https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 11 Jul 2026 06:09:44 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443768 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:24:23 +0000 birdofafeather 443768@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we don't have any debt because our parents saved for us. we're totally lucky to come into marriage without any debt to our name and we hope to keep it that way (except for purchasing a house one day!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443588 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:20:55 +0000 SweetMamaM 443588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: it's actually kind of clever - no interest UNLESS you travel and work overseas. Stops the flow of skills and academics out of the country a little bit too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443585 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:17:57 +0000 MrsBrewer 443585@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetMamaM: Wow no interest! That's great, I think everywhere should have that </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443580 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:14:42 +0000 MrsSCB 443580@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a bit over $30,000 for both undergrad and grad school, but my parents are very generously paying off the loans from undergrad. The amount I'm paying off just dipped below $20,000 last month, woohoo! lol Luckily DH has none so it's not so bad for the two of us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443577 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:12:18 +0000 SweetMamaM 443577@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I owe around $27,000. I have a three year bachelor's degree and two post-graduate diplomas so this is not too bad!<br /> In NZ, student loans are interest-free so there is not the same drive as there is in the states to pay them back. I just have the minimum payment coming out of my salary each fortnight which pays off a couple of thousand each year. I also put my tax refund towards paying it off when there is extra money there :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443570 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:06:50 +0000 daniellemybelle 443570@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm lucky that I only had to pay for a small portion of my college tuition - I graduated with about $9,000 in loans. However, it's now up to about $12,000 or something? I thought the interest rate was pretty low so it's surprising how it's growing. I really want to get it paid off, but our credit card debt is a lot more important right now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443516 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:28:47 +0000 blackbird 443516@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My company is paying for my grad degree, so I owe them 24 months of employment or I owe the previous 24 months' costs back, which is about 10K. I'm locked in! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443510 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:26:21 +0000 kayakgirl73 443510@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had 32,000. I paid them off four years ago. I am much older than a lot of you, as I'm 39. I did consolidate into a 20 year term but I always paid extra. At first it was just $4 dollars and some cents to round up to the nearest $10, than I later started rounding up to the nearest hundred and eventually I did more as I got raises, every lit bit extra to the principal helps especially when you have 8% interest like I did. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443494 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:17:23 +0000 oliviaoblivia 443494@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@prettylizy: Congrats! It's a good feeling to not have those payments any more! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443471 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:08:51 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 443471@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>26k.</p> <p>And that is from only one year (school was 40k/year). My last three years I was on a full ride, thank God. If I didn't get that I probably would have dropped out of school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443442 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:58:08 +0000 Sophia 443442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think I currently owe about $12k. We just paid my husband's off, so now we're going to get serious about mine. Can't wait to be student loan debt free! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443404 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:46:48 +0000 Bao 443404@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just over 10k, I feel like it hasn't gone done since I've started paying on it a few years ago :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443400 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:44:00 +0000 yoursilverlining 443400@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have just under $35k combined, down from a lot more. I know some pp have warned against private lender loans, but my highest interest rate (by far!) is my federal loans at 6.8%. Our private loans are approx. 3% and 2% interest…kills me; the feds “doing me a favor” and now I’m stuck paying more than double the interest rate of the private loans. I should have taken out all private loans, bah. I can’t find any companies who will consolidate now, which is fine. I’m hoping to help my LO avoid student loans as much as I can. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443380 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:33:08 +0000 prettylizy 443380@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>$9.16!! I just got my final adjustment in the mail after we paid it off and I'm so happy it's gone!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443379 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:32:43 +0000 LindsayInNY 443379@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband and I EACH owe $100K+, I don't even know the exact numbers.</p> <p>To those considering IBR, be careful... Whatever amount is forgiven in 25 years, you're going to pay taxes on that amount. And, in the end, it may end up costing you more over the long run. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443378 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:32:24 +0000 PurplePumps 443378@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't have any, and DH only had about 6 or 7k when he graduated. We just paid that off since it was down to 1k and we just wanted to get done with it. No loans now except the mortgage </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443149 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:46:55 +0000 fussygal 443149@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Between my husband and I we're UP there. My loans are only about 15k, but all of my husbands private school loans are from private lenders so we pay out the nose in interest. We could basically buy a house with the amount we owe. Since what's done is done, I try to stay positive about it and don't think about it other than when we make monthly payments. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now/page/2#post-443134 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:37:54 +0000 Anagram 443134@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have 17,000 left in student loans, but that's my own fault, because I consolidated right out of college and spread my payments our over 20 years, then I deferred for 3 years when I was in grad school. So even though I'm 32, I haven't paid all that much on my loans-just the minimum amount every month.</p> <p>The good news is that, like some of the PPS, my consolidating got my a super low interest rate of 1.9% back in 2005, so it doesn't bother me so much to pay only the minimum. DH has 0 debt of any kind, so at least one of us is perfect debt-wise. I also have a home mortgage ;-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443127 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:35:18 +0000 Bookish 443127@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have 26K :[ I just started paying on it this year and haven't even touched the principal. It is in deferment currently because I'm in grad school (got a scholarship, so no more loans there, thank goodness!!) but we still make itty bitty payments just to stop the giant inflation of interest :/ When LO is out of day care we will make a much more concentrated interest to pay them down... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443102 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:26:40 +0000 Chastenet 443102@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are very lucky to have 0 debt. My parents paid for my BA and I didn't continue for a master's because I didn't think it was worth it in my field and I knew that would mean taking on debt. DH did his schooling in France where it is much cheaper, his private business school cost about 5k a year. His parents paid for his mba. So we have no debt, but we also have no assets, we'll probably buy a car and eventually a home once we move to the US in 2013. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443090 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:19:54 +0000 Revel 443090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Over $100K - way depressing.</p> <p>@bebefly: Look into income-based repayment if you are still seeking a solution. If you qualify it will reduce your payments and you qualify for forgiveness after 10 or 25 years, depending on your profession. I qualify even with a high salary because I owe so much in loans. It will prolong the period you pay for but it will keep you out of default. The process is a little time consuming but I found it to be worth it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443086 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:17:53 +0000 dagret 443086@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@doxielove: @MrsBrewer: It was TOTAL luck. And private lenders suck. If i had mine through private lenders I'd be much more proactive in getting rid of my loans. Hang in there! </p> <p>The only negative about my consolidation loan is that any "extra" goes towards "future payments," not principle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443080 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:12:00 +0000 mrsjazz 443080@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have about $63,000 in loans. DH has none. This is a combination of grad school and undergrad. I consolidated 2 years ago and am on a 25-year payment plan. I wasn't really paying attention to how much was going towards the principle until recently because that number has barely moved (was 65k) since I consolidated, so I now throw any extra money at the end of each pay period towards the loan.</p> <p>Going to try as hard as possible to prevent LO from going through this! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443074 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:08:17 +0000 doxielove 443074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@dagret: Jealous. I was in college from 2006-2010. So, halfway through my college career the economy tanked and my private student loan lender JACKED up the interest rates. Since that's how I was funding a large part of my education, and I had to finish my education, I was stuck paying. In retrospect I could have "shopped around" a bit for a better rate, but hindsight is 20/20.</p> <p>And now no one will consolidate my loans. Grrrr.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443057 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:59:20 +0000 MrsBrewer 443057@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@dagret: Wow, what great timing for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443049 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:54:39 +0000 dagret 443049@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: student loans was luck in graduating - in late 2004 the credit market hadn't tanked yet so I could consolidate. And our car loan is through our credit union. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443046 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:53:28 +0000 MrsBrewer 443046@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@dagret: Holy cow!!! How in the world are you getting these amazing interest rates?!? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443045 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:53:03 +0000 doxielove 443045@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>...a depressing amount. I don't like to share my #, but I did vote. </p> <p>I'm only 24 so I don't beat myself up about it too much. Ask me this question when I'm 34 and I'll feel a lot more confident about answering because by then a large amount will be paid down (I'm on a 25-year repayment plan). We throw any and all extra $ we get against my loans and it still feels like we're not making a dent). </p> <p>I just feel lucky enough that I have a decent paying career and am able to make my payments! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443044 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:52:22 +0000 dagret 443044@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsBrewer: Not to threadjack but our car loan is only 1.99%. It's just a bigger monthly payment. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-much-do-you-have-in-student-loans-right-now#post-443042 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:51:06 +0000 MrsBrewer 443042@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@dagret: Oh definitely!! With that low of an interest rate for sure! We only have $1000 left on my car and them both of our cars are paid off! That's a great feeling too </p>