Back to student loans!

lifeonthehill · February 2014

We put $1,250 towards his SL this morning. We have under $15,000 to go! Over $18,000 paid off in 11 months plus 11 month living expenses saved. As you can tell I am wicked excited!

He is in a panic because the money wont be in the account. I am really excited to know we will be debt free in 7 or 8 months but he seems to have fallen off that wagon. It took me MONTHS to get him fully on board last year and he still fought me a little every time the payments were made even though he was glad we are doing it. Should I ease off and see if he steps in to try and get on track himself or keep going while I know he is not fully comfortable with it?

I know in the long run we are doing whats best and I thought having the living expenses saved for so long would really help ease his stress but I guess I was wrong. We want to TTC in December and we know going into it with all this debt isn't going to make being new parents any easier so I don't want to wait.
Any advice on how to get him excited about paying off debt again?

cbee817 · February 2014

So is he just nervous about not having enough money in the bank? Would it ease his mind a little if you spread the remaining SL payments over 10-12 months instead of 7 or 8? Are you going to continue to add to your emergency fund every month? I'm not really sure what else to say advice-wise- it seems like you guys are doing great!

maple2 · February 2014

It sounds like you should be having this conversation with DH. Try to get a better understanding of his concerns and come up with a strategy that works for both of you. Is he worried that 11 months of living expenses in savings isn't enough? Would he like a larger cushion before TTC? Does he want to spend more money rather than allocating so much to debt and savings? At the same time, you should make sure he understands your financial priorities. It sound like being rid of student loans before TTC is a priority for you. Make sure he knows that and understands why.

Even if you got pg right away when starting in December, the birth would still be 19-20 months away, which is almost twice as long as you estimate it would take to finish paying off the students loans. There may be some middle ground where you don't pay them off as aggressively but still have them gone by the time baby arrives, which might help both of you feel comfortable with your spending/saving plan.

Xstatic3333 · February 2014

Hmmmm, I wonder if having TTC coming up soon is making him more inclined to keep extra money in the bank for baby expenses. I wouldn't push too hard if he wants to slow down a little-you guys are doing SO great on debt payoff that you have some wiggle room. Honestly, if there are still a few debt payments to go once your LO arrives I think it'll be ok. We'll still have SLs when we TTC (as a couple we're comfortable tackling them slowly and working on other baby bucket list stuff instead) but my plan is just make a good dent ahead of time and be officially way ahead on our payments.

cbee817 · February 2014

Xstatic3333 said:

Hmmmm, I wonder if having TTC coming up soon is making him more inclined to keep extra money in the bank for baby expenses. I wouldn't push too hard if he wants to slow down a little-you guys are doing SO great on debt payoff that you have some wiggle room. Honestly, if there are still a few debt payments to go once your LO arrives I think it'll be ok. We'll still have SLs when we TTC (as a couple we're comfortable tackling them slowly and working on other baby bucket list stuff instead) but my plan is just make a good dent ahead of time and be officially way ahead on our payments.

This too- when DD#1 was born in 2010, DH had $22,000 remaining on his SL (was paying $500/month because he also had a car payment) and when DD#2 was born in 2012, he had $14,000 (was paying $1,000/month- moved the previous car payment to his SL). We started making big payments ($2,000/month) in Sept 2012 and the SL were gone by January 2013.

KatieCutie05 · February 2014

Um 11 months expenses in the bank is a lot! Even experts recommend only 6 tops especially when you have debt. I'd just take half that and pay off the student loan right now. Unless you are expect ing a big emergency in the next 6 months.... You will save more by just paying it off right now. You can add to that savings every month and have more saved before you TTC in 10 months then if you spend that time paying interest to your student loans. Just talk to him.

Xstatic3333 · February 2014

I think a lot of this comes down to philosophy. Some of us on this board are in the "pay off debt ASAP" camp while some are in the "save and invest, we can live student loans and a mortgage" camp. I really don't think either approach is wrong, it just comes down to comfort level and lifestyle choices. Either way, those of us in both camps are avoiding new debt (except for houses or emergencies), living within our means, and building our net worth overall.

I sleep better at night when I have a lot of money in the bank, even though I have student loan debt. There are days when I waffle, however, and just want to go down to a $1,000 e-fund and get rid of it. Maybe your H is a debt-pay-offer who is going through a saving mood.

vlagrl29 · February 2014

Xstatic3333 said:

I think a lot of this comes down to philosophy. Some of us on this board are in the "pay off debt ASAP" camp while some are in the "save and invest, we can live student loans and a mortgage" camp. I really don't think either approach is wrong, it just comes down to comfort level and lifestyle choices. Either way, those of us in both camps are avoiding new debt (except for houses or emergencies), living within our means, and building our net worth overall.

I sleep better at night when I have a lot of money in the bank, even though I have student loan debt. There are days when I waffle, however, and just want to go down to a $1,000 e-fund and get rid of it. Maybe your H is a debt-pay-offer who is going through a saving mood.

THis is me as well. The only debt we have are my student loans but I'm in no huge hurry to have them paid off because I would rather invest in retirement and savings. plus the interest is only 2.85

lifeonthehill · February 2014

Thanks for responding everyone. It is good to get fresh perspective on things that isn't my own.

H claims the savings is enough and wants to pay of the debt before TTC. Then while TTC and pregnancy saving more for baby and any medical bills. He also wants to start saving for a new to us car that we will need in 2 or 3 years. Also he threw in wanting a vacation next March.

After listening to him rattle off this list I have a feeling he is just overwhelmed with everything he wants us to be able to do. Completely understandable. We are going to pay of the remainder of this SL and revisit our plan in April. See if we could be working to multiple areas of his list at a time to ease his worry. Maybe save for a car and vacation while still putting a good amount to student loans.

vlagrl29 · February 2014

alyssa32713 said:

Thanks for responding everyone. It is good to get fresh perspective on things that isn't my own.
H claims the savings is enough and wants to pay of the debt before TTC. Then while TTC and pregnancy saving more for baby and any medical bills. He also wants to start saving for a new to us car that we will need in 2 or 3 years. Also he threw in wanting a vacation next March.
After listening to him rattle off this list I have a feeling he is just overwhelmed with everything he wants us to be able to do. Completely understandable. We are going to pay of the remainder of this SL and revisit our plan in April. See if we could be working to multiple areas of his list at a time to ease his worry. Maybe save for a car and vacation while still putting a good amount to student loans.

compromise is good

You want him to feel he is getting his stuff too. I highly recommend a vacation before you get pregnant, while TTC. You won't go on another one for a while and I was very sick when I was pregnant and didn't feel like leaving our city for quite some times.

cbee817 · February 2014

vlagrl29 said:

alyssa32713 said:

Thanks for responding everyone. It is good to get fresh perspective on things that isn't my own.

H claims the savings is enough and wants to pay of the debt before TTC. Then while TTC and pregnancy saving more for baby and any medical bills. He also wants to start saving for a new to us car that we will need in 2 or 3 years. Also he threw in wanting a vacation next March.

After listening to him rattle off this list I have a feeling he is just overwhelmed with everything he wants us to be able to do. Completely understandable. We are going to pay of the remainder of this SL and revisit our plan in April. See if we could be working to multiple areas of his list at a time to ease his worry. Maybe save for a car and vacation while still putting a good amount to student loans.
compromise is good You want him to feel he is getting his stuff too. I highly recommend a vacation before you get pregnant, while TTC. You won't go on another one for a while and I was very sick when I was pregnant and didn't feel like leaving our city for quite some times.

This! Go on a great trip- as another momma, you won't be going anywhere for a while and when you do, it'll probably be Disney World (not that Disney isn't great, but you know...)

vlagrl29 · February 2014

we went on 3 in one year.....hawaii (honeymoon), atlanta (so i could get some closure where my first H was buried), and destin/nola.

Wulfgar · February 2014

It sounds like he is just adjusting to all of the changes in his life. I know that I have troubles every now and again with balancing student loans and life. Sounds like by talking with him you found out what is bother him.

hoffse · February 2014

Sounds like you guys are working this out.

Travel doesn't have to be terribly expensive if you do it right. I'm a bit of a travel nut, and I subscribe to a bunch of different websites to help me cut costs so we can go places more often. Our trip to London is going to end up costing about $5500 from start to finish... but keep in mind we picked a country where the exchange rate is 1 pound to $1.62. And we are going for 11 days during high season. That $5500 estimate includes our flights and hotels, train tickets for day trips, entry tickets to various attractions, and a food estimate. Even the most expensive city in the world can be done on the budget. It just takes a bit of planning and research.

If we were really counting our pennies, we would have gone to a place like Budapest or Istanbul where the dollar is strong (think places outside of the Eurozone). We would have gone outside of high season (generally late May through August). And we would have stayed slightly outside of the tourist areas, but still centrally located to public transportation.

We also might have done one of the pre-packaged trips if we didn't have very specific things we wanted to see. You can get 7-9 day packages to Ireland for about $1500/person, which includes your flights, hotel, and car rental.

Let me know if you would like some links to budget travel sites. They've saved us a small fortune.