Student Loan Debt

sunshine_day_dreams

Just curious.... All of my hard earned money seems to go to paying my loans.[Poll]

sunshine_day_dreams

Also, the first option should say $0 - $10,000  Not -$10,000.

emilyann21

I feel your pain on student loans. It hurts making that payment each month and for how long I'll have to make that payment...

diablesse

no scholarship / student grant / tuition matching option?

 

sunshine_day_dreams

diablesse:

no scholarship / student grant / tuition matching option?

You're right.  Oopsies.  Completely slipped my mind - maybe b/c I'm still a tad bitter that I wasn't eligible for any of the above. :-P 

No financial aid benefits for me either.  Stupid government mandates that you claim your parents income up on financial aid forms up to the age of 24 even if you're living on your own with no help from them, as I was from 17 on.  Still a bit bitter about that one, too.

shauni27

i have somewhere around 50K, I think it is just under though.  in my name right now is around 20K left, the rest is under my dads name that he and i pay together.  once mine is paid off, i take over his payments.

gerren has about 18k total.  grrrrr.

debdebdol

I got enough financial aid to cover tuition.  Books, housing, parking permits, food were so much extra that I decided to take out the loans.  I had planned on going to grad school which was/is going to be about 100k, so a measly extra 21k wouldn't hurt right?

sunshine_day_dreams

shauni27:

i have somewhere around 50K, I think it is just under though.  in my name right now is around 20K left, the rest is under my dads name that he and i pay together.  once mine is paid off, i take over his payments.

gerren has about 18k total.  grrrrr.

Sounds like you're in about the same boat as me, dollar-wise.  All of my loans are in my name and K doesn't have any.  His parents paid for his college - lucky ducky.  I have about $66k left.  I came out of school with $96k and I've slowly been chipping away one tax check at a time.

A lot of times I feel like I should have just skipped college and worked somewhere without a degree.  I'd probably be in the same spot income wise b/c I wouldn't be paying 2 arms and a leg to Sallie Mae every frickin' month.

Come onnnnnn lottery!

QueenofAnything

I have ridiculous student loans, they started out over $75k, I have no idea what they're at now (they're on automatic bill pay so I only ever look at the "bill has been paid" email). But I think it was worth it for me.

H has no loans because his parents paid for his education. Lucky duck.

jedaniel

I guess I'm the only one who didn't go to college! H on the other hand has about 20K left to pay.

shauni27

i should note--gerren has smaller loans not because his parents paid for his education--they didn't really, but it is because he went to the crappiest college in america that cost mere pennies to attend.

we were both fortunate in that our parents helped us where they could with finance for college.

funny story--when i was born my grandparents started a small trust for my college fund.  it was mostly in the stock market.  i remember growing up and my parents would say "bubbie and popop are paying for your college, you don't know how lucky you are." turns out, the cost of college education skyrocketed before i went to college, and, what do you know, $10G just wouldn't cover it.  my parents always thought all of my college expenses would be covered wtih that money, it covered one semester!

exictedbride

Between DH and I we are around 74K. We have been paying H's for a year and a half and mine for only 6 months. I always put as much extra as possible into them monthly, I do not want them hanging around any longer than necessary.

My plan is to go back to school at some point, but I really don't want to take out more loans on top of what we already have.

JenO24

i have zero

i had a scholarship my first year and after that i used my inheratance money that i got from my grandfather.  when that ran out i stopped going b/c i refused to go into debt later in life due to student loans.  i will go back when i have the money or can get financial aid, but until then i just work.

LauraT25

I think I had around $35k when I graduated, though I've made a dent in it.  A small one.

I had some scholarships, and my mom paid for half.  Jeff's parents paid for everything for him so luckily I'm the only one bringing debt into the marriage.

brew311

exictedbride:

Between DH and I we are around 74K. We have been paying H's for a year and a half and mine for only 6 months. I always put as much extra as possible into them monthly, I do not want them hanging around any longer than necessary.

My plan is to go back to school at some point, but I really don't want to take out more loans on top of what we already have.

Ditto this. Been talking to a potential grad school and the counselor tells me that I can put my current loan in deferment while I get my masters.  I'm thinking to myself, "Lady, I deferred it so much in my 20s, they would laugh their assses off if I ever try to defer again!"  Not interested in multiple student loans at the same time.

 I'm around 20-25K mark, not certain. I only check about once a year (tax time) b/c the total still due makes me want to vomit.

citygirl17

My parents paid for my education, so I had none.  I worked part time during school breaks and stuff so I alwayd had my own spending money and money to pay for books, school supplies and food.  DH had only about $5000 but paid it off well before we got married.  We're in the clear!

mushE

My parents were very generous and able to pay for my undergrad, but I also worked (min 20 hrs/week) the whole time as well, so I paid for my extras and spending money and stuff. 

However, H and I both have loans from grad school.  We were lucky to be able to consolidate in 2005, and have killer low interest rates.  We just have them on auto pay.  Mine is only about $300/mo (3 years of school), and H's around $150 (2 years).  I can live with that!  What kills me is that the government allows a tax credit (deduction?) for interest on ridiculously high mortgages, but we are both cut off from getting any tax deduction for our student loan interest.  Boo. 

sunshine_day_dreams

mushE:

What kills me is that the government allows a tax credit (deduction?) for interest on ridiculously high mortgages, but we are both cut off from getting any tax deduction for our student loan interest.  Boo. 

Me too!  I pay way more than the $2k of interest you are allowed to deduct on taxes per year.  Plus my income is too high to deduct ANY of that $2k, so I don't get crap for it.  Thanks, IRS. :-P

leolyns

I had about $36K for 3 years of school (finishing up a B.A.), my grandparents paid for my books. I went to a Cal state school but since I wasn't planning on working full time during school, most of that went to tuition, housing, living expenses etc. I eventually worked part time but made nothing close to what I was making prior to that since I worked full time and then went to finish college.

steffiel

Blah. I hate having it (although I don't look at it as "bad debt") only because everytime I look at the payoff date I want to cry. I'll be like, 35. WTF.

sunshine_day_dreams

steffiel:

Blah. I hate having it (although I don't look at it as "bad debt") only because everytime I look at the payoff date I want to cry. I'll be like, 35. WTF.

No kidding.  My loans are 20 year loans b/c I wouldn't be able to afford the monthly payments otherwise.  That's like an effing mortgage.  I won't have mine paid off until I'm around 43.

What really made me cry/vomit is when they sent me a letter showing how much I will have paid to them, including interest, if I pay my loans back on the set repayment schedule.  I would end up paying ~45% more just in interest!