Hetshup...

Ana_2985 · January 2010

...or anyone else who is also good at math (I hate it). I have a boring question for you.

I have two unsubsidized student loans that I want to pay off first. One has a 6.8% interest rate and the other is 2.5%. I was thinking it would be a good idea to put most of the money each month toward the 6.8% interest rate, and only pay the interest on the 2.5% until the 6.8% loan is paid off. Does that make sense or is it a bad idea?

rickylee244 · January 2010

From experience, thats actually how they recomend doing it. Though it also depends on the amount of money that each of the loans is. If the 6.8% is more then definitly pay that one first. But continue paying the interest on the other one.

oceana919 · January 2010

Oh this post makes me sick to my stomach. I actually sat down the other day and calculated what my loans payments are going to look like by the time I'm finished with grad school. Ugggghhhhhhh...

Button5807 · January 2010

Oceana why would you do a silly thing like that?

I sat down a few months ago and figure out how much I'd actually end up paying if I kept up my current payment plan and I pretty much fainted. Needless to say I've upped my monthly contribution.

OP as far as I know everyone suggests paying of the highest interest rate first.

Ana_2985 · January 2010

Thanks Rickylee! The 6.8 one is more so I guess that's what I'll do.

Oceana- Really? You have to pay for grad school? I thought all science programs were funded. I guess I'm really lucky then. I won't have any debt from either grad schools and I can have my undergrad loans paid off before I'm finished the phd program.

Edit: And thank you Button also!

hetshup · January 2010

I have a response for you, but I'm at work.... So I will let you know later.

If you want a fun website that we use at work a lot: Dinkytown.com. You can calculate stuffs.

oceana919 · January 2010

No offense, Ana, but you suck. I recieve a tuition waiver, but I still use financial aid for rent/lab fees/things not covered by tuition waiver.

I guess it all depends on how low of an interest rate you consolidate at, and how long you pay over. There was like, a $200/mo difference in my payments if I consolidate at 2.5% versus pay straight out at 6.8% (what most my loans are at now).

noelle24 · January 2010

Oceana: I'm also actually surprised that you have to pay money for grad school. Maybe it's a difference in program, but most of the places I looked at covered tuition and a stipend. I always thought that unless it was a science policy degree, that all the academic research degrees were funded. That kind of sucks! If I had to pay for this , I would've been gone a long time ago!

But hey, didn't I see somewhere that you get to go to Belize for research? that must help some.

oceana919 · January 2010

I go to a private university, so it runs a little different. I work for main campus (not my direct department), so I get a tuition waiver that covers my tuition. I also get a paycheck, but it doesn't comprise enough to cover my rent. So, I pay my utilities/groceries/gas/etc. out of my paycheck, and use loan money to cover my rent.

As for Belize, the first time I went was with a class, so I had to pay to go (bummer). This time, I'm the TA, so I get paid to go (yay - wedding dress fund!).

Ana_2985 · January 2010

I have the same deal as Noelle. And my stipend will pretty much go entirely toward my loans. So basically, not only are the schools paying for my graduate degrees, they're paying for my undergrad degree too. Yay!!

And yay for getting paid to go on fun trips Oceana! At least you have that.

rickylee244 · January 2010

Im in the exact same boat as Ana (same amount of money too since we go to the same school lol) though FI is in the same situation as Oceana - though he gets paid to do his research. Problem will come in April when the grant funding him right now runs out and we are in limbo waiting to see if he gets the grant he just wrote.

Though I am hoping either he gets the grant to fund him for his PhD there or he finds somewhere else to do it which will pay him.

notquiteblushing · January 2010

I'll be paying student loans the rest of my natural life.

rickylee244 · January 2010

NQB - Amen!

noelle24 · January 2010

Huh. Weird. But yay for Belize and wedding dress fund! Can you pack me in your suitcase? I could really use the vacation!

oceana919 · January 2010

Eek about the grant funding rickylee. I'll keep my fingers crossed for him.

I was seriously contemplating applying for a grant for my Ph.D. work and putting the money I would get from it directly toward paying off my loans, but I have no idea how that would work or if that would put me in a conflict of interest situation with my job on main campus. Still need to do a little more research there...

ashleyjo09 · January 2010

I gotta phone call yesterday that my student loan people haven't been receiving my check and they put it on my credit which now has effected my credit score. THEN my credit card company called and they "put a freeze" on my account b/c of my credit score. I tried to explain the situation and how I have been paying blah blah blah, but until I write letters to all 4 credit bureaus, they won't take it off my credit and I'm screwed. Not to mention my salary just got cut and my next pay check will literally pay MOST of my bills...that's it.

AND BF and I have been fighting about stupid stuff and I want to stab mother-nature in the eye for bring "aunt flow" the same week all this is going on.

Sorry, that turned into a vent...I'm just so overwhelmed right now.

paintgirl · January 2010

All of you with free grad school SUCK!

I'm totally jealous. I got a free ride for undergrad but had to cough up the cash (loans) for grad school. I will die with loans. But my interest rates are so low that I make more money in my 401K than the loans cost me, so I'm fine with that!

For the OP: Do you have any other debt with higher interest (i.e. credit cards, car, etc)? If so, pay those first, then the student loans. And yes, you're totally on track to pay off/down the 6.8% and make interest-only payments on the 2.5!

Ana_2985 · January 2010

Thanks paint! And no, I do not have any other debt. Just the school loans.

paintgirl · January 2010

Ana - where are you in your signature picture? It looks beautiful!

Ana_2985 · January 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_hetshup?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:28c73c9d-f778-44fc-98f4-754e53bd7436Post:af97169f-7a25-4280-a965-9041c1c3fbbc">Re: Hetshup...</a>:
[QUOTE]Ana - where are you in your signature picture? It looks beautiful!
Posted by paintgirl[/QUOTE]

It's Guatemala. It is very beautiful there.

hetshup · January 2010

Ok, I am no longer at work.

Generally, you should pay off the higher interest rate ones first then pay the lower ones with all the extra money to rapidly pay everything off. With that being said, you should also look to see if they are both fixed rate. The 2% one sounds like it might be, if that is the case try to pay that off before it adjusts upwards. We have no idea how long the low interest rate environment will stay.

I wanna go to Guatemala! Does my Guatemalaness threaten you? My Guatemalaness, my natural heat.

Ana_2985 · January 2010

Thanks Hetshup! The 2% one is variable. I guess that foils my plans

And Guatemala is pretty awesome. I was afraid to go at first because it's kind of dangerous but definitely worth it. It's pretty and cheap and it has volcanoes. I haven't felt an earthquake yet though.

babybchbum · January 2010

GL paying them off. I would cut out any unnecessary expenses to try and pay them off quicker. I agree paying the 2% one sooner because the low intrest rate market will not be with us much longer.

Ana_2985 · January 2010

Thanks BBB! But I don't have any unnecessary expenses. All of my shoes, clothes, and coffee are very necessary.

Really though, I think I should be okay because 70% of my loans (and the total is less than 1 year of state school tuition) won't gain interest while I'm in school. So I'll pay off the two gaining interest first, and then I have the next 2 or 3 years to pay off the rest.

oceana919 · January 2010

Ana, the other thing you can look into is consolidating at a fixed rate. I have a gf who had several different student loans at interest rates ranging from 2.5 - 8%, and she consolidated it down to one loan payment at fixed rate of 3.4%. No matter what the economy does, you're locked in at that interest rate.

Hetshup...

Re: Hetshup...

Choose Another Board

Search Boards