Student Loans....how long did/will it take to pay?

[joanna73]

Hi :)

I've been out of school for a year almost, and paid close to 10 grand off. I owe 24 000 yet, and I plan to pay this off within less than 3 years. What about others? How long did it take you to pay off your loans?

[sbostonRN]

Hubby and I have been aggressively paying off our loans lately and will have paid off 15 and 30 year loans (consolidation loans) in about 7 years. It takes a lot of dedication but will be worth it in the end. When I took out the loan, they told me the amount of interest I would pay over 30 years was about 125% of the original balance! And that's just the interest! So needless to say we'll have that loan paid off soon.

[kaydensmom01]

Is it worth it to keep your interest paid as you go through school? I currently owe $800 in interest and am contemplating paying it right now. It would be a strain to pay it now, but I will if it will benefit me later. If I keep the interest paid then when it goes into repayment I will only be paying on the principle? Thanks for any advice.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

For my 2 year RN diploma program I took out no loans as the hospital paid everything (valued at over $20k) in exchange for me agreeing to work for them after graduation as an RN. I however broke my contract early so I could move several states away to be with my now husband. After the applied my FAFSA grant money and my unused PTO at work (I never used PTO) I owed $10k, which I had to pay off immediately. It wiped my savings, but I have no regrets and view it as an interest free student loan.

For my RN-BSN, I choose an expensive local program that had a reciprical agreement with my nursing program. The entire on-line RN-BSN program was around $17k, half of which I paid in cash and half of which I took out loans for. Of the loans I still owe $5k, which I honestly could have paid off, just put on hold since I am back in school.

When I decided to go back for my Master's, I wanted a cheaper program than my BSN program. I am paying the tuition for each semester out of pocket with no loans, and next semester my employer will start contributing.

[JZ_RN]

Thank goodness I got my RN with no loans!

[sbostonRN]

Is it worth it to keep your interest paid as you go through school? I currently owe $800 in interest and am contemplating paying it right now. It would be a strain to pay it now but I will if it will benefit me later. If I keep the interest paid then when it goes into repayment I will only be paying on the principle? Thanks for any advice.[/quote']

Yes that's a great idea! I had over $5k capitalize when I graduated! When you start paying, you'll pay mostly principal each month plus the finance charge from month to month. But if that interest capitalizes, it gets added to your total amount due, which means you're paying interest on interest!

[pattyty]

That's how repaying all loans work. Your monthly bill is a combination of interest and principal. If you pay more than the amount of your bill each month, it is applied to the principal balance. Every month, they also offer you a "total pay off" amount which, if you notice, will be more than your remaining principle because the interest up till that day is included. Interest continues to accrue on the unpaid balances every month. I pay more than I owe every month on my mortgage, student loans and car payment. My student loans were financed through Sallie Mae.

ahahaha what a small world I actually work with them....

[pattyty]

guys my advise is.. better apply for a repayment plan or deferment.... that is just my idea...