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 » Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:50 am

Loans remaining: ~$220,000
Half of it with SoFi: ~$1,100/m payment static; Half of it with Fed Gov: ~$900/m
Biglaw
2nd year
~$45,000 savings

Quitting in April to start a startup. Interviewing with several accelerators at the moment, as I've been working on my startup during my time here and have launched a beta. However, accelerator investment is far from guaranteed, and I won't be paying myself a salary anyway even if we get funding post-accelerator. Need to figure out what to do re. loan payment before and after I quit. Our team is fine relocating to a cheaper area to save on rent and food. Possibly overseas options for lower COL.

off the top of my head:
1. Should I defer payment?
2. What are the rules on length of deferment?
3. Should I Refinance right before quitting for a longer term to have smaller monthly payments?
4. Any other related advice? Anything else I haven't thought of?



Thanks all!

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jaesonko

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

Post by jaesonko » Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:14 pm

JenDarby wrote: wait, so you want the referree bonus and then half the referrer bonus as well?

but still,
Desert Fox wrote:
yes, exactly

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

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 28, 2017 12:29 pm

I'm going to start making loan payments this January. My total loan debt is approximately $32,000. I'm not doing any IBR/PAYE plans as I don't seem to qualify. Does it make sense to refinance my loans?

It seems like the main downfall is that you lose the protections of IBR and deferment. Also, are the private lenders particularly predatory? Are you more at risk?

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JenDarby

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

Post by JenDarby » Tue Nov 28, 2017 1:10 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I'm going to start making loan payments this January. My total loan debt is approximately $32,000. I'm not doing any IBR/PAYE plans as I don't seem to qualify. Does it make sense to refinance my loans?

It seems like the main downfall is that you lose the protections of IBR and deferment. Also, are the private lenders particularly predatory? Are you more at risk?
With only 32k in loans there should be no real risk of losing federal protections at such a low debt level. Private lenders are not predatory and you are not at risk with a reputable one, barring the complete collapse of our economy and financial markets in which case 32k in law school debt won't be your biggest problem.

You WILL pay all of that debt off so depending on your current interest rates, you might as well refinance and save some money in the meantime. Look at CommonBond, SoFi and Earnest.
Last edited by JenDarby on Mon Jan 29, 2018 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 28, 2017 1:30 pm

JenDarby wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I'm going to start making loan payments this January. My total loan debt is approximately $32,000. I'm not doing any IBR/PAYE plans as I don't seem to qualify. Does it make sense to refinance my loans?

It seems like the main downfall is that you lose the protections of IBR and deferment. Also, are the private lenders particularly predatory? Are you more at risk?
With only 32k in loans there should be no real risk of losing federal protections at such a low debt level. Private lenders are not predatory and you are not at risk with a reputable one, barring the complete collapse of our economy and financial markets in which case 32k in law school debt won't be your biggest problem.

You WILL pay all of that debt off so depending on your current interest rates, you might as well refinance and save some money in the meantime. Look at CommonBond, SoFi and Earnest.
I have around 21 grand at 5.060% and then 11 grand at 6.06%. That's with auto pay interest reduction.

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Desert Fox

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

Post by Desert Fox » Tue Nov 28, 2017 1:32 pm

JenDarby wrote:
jaesonko wrote:hey all,

now that i've found out that ive actually passed the bar, i'm going to go ahead and refi through earnest. anybody want to share a referral code (giving preference to anyone willing to split their referral bonus)
wait, so you want the referree bonus and then half the referrer bonus as well?

but still,
Desert Fox wrote:
https://www.earnest.com/invite/john1293

I'll venmo you 50 bucks if I actually get the 200 from earnest.
Last edited by Desert Fox on Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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JenDarby

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

Post by JenDarby » Tue Nov 28, 2017 2:16 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I have around 21 grand at 5.060% and then 11 grand at 6.06%. That's with auto pay interest reduction.
so quick calculations, on a 10 yr repayment for both loans you would have a blended rate of around 5.4037 and blended payment of 345.81/mo.

Taking the rates separately, you will pay around $5,802 total interest on the 21k loan and $3,695 on the 11k loan for a total of $9,497 over 10 years.

Someone above, for instance, got a 5-yr fixed rate of 3.3 with commonbond. On 32k that would give you a monthly payment of $579 and you would pay a total of $2,756 in interest

OTOH if you didn't refi and paid off the loans in 5 years you would pay $2,812 in interest on the 21k loan and $1,778 on the 11k loan for a total of $4,590 in interest
Last edited by JenDarby on Mon Jan 29, 2018 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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esrom55

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

Post by esrom55 » Wed Nov 29, 2017 10:45 am

So how do I contact the FRB mafia if I'm interested in consolidating? Seems silly to not get a referral, but I'm unsure who to contact without ending up with cinderblock shoes in the East River.

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

Post by Danger Zone » Wed Nov 29, 2017 11:00 am

esrom55 wrote:So how do I contact the FRB mafia if I'm interested in consolidating? Seems silly to not get a referral, but I'm unsure who to contact without ending up with cinderblock shoes in the East River.
:lol:

I think Smokey or bk are up next
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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JenDarby

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

Post by JenDarby » Wed Nov 29, 2017 11:03 am

Danger Zone wrote:
esrom55 wrote:So how do I contact the FRB mafia if I'm interested in consolidating? Seems silly to not get a referral, but I'm unsure who to contact without ending up with cinderblock shoes in the East River.
:lol:

I think Smokey or bk are up next
:lol: hey who knows what deals they're cutting behind the scenes!
Last edited by JenDarby on Mon Jan 29, 2018 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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

Post by SmokeytheBear » Wed Nov 29, 2017 12:21 pm

JenDarby wrote:
Danger Zone wrote:
esrom55 wrote:So how do I contact the FRB mafia if I'm interested in consolidating? Seems silly to not get a referral, but I'm unsure who to contact without ending up with cinderblock shoes in the East River.
:lol:

I think Smokey or bk are up next
:lol: hey who knows what deals they're cutting behind the scenes!

I know it was you, Fredo.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:20 pm

Just graduated this past May and my law school loans are coming due. I am really at a loss here and can use some help/guidance on how to manage this level of debt.

Debt: ~$220K ($130K in gov't loans, rest is private loans)
Payments: $2,450 total (starting this month :cry: )
Income: ~$45K (Non-profit)
Plan: No plan yet (IDR application still pending)
Important info: Also have $9K in credit card debt. Plus, a big chunk of my debt comes from private loans, so I unfortunately I can't get on an income based repayment plan for those...

At this point, I can't keep up with my rent/bills much longer (I live in a major market with high cost of living). Should I just go into forbearance on my private loans? Should I consolidate all my private loans? Should I just give up and move abroad? This level of debt is truly soul crushing...

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boredtodeath

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

Post by boredtodeath » Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:33 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Just graduated this past May and my law school loans are coming due. I am really at a loss here and can use some help/guidance on how to manage this level of debt.

Debt: ~$220K ($130K in gov't loans, rest is private loans)
Payments: $2,450 total (starting this month :cry: )
Income: ~$45K (Non-profit)
Plan: No plan yet (IDR application still pending)
Important info: Also have $9K in credit card debt. Plus, a big chunk of my debt comes from private loans, so I unfortunately I can't get on an income based repayment plan for those...

At this point, I can't keep up with my rent/bills much longer (I live in a major market with high cost of living). Should I just go into forbearance on my private loans? Should I consolidate all my private loans? Should I just give up and move abroad? This level of debt is truly soul crushing...
What is the monthly payment on just the private loans? I would get your govt loan servicer to switch your govt loans over to PAYE/REPAYE immediately if you are eligible. Your payments will be next to nothing on the govt loans if you are eligible for PAYE/REPAYE with that debt level and salary.

Once you get your govt loans on PAYE/REPAYE, can you look into refinancing your private loans to lower the monthly payment? What is the current interest rate on those loans? It will probably be difficult but worth looking into.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Dec 01, 2017 4:02 pm

boredtodeath wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Just graduated this past May and my law school loans are coming due. I am really at a loss here and can use some help/guidance on how to manage this level of debt.

Debt: ~$220K ($130K in gov't loans, rest is private loans)
Payments: $2,450 total (starting this month :cry: )
Income: ~$45K (Non-profit)
Plan: No plan yet (IDR application still pending)
Important info: Also have $9K in credit card debt. Plus, a big chunk of my debt comes from private loans, so I unfortunately I can't get on an income based repayment plan for those...

At this point, I can't keep up with my rent/bills much longer (I live in a major market with high cost of living). Should I just go into forbearance on my private loans? Should I consolidate all my private loans? Should I just give up and move abroad? This level of debt is truly soul crushing...
What is the monthly payment on just the private loans? I would get your govt loan servicer to switch your govt loans over to PAYE/REPAYE immediately if you are eligible. Your payments will be next to nothing on the govt loans if you are eligible for PAYE/REPAYE with that debt level and salary.

Once you get your govt loans on PAYE/REPAYE, can you look into refinancing your private loans to lower the monthly payment? What is the current interest rate on those loans? It will probably be difficult but worth looking into.
My monthly payments on the private loans are ~$950. I am hoping that I get approved for PAYE/REPAYE, as I definitely qualify. I really dropped the ball and should have applied much sooner than I did (I applied mid November).

The interest rates vary on the private loans (I have 4 different private loan servicers)-- as low as 6% on one, as high as 9% on another. I don't have any savings or assets so I don't think I would be able to refinance my private loans.

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

Post by boredtodeath » Fri Dec 01, 2017 5:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
boredtodeath wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Just graduated this past May and my law school loans are coming due. I am really at a loss here and can use some help/guidance on how to manage this level of debt.

Debt: ~$220K ($130K in gov't loans, rest is private loans)
Payments: $2,450 total (starting this month :cry: )
Income: ~$45K (Non-profit)
Plan: No plan yet (IDR application still pending)
Important info: Also have $9K in credit card debt. Plus, a big chunk of my debt comes from private loans, so I unfortunately I can't get on an income based repayment plan for those...

At this point, I can't keep up with my rent/bills much longer (I live in a major market with high cost of living). Should I just go into forbearance on my private loans? Should I consolidate all my private loans? Should I just give up and move abroad? This level of debt is truly soul crushing...
What is the monthly payment on just the private loans? I would get your govt loan servicer to switch your govt loans over to PAYE/REPAYE immediately if you are eligible. Your payments will be next to nothing on the govt loans if you are eligible for PAYE/REPAYE with that debt level and salary.

Once you get your govt loans on PAYE/REPAYE, can you look into refinancing your private loans to lower the monthly payment? What is the current interest rate on those loans? It will probably be difficult but worth looking into.
My monthly payments on the private loans are ~$950. I am hoping that I get approved for PAYE/REPAYE, as I definitely qualify. I really dropped the ball and should have applied much sooner than I did (I applied mid November).

The interest rates vary on the private loans (I have 4 different private loan servicers)-- as low as 6% on one, as high as 9% on another. I don't have any savings or assets so I don't think I would be able to refinance my private loans.

Those interest rates are high for student loans in general (don't know what the private lending market looks like pre-refi). It doesn't cost you anything to inquire with SoFi, CommonBond, Earnest, etc and see if they will offer you a refi. You may not get it but it is absolutely worth the effort to go on their websites and try.

If you can't refi the private loans, can you work with your existing lenders to extend the repayment term? This would lower the monthly payments. They may be open to working with you on this if the alternative is that you would default. This would also be easier if you consolidated the private loans with one lender.

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

Post by ur_hero » Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:35 pm

boredtodeath wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Just graduated this past May and my law school loans are coming due. I am really at a loss here and can use some help/guidance on how to manage this level of debt.

Debt: ~$220K ($130K in gov't loans, rest is private loans)
Payments: $2,450 total (starting this month :cry: )
Income: ~$45K (Non-profit)
Plan: No plan yet (IDR application still pending)
Important info: Also have $9K in credit card debt. Plus, a big chunk of my debt comes from private loans, so I unfortunately I can't get on an income based repayment plan for those...

At this point, I can't keep up with my rent/bills much longer (I live in a major market with high cost of living). Should I just go into forbearance on my private loans? Should I consolidate all my private loans? Should I just give up and move abroad? This level of debt is truly soul crushing...
What is the monthly payment on just the private loans? I would get your govt loan servicer to switch your govt loans over to PAYE/REPAYE immediately if you are eligible. Your payments will be next to nothing on the govt loans if you are eligible for PAYE/REPAYE with that debt level and salary.

Once you get your govt loans on PAYE/REPAYE, can you look into refinancing your private loans to lower the monthly payment? What is the current interest rate on those loans? It will probably be difficult but worth looking into.

Echo this. You need to get on PAYE/REPAYE ASAP. You'll then be paying a fixed 10%.

Living frugally is one thing, but I wonder whether this is even possible in your situation. I'm Big Law and even decided to go this route myself.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 20, 2017 1:26 am

Probably a dumb question but...

Can you refinance student loans with a credit score? I literally have no credit (yes I know this is terrible, and I'm getting on it.)

I will have about $100k in loans and will be making market in NYC biglaw when I graduate in May.

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

Post by bk1 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 1:29 am

Anonymous User wrote:Probably a dumb question but...

Can you refinance student loans with a credit score? I literally have no credit (yes I know this is terrible, and I'm getting on it.)

I will have about $100k in loans and will be making market in NYC biglaw when I graduate in May.
You have a credit history (your student loans), thus you should be scorable.

I'm not sure whether they will refi you. My suspicion is yes based on your dti ratio. Having more assets will also likely make it easier to refi.

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

Post by clerk1251 » Fri Dec 22, 2017 6:58 pm

Someone once posted a spreadsheet that was set up to calculate ones repayment of their FRB loan, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. It was really helpful with all the values and equations already filled in, and all you needed to do was plug in your individual numbers. It even had comparisons to a non FRB loan, as well as a calculation to figure out what you'd forgo by keeping the minimum 3500 balance in the account.

If anyone happens to have a link to download this spreadsheet, or even something similar, I'd greatly appreciate it!

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Re: Student loan payments: Actual numbers

Post by JenDarby » Fri Dec 22, 2017 7:56 pm

JenDarby wrote:Debt at graduation in 2014: 194k
Interest rates: 72k at 7.65%, 41k at 6.55%, 36k at 6.16%, 20.5k at 5.160% (returned some $$ after disbursement to avoid the fee)
Interest paid in 2014: 17.5k

Debt at refinance in 02/2015: 176k
Payment and VARIABLE interest rate: ~1,850/mo at 4.16% that gradually increased to 4.68% - 10yr term
Interest paid in 2015: 7.95k
Interest paid in 2016: 7.15k

Debt at refinance in 01/2017: 145k
Payment and FIXED interest rate: ~1,450/mo at 3.75% - 10yr term
^ this was Jan 2017, so here's an update as a data point. Modified my FRB re-refinance:

Debt at modification in 10/2017: 136k
Payment and FIXED interest rate: ~975/mo at 2.95% - 15yr term (I'm getting aggressive with payments so should have just done 2.65% - 10yr option)
Interest paid in 2017: ~4.9k

Current balance: 124k

I am definitely aiming for the 2% of original loan balance interest rebate, so plan to be paid off by January 2021
Last edited by JenDarby on Mon Jan 29, 2018 10:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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

Post by SmokeytheBear » Fri Dec 29, 2017 12:58 pm

I'm sure I can google this, but I'm also sure one of my co-conspirators on here has already done more work than googling:

What is the best savings rate right now and from whom? I got something in the mail from Discover about 1.3%. I feel like someone recently said something about Capital One? Also, any good signup bonuses?

Looking to drop in about $25,000.

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

Post by Johann » Fri Dec 29, 2017 1:59 pm

SmokeytheBear wrote:I'm sure I can google this, but I'm also sure one of my co-conspirators on here has already done more work than googling:

What is the best savings rate right now and from whom? I got something in the mail from Discover about 1.3%. I feel like someone recently said something about Capital One? Also, any good signup bonuses?

Looking to drop in about $25,000.
I got 1.3 at capital one 360 right now. Minimum 10k deposit. I looked and researched just last week on nerd wallet and shit there are some smaller banks with slightly better rates but this was overall best I could find that was also super easy.

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

Post by jrthor10 » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:17 pm

Johann wrote:
SmokeytheBear wrote:I'm sure I can google this, but I'm also sure one of my co-conspirators on here has already done more work than googling:

What is the best savings rate right now and from whom? I got something in the mail from Discover about 1.3%. I feel like someone recently said something about Capital One? Also, any good signup bonuses?

Looking to drop in about $25,000.
I got 1.3 at capital one 360 right now. Minimum 10k deposit. I looked and researched just last week on nerd wallet and shit there are some smaller banks with slightly better rates but this was overall best I could find that was also super easy.
I use Goldman Sachs 1.40 and I find their interface pretty easy to use, although I don't think they have a mobile app FWIW.

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

Post by Johann » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:51 pm

jrthor10 wrote:
Johann wrote:
SmokeytheBear wrote:I'm sure I can google this, but I'm also sure one of my co-conspirators on here has already done more work than googling:

What is the best savings rate right now and from whom? I got something in the mail from Discover about 1.3%. I feel like someone recently said something about Capital One? Also, any good signup bonuses?

Looking to drop in about $25,000.
I got 1.3 at capital one 360 right now. Minimum 10k deposit. I looked and researched just last week on nerd wallet and shit there are some smaller banks with slightly better rates but this was overall best I could find that was also super easy.
I use Goldman Sachs 1.40 and I find their interface pretty easy to use, although I don't think they have a mobile app FWIW.
fair enough. i see them now (Marcus by GS) but must have just skimmed and thought it was a smaller bank when looking at nerd wallet.

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

Post by JenDarby » Fri Dec 29, 2017 3:44 pm

jrthor10 wrote:
Johann wrote:
SmokeytheBear wrote:I'm sure I can google this, but I'm also sure one of my co-conspirators on here has already done more work than googling:

What is the best savings rate right now and from whom? I got something in the mail from Discover about 1.3%. I feel like someone recently said something about Capital One? Also, any good signup bonuses?

Looking to drop in about $25,000.
I got 1.3 at capital one 360 right now. Minimum 10k deposit. I looked and researched just last week on nerd wallet and shit there are some smaller banks with slightly better rates but this was overall best I could find that was also super easy.
I use Goldman Sachs 1.40 and I find their interface pretty easy to use, although I don't think they have a mobile app FWIW.
If you can drop 25k into Discover you get a $200 bonus at 1.3%, and there's no minimum length you even have to keep the money there. They only do a soft pull so no credit risk. I just did it and got the bonus a day later. Makes it better than 1.4

I can't recall the code but if you google "discover savings tiered bonus" you'll find it
Last edited by JenDarby on Mon Jan 29, 2018 10:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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