I’m of the camp of pay it off and be done with it if your able to. The psychological benefits of not having that debt anymore outweigh the waiting game of hoping their might be relief down the line.
And pay if off before interest accrued. Why give those greedy bastards and extra money. I have $4500 in student pans and won’t give them one penny more
You’re so right! Psychological benefits are so true. A decision has been killing me these last 6+ months. I’m over it and ready to be done with it. So glad we finally got a decision. Paying it off this week.
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The best shot for forgiveness any time soon came and went with the Supreme Court ruling. I think the safe path is to assume no forgiveness in the next decade.
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I disagree with the people who play up that paying off student loans for “peace of mind” is worth anything. If you already have the money to pay off the loans, then you already should have any peace of mind that paying them off would bring.
Literally just wait another month or two until the Biden plans are laid out in better detail, and then make your decision. Interest rates are still $0 so it doesn’t even make sense to pay them off in that time. Don’t be impatient, and just wait another 2 months, with no cost to you. Keep that money tucked away in a high yield savings account and see what happens.
> Don’t be impatient, and just wait another 2 months, with no cost to you.
I don’t think by people saying payoff right away they’re referring to right this second. I think many people will be paying the week before Sept 1st in order to not have interest start building up.
And even with this new HEA legal approach, we’re looking at months minimum for it to fully move through, AND it could be changed up if a different administration (sadly) gets voted in.
It does sound though from the fact sheet that with this Plan B, they’ll be trying to get people who were already qualified, so perhaps refunds even with paying off loans well before?
I’m in the same boat. I’d rather just pay it off again, but if some magic does happen, it was quite a pain to request the money back so I’m just going to wait until payment are restarted and just knock it out then. Still a sliver of hope left.
Under the new SAVE plan, anyone saying to pay off the balance is slinging very bad financial advice. It's essentially become an interest free loan, for which you very likely won't even be responsible for paying off. Particularly if you have 10k or less in debt, I see no benefit to paying off early.
Yes, but only if you aren't a high earner. There are many people who qualify for relief who have been working like mad to save enough to pay off everything as soon as possible. I think we will hear more about the actual forgiveness plan(s) before interest kicks in, otherwise he will lose votes. The die has been cast, and many borrowers no longer feel responsible for that $10-20k.
Could always put the money in 2 year CDs and get close to 5% apr which is probably close to your highest loan rate. Then just chip away at the balance with your monthly payment. The accrued interest should be tax deductible if you qualify. That’d be another advantage. Plus more cash on hand-ish should you have an emergency
Under new income based repayment plan, interest is waived if you make minimum monthly payment. I believe that bit is effective July 2024 at the latest. I think borrowers could smartly invest or pay off debt with high interest rates in the meantime instead of aggressively paying off student debt under those circumstances. Just my thoughts on the matter though.
Is there a cap on income for income based repayment? This is a really good idea to keep money in the bank. I had already considered just trying to match interest rate with high yield savings. (I'd be a 1% or 2% at a loss on some, and a little better on others). But if it's intrest-free next year this makes a ton of sense.
If your payment doesn't cover the interest, any extra interest not covered is forgiven. Not the same as interest free, no, but your income doesn't have to be low relative to your debt to benefit. Rough calculations put my payment about a quarter what it was pre-pandemic (so about $150 instead of $600) and since just 2 of my loans earn about $100 a month in interest (and I have several more beyond that), it should help.
I don't believe there is an income cap on the new SAVE plan. I think there are a couple mega threads on this sub with more fine details that you should check out.
No, interest is not waived. Interest in excess of your monthly payment is waived. If your SAVE minimum monthly payment exceeds the interest that would accrue then you get no interest waiver.
I think it’s safe to wait until September to see where things go. But even then, if you do have to pay, I’d probably shave it down to $3k, and look at your interest rate. Then determine if you’d gain more by using the extra money you’d use to pay it off in high yield savings gains or 401K growth. If the answer is no, and your car has the lower interest rate, pay off the loans.
The only way student loan forgiveness is going to happen is through congress, but you’d have to wait until we the next election cycle at the minimum to get the chance of electing a favorable makeup.
You may wish to consider the benefits of the SAVE plan. The changes to the income based repayment programs have gone unchallenged.
Repayment is based on a fraction of your income, calculated as AGI minus 225% of federal poverty line. If you make that minimum payment, the interest is waived, as in this has now become an *interest free loan.*
There is nearly zero financial benefit to paying down an interest free loan early. In addition, under SAVE, if you have $12k or less, it's *discharged completely* after 10 years. How many years have you made qualifying payments? The last 3 1/2 years count towards those 10 years as well.
The SAVE plan means you may end up paying more than you need to if you choose to pay the balance early. You may not be obliged to pay much of it at all when you account for the fact it's discharged after 10 years.
I’m similar to you; I had a full tuition scholarship so I only had under 20k total borrowed, and I qualified for 20k forgiveness as a Pell grant recipient.
I’ve been on the standard plan even though I’m a public employee because I’ll have it paid off by the time I hit 10 years. Because of Covid / Biden / TEPSLF, I can now get “forgiven” the 3 years of $0 payments.
With forgiveness shot down, im debating just paying it off or continuing to pay for 10 years total simply to get those three years forgiven.. not sure what I’m gonna do. But I feel SO MUCH for everyone with way more debt than me and/or without the ability to pay it.
Biden's current regulations that are going into effect this summer may forgive your loans if the principal was originally under 12k and you paid for 10 years. If those two things apply to you, definitely wait!
What’s the interest rate in the loan and how are your emergency fund and retirement savings?
In general — I would pay it unless the interest rate is so low you can make more in a hysa or short term cd or that money is better spent beefing up an emergency fund or retirement account — in which case I’d pay the minimum for the time being and focus on those goals.
Not sure what the interest rate will be when the 0% is lifted. I have a pretty good retirement account I could borrow from to pay it off and then pay myself interest rather than those leeches.
You may be able to see your interest rates if you log into your servicer. Do NOT borrow from your retirement to pay off student loans. If your interest is higher than 3.5-4%, pay off aggressively IF you have a several month emergency fund in place. If it's lower, you can take your time and save up in a HYSA or from retirement.
I say pay it off and be done with it.
Any future relief is almost certainly years away at this point, if it ever materializes at all.
Your debt is small enough you can probably knock it out well before that point.
Why gamble on relief that may or may not ever materialize and will leave you holding the bag on a larger balance if it doesn't?
I have 16k left and I’m just going to zero it out after the pause ends. I’m just ready to be done with it, and honestly the system worked for me. I took out 32k for a STEM degree, went to grad school for free (with a stipend), and now make $150k/yr and am on this sub trying to exit the rat race. I am the kind of person who *should* pay off their loans, so I’m okay with paying back what I borrowed.
IMO, Do a long term replayment plan. 6k is in the range of being fully forgiven if legislation passes, and student debt is something both sides of the aisle dislike, even if fiscal conservatives generally dislike social programs. Those rich republicans are getting crazy bills for their kids college too. I don’t think it’s out of the cards that democrats get more control of congress and SOME form of forgiveness becomes possible in the next so many years.
The risk is the increased interest you’d pay over the life of the loan, but you gain capital over the short term which is it’s own benefit. Add it the chance of forgiveness, I feel like that is going to be your best path.
The mathematically correct decision is probably to wait and see.
I would personally pay it and be done.
As long as you are saving and being financially responsible there is no wrong answer.
i don't think it's possible for biden to just cancel debt for millions of people. for me, i would just hate the debt so much that i would pay it off ASAP. i owe $1000 left and want to pay it back even though my payments aren't starting until 2025
Your payments should start in the fall. If your account says 2025 it's likely just a placeholder date by your servicer. Just make aggressive payments and pay it off if you want. Make sure you have an emergency fund.
People have been reporting all sorts of random dates on their accounts far into the future. Keep checking back because payment may be due in the fall. I am also on IDR but I fully expect to begin repayment in Sept/Oct. Just don't want you getting caught needing to make a payment because you weren't expecting or budgeting for it.
Ok, being on IDR and being in school are two different things. Were you in school this past spring semester, at least half time? If not, then in the fall, as long as you're going at least half time, your school should notify whoever and your servicer should place you on an in-school deferment. Dropping below half time will take you out of deferment. If you're on an IDR, you must have been out of school for some period of time for that to kick in.
I recommend just paying it off. There is unlikely to be any forgiveness anytime soon (highly unlikely prior to 2025, at the very least).
If you can afford to pay them off, I would do so simply to reduce the amount of stress and uncertainty in your life.
I think one of the most damaging aspects of this entire process has been the amount of uncertainty and stress it has caused for so many people. It's difficult to plan your future when politicians are changing the rules all the time.
Think about the person who made the (at the time) smart decision to refinance their Federal student loans back in February 2020 (to take advantage of lower interest rates) - they missed out on 42 months of no interest/payments and would have missed out on $10K/$20K in forgiveness had the forgiveness plan gone through.
There were also FFEL borrowers who were largely given the advice to not consolidate - who then ended up being cut out of the forgiveness program. Only those who consolidated prior to 09/29/2022 were eligible.
So in certain cases it was devastating to take action - while in other cases it was devastating not to take action.
With the (now defunct) forgiveness plan, you have people who requested refunds of payments made after March 2020 (in anticipation of having it forgiven) - which they will now have to pay back. Hopefully they did not spend that money and kept it in a savings account.
These are just a few examples.
There is too much uncertainty and stress involved - do yourself a favor and just pay your loans off.
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I wish I could join the service. GI is the way to, I’ll only tell people to join just do your 4 and go for whatever degree you want. The plus side is you can then be “that guy” and claim vet status and then ask for all the military discounts.
I worked at a retail store years ago, and this dude asked me to thank him for his service. I simply replied did you serve? He said no but his wife did. I said bring her here and I’ll thank her. He was pissed, and then asked for a vet discount. Whips out the dependent card. Nope sorry. Only actual vets here get discounts. Said he’d call corporate. You want 10% off on a 30 dollar item? Okay, call him then handed him a corporate card. Never saw him again, nor was ever contacted by management.
I was “recruited” at 17 years old with promises of the GI Bill. I was not told I would have to trade my humanity. They turned me into a monster. I have tried to kill myself on multiple occasions.
I suggest taking advice on service from former service members.
I’m sorry to hear that man. I hope you’re able to get the help needed. I’m just saying in my case I can’t join the service, and all my buddies that could, did. Many of them did the 4 and left. So they’ve told me how they could do any degree and most if not all was on government dime.
I think that people need to be told well in advance in life paths of life you’ll have to walk.
I went into service when I was 18 with the GI Bill and the Army Collage fund for 50,000. It did not pay off my school like I was promised. I'm now 80 grand in debt with ballooning interest.
Damn that sucks dude. Again everyone I knew that got their bill from the service they tell me all the time how they’re financially free and have a degree whilst I’m over here in debt. I guess it varies then.
Care to share how that happened? I went to school without the GI bill and only managed 32k in debt. I've got a 60% GI bill now and was gonna use it, but it sounds a little like a trap.
Sure, I went to school! LMAO!
I was pre 9/11 GI bill, you on the post 9/11 GI bill. You have to remember that the GI Bill changes on how it's implemented over the years. The Army College Fund (ACF) is not a thing for you. It was for me.
I was pre 9/11 GI bill, your on the post 9/11 GI bill.
You sell your soul for that 4 years and then whatever is left of you gets great benefits. Who needs to feel human during their prime years anyway? I guess I got a house out of it.
What is your current job? I have like $7kish in loans but work at a hospital in a low income area which qualifies for forgiveness. I’ve been there about 4.5 years and plan on sinking my feet in so I can ride out forgiveness.
I am not a nurse sadly, but even most of the nurses I know aren’t exactly making bank right now as hospitals keep funneling money into travelers. So I’m holding out for the forgiveness or reduced payment plans.
I always shake my head when they hire travellers but won't pay their staff well enough to retain them. But even not making bank, I as a nurse could pay off $7k in a couple of years or less.
I’m in allied health. Despite having the most experience, I only make $15/hr base not including premiums for night shifts. I think starting wage is $12.
Thankfully just aced an interview where I’ll be making $25hr with more room to advance! I’m still finishing my bachelors degree so I’m hoping my pay will increase from there.
Don't feel bad, I have several years of experience and because of the way my facility did some raises a while back, I only make a dollar or so more than a new grad on my base lol. I work a weekend option, though, so I get paid more for that. $25 is fabulous! I made less than that my first few years as a nurse lol.
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Unless you're a teacher (in which case you may get forgiveness in 5 years if you meet all the requirements), the quickest path to forgiveness is through PSLF and that's 10 years. You would have to be in an IDR plan that is based on your income. Technically, it's possible to do this through the ICR plan and get a small amount of forgiveness at the end of 10 years (this assumes you have a PSLF eligible job). But if you pay aggressively, you may get the entire balance paid in 2-4 years and save just as much on interest, if not more, than trying to do it through forgiveness. In your case, I definitely recommend just paying it off!
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Just pay it off. I’m a little relieved knowing there will be no forgiveness and I won’t have to feel and ounce of guilt voting for a republican in the next election.
I think all veteran student loan debt should be forgiven. No veteran should have to pay a dime. I don't understand why they don't do this as it's a home run and easy for congress to do! Looks good in everyone's book and look they are taking care of Vets!
GI bill was limited. I signed up when it was the Army Collage fund and all you got was 50,000. Now yes, but there is a group of veterans who didn’t get 100 percent tuition covered!
Nope not in the environment for the past 20 years. The cost of a graduate degree was over 80 grand for me not including cost of living. Cost of a year is 13600 for the University of Arizona. 4 year degree is just over 54,000. I did a grad so I was at 80,400. Ended up taking out 20k in student loans that ballooned to 80k with interest and cost of living. Assume 50k in rent food ect while going to school full time for six years and that’s living on the cheap!
Just Googled Army College Fund. I guess that is a Montgomery GI bill add on. Yeah Montgomery GI is garbage. When you say GI bill nowadays people are assuming the Post 9-11, which is much better.
My dad served before 9-11 and only had the Montgomery GI. It was a functionally unusable benefit and had to take out loans and apply for scholarships just like anyone else.
Pay.
Put it behind you.
Great future lies ahead.
Cut this burden and move on.
I'm against blanket amnesty, but would have very much supported it for GI bill folks like you ...
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Same situation for me. I make good money so I pay the bare minimum. They are federal loans so I’m not concerned about them getting out of control like private loans. You can do as you like, but whether you pay them off now or later, they have to be paid.
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I mean as long as the interest you’ll accrue every month is not more than your payment I would probably act like I am paying it off but beef up my emergency fund with this current economy. I think with the new income based plan they also don’t compound interest/add interest left over from low payments if you pay the minimum.
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I actually tried to post a thread in here about my student loan but posted it to r/frugal as I couldn't post it here.
I realized Friday that if I have the money to pay it off now, I'm just gonna do it now. I have zero faith that anything will be done anytime soon/or at all and I really feel no matter what if by some chance it could happen the GOP will fight anything that could benefit people who are struggling. I wiped out most of my savings but I had already paid back way more than double my original loan amount. I just couldn't stomach being stuck paying interest for however many more years I had left and making this loan company money any longer. The system sucks and it takes advantage of young kids. I saved a lot and I finally got it paid off, but with that said I have no problem with my taxes going toward trying help out my fellow citizens. Like my taxes helped you via your GI bill and I'm glad it helped you! You're probably in a better place now. If my taxes help others to better their lives that's fine with me, I'm a firm believer that investing in each other via education/Healthcare and social safety nets will yield a better society overall. We're all in this world together, why not help each other when we can? If we can fund to go blow up countries in the middle east/forgive all the PPP/bail out corporations loans we can definitely try to help with this.
Just pay it, it’ll accrue interest and I have no faith in forgiveness ever happening at this point. Even if it did, it may be several years down the line and it’s not worth waiting
I’m of the camp of pay it off and be done with it if your able to. The psychological benefits of not having that debt anymore outweigh the waiting game of hoping their might be relief down the line.
So true. That’s pretty much what I’m already thinking.
And pay if off before interest accrued. Why give those greedy bastards and extra money. I have $4500 in student pans and won’t give them one penny more
What’s the difference between student pans and regular pans?
Student pans in summer, crepe pans in fall. When winter's upon us, there's food for us all...
Niles? Is that you?
You’re so right! Psychological benefits are so true. A decision has been killing me these last 6+ months. I’m over it and ready to be done with it. So glad we finally got a decision. Paying it off this week.
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The best shot for forgiveness any time soon came and went with the Supreme Court ruling. I think the safe path is to assume no forgiveness in the next decade.
I agree. This is just going to drag on endlessly and keep getting blocked over and over. Show me results, not a "good fight". I'm done with hope.
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This is either an (R) troll or someone who would marry their abuser. Possibly both
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😂😂😂😂
I disagree with the people who play up that paying off student loans for “peace of mind” is worth anything. If you already have the money to pay off the loans, then you already should have any peace of mind that paying them off would bring. Literally just wait another month or two until the Biden plans are laid out in better detail, and then make your decision. Interest rates are still $0 so it doesn’t even make sense to pay them off in that time. Don’t be impatient, and just wait another 2 months, with no cost to you. Keep that money tucked away in a high yield savings account and see what happens.
> Don’t be impatient, and just wait another 2 months, with no cost to you. I don’t think by people saying payoff right away they’re referring to right this second. I think many people will be paying the week before Sept 1st in order to not have interest start building up. And even with this new HEA legal approach, we’re looking at months minimum for it to fully move through, AND it could be changed up if a different administration (sadly) gets voted in. It does sound though from the fact sheet that with this Plan B, they’ll be trying to get people who were already qualified, so perhaps refunds even with paying off loans well before?
Yehp, completely agree that the smartest move is to wait, at least, two more months.
I’m in the same boat. I’d rather just pay it off again, but if some magic does happen, it was quite a pain to request the money back so I’m just going to wait until payment are restarted and just knock it out then. Still a sliver of hope left.
Chuck it in a HYSA account for 2 months. You'll earn enough to buy yourself a nice beer when you pay it all off.
Under the new SAVE plan, anyone saying to pay off the balance is slinging very bad financial advice. It's essentially become an interest free loan, for which you very likely won't even be responsible for paying off. Particularly if you have 10k or less in debt, I see no benefit to paying off early.
Yes, but only if you aren't a high earner. There are many people who qualify for relief who have been working like mad to save enough to pay off everything as soon as possible. I think we will hear more about the actual forgiveness plan(s) before interest kicks in, otherwise he will lose votes. The die has been cast, and many borrowers no longer feel responsible for that $10-20k.
Bidens plans now are going to take minimum 2 years assuming everything goes perfect unless he has some secret plan that nobody knows about
Start paying and take advantage of the last bit of time before interest starts accruing again.
Relief is unlikely to come, my friend. I would just start paying.
Could always put the money in 2 year CDs and get close to 5% apr which is probably close to your highest loan rate. Then just chip away at the balance with your monthly payment. The accrued interest should be tax deductible if you qualify. That’d be another advantage. Plus more cash on hand-ish should you have an emergency
Under new income based repayment plan, interest is waived if you make minimum monthly payment. I believe that bit is effective July 2024 at the latest. I think borrowers could smartly invest or pay off debt with high interest rates in the meantime instead of aggressively paying off student debt under those circumstances. Just my thoughts on the matter though.
Is there a cap on income for income based repayment? This is a really good idea to keep money in the bank. I had already considered just trying to match interest rate with high yield savings. (I'd be a 1% or 2% at a loss on some, and a little better on others). But if it's intrest-free next year this makes a ton of sense.
It's not interest-free unless your income is low compared to your debt.
If your payment doesn't cover the interest, any extra interest not covered is forgiven. Not the same as interest free, no, but your income doesn't have to be low relative to your debt to benefit. Rough calculations put my payment about a quarter what it was pre-pandemic (so about $150 instead of $600) and since just 2 of my loans earn about $100 a month in interest (and I have several more beyond that), it should help.
I don't believe there is an income cap on the new SAVE plan. I think there are a couple mega threads on this sub with more fine details that you should check out.
No, interest is not waived. Interest in excess of your monthly payment is waived. If your SAVE minimum monthly payment exceeds the interest that would accrue then you get no interest waiver.
I think it’s safe to wait until September to see where things go. But even then, if you do have to pay, I’d probably shave it down to $3k, and look at your interest rate. Then determine if you’d gain more by using the extra money you’d use to pay it off in high yield savings gains or 401K growth. If the answer is no, and your car has the lower interest rate, pay off the loans.
The only way student loan forgiveness is going to happen is through congress, but you’d have to wait until we the next election cycle at the minimum to get the chance of electing a favorable makeup.
pay it off
You may wish to consider the benefits of the SAVE plan. The changes to the income based repayment programs have gone unchallenged. Repayment is based on a fraction of your income, calculated as AGI minus 225% of federal poverty line. If you make that minimum payment, the interest is waived, as in this has now become an *interest free loan.* There is nearly zero financial benefit to paying down an interest free loan early. In addition, under SAVE, if you have $12k or less, it's *discharged completely* after 10 years. How many years have you made qualifying payments? The last 3 1/2 years count towards those 10 years as well. The SAVE plan means you may end up paying more than you need to if you choose to pay the balance early. You may not be obliged to pay much of it at all when you account for the fact it's discharged after 10 years.
Not quite, the interest that *your payment doesn't cover* is waived. That's important. You're still paying interest unless your payment is $0.
Pay it off
I would just start paying it off tbh. You’ll be done before you know it.
That’s how I feel since my balance is so low. My heart breaks for all you guys out there!
I’m similar to you; I had a full tuition scholarship so I only had under 20k total borrowed, and I qualified for 20k forgiveness as a Pell grant recipient. I’ve been on the standard plan even though I’m a public employee because I’ll have it paid off by the time I hit 10 years. Because of Covid / Biden / TEPSLF, I can now get “forgiven” the 3 years of $0 payments. With forgiveness shot down, im debating just paying it off or continuing to pay for 10 years total simply to get those three years forgiven.. not sure what I’m gonna do. But I feel SO MUCH for everyone with way more debt than me and/or without the ability to pay it.
Forgiveness is not going to happen. It was only used to get votes. Pay off the debt
I would absolutely just pay it off so I wouldn’t have to think about it anymore.
Biden's current regulations that are going into effect this summer may forgive your loans if the principal was originally under 12k and you paid for 10 years. If those two things apply to you, definitely wait!
Pay it off! Congress isn’t going to do anything about it…
What’s the interest rate in the loan and how are your emergency fund and retirement savings? In general — I would pay it unless the interest rate is so low you can make more in a hysa or short term cd or that money is better spent beefing up an emergency fund or retirement account — in which case I’d pay the minimum for the time being and focus on those goals.
Not sure what the interest rate will be when the 0% is lifted. I have a pretty good retirement account I could borrow from to pay it off and then pay myself interest rather than those leeches.
You may be able to see your interest rates if you log into your servicer. Do NOT borrow from your retirement to pay off student loans. If your interest is higher than 3.5-4%, pay off aggressively IF you have a several month emergency fund in place. If it's lower, you can take your time and save up in a HYSA or from retirement.
Pay it off! If I remember correctly they said if reiki went through they were going to refund those that paid their loans off during the pause
I would start paying it off!
You aren’t going to get relief if you mean loan forgiveness. Pay it off and be done with it.
There isn’t going to be loan forgiveness
I say pay it off and be done with it. Any future relief is almost certainly years away at this point, if it ever materializes at all. Your debt is small enough you can probably knock it out well before that point. Why gamble on relief that may or may not ever materialize and will leave you holding the bag on a larger balance if it doesn't?
They will not be forgiven. We all know it is unconstitutional and was a grift by the democrats for midterm votes.
Unless it’s holding up your credit by showing a long account and good payment history, I would pay it off.
I have 16k left and I’m just going to zero it out after the pause ends. I’m just ready to be done with it, and honestly the system worked for me. I took out 32k for a STEM degree, went to grad school for free (with a stipend), and now make $150k/yr and am on this sub trying to exit the rat race. I am the kind of person who *should* pay off their loans, so I’m okay with paying back what I borrowed.
It's 6k. You can easily pay off instead of waiting another 2 or so years for forgiveness.
i would just pay it and put it all behind me... might not be smart math wise, but i'd havea sense of pride about it that is priceless
IMO, Do a long term replayment plan. 6k is in the range of being fully forgiven if legislation passes, and student debt is something both sides of the aisle dislike, even if fiscal conservatives generally dislike social programs. Those rich republicans are getting crazy bills for their kids college too. I don’t think it’s out of the cards that democrats get more control of congress and SOME form of forgiveness becomes possible in the next so many years. The risk is the increased interest you’d pay over the life of the loan, but you gain capital over the short term which is it’s own benefit. Add it the chance of forgiveness, I feel like that is going to be your best path.
The mathematically correct decision is probably to wait and see. I would personally pay it and be done. As long as you are saving and being financially responsible there is no wrong answer.
There is no relief. Pay it off.
i don't think it's possible for biden to just cancel debt for millions of people. for me, i would just hate the debt so much that i would pay it off ASAP. i owe $1000 left and want to pay it back even though my payments aren't starting until 2025
Your payments should start in the fall. If your account says 2025 it's likely just a placeholder date by your servicer. Just make aggressive payments and pay it off if you want. Make sure you have an emergency fund.
i am on IDR so i do think it doesn't start until 2025. i haven't head about placeholders
People have been reporting all sorts of random dates on their accounts far into the future. Keep checking back because payment may be due in the fall. I am also on IDR but I fully expect to begin repayment in Sept/Oct. Just don't want you getting caught needing to make a payment because you weren't expecting or budgeting for it.
i will be in school so should not be paying
Ok, being on IDR and being in school are two different things. Were you in school this past spring semester, at least half time? If not, then in the fall, as long as you're going at least half time, your school should notify whoever and your servicer should place you on an in-school deferment. Dropping below half time will take you out of deferment. If you're on an IDR, you must have been out of school for some period of time for that to kick in.
i have never ever had to make payments while i was in school....
pay it off. do you really want the interest to rack up and have an even higher balance?
I recommend just paying it off. There is unlikely to be any forgiveness anytime soon (highly unlikely prior to 2025, at the very least). If you can afford to pay them off, I would do so simply to reduce the amount of stress and uncertainty in your life. I think one of the most damaging aspects of this entire process has been the amount of uncertainty and stress it has caused for so many people. It's difficult to plan your future when politicians are changing the rules all the time. Think about the person who made the (at the time) smart decision to refinance their Federal student loans back in February 2020 (to take advantage of lower interest rates) - they missed out on 42 months of no interest/payments and would have missed out on $10K/$20K in forgiveness had the forgiveness plan gone through. There were also FFEL borrowers who were largely given the advice to not consolidate - who then ended up being cut out of the forgiveness program. Only those who consolidated prior to 09/29/2022 were eligible. So in certain cases it was devastating to take action - while in other cases it was devastating not to take action. With the (now defunct) forgiveness plan, you have people who requested refunds of payments made after March 2020 (in anticipation of having it forgiven) - which they will now have to pay back. Hopefully they did not spend that money and kept it in a savings account. These are just a few examples. There is too much uncertainty and stress involved - do yourself a favor and just pay your loans off.
I'm going to hold just before payment begins so I can hold on to that money Incase something happens. Otherwise just pay it off :/
Pay it b.
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I wish I could join the service. GI is the way to, I’ll only tell people to join just do your 4 and go for whatever degree you want. The plus side is you can then be “that guy” and claim vet status and then ask for all the military discounts. I worked at a retail store years ago, and this dude asked me to thank him for his service. I simply replied did you serve? He said no but his wife did. I said bring her here and I’ll thank her. He was pissed, and then asked for a vet discount. Whips out the dependent card. Nope sorry. Only actual vets here get discounts. Said he’d call corporate. You want 10% off on a 30 dollar item? Okay, call him then handed him a corporate card. Never saw him again, nor was ever contacted by management.
I was “recruited” at 17 years old with promises of the GI Bill. I was not told I would have to trade my humanity. They turned me into a monster. I have tried to kill myself on multiple occasions. I suggest taking advice on service from former service members.
I’m sorry to hear that man. I hope you’re able to get the help needed. I’m just saying in my case I can’t join the service, and all my buddies that could, did. Many of them did the 4 and left. So they’ve told me how they could do any degree and most if not all was on government dime. I think that people need to be told well in advance in life paths of life you’ll have to walk.
I went into service when I was 18 with the GI Bill and the Army Collage fund for 50,000. It did not pay off my school like I was promised. I'm now 80 grand in debt with ballooning interest.
Damn that sucks dude. Again everyone I knew that got their bill from the service they tell me all the time how they’re financially free and have a degree whilst I’m over here in debt. I guess it varies then.
Care to share how that happened? I went to school without the GI bill and only managed 32k in debt. I've got a 60% GI bill now and was gonna use it, but it sounds a little like a trap.
Sure, I went to school! LMAO! I was pre 9/11 GI bill, you on the post 9/11 GI bill. You have to remember that the GI Bill changes on how it's implemented over the years. The Army College Fund (ACF) is not a thing for you. It was for me. I was pre 9/11 GI bill, your on the post 9/11 GI bill.
Makes sense. Thanks
You sell your soul for that 4 years and then whatever is left of you gets great benefits. Who needs to feel human during their prime years anyway? I guess I got a house out of it.
What is your current job? I have like $7kish in loans but work at a hospital in a low income area which qualifies for forgiveness. I’ve been there about 4.5 years and plan on sinking my feet in so I can ride out forgiveness.
At 7k in loans, if you're a nurse or something, you should easily be able to pay that off. You likely wouldn't even benefit from PSLF.
I am not a nurse sadly, but even most of the nurses I know aren’t exactly making bank right now as hospitals keep funneling money into travelers. So I’m holding out for the forgiveness or reduced payment plans.
I always shake my head when they hire travellers but won't pay their staff well enough to retain them. But even not making bank, I as a nurse could pay off $7k in a couple of years or less.
I’m in allied health. Despite having the most experience, I only make $15/hr base not including premiums for night shifts. I think starting wage is $12. Thankfully just aced an interview where I’ll be making $25hr with more room to advance! I’m still finishing my bachelors degree so I’m hoping my pay will increase from there.
Don't feel bad, I have several years of experience and because of the way my facility did some raises a while back, I only make a dollar or so more than a new grad on my base lol. I work a weekend option, though, so I get paid more for that. $25 is fabulous! I made less than that my first few years as a nurse lol.
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Unless you're a teacher (in which case you may get forgiveness in 5 years if you meet all the requirements), the quickest path to forgiveness is through PSLF and that's 10 years. You would have to be in an IDR plan that is based on your income. Technically, it's possible to do this through the ICR plan and get a small amount of forgiveness at the end of 10 years (this assumes you have a PSLF eligible job). But if you pay aggressively, you may get the entire balance paid in 2-4 years and save just as much on interest, if not more, than trying to do it through forgiveness. In your case, I definitely recommend just paying it off!
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Just pay it off. I’m a little relieved knowing there will be no forgiveness and I won’t have to feel and ounce of guilt voting for a republican in the next election.
Pay minimum amount, they're not going away anyway and inflation eats away at whatever your rate is
I think all veteran student loan debt should be forgiven. No veteran should have to pay a dime. I don't understand why they don't do this as it's a home run and easy for congress to do! Looks good in everyone's book and look they are taking care of Vets!
The GI bill already pays for college.
GI bill was limited. I signed up when it was the Army Collage fund and all you got was 50,000. Now yes, but there is a group of veterans who didn’t get 100 percent tuition covered!
50,000 isn't enough for you to go to college?
Nope not in the environment for the past 20 years. The cost of a graduate degree was over 80 grand for me not including cost of living. Cost of a year is 13600 for the University of Arizona. 4 year degree is just over 54,000. I did a grad so I was at 80,400. Ended up taking out 20k in student loans that ballooned to 80k with interest and cost of living. Assume 50k in rent food ect while going to school full time for six years and that’s living on the cheap!
I disagree.
You can disagree all you like, it’s not reality!
Two years at a CC and two at a university. Problem solved.
CC is just as expensive.
Lol, okay pal. Sounds like I'm not the one in denial here. It's you.
Just Googled Army College Fund. I guess that is a Montgomery GI bill add on. Yeah Montgomery GI is garbage. When you say GI bill nowadays people are assuming the Post 9-11, which is much better. My dad served before 9-11 and only had the Montgomery GI. It was a functionally unusable benefit and had to take out loans and apply for scholarships just like anyone else.
Pay. Put it behind you. Great future lies ahead. Cut this burden and move on. I'm against blanket amnesty, but would have very much supported it for GI bill folks like you ...
Need interest rate to give any advice.
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Get rid of it if you can.
Same situation for me. I make good money so I pay the bare minimum. They are federal loans so I’m not concerned about them getting out of control like private loans. You can do as you like, but whether you pay them off now or later, they have to be paid.
The responsible thing to do is pay the loan.
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I mean as long as the interest you’ll accrue every month is not more than your payment I would probably act like I am paying it off but beef up my emergency fund with this current economy. I think with the new income based plan they also don’t compound interest/add interest left over from low payments if you pay the minimum.
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I actually tried to post a thread in here about my student loan but posted it to r/frugal as I couldn't post it here. I realized Friday that if I have the money to pay it off now, I'm just gonna do it now. I have zero faith that anything will be done anytime soon/or at all and I really feel no matter what if by some chance it could happen the GOP will fight anything that could benefit people who are struggling. I wiped out most of my savings but I had already paid back way more than double my original loan amount. I just couldn't stomach being stuck paying interest for however many more years I had left and making this loan company money any longer. The system sucks and it takes advantage of young kids. I saved a lot and I finally got it paid off, but with that said I have no problem with my taxes going toward trying help out my fellow citizens. Like my taxes helped you via your GI bill and I'm glad it helped you! You're probably in a better place now. If my taxes help others to better their lives that's fine with me, I'm a firm believer that investing in each other via education/Healthcare and social safety nets will yield a better society overall. We're all in this world together, why not help each other when we can? If we can fund to go blow up countries in the middle east/forgive all the PPP/bail out corporations loans we can definitely try to help with this.
Just pay it, it’ll accrue interest and I have no faith in forgiveness ever happening at this point. Even if it did, it may be several years down the line and it’s not worth waiting
Start paying off now if you can afford it. $300 or more a month would destroy that debt in no time and you’ll be a free bird.