loans. I did everything i recommended and went from 20k to 0k debt in a year by getting on the special repayment plans after not paying for three months. My credit went from 500s to 700 as well. Also made 4k in side money, which was larger then any bonus i received from my firm so i know what i am talking about.

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Re: Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here

Post by mak_ » Sun Apr 28, 2019 12:50 am

sparty99 wrote:
mak_ wrote:
sparty99 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
cheaptilts wrote:“Do Uber” :roll: :roll: :roll:
I hope people know by now not to listen to sparty.
Enjoy making $80k with $170,000 in debt. Not man enough. You gotta hide.
Accidental anon. I’m in biglaw, but that has nothing to do with your ridiculous points. But please go ahead and continue to tell people to do Uber and open credit cards and threaten to default on them. Clearly the more reasonable approach.
so i know what i am talking about.
Just lol

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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