Student loan taking forever to pay off...

[Brian, ASN, RN]

How many are currently paying on their student loans? Do you feel like it's taking forever to pay off?

LOL, I'm sure many of you agree with the cartoon.

Please feel free share any tips on how to pay student loans quickly.

[holli_80_73]

I have been paying mine for 7 years now. I borrowed a total of 25,000 for my bachelors and masters..so that was not a huge amount...BUT...I can tell you that after 7 years of 400 a month..I still owe 23,000

so I have paid in 25,000 and still owe 23,000

Student loans are no fun and if you can't double/triple the payment...you will take their estimated 15-30 years to pay it off...see when I called in to find out why my balance wasn't going anywhere despite thousands sent in..about 3 years ago..they said you must first pay the interest on 15 years then you can start on the principle--so...sigh....

[whichone'spink, BSN, RN]

Student loans are far worse than mortgages. No wonder young people in the Occupy movement are angry. They're in chains for the rest of their lives. Even knocking down the principle with a big payment saved up will not do much.

[caliotter3]

My daughter graduated from nursing school in 2004 and is still paying student loans. She isn't even working as a nurse!

[holli_80_73]

Quote

Student loans are far worse than mortgages. No wonder young people in the Occupy movement are angry. They're in chains for the rest of their lives. Even knocking down the principle with a big payment saved up will not do much.

Add to this the difficulty in finding work and the penalties of having no credit and it is a nightmare---I feel that student loans are a bit unfair in the way they do the interest up front thing...I mean I had no help from parents that were more than capable of paying my tuition but didn't. I didn't qualify for any help because of how much my father made (I was on his taxes and my sister on my mothers as they were divorced) I was even denied work study! I had to borrow it because I couldn't work and pay for all of it. Our school didn't have payment plans like they do now. You either paid every dollar or didn't go. People made it seem like it would be nothing to pay back a loan..they said that you will make a lot of money and it will be like a car payment ..you can finish in 5 years...max

hahahahaha ... I only borrowed what I had to and nothing extra for clothes or anything ..I worked part time with as many hours as I could handle to pay for that. I only borrowed tuition --when I came out I did try to pay double..but when you make 2,000 a month and your rent is 800, loan 400 ..car 300...other expenses etc...it is very hard to make double payments on anything!

This is a losing battle without reform. What is worse..I taught 5 years in a Title 1 (very low income school) and applied for the 5,000 credit to my student loans as I taught a critical need subject in a critical need location---and they denied my application for it because I didn't send in my transcript and it was no where on the check list that included your certificate, a notarized document from the superintendent of education stating you worked 5 years..what you did..and a statement of highly qualified status from the dept of education. I sent in the transcript immediately and never heard back. I tried 4 times to contact someone and they never called me, never returned certified mail request to review my application--I was told to get a lawyer but I couldn't afford one! I started talking to other teachers and the same had happened to them..they said it was a scam..they just find ways not to pay because there is no way in the world they would allow a teacher to teach or give them certification without a degree. geez

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Student loan payments are the plague of my life. I wish I'd been more aggressive about pursuing scholarships and grants. The PITA factor is such that if I won $50K in a lottery, I'd use it to pay off the loans and then my medical bills first, and then I'd buy a five-dollar bottle of nail polish with the rest and call it good.

[nursekara513]

I just started paying on mine. owed around 16000. payments are 181 for 10 years. Ever since I started to pay, I have always rounded the total up to 200 and paid 200 every month. So hopefully if i get into a real tight space for money, I can just skip a month!

[NDXUFan]

Individuals at the University cry about how expensive life is, they should look at themselves and their greed.

[PrayToTheUnicorn]

I just started paying on mine. owed around 16000. payments are 181 for 10 years. Ever since I started to pay, I have always rounded the total up to 200 and paid 200 every month. So hopefully if i get into a real tight space for money, I can just skip a month!

Don't ever skip a payment. No matter how much you pay, whether it's the minimum or double or whatever, you still owe a payment each month when it comes due. You can get them deferred under some circumstances though.

[LovedRN, BSN, RN]

It's just sad. Real sad.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Don't ever skip a payment. No matter how much you pay, whether it's the minimum or double or whatever, you still owe a payment each month when it comes due. You can get them deferred under some circumstances though.

Depends on the terms of the loan. I was paying an extra $50/month for several years. Then I bought a house and decided to cut back to the minimum payment for a little while. Ended up not having to make a payment for 9 months. Granted, the payments at first after those 9 months were only interest and no principle, but it is possible to skip payments if that's what your loan agreement provides.

[nursekara513]

This is untrue. If I pay so I have a credit of 181 dollars I will not have a payment that month. Like this month all I needed to pay was about 97 dollars cause i credited myself 84 dollars for paying 200 instead of 181 since December.