Loans?

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2015

I honestly would stay away from student loans, I currently have about 30k in private and 30k in federal and honestly it was one of the worst things I have done. I am currently paying 800 dollars a month in payments.

Have you thought about dropping down to half-time/part-time at school. I would look at other options before taking on loans.

roser13, ASN, RN · Oct 21, 2015

I am getting my BSN, and I'm finding that I'm having a REALLY hard time working as much as I do as well as doing school full time. I've decided to look into private student loans for living expenses. It seems really overwhelming, though and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for me? I don't plan on taking out more than I have to, but I'm working as a caregiver so I'm not making a lot. I need $2,500 a month; and right now I work about 50 hours a week to make that happen. That, plus full time school, plus being married I'm stretched way too thin. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm in Washington state, I don't know if that matters. Where did you get your private loans? How much did you take out? Tips?
I'm going to be an advanced practice nurse, so I've already planned on paying down a lot of debt from school after this is all over, but if I don't pass my classes because I have to work too much to do the school work I'm going to be a poor CNA forever. Thanks in advance!

You won't be going straight from CNA to advanced practice nurse. Give some consideration to the in-between times when you are working as an LPN/RN, gaining nursing experience to earn your advanced degree, all the while responsible for loan payments. Do whatever you can to avoid mortgaging your future.

sassboots · Oct 21, 2015

Loans are my only option right now. I don't have any wiggle room in my finances, if I cut down on the hours I work (which I'm going to have to do or end up completely loony toons), then I'm going to have to take out loans to cover what I'd be losing in income. I'm not going into this lightly, I know that if I get loans I'm going to have to make big payments on them. Even if I have to pay $1,000 a month on my loans, I'll still be ahead of where I am now. Who did you go through to get your loans?

roser13, ASN, RN · Oct 21, 2015

Loans are my only option right now. I don't have any wiggle room in my finances, if I cut down on the hours I work (which I'm going to have to do or end up completely loony toons), then I'm going to have to take out loans to cover what I'd be losing in income. I'm not going into this lightly, I know that if I get loans I'm going to have to make big payments on them. Even if I have to pay $1,000 a month on my loans, I'll still be ahead of where I am now. Who did you go through to get your loans?

I didn't take out loans. I worked throughout. Nursing jobs (despite the common misconception) are not easy to come by. Loan repayment is a certainty. A job to pay the loans is not.

WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 21, 2015

I've avoided private loans like the plague. I only took out federal loans, and my parents are helping me pay the remaining 1500/semester they didn't cover, and my grandparents are paying for my books each semester as a Christmas gift.

ThatBigGuy · Oct 22, 2015

We can help you if you give us a little more information. You need $2500 a month for living expenses, which you are currently earning as a caregiver (at 50 hours a week). You want to quit in order to focus on school, so you want to take out student loans to cover that loss of income, correct?

How many more months do you have to finish your BSN? Graduating this coming May would be 7 months, or about $17,500. A December '16 grad date equals $35,000. If you haven't pulled out any student loans for your actual tuition, these numbers are not terrible numbers. A good rule of thumb is to only take out student loans equal to the amount of salary you would reasonably expect to earn in your first year of employment.

A $35,000 loan will result in a $310 monthly payment. The problem is the interest. Over the average loan payment schedule of 15 years, at a rate of 8%, you'll pay a total of $60,000. That means you'll spend an extra $25,000 on interest.

Of course, once you become an RN, you'll be making more money than your caregiver job. The average Washington RN makes $75,000 a year, but as a new grad let's call it $65,000. Subtracting the $2500 a month living expenses times 12 months ($30,000) leaves you with $35,000 surplus in your first 12 months of work. If you wanted, you could flat out assassinate your loans and have them paid off in one year. Instead of paying $25,000 in interest, you'll pay $1500.

The problem is that almost no one does this. People tend to increase their lifestyle dramatically when they double their income. The threat here is that becoming an Advanced Practice Nurse requires several more years, during which any number of things can happen that will leave you short of becoming an APN and earning the resulting salary.

Of course, if you're already taking out loans for tuition, then adding more loans will quickly become untenable. All these numbers I've given are just educated guesses, so plug in your numbers and see what it looks like. Or you can give us a few more specifics and we can work it out with your numbers.

If I were in your shoes, I'd really take a microscope to my budget and spending habits. I'd cut my living expenses to a point where I only needed to work like 30 hours a week. Getting that 20 hours a week back would probably solve your time problem, and pinching pennies for a few months won't be nearly as painful as paying on student loans until 2030.