Student loans

My wife went for her master's and doesn't really use it. Shes in the same boat. I know this is easy for me to say, but is there any way to put more towards principal each month? Or if you could lengthen the loan so the minimum payment would be smaller and then you could put more towards principal.

I guess i'm on the opposite side of this -

I spent 2.5 years in community college, working full time while doing so, accruing no debt. Finished my bachelors in Mechanical engineering in 3 semesters at a 4 year university.

Had multiple job offers before graduating, and took the one that suited me best. The graduated payment plan from fedloans is atrocious, but atleast they're upfront if you want to know the truth in how much you'll actually pay as opposed to paying a fixed payment over a 10 year term. 6+ % must of been unsubsidized.Total amount borrowed right around 1/3rd of what you or your wife borrowed.

If you dont mind my asking, what degrees did you and your wife pursue? And what were you hoping to be able to do with them?


Smashingpumpkins- You can absolutely pay extra towards principal, I have been paying extra since I started paying back, and it makes a big difference.

dmm698 wrote:

I guess i'm on the opposite side of this -

I spent 2.5 years in community college, working full time while doing so, accruing no debt. Finished my bachelors in Mechanical engineering in 3 semesters at a 4 year university.

Had multiple job offers before graduating, and took the one that suited me best. The graduated payment plan from fedloans is atrocious, but atleast they're upfront if you want to know the truth in how much you'll actually pay as opposed to paying a fixed payment over a 10 year term. 6+ % must of been unsubsidized.Total amount borrowed right around 1/3rd of what you or your wife borrowed.

If you dont mind my asking, what degrees did you and your wife pursue? And what were you hoping to be able to do with them?


Smashingpumpkins- You can absolutely pay extra towards principal, I have been paying extra since I started paying back, and it makes a big difference.

I changed my major 4 different times, ended up with a Physical Science Degree with mostly Geology and Geography classes. My wife was in the same boat, changed her major 3 times and ended up with a Psychology degree. We went from 2004-2009, people kept saying just get a degree, it doesn't matter as long as you get one. I should have waited for college until I was 25, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Around half of our loans are subsidized, the lowest rate is 2.2% and the highest is 6.8%. Live and learn, I'm going to suggest that my son just get the prerequisites out of the way in highschool and take at least 2 years off to party/travel/work and learn who he is and what he wants to do.

I screwed around at community college before I decide what I wanted to do and then went to community college at 25. I paid for my degree as I went and then paid off the remainder within my first year of nursing. My wife got her bachelor's right out of college and we both make roughly the same now. Except I don't havall tha debt.

Timo:

What is the annual percentage rate on your student loans? I had student loans back in the early 80's, they were 3% rate loans as I recall.

Never mind, I see you gave that info above.

Dang man all that student debt is rough. I took a few years in County College after high school. Got my Associate's there and really had no clue what I wanted to do at the big boy college. Fortunately I never formally changed my degree plan. And given that I just slow cooked it, I paid cash for it and never had to take a loan.

My wife started taking student loans when she first started until we got together and got married. Think she racked up about 20 or 30k which is nothing considering she's a nurse and is 6 months out from becoming a Nurse Practitioner. That's money well spent.

dmm698 wrote:

I guess i'm on the opposite side of this -

I spent 2.5 years in community college, working full time while doing so, accruing no debt. Finished my bachelors in Mechanical engineering in 3 semesters at a 4 year university.

Had multiple job offers before graduating, and took the one that suited me best. The graduated payment plan from fedloans is atrocious, but atleast they're upfront if you want to know the truth in how much you'll actually pay as opposed to paying a fixed payment over a 10 year term. 6+ % must of been unsubsidized.Total amount borrowed right around 1/3rd of what you or your wife borrowed.

If you dont mind my asking, what degrees did you and your wife pursue? And what were you hoping to be able to do with them?


Smashingpumpkins- You can absolutely pay extra towards principal, I have been paying extra since I started paying back, and it makes a big difference.

Drew man I wish I did the same thing as you. Community college then transfer oh well hindsight is 20/20.

Instead I spent all my college time at a private university and racked up $87k in debt (finished paying it off last year), what a pain in the ass.

Can’t climb out. It’s a racket.

i've been paying on mine for 10 years and i have 10 years left.

one loan was at 6.5% and the other was at 9.5%

problem was nobody wanted to touch them as far as refinancing them with a different lender. i've been told for 10 years that nobody will touch them because of the school i got my degree from wasn't on the short list of refinance-able loans.

fast forward to this year and i finally just bit the bullet and took out a home-equity-loan for 10 years at 5.74% and will save over $7k in interest. additionally, i'll pay them off in 89 months versus 110 months making my same $400/mo payment.

makes me fucking sick to look back at the money i've spent on student loans. what a fuckin' racket. God damn crooks.

oh... and like you, i don't use my degree

It's disgusting how the money grubbers are finding ever more ways to leverage debt. First it was finding a new way to purchase a car (leasing.) That process screws you in, but so what? Your car payments will be lower. Then it was the housing crisis. Want a new home and take out lots of free cash on its equity? Sure, just sign here. You only have to pay the interest - maybe even less than that. Nah, we don't need proof of income, we'll be just fine when we repossess your house. Now it's student loans, because college students are over a barrel, and they know it. Just make a small $600 monthly payment for, quite literally sometimes, the rest of your life.

Falcon wrote:

It's disgusting how the money grubbers are finding ever more ways to leverage debt. First it was finding a new way to purchase a car (leasing.) That process screws you in, but so what? Your car payments will be lower. Then it was the housing crisis. Want a new home and take out lots of free cash on its equity? Sure, just sign here. You only have to pay the interest - maybe even less than that. Nah, we don't need proof of income, we'll be just fine when we repossess your house. Now it's student loans, because college students are over a barrel, and they know it. Just make a small $600 monthly payment for, quite literally sometimes, the rest of your life.

Nobody is forcing anyone to sign anything.

Falcon wrote:

It's disgusting how the money grubbers are finding ever more ways to leverage debt. First it was finding a new way to purchase a car (leasing.) That process screws you in, but so what? Your car payments will be lower. Then it was the housing crisis. Want a new home and take out lots of free cash on its equity? Sure, just sign here. You only have to pay the interest - maybe even less than that. Nah, we don't need proof of income, we'll be just fine when we repossess your house. Now it's student loans, because college students are over a barrel, and they know it. Just make a small $600 monthly payment for, quite literally sometimes, the rest of your life.

mxb2 wrote:

Nobody is forcing anyone to sign anything.

Maybe they could teach high school kids about loans. It would make sense because most of them sign on for a lifetime of debt when they are 18 years old.

Falcon wrote:

It's disgusting how the money grubbers are finding ever more ways to leverage debt. First it was finding a new way to purchase a car (leasing.) That process screws you in, but so what? Your car payments will be lower. Then it was the housing crisis. Want a new home and take out lots of free cash on its equity? Sure, just sign here. You only have to pay the interest - maybe even less than that. Nah, we don't need proof of income, we'll be just fine when we repossess your house. Now it's student loans, because college students are over a barrel, and they know it. Just make a small $600 monthly payment for, quite literally sometimes, the rest of your life.

mxb2 wrote:

Nobody is forcing anyone to sign anything.

True, but like many endeavors in life, there are situations wherein the participants have very little say in the matter. There are plenty of college students who had no choice but to take student loans to chase their educations. It's basically that or forego a degree.

Falcon wrote:

It's disgusting how the money grubbers are finding ever more ways to leverage debt. First it was finding a new way to purchase a car (leasing.) That process screws you in, but so what? Your car payments will be lower. Then it was the housing crisis. Want a new home and take out lots of free cash on its equity? Sure, just sign here. You only have to pay the interest - maybe even less than that. Nah, we don't need proof of income, we'll be just fine when we repossess your house. Now it's student loans, because college students are over a barrel, and they know it. Just make a small $600 monthly payment for, quite literally sometimes, the rest of your life.

mxb2 wrote:

Nobody is forcing anyone to sign anything.

Falcon wrote:

True, but like many endeavors in life, there are situations wherein the participants have very little say in the matter. There are plenty of college students who had no choice but to take student loans to chase their educations. It's basically that or forego a degree.

Yep, plenty of choices.

You have one life to live and there is no price too high for a great education. Borrowing 10's of thousands of dollars for the college experience is not worth it but if you take your education seriously it is always worth it even if it never earns you dime extra in income.

gabrielito wrote:

You have one life to live and there is no price too high for a great education. Borrowing 10's of thousands of dollars for the college experience is not worth it but if you take your education seriously it is always worth it even if it never earns you dime extra in income.

Bingo, but everyone blames the system. Nobody in life is forced to do anything.

Also you can go part time to college and work full time and come out with zero or little debt. Staying at the college for 4 or 5 years, living there, eating there, and going to class of course its going to be expensive...

Kinda telling that a 18 year old can qualify for up to 200K in student loans no questions asked but but can't qualify for a 20K business loan with out miles of bureaucratic BS.
It's about keeping you in debt for life if possible.

Wondering if the Degree was worth it for those who went that route. I know several that never spent one day doing what they borrowed thousands to learn how to do.

motomojo wrote:

Kinda telling that a 18 year old can qualify for up to 200K in student loans no questions asked but but can't qualify for a 20K business loan with out miles of bureaucratic BS.
It's about keeping you in debt for life if possible.

Wondering if the Degree was worth it for those who went that route. I know several that never spent one day doing what they borrowed thousands to learn how to do.

This is what I was getting at. College students are a tried-and-true statistical goldmine, at least when using the old-school logic: "This guy will get a good job because he has a degree. Let's screw him over so bad that he can barely afford the payments, and he'll be our golden goose for a long time."

It's the same reason a civilian 18 year old will never qualify for a motorcycle loan on his own, but they'll finance an E-2 for a 1000cc sportbike with $500 down and 18% interest. That military guy has a guaranteed job, and if the bank ever needs to collect, hell they just call the CO. That situation gets fixed real quick. The kid owes more money on that bike than he'll ever be able to get by selling it, so he's stuck paying all the interest.

motomojo wrote:

Kinda telling that a 18 year old can qualify for up to 200K in student loans no questions asked but but can't qualify for a 20K business loan with out miles of bureaucratic BS.
It's about keeping you in debt for life if possible.

Wondering if the Degree was worth it for those who went that route. I know several that never spent one day doing what they borrowed thousands to learn how to do.

They need to let the debt be categorized just as they do a credit card or home mortgage. You should be able to default on the note if you don't pay. The loan sharks would start placing a value on degrees at that point. If the degree doesn't reasonably produce some sort of income coming out of college, you can't get approved for more than X amount.

Whoever said that they need to do a better job in high school making students understand the loan process is right. But the college ponzi scheme I'm sure would not appreciate that sort of education reaching their potential customers.

Hell, your freshman and sophomore years are basically the same shit you learned in High School over again. Completely unnecessary bullshit classes that they just want extra money in return for little to no value.

gabrielito wrote:

You have one life to live and there is no price too high for a great education. Borrowing 10's of thousands of dollars for the college experience is not worth it but if you take your education seriously it is always worth it even if it never earns you dime extra in income.

mxb2 wrote:

Bingo, but everyone blames the system. Nobody in life is forced to do anything.

I blame federal student loans. Thats the system that fucked it. Just giving out x amount of money to anyone for any degree. What do you think the colleges will charge if they know what the government will loan out ? Exactly what the government will loan out.

Cost of attenance 24,000! Here’s your loan. Just so happens tuition is 24,000 a year. Damn no shit.

If the government was truly worried about education they would subsidize the loans at a low interest rate. 8%+ is insane. You can’t get out.

You wanna get a liberal arts degree? Govt shouldn’t fund that. They need to fund degrees that will produce a taxpayer. Not a defaulter.

motomojo wrote:

Kinda telling that a 18 year old can qualify for up to 200K in student loans no questions asked but but can't qualify for a 20K business loan with out miles of bureaucratic BS.
It's about keeping you in debt for life if possible.

Wondering if the Degree was worth it for those who went that route. I know several that never spent one day doing what they borrowed thousands to learn how to do.

Yep it was, got my degree in Mech Eng, and I work as a product development engineer.

motomojo wrote:

Kinda telling that a 18 year old can qualify for up to 200K in student loans no questions asked but but can't qualify for a 20K business loan with out miles of bureaucratic BS.
It's about keeping you in debt for life if possible.

Wondering if the Degree was worth it for those who went that route. I know several that never spent one day doing what they borrowed thousands to learn how to do.

I’ll one up you:

I borrow thousands to learn nothing on how to ACTUALLY do my job. Yet my job requires CONTINUING EDUCATION. Except, again, all the “continuing education” does is pull money from my pocket (and time) and doesn’t teach me anything tangible.

All my job learning is on the job. So why do we need collegiate institutions?

Shit, I just added up my loans on my two business, $23k per month! But it takes money to make money, whether that’s investing in property like I’ve done or into your education like others have done. What’s a bitch is not using the degree, that eats me up paying for something that gives you no return.

And I too spent/wasted a lot of money and time going to school to become a physical therapist, only to drop out and start a billboard company. I can’t quite decide if it was a total waste though, because it allowed me to mature as a person and kept me on track through my early 20’s. But I spent $30k on an “education” I’ve never used in my line of work.

Well I know a lot of physical therapists forced to get PHDs to make 55,000-65,000 a year. That’s not worth the return it’s negative equity. 140,000-200,000 spent on a Phd to do back breaking work.....they’ll never climb out of debt.

GeorgiePorgie wrote:

Well I know a lot of physical therapists forced to get PHDs to make 55,000-65,000 a year. That’s not worth the return it’s negative equity. 140,000-200,000 spent on a Phd to do back breaking work.....they’ll never climb out of debt.

That’s why I bailed out, horrible return on your money.

Timo_2824 wrote:

The thread in Moto asking about trade jobs made me want to share this. I'm getting them paid off slowly, but I strongly suggest that anyone thinking of student loans to pay for college to just let this sink in:


I did graduated payments, start small and pay more as your income grows. Started out about $250 per month, now it's up to $675. I had $45,000 and my wife had $42,000. Between the two of us we are paying ~$1100.00 per month for student loans. Our house payment is $985.00... we both went to school about the same time, so we are both averaging 6.2% interest rate. Yes we've both applied for multiple refinancers, the interest rate is the same or higher. The thing that really drives me crazy is that neither of us is using our degree.

I'm a journeyman HVAC tech specializing in Building Automation. I could have just joined up as an apprentice and gotten paid to learn.

Well, good education is very important and costs a lot... Yes, I understand that you are not satisfied with bills you have to pay every month... But you never know how your life changes- may be in some time you will need your degree, who knows...

gabrielito wrote:

You have one life to live and there is no price too high for a great education. Borrowing 10's of thousands of dollars for the college experience is not worth it but if you take your education seriously it is always worth it even if it never earns you dime extra in income.

mxb2 wrote:

Bingo, but everyone blames the system. Nobody in life is forced to do anything.

GeorgiePorgie wrote:

I blame federal student loans. Thats the system that fucked it. Just giving out x amount of money to anyone for any degree. What do you think the colleges will charge if they know what the government will loan out ? Exactly what the government will loan out.

Cost of attenance 24,000! Here’s your loan. Just so happens tuition is 24,000 a year. Damn no shit.

If the government was truly worried about education they would subsidize the loans at a low interest rate. 8%+ is insane. You can’t get out.

You wanna get a liberal arts degree? Govt shouldn’t fund that. They need to fund degrees that will produce a taxpayer. Not a defaulter.

Who is forcing them to go, or sign for a loan . Nobody.

They’re indoctrinated to sign. Coerced by the idea That success only lives with a college degree. It’s sexy. It’s pumped into the kids from jr high on....

Not forcing them with a gun to their head, but psychologically working them into the process.

“College debt is good debt!” Huh? I still wanna ask my guidance counselor in high school why she preached that.