iwashmycar Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 (edited) My wife and I have a total of 4 student loans. We each have a 'federal' one and a 'private' one. Paying over $1200 / month. Woof. Mine are not really a problem. I'm about 10 years in now. My federal one has about $5K to go and done. Then another 30 or so privately held to be paid in the next 10 years-ish. Yay. My wife on the other hand has a lot of federal, but is on track for the Public Service loan forgiveness...but we still have probably 7 years of decently high payments while still trying to pay as little as possible....so it technically keeps rising in the meantime. Her private loan is rising by about a hundred bucks / month next month too. Is there anywhere that people talk to, to try and figure out a best course of action? Having 4 loans with 4 lenders is difficult. All the net sites say "Don't pay for student loan help", when they only offer help on THIER actual loan. I just have a feeling I should reach out and either verify I'm doing it right, or take a better path...consolidation, lower interest ect. All might be well, but I don't want to be throwing money away each month and not knowing. Edited January 20, 2018 by iwashmycar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCode04 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 You can go to your federal student loan servicer website and it will go over all of the payment management options. Unfortunately, both of the extended repayment plans require you to have over $30,000 in student loans so that probably is not an option for your loans. If your wife has $30k+ she can get into the extended repayment. This would allow her to pay the smallest payment while accruing the required 120 months of on-time payments to be eligible for loan credits based on her employment. For the private loans, you are probably screwed other than getting a home equity loan or 401k loan to pay them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limitedslip7 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 I used Lendkey to consolidate my federal and private student loans. Went from 4.5-6.5% down to about 2.5% at the start, which crept up to around 3.5% (variable rate). I ended up paying them all off last year though, so I'm not sure what the interest rate would be right now. I tried other consolidation services like Sofi, but either my degree wasn't good enough (BS in mech eng), my school wasn't on their list (UC), or the interest rate was too high. I did have to open a checking account at the Ag Fed credit union and keep a minimum balance of $5 but it was very easy and fast to consolidate with them. Much easier to deal with than the dickheads over at Sallie Mae or whatever they call themselves nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted January 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 You can go to your federal student loan servicer website and it will go over all of the payment management options. Unfortunately, both of the extended repayment plans require you to have over $30,000 in student loans so that probably is not an option for your loans. If your wife has $30k+ she can get into the extended repayment. This would allow her to pay the smallest payment while accruing the required 120 months of on-time payments to be eligible for loan credits based on her employment. For the private loans, you are probably screwed other than getting a home equity loan or 401k loan to pay them off. She has about 60, so that may work. If we could extend it to make lower payments, so long as that is ok by PSLF standards, that does sound like a great move. I think her private one is just under 20...so not the end of the world...just an extra car payment lol. However, if I can lower the other substantially, I can maybe just put it towards the private one...knock it out quicker. Her loans are all on average 6.7%ish, so if I could get that lower it'd be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 My wife has $180k of student loan debt, does that make us experts? From what I understand, she can do any of the income based repayment plans and still qualify for PLSF. I recommend REPAYE, as the .gov eats half of any unpaid interest.... edit: I guess that them eating the interest doesn't matter as PLSF forgiveness isn't taxable income like the other ones are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted January 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Looks like maybe consolidating or refinancing both our private loans would be smart if I can get 3.5% or the like. Considering I have 30 @ 4.5% and her 20 is 6.8% Not sure if its better to combine them or not.. Not sure how spousal student loans work, if its even doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BStowers023 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 The military actually paid off for me. I can't imagine paying that off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 The military actually paid off for me. I can't imagine paying that off Yeah, it sucks balls. I've been paying $560 a month since I was 21 (I turn 28 on Sunday). 3 years left... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeesammy Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Go to college to earn more Lose it all paying student loan debt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Looks like maybe consolidating or refinancing both our private loans would be smart if I can get 3.5% or the like. Considering I have 30 @ 4.5% and her 20 is 6.8% Not sure if its better to combine them or not.. Not sure how spousal student loans work, if its even doable. If she took out the loans before you were married and you didn't cosign, the federal ones are solely each individual's responsibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Go to college to earn more Lose it all paying student loan debt It sucks. 8 years of school and $180k of debt to make $80k. And people wonder why veterinarians have a high suicide rate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 It sucks. 8 years of school and $180k of debt to make $80k. And people wonder why veterinarians have a high suicide rate I thought that was veterans. For real, veterinarians have a high suicide rate? I would have never guessed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 I thought that was veterans. For real, veterinarians have a high suicide rate? I would have never guessed that. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4266064/ 4x that of the general population. 1 in 6 veterinarians have seriously contemplated suicide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted January 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 If she took out the loans before you were married and you didn't cosign, the federal ones are solely each individual's responsibility. I believe that was the case so good info there Federal ones would stay separate even given the chance lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKilbourne Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 Go to college to earn more Lose it all paying student loan debt What about the other 20+ years of working after paying them off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 What about the other 20+ years of working after paying them off? My wife's 10 year repayment would be $2400 per month. Yeah no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKilbourne Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 Nothing like taking out a mortgage to go to college. Good thing those of us that pay can cover those who cant....Or don't repay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
street pilot Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 I consolidated my private loans with SoFi but there are other options too, like DRB. (If you go with SoFi use a referral link, free money is free money). Run away from Sallie Mae / Navient or anything else with a variable interest rate. You did not say why her payments are rising or if either of you are still in school. I'd recommend getting them refinanced to a fixed interest rate, then plug each loan into a calculator to see which is costing you the most. Pay at least the minimum on all but put any extra money on the loan that is costing you the most in interest. Generally federal loans give you more flexible repayment options if you meet certain income requirements, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Got-Boost? Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 I have heard of people refinancing through SoFi but there aren't as many benefits? Maybe you can't write off the interest or something so, something to keep in mind. Yeah, it sucks balls. I've been paying $560 a month since I was 21 (I turn 28 on Sunday). 3 years left... Holy Shit, I can't imagine paying that much every year for for a decade on something I don't live in. Probably one of the only intelligent decisions I made in my early twenties was to not take out a shit load of loans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted January 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 I consolidated my private loans with SoFi but there are other options too, like DRB. (If you go with SoFi use a referral link, free money is free money). Run away from Sallie Mae / Navient or anything else with a variable interest rate. You did not say why her payments are rising or if either of you are still in school. I'd recommend getting them refinanced to a fixed interest rate, then plug each loan into a calculator to see which is costing you the most. Pay at least the minimum on all but put any extra money on the loan that is costing you the most in interest. Generally federal loans give you more flexible repayment options if you meet certain income requirements, etc. I’ll look into SoFi. All the federal ones are no issue as far as refinancing goes. Hers are PSLF and mine are almost gone. I just need to see if both our private loans can get better fixed rates and/or if they can be combined or not. Not sure if there is an advantage to combining if both can get same rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 Go to college to earn more Lose it all paying student loan debt Dumb statement is dumb. Can you make great money not going to college? Hell yeah, lots of my friends do. However, I wouldn't have NEARLY the life I do today without college. Not just financially, but just quality of life. I sit in a temperature controlled office all day, using my fingers and my brain to earn money. Most jobs without a degree (read: not all) that earn high dollars are physically exhausting and you can't do them for 40 years. Honestly, the $560 a month sucks balls, but it'll pay itself off over and over and over again. 80k for a Vet? No offense, but isn't that relatively low for that field? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRocket1647545505 Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 80k for a Vet? No offense, but isn't that relatively low for that field? Not really. Vets don't get paid shit, especially for the amount of schooling they have to put in. You'd have to do it because you love animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 80k for a Vet? No offense, but isn't that relatively low for that field? Nope. Extremely high overhead for a practice, xray machines, lab equipment, surgical lamps, etc. Very little pet insurance meaning most people pay out of pocket so margins aren't very high. Hitting low $100's is usually career tops for most General Practitioners. Orthopedic Surgeons can get up into the low $200's, but that would be like the surgeons at MedVet. The vets that most people see that make them think that vets make bank are the older ones who had little to no debt coming out of school and have made the stagnant $80-$100k for the last 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
street pilot Posted January 18, 2018 Report Share Posted January 18, 2018 I’ll look into SoFi. All the federal ones are no issue as far as refinancing goes. Hers are PSLF and mine are almost gone. I just need to see if both our private loans can get better fixed rates and/or if they can be combined or not. Not sure if there is an advantage to combining if both can get same rate. One reason to combine might be a better interest rate if one person has poor credit. A reason not to combine might be if you file taxes separately and itemize. Personally I like fixed interest rates - if you have extra money you can always contribute more to the principal. With a variable rate you will probably get a lower rate initially, but with rates at historic lows and recent upward movement, I think they will only increase in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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