Student loans info & knowledge

klkonwi

Okay so I know there's a lot of smart women on this board with years of education. My dh and I are making an appt to talk to the bank about taking out a loan to pay off my student loans.....
Does anyone have any advice on this?
Share any knowledge on the topic and if you paid yours down / how did you do it?
Esp now with a family.
My private loans have a fine interest rate, the federal are awful!

Just throwing this out there.... Also I know obamas "forgiveness" plan is income based so unless I am going to give up my job and take less salary.... I don't think it's an option.

Any advice is appreciated.

SmashJam

I dont have any advice, but i'm really interested to see how this unfolds for you, as I always thought student loan interest rates were pretty low already and never thought about private interest rates being better! Please keep posting about whether or not you are able to get better rates and how you do it as I have quite a bit of loans and would love to lower the total amount I will pay.

HoosOnFirst

Check out income based repayment anyway! You'd be surprised that some times it can still lower the payment, even if you think your income is "too high".

I work for a nonprofit, so my plan is to do income based repayment until the loans are forgiven under the public service program (after 10 years of payments). Looking forward to 2022!

I'msorrymsjackson

How long ago did you finish school? Did you consolidate the federal loans? After I finished in 2005, I consolidate my federal loans and got a very low interest rate and with on time payments for a year or two, they lowered the rate even further.

klkonwi

I finished school 6 years ago...... 

kbbtah

Are you familiar with Dave Ramsey or Susie Orman? They are popular financial advisor "personalities". You may check out their websites to see if they have any advice. 

Props to you and your hubby for investing in your education.  I completely relate to how expensive school is and the challenge of paying off the debt. For me, i took a full look at my budget, cut corners and sacrificed where i could, and paid them off as my 30th bday present to myself. No right or wrong way...just my story

lovethatcolosun

Check out a credit union. They seem to have more favorable rates and loan possibilities. If you own your home and have sizable equity, I'd suggest taking out a home equity line of credit, or HELOC for short. Those rates are usually good, around 3%. The are variable though based on the fed rate. Depending on debt size and available equity, you may even have a line of credit left over to use in emergencies.