Paying off nursing school debt

[acj108]

Does anyone know what can be done to pay nursing school debt?

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Spend much less that you earn and send $$ to your loan every month. Get a second job and devote 100% of those earnings to the debt.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

The obvious answer is to make more than the minimum payment so the balance is paid off quicker and you get charged less interest.

But something tells me you may be looking for alternatives, like loan forgiveness programs?

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Live simply.

Drive an old car.

No vacations.

Overtime - take all you can get.

There are no magic pay-it-off fairies. Every loan repayment plan I know of has significant ramifications: 10 year work commitment, etc.

[RunnerRN2015, ASN, RN]

My school is part of a hospital system and offers a loan forgiveness program if you work for them after graduation. I graduated in Dec 2014. I'll have $10,000 forgiven in another couple of months and have about $3000 left on student loans. I paid about $3000 in cash as well.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

My school is part of a hospital system and offers a loan forgiveness program if you work for them after graduation. I graduated in Dec 2014. I'll have $10,000 forgiven in another couple of months and have about $3000 left on student loans. I paid about $3000 in cash as well.

Did you have to have gone to that specific school in order to be a part of the loan forgiveness program at your hospital?

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

Does anyone know what can be done to pay nursing school debt?

how much you owe?

[RunnerRN2015, ASN, RN]

Did you have to have gone to that specific school in order to be a part of the loan forgiveness program at your hospital?

The hospital system has 2 schools associated with it; both schools offer loan forgiveness. They have multiple hospitals and doctors offices; most, if not all, graduates are hired before graduation or very so after.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I know a nurse who refuses to work overtime. She owes 45k in student loans and she will end up paying over 90k thanks to interest and dragging her loans out for twenty years.

Don't be her. Pick up a 12-hour shift per week or every other week and knock it out in a couple of years. Don't throw your money away to interest.

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Work A lot and spend less, that is what I did. Took 18 long years, but I am loan free, and took out zero loans for my RN-BSN! I worked like 80 hours a week though as a medic to do it because it cost 12 grand!

Annie

[BSN16]

i just plan on being in debt forever

[chacha82, ADN, BSN]

I actually enjoy money posts because I made a few really bad fiscal choices and had to spend years getting things right.

The first thing is to keep track of your spending, all of it. The time you grabbed an Uber? The snacks picked up at the gas station? Write all of it down. Stop using your credit card. There cannot be any unaccountable expenses or cash flow. If you like your housing and can stay, stay. If you're ambivalent and would be OK with a roommate, get a roommate to save money. If you're trying to pay off debt there are a few rules of thumb:

1) you don't go out several nights a week or buy a new car if you have school debt

2) you don't do a splashy vacation or buy clothes several times a month if you have school debt

3) you don't buy a brand new phone, sunglasses, etc....

You have to eliminate all extra spending and zero in on the debt. Once you get it to a managable chunk you can resume "extras." This was the hardest lesson for me. At the same time you have to build a decent savings account to cushion you in an emergency.

1) Put part of you paycheck away each month, even if it's only $50.

2) Pick up an extra shift every now and then and put that money totally into savings.

3) Start a retirement account NOW through your work or you can start your own with a company like Vanguard.