Give me some advice on how to manage 180K student loan debt

Originally Posted by daonlydann

Great great advice everyone. Thank you. I'm very surprised by what a car forum has to offer!

I heard that when you make a payment, you can always pay more than the minimum and it will be applied to the principal if you indicate so.

Soon I will be asking advice on my to budget! Boglehead is a great site thanks.

Well, you're in a knowledgeable sub-forum. not general OT

On my grad loans, I have the option of paying down principal or applying it to future payments. I paid a few hundred extra on each loan for the future to make sure I wouldn't incur any fees, but now all extra payments reduce principal.

Although in theory, either choice pays off the loan for the same amount.

This kinda scares me since I was planning on going to college to become a pharmacist, the work in chemistry would probably prove difficult enough. Finishing school, not having a job, & owing 100k+ in student loans is never a good thing.

I would pay the variable rate loans first, at your age/profession you should be able to set up auto payments with your bank- start with 2,000/month-3,000/month towards your loans. If you make 100k/year, this should be doable. Get a roommate for the next 5 years if you can, split the bills in half and eat meals at home, instead of going out. Good luck on the job search!! Glad my profession is in very high demand, I have never had to think too hard about finding work-even in hard times people need oil and gas-recession proof.

I came out of dental school with 300k in student loans. I had 70k in grad plus which I chose to pay off quickly. I have paid off about half, while still saving a few thousand a month. I have 40k in private and 190kish in federal loans which I consolidated at 5 percent. In the next couple of years I should have my grad plus paid off. The federal loans I am paying back over 20 years. Once interest rates start rising I will cut a check for my private loans. My loan payments are around 3500 a month =( Definitely save as much as you can and also invest your money. I try to use 20-25 percent of my income to pay back student loans, 25-30 percent for savings/investments and the rest for living expenses.

Originally Posted by learthworml

I came out of dental school with 300k in student loans. I had 70k in grad plus which I chose to pay off quickly. I have paid off about half, while still saving a few thousand a month. I have 40k in private and 190kish in federal loans which I consolidated at 5 percent. In the next couple of years I should have my grad plus paid off. The federal loans I am paying back over 20 years. Once interest rates start rising I will cut a check for my private loans. My loan payments are around 3500 a month =( Definitely save as much as you can and also invest your money. I try to use 20-25 percent of my income to pay back student loans, 25-30 percent for savings/investments and the rest for living expenses.

So your investments are generating reliable returns above 5%?

Originally Posted by rohde88

So your investments are generating reliable returns above 5%?

Yea, reliable for me. I bought a lot of gold, silver and commodity futures over the past couple of years. Luckily overall I have probably made over 100 percent return in my cash trading accounts and 25 percent in my retirement accounts. I know this isn't normal and that is why I am paying back my high interest loans at a higher rate along with saving cash. I am looking into investing in rental property in the near future also. I think it is good to diversify and not dump everything into student loans, especially with how inflation is looking.

Originally Posted by learthworml

Yea, reliable for me. I bought a lot of gold, silver and commodity futures over the past couple of years. Luckily overall I have probably made over 100 percent return in my cash trading accounts and 25 percent in my retirement accounts. I know this isn't normal and that is why I am paying back my high interest loans at a higher rate along with saving cash. I am looking into investing in rental property in the near future also. I think it is good to diversify and not dump everything into student loans, especially with how inflation is looking.

Sounds good to me. You could consider dumping some gold, locking in that return and paying down the loan. Or wait until gold starts to slide (which might take a year)

Originally Posted by rohde88

Sounds good to me. You could consider dumping some gold, locking in that return and paying down the loan. Or wait until gold starts to slide (which might take a year)

Definitely. I sold some gold last time it hit 1800. I will probably sell another chunk this weekend and get rid of some more of my grad plus loan. I think there will be another margin hike and gold will retrace a little. If it goes down to 1600's, I will buy some more.

Originally Posted by dude what

This kinda scares me since I was planning on going to college to become a pharmacist, the work in chemistry would probably prove difficult enough. Finishing school, not having a job, & owing 100k+ in student loans is never a good thing.

Pharmacy isn't a bad field. Good benefits and pay. I have a few friends that are pharmacists and they do just fine. It is tough for the first 5 years or so, but once you get a good chunk of your loans paid off you will be set.