New RN w/$99k debt - Pay Off Plan

Nurses General Nursing

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FYI - seems like good advice; agree or disagree? anything left out one should consider?

Financial planner Deborah Levenson designed a three-part plan that would help newly licensed registered nurse Amanda Johnson pay off her $99,000 school-loan debt more quickly while still having enough money to build an emergency fund and save for retirement.

http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2010/04/25/three_part_strategy_should_ease_nurses_student_loan_debt/

I think I'll stick with my $4500 Community College ADN

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With that huge debt, i dont think i'll be walking to a car dealership and asking for a brand new car. That is just plain stupid. And since most of us are struggling old/new grads who couldn't find a job in our respective states, how did she get a job so quickly???? I'm really bothered when I hear, NURSES ARE ON DEMAND.... please. I'm still a little skeptical about this article.

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I'm going to have debt like that by the time I finish college and my ABSN. I'm not planning on buying a new car right after I graduate, and I'm also hoping I land a job in or around NYC (where I come from), and I can realistically pay off my debt in 5 years or so.

It's a strict budget and serious planning; I'll be sacrificing a LOT, and I know that life sometimes throws you curve-balls, but it's doable.

If I can't get a job in NY as planned... it's off to the Army I go. :) (IF anyone's interested, read about what they have to offer, it's fantastic, and you'll be helping our nation's finest.)

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Specializes in Rehab, Telemetry/Med-Surg.

If I had accumulated that much debt in student loans, I certainly wouldn't buy a brand new car. How very irresponsible of her. :uhoh3: I agree with lovelylpn, I'm not sure if this plan can work with a new grad salary. If she is getting paid that much money to be able to afford this plan, then I would LOVE to get hired at the facility she is working at!

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
If she is getting paid that much money to be able to afford this plan, then I would LOVE to get hired at the facility she is working at!

She may be getting what seems like a lot of pay (I think that article said 50k a year or so), but remember that she's also living in the Northeast, where in most areas the cost of living is very high--a lot of that paycheck will be eaten up on basic living expenses such as rent, utilities, transportation etc.

If she manages to follow this "financial plan," she may take care of her debt, but I also foresee a lot of staying home and macaroni-and-cheese-dinner nights in her future because she's not going to have a lot of money left over each paycheck to do much else.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I went to a private college (very expensive) in CT and have nowhere near that amount of student loans. Although very well possible in her case. I still think these must be combined with maybe a previous degree and nursing could very well be her second degree? That or she failed and re-took MANY classes.............confused

Or she also took out loans for living expenses so she could "focus on school". :rolleyes:

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If I had accumulated that much debt in student loans, I certainly wouldn't buy a brand new car. How very irresponsible of her. :uhoh3: I agree with lovelylpn, I'm not sure if this plan can work with a new grad salary. If she is getting paid that much money to be able to afford this plan, then I would LOVE to get hired at the facility she is working at!

Ditto. And as for the similar students in a similar situationhow could such a plan be viable without jobs to begin with considering the job market. There very minimal jobs for new grads to begin with. She is lucky that she even has a job to start paying off those loans. And it was a tad irresponsible to get that car...

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Specializes in L&D, QI, Public Health.

Geez, lots of negativity on this thread. If the lady met with a financial planner and she thinks it's doable, then it might be....doable.

Perhaps some of the Negative Nellys should invest in a personal financial planner and figure out a way to pay their loan instead of stating how impossible it is. You shouldn't be comparing your situation to this woman anyway. Everybody is different. This lady could be living in a shack with her boyfriend for all we know or she's living in a nice place and her boyfriend is footing the bill. Who knows? She has no kids and if she's disciplined she can do it.

Nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it.

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Yeah, I know some girls that racked up that much debt. But then they move home with mom and dad so they don't have all the living expenses that others do. And some new grads that are living very frugally, and muddling their way through.

I also know a girl that had her entire way through private school paid for by mom and dad (including living expenses), and just can't understand why it's so hard for some people to make ends meet.

If it works for her, great. If not, well, good luck to her.

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Why didn't the article tell what "government program" will help pay off the student loans? That would have been really helpful.

I would imagine it is either this program: http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/

or this one: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/student-loan-forgiveness-407806.html

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This article scares the heck out of me. I could be in her position in about 16 months...only I doubt I'd have a job with take home pay of $51,000. I'm scheduled to start an out-of-state accelerated BSN program in a couple of weeks and can't figure out the time vs. money debate in my mind. Much like this girl, I bought a brand-new car and unlike her my debt is distributed between my car loan, credit cards, and student loans (average of 10K in each category...with interest rates of up to 16.99%). Also, unlike her, I'm likely to graduate and be without a nursing job.

Maybe seeing this article now (and the panicky feeling in my chest that grew as I read it) are signs I shouldn't go! HELP!!! :eek:

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
This article scares the heck out of me. I could be in her position in about 16 months...only I doubt I'd have a job with take home pay of $51,000. I'm scheduled to start an out-of-state accelerated BSN program in a couple of weeks and can't figure out the time vs. money debate in my mind. Much like this girl, I bought a brand-new car and unlike her my debt is distributed between my car loan, credit cards, and student loans (average of 10K in each category...with interest rates of up to 16.99%). Also, unlike her, I'm likely to graduate and be without a nursing job.

Maybe seeing this article now (and the panicky feeling in my chest that grew as I read it) are signs I shouldn't go! HELP!!! :eek:

Here are my :twocents:. If I were you, I would not abandon the dream of being a nurse but I definitely would not continue on with this plan as it stands. Everyone's situation is different but my approach would be to continue working in my current field while taking whatever classes I could, if any, and pay down my debt. Even though it seems like a round about way I don't understand what would be so bad about going to a community college for your ADN, which only cost me about $8,000. So what if you could get your BSN in the same time? University tuition is way more expensive and in my area that BSN only gets an extra $1 an hour. :( No way would I stop working to "focus on school", as an adult I was not willing to take a couple of years without any income and figured I would have lost over $100,000 worth of income during the time I was in school if I hadn't worked. Definitely continue on but perhaps it is going to require crazy hours, take longer and require a few sacrifices. Best of luck with whatever you decide!

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