https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 20 Apr 2026 23:21:27 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1949019 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:43:04 +0000 2PeasinaPod 1949019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It took 12 years for mine and 10 for my husband's. He had the higher interest rate, so I paid the minimum on mine and put more towards his to pay his off first. The day I made the final payment on mine was an amazing day!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1949010 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:40:16 +0000 Greentea 1949010@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Probably forever. My goal is before retirement. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1948956 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:23:00 +0000 Anya 1948956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm a few months away from paying off my master's degree, so it will have been about 3 years. I'll still be paying off my UG for a few more years, right now it is five years and counting. I paid my masters down more aggressively because the interest rates were higher. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1948950 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:21:30 +0000 MediaNaranja 1948950@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like it will take me forever. I'm just starting payments now--they were deferred during grad school and in foreberance the year I was unemployed. This is probably the biggest stressor in my life right now.</p> <p>I have one that is really small (like 1500) and I have been saving to pay off in one lump sum. Man that will feel good and hopefully keep me motivated to pump every extra penny into my other loans. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1948942 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:19:06 +0000 loveisstrange 1948942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We paid for a couple years and then were able to make a large lump payment. It took about 3 years total. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1948935 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:13:35 +0000 coopsmama 1948935@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ra: If it makes you feel any better, my private university cost my parents no less than 140k and I have never used my degree. I got married two months after graduating and got pregnant a month after that and have stayed home ever since! :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1948933 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:11:59 +0000 Smurfette 1948933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@coopsmama: I agree! DH and I want to help out as much as possible. I am so thankful that my parents helped what they could. I went to a private university and came out with $18K in loans, less then the cost of one year. Scholarships helped out a ton too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1948924 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:10:05 +0000 Ra 1948924@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Forever. I think I was close to $70,000 in debt because I went to a private university. I don't even use my degree. Womp womp. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans/page/2#post-1948923 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:09:54 +0000 coopsmama 1948923@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: Absolutely. Any debt, whether good (such as school loans) debt or bad debt, is just an extra stress. DH and I probably won't ever be able to pay for our LO's college entirely but we are doing our best to help out as much as we can! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948917 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 11:07:11 +0000 looch 1948917@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I paid mine off 5 years after graduating from undergrad. I had around $17k. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948892 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:52:56 +0000 Smurfette 1948892@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@coopsmama: I think that this just proves why so many on here want to pay for their LO's college. The loans can be so huge and take forever to pay off. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948889 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:50:52 +0000 coopsmama 1948889@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Sparkler: Well absolutely - I'm glad student loans are available for those that need them! :) And it sounds like you got an ideal rate and have the salary to afford paying them back which is wonderful. </p> <p>I hope no one took my statement the wrong way. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948883 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:47:07 +0000 Sparkler 1948883@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@coopsmama: I'm grateful for my student loans! My parents had no money saved for my education and without them I wouldn't be where I am in my career or life in general! I paid off all my private/non consolidated loans within 5 years. I consolidated most of my federal loans and locked into a great rate (less than 2%) and will be paying those off over a 30 year term. My monthly loan payment is less than 2 days of our nanny's salary, so I hardly consider that an expense :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948882 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:47:02 +0000 drjolene 1948882@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sigh. I suspect mine will be forgiven long before I pay them off. My smaller loan ($22k starting) will be paid in less than 10 years even if I pay nothing extra. My larger loan ($120k+) will likely be forgiven at the 25 years mark and I will have to pay taxes on the rest, as I have it set up on an income-based scale. I'd love to think that someday we'll make enough money to actually pay the larger loan down. Not holding my breath. </p> <p>Oh yeah, and when my DH graduates this spring, he'll add about $70k in loans. Haven't even addressed that issue yet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948868 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:41:49 +0000 coopsmama 1948868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh my gosh, reading this thread has made me so grateful I never had any! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948863 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:39:33 +0000 MenagerieMama 1948863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Probably forever. I have around $50k and my husband has around $75k I think? Graduate degrees are ridiculous. Also note: do not go to a private school for your Ph.D, go to a school that will pay for you! Poor DH stuck due to me starting medical school before his grad school. We're on income based repayment though and I'm just starting to earn my full earning potential (right now truncated by my - unpaid - maternity leave) and this summer DH will graduate so then his loans will go into repayment. Then it will be a whole different ballgame and we're trying to balance how to pay off 6 figures of loans and save for a down payment on a house. They're all federal stafford loans (and a tiny Perkins one) at least I guess. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948837 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:29:03 +0000 cascademom 1948837@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It took me 7-8 years to pay mine off. I started paying it off during my last semester of graduate school. I paid it off right before LO was born like a month or two. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948835 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:27:40 +0000 MaryM 1948835@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm with @BlueWolverine: </p> <p>I'm lucky that I went to school before the worst of the crisis began, and all my loans were federal. I'm down to owning four digits, so that was exciting. But they were all deferred the last couple of years while I earned my master's (thankfully work paid for that).</p> <p>So I'll have about 7 years left when they pick back up next year after I graduate, but because the interest is so low, we'll probably work on paying off cars before the loans. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948834 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:27:39 +0000 mrsjazz 1948834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At the current rate 25 years. I hate the interest rate on my loans. My college loans had a low rate, my grad school loans had a high rate and when I consolidated it went somewhere in the middle. I miss that 3.5% though. This is one of the reasons I'm looking for a new job, if I double my monthly payment I can pay it off in about 10 years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948828 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:26:04 +0000 HappyBaker 1948828@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We only have one out of 4 left! We made it a priority before having DD / paying for daycare to pay off the high interest ones, so we knocked off $60,000 in 3 years. The one we have left is like 1% interest and only about $6,000 so I'm not in a huge rush for that one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948827 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:25:59 +0000 travellingbee 1948827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have about 15 more years left and have been paying for about 10. I deferred for a few years after college. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948825 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:25:11 +0000 MrsKoala 1948825@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'll probably die before they are paid off. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948824 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:24:33 +0000 lawbee11 1948824@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ummm hopefully by the time LO is in college :bummed: </p> <p>I really hope we can save up enough to where she doesn't have to take out any loans. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948821 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:23:37 +0000 hotchildinthecity 1948821@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Last time i called, they told me it would be 15 more years. Right in time for LO to be going to college...</p> <p>In all seriousness, we do plan on increasing our payments at some point, so hopefully that will get it paid down a little earlier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948819 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:22:09 +0000 oliviaoblivia 1948819@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I paid mine off in four years. I started with $120k in debt and we put every thing extra into paying in down. The interest was at 7% and crushing.<br /> Sending that last check felt so amazing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948818 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:21:32 +0000 bunnylove08 1948818@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I consolidated so its going to be at least 10 more years </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948806 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:17:06 +0000 Smurfette 1948806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it was around 10 years </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948802 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:16:24 +0000 anandam 1948802@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Mine are basically a mortgage, so it'll be a good while, probably another 15 years or more. Fingers crossed that I'm done with them by the time LO goes to college himself... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948801 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:16:23 +0000 babynumber1 1948801@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have been paying on mine for about 5 years. They will be forgiven in 5 years due to the industry that I am in. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-long-did-it-take-you-to-pay-off-your-student-loans#post-1948798 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:14:51 +0000 LuLu Mom 1948798@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been paying off for 4 years, I'm hoping we can have them paid off in another 5 years. (I have 2, DH has 1. Mine are more significant than his, but we both went to the 2 most expensive private colleges in our state.) </p>