How hard to pay off 50k debt on a nurses salary?

missladyrn · Apr 30, 2013

There are way too many other factors for any of us to answer that question. You need to sit down and make a budget. Your rent, groceries, gas, bill, and other life expenses. 600 a month is a lot.

RNperdiem, RN · Apr 30, 2013

Lots of variables to consider. For example, if you have 1 or 2 kids, a wife that works full-time in a high paying job and you have family nearby who will do all your childcare for free then you are in a better position than many.

In some parts on NC, $600/month is rent money. The cost of living is going to vary depending on where you want to live and work.

douxmusique · Apr 30, 2013

It really does depend on where you're living and what your arrangements are. For my situation my income will be completely supplemental and nothing will depend on it for the first year aside from my student loans, so for my personal situation i will be ok.

But yeah, $600 a month is going to be very hard with a family/kid and paying rent and car notes and everything. Don't have kids for awhile I guess, at least until you can pay off as much of your loans as possible :-) that's my take and I've got three of them. So I know how much it ends up costing.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2013

We have a rule against giving legal advice here. Perhaps there should be another one that says, "Call an accountant" for things like this. :)

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 30, 2013

$600 a month could be manageable...if it's your only debt. But if it's just one of a few credit cards, loans, mortgages, car payments, etc., then it could be tough. As others have said, there's too many other variables at play here, that none of us can give you a definite answer.

I second GrnTea's advice about talking to an accountant to work out some financial scenarios and a budget. It couldn't hurt.

Or if you want to do it on the cheap, you could do what I did: get a copy of Quicken and take charge of your finances. You'd be surprised how far a little organization about your money can take you.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2013

My husband has student loan payments that are $600/month, and he was paying that much before we got married. My husband bring in around 2k a month so about one week's pay goes toward student loans. It is easier to make the payments with two incomes though, as when my husband had just one income he really wasn't saving anything

MrChicagoRN, RN · May 1, 2013

My payments will be around $600/month, for 10 years, if I choose the route I'm taking. I'm in NC where starting pay is usually around $24. If I happen to have at least one kid in the future, do you think it would be considerable hard to pay off this debt and a lot of stress? Or would you guys find this manageable and wouldn't hurt much?

There's always the chance you may not find a job right away. That's about 14.4% of your gross salary. Are you sure you can handle that much, and establish an emergency fund?

Interest is the same APR regardless of length of loan. You could always take a longer loan, then start paying $600 anyways. If it gets to be too much, you can then just cut back to the required amount.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · May 1, 2013

Just curious: is this an ADN or a BSN? If it is for an ADN, do you plan on getting the BSN?

Since I live in a much more expensive part of the country, my comparison may not be valid. But I make a lot more than $24/ hr, and I could never handle $600/month. I also have a teenager, and my rent is probably way more than yours.

Just do some basic math: what will you take home per month, what might rent/mortgage be (if you are not living on your own) and what are your travel expenses? These are your MUST haves. Then include all the things we all think we must have (cable, cell phone, Starbucks ). Oh yeah, I forgot food!

KelRN215, BSN, RN · May 1, 2013

When I started paying off my student loans, my payments were around $800/month. I graduated with over $90K in debt and currently have just under $45K to pay off. Within four years, I was able to pay off all my nursing loans and federal stafford loans, pay relatively high ($950-$975) monthly rent and save for a down payment for my house.

Whether or not YOU can do it obviously depends on a lot of things but it's not impossible if you're smart with your money.

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · May 1, 2013

I think that's a lot to be paying, but regardless it's what you owe. I think this will delay certain life goals: kids, house, travel, etc. It's crazy what an education can cost.

joanna73, BSN, RN · May 1, 2013

As others mentioned, your debt repayment depends on cost of living and how carefully you budget.

However, you would be wise to pay as much as you can and live cheap until the loans are paid. Interest hurts. My 36k loan was paid in less than 3 years. I have no children, and I was paying an average of 1600 per month to my loan in order to be rid of them. However, I made well above the average nurses salary as a new grad, so the 1600 a month was feasible.

With 24/hr though, you could pay off 50k within 4.5 years if you budget well.