How much can you afford in student loan debt?

[Grier]

Hi everyone! I'm starting school for my BSN this fall and will have $22,000 in debt once I graduate. I'm guessing that my payments will be ~250/month for a 10 year plan or

[Sour Lemon]

Hi everyone! I'm starting school for my BSN this fall and will have $22,000 in debt once I graduate. I'm guessing that my payments will be ~250/month for a 10 year plan or

That depends on how much you'll be making and what other debt you have.

[Luckyyou, BSN, RN]

I paid off about 28k in around 4 years. Bought a house during the same time. Yes, it involved a lot of overtime.

[ThatBigGuy]

A good rule of thumb is to only take out student loans equal to what you would reasonably expect to earn in your first year as an RN. If you expect to make $50,000 in your first year, then limit your student loans to that amount.

Your $22,000 estimate is absolutely affordable. Your monthly payments are just fine. Pay the minimums for the first few months until you get a firm idea of what your budget looks like, then start increasing your payment as your budget allows. If you stick with it, you'll easily have it paid off in 5 years!

You are in a great position to afford your student loans and be able to afford other things as well. Congrats on going to a program that offers an affordable education.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

22k is reasonable especially if you work a bit of OT to knock it out sooner. You could wipe out the debt in as little as a year if you wanted.

[llg, PhD, RN]

As a previous poster stated, many financial experts recommend that your total loans not be more than your salary will be in your first year of employment. However, that assumes that you do not have other debts, that you don't take on additional debt until you have most of that paid off. It also assumes that you are going to work full time until you have it paid off.

So ... if you follow those caveats about not adding to your debts, etc. then the $22K should be OK.

Unfortunately, a lot of people plan on working full time, etc. ... but then they get married and want to have a baby, want a nicer car, want to won a house, want a great vacation, want to go back to school in 1 or 2 years, etc. ... and that's how the big debts start piling up.

But if you really stick with your plan (unlike those people who don't), you should be fine.

[raindrops1234]

I think you should be fine. My student debt load is double your amount and I am not too worried (as school is a good investment). I sold my car and am resorting to public transportation in order to double my payments so that I can hopefully pay them off in 5-6 years. Goodluck! :)

[Cat365]

That amount is totally reasonable. A couple of things. Take the standard 10 year plan for repayment. You can always pay extra. Build up a bit of cash reserve before you start paying extra. It doesn't do you any good to have only $11,000 in loans if you loose your job/ have to take a leave etc and can't pay your bills. Don't go through private loan companies. Federal student loans have more protections built in and their terms are clear and fair. Also, remember that student loan interest is usually low and tax deductible so having a reasonable amount isn't all bad. Worry about other debt first.

Ps my current payment for about the same amount is just over 200 a month.

[Apple-Core, ASN, BSN, RN]

I agree with the above post: pay yourself first in terms of building a cash reserve, while paying the minimum loan repayments. Get a feel for what you can comfortably afford. Once you have 6 months (minimum) money saved up "just in case", then use that same amount to pay down your loan faster.

Obviously your repayments will be based on what your personal, and unique, financial situation is. If you are debt free other than the student loan, and land a great paying job, then you could be paid off in a year or two. If you have other commitments, then that is likely to be a different story.

Either way, I consider student debt as "good debt" because it has propelled your future.