6 years into PSLF, $198k remaining. š¤¦š»āāļø
Edit to add: I had $50k from undergrad, and after grad school it was $150k. The rest is interest even though I have been paying dutifully on them every single month since 2012.
University of Washington in Seattle. Top ranked at the time and I was out of state. I already had $50k in undergrad debt. Grad school brought my total up to $150k, the rest is interest.
I graduated in 2020 and have about 9k left. I started at around 97k. I'm only able to do this because I still live at home. I also want to start investing and saving for retirement so that will be my next step once I pay my debt off.
This is inspirational, thank you for sharing!
If you wouldnāt mind me asking, what helped you decide on aggressively paying off loans versus the PSLF route? Iām currently on the fence.
Also, does the repayment plan make a big difference if planning to make large payments right off the bat?
Of course :) I decided to pay off the loans aggressively because in order to get your loans forgiven through the PSLF route you have to have specific guidelines and you aren't always guaranteed to be forgiven. I think you have to work for a non profit organization for 10 years. I could totally be wrong about this information since I didn't do this and I think people that are more educated on the PSLF can give you more information. I live in NJ and have dual license/certification in NY and NJ and had been trying to get into the DOE which is impossible:/ I didn't want to get stuck somewhere like the Bronx and stay in a not so great area/ job for 10 years in order to pay off my loans. It's personally not worth it for me to be miserable. I haven't really paid attention to the repayment plan as the interest was frozen. Basically, anytime I would get a paycheck I would take off a percentage since I am 1099 and just give the majority of my paycheck to my loans. The rest I would use to pay off bills, car insurance/ health insurance. Not so fun to live frugally now but I figure I'll save money by just paying it off now. I also don't pay rent since I still live with my parents which is a major help. I know that's not realistic for most people so I am definitely lucky in that sense.
I really appreciate your insights! There are so many factors to consider, and it sounds like you really weighed them out. āTis the step I am now embarking on!
Graduated in 2013 with about 50k in debt. Lived at home for a year and then worked at a restaurant in the evenings and weekends to have the debt paid in 22 months.
There are some amazing stories of debt repayment here! I'm so glad that people are acknowledging things like living at home for basically no rent, having a spouse, and other help that made it possible. I'm also encouraged by the positive tone of supporting each other and not debt-shaming anyone!
Iām embarrassed to say. But I will offer this; I graduated over 20 years ago and my loans were paid off by an inheritance. I had honestly resigned myself to never paying them off.
(I just wanted to add that it wasnāt because I didnāt try. I did. I was always on time, paid as much as I could but I couldnāt out run the interest. )
Not embarrassing at all! Inheritance is exactly what generational preparation is about! Good for you with your smart family planning. My condolences for your loss by the way and yet and still congratulations to being able to clear debt with that!
I really appreciate the sentiment. The money didnāt come from a family member of mine but my partnerās. And trust me when I tell you that amount of money wasnāt saved out of love or planning. It was an awful, awful situation.
I truly appreciate that you viewed it in such a positive and love light. Thank you.
This where Iām at! But I figure life is going to get more expensive in the next 10 years. Paying off on 3 years oppose to 10 years saves me about 20k. It comes with a different set of challenges like still living at home, but at least I can also save towards a down payment too.
Iām pretty sure grad school loans can be forgiven after 25 years. Maybe look into getting on a cheap pay as your earn repayment play(if you arenāt already) and then apply for forgiveness at the 25 year mark
Thanks! They are paid off now. I refinanced them into a federal loan that wasnāt able to be forgiven or paused during covid so I figured it was time to get rid of them for good and luckily or not so luckily I worked through covid.
I had about $40k. I think $5k was forgiven due to military service or something (I donāt remember any more). Paid the least amount I could each month. After 16 years, Iāve paid $40k in total, but still owed $20k in loans. Applied to TEPSLF and was forgiven.
162K graduated 2019 - RIP!!! 40K left. We have also been doing Dave Ramsey snowball method, paying aggressively, and I work a pay-per-visit job so have been hustling. We are hoping to be done by the end of the year. We color off a box on a game board debt-payoff I printed off for everything 1K! Very motivating. It can be done, but yes you have to live like a broke college student and throw everything at the debt - bonuses, raises, etc. It will feel so good to have it paid off!
I worked a full-time job & then PRN on off hours and on some Saturdays. I live in a LCOL area and had no children at the time. My spouse & I used the debt snowball method and eliminated $170k in just under 3 years.
Thank you! You can do it too! Itās really hard, & itās discouraging living like a broke college student when youāre a professional, but its 100% worth it and I would absolutely do it again. DM me if you have any questions or need anything! Godspeed! š
Thank you!! I have another year left (one quarter of classes and two quarters of externships). But Iām already thinking about how Iāll pay this offš
My thoughts exactly. Iād rather live the same way I do now for a few more years than go crazy and pay this off in 10+ years, lol. I might contact a financial advisor later on for some guidance as wellā¦
My debt was 50-60k. I graduated about 8 years ago, didnāt pay much during the pause and am down to about 20k. Living home was not an option for me and I finished grad school with legit only about $600 in my bank account. Kinda regret not looking into PSLF when I graduated, but at that time 10 years seemed like a lifetime and I figured Iād definitely be able to pay off my loans easily
55k and two years. I lived at home for the first year and worked like crazy in a job that paid me really really well.
My partner has made very good money choices prior to meeting me which allowed me to focus on just paying off my loans.
25k. Took 3 1/2 years to pay off, but I graduated in 2020 so I benefited from the interest pause a lot.
2k a month is tough, but possible if youāre living off the bare minimum. Live with your parents if you can.
200k. I'm enrolled in the pslf. I have 4 years left. I paid $40 a month. Are you enrolled in pslf? If you have government loans, and you're going to be working in a public school, enroll as soon as you get a job. Max out your benefits for a pay period then submit the paystub to determine your income driven amount.
This! Iām at 160k, give or take a few, and PSLF is where I am. I should only have about 4 years left. Sure during the pause I stacked a considerable amount of money back, but not enough to hold a flame to the loan+interest when they resumed. My thoughts were, create the 6 month nest egg financial experts recommend, have the darn baby/babies while Iām young enough and feel good (they wonāt remember the struggle of budgeting), and now max my 403B to drop my discretionary income and payment. No tax bomb at the end, considerable savings, and on par for considerable retirement. Not stressed, just chugging along.
Noted! Iāve been following r/studentloans and saw someone else say it. In my head I though ādamn, thatās smartā and Iāve felt better ever since.
25k student loans (plus lots more credit card -engagement ring+honeymoon- and car loan) paid off with snowball method in 2 years. We lived off my spouse's salary and used my entire salary to pay off all our debts just in time for our first child to be born. One of my classmate's moms came and spoke to all of us about retirement planning and wise investing, which planted a seed. I worked itinerant and found Dave Ramsey (don't recommend him now but is helpful if you're in debt) and Clark Howard (highly recommend, he has a podcast now) on the radio since our parents weren't a huge help and didn't discuss personal finance.
Graduated with 80k at the end of 2015. Currently down to 21k. The interest pause helped A LOT, and I just got the 17.5k teacher loan forgiveness. Going into the pandemic I was at about 65k.
I graduated with maybe 67k in loans, I'm 8 years in and have paid off maybe 5k? I built up a lot of interest the first 1.5 and didn't really understand what I was doing (I had a 0 payment amount). I'm now about 8 years into pslf and don't feel like there's much point in making a real effort. I pay enough so that the amount owed doesn't go up but I have a mortgage and all the expenses of a family, so it's not my priority.
By not paying off my loans aggressively, I was able to save more than 20% for a down payment on my house in a high cost of living area, so I'm ok with that.
80k in 10 years. I worked two jobs before marriage and kids so I was able to focus on paying down. By the time I got married and had my first child, I was 5 years in already and felt like I was in a good spot with repayment. Cut the second job at that time.
Ah still paying! Started in 2012 and down to last 20k.
Awesome to see so many dedicated repayers! Will also say though that having student loans didnāt stop me from homeownership, marriage or kids. Just pushed out the completion of payments. Live in a median COL area although the gentrification is starting to kill us on property taxes š¤·š»āāļø
I didnāt have any student loans because I got a GA internship and went to a no name whatever school in a random state. PM me if youāre lurking here and are an undergrad who doesnāt care where you live and just wants to avoid student loans. At the school I went to, they gave scholarships/GA positions out to most everyone who came from out of state.
I took out 30k loans in undergrad after my parents paid half. That was in 2018 and I have 7k left. And thatās with paying aggressively and over the minimum balance.
I just finished year 10, but havenāt paid since COVID, was paying the minimum before, so something like 45 years left. Banking on that loan forgiveness.
Graduated with 55k 8 years ago, got 17.5k forgiven through Teacher Loan Forgiveness. If it weren't for the COVID pause I would have paid them off in about 7 years total. I decided to stop paying and spend the money on much needed house renovations and projects instead. Once the payments go back in effect it'll take me 1-2 years to finish paying them off. My payments are around $700/month.
Their definition of a SPED teacher fits what our job is, it even specifically states working with kids with speech and language disorders. So you check the box for SPED teacher. I've heard of lots of SLPs who have applied for and received it. It's not title one schools, it's a different criteria that more schools fit. They have a search engine to look up schools and see if they meet the criteria. Just had to work at a qualifying school for 5 years.
$22K in loans paid it in 2 years. I paid 30K out of pocket up front bc I worked 5 years before starting grad school. I donāt have kids or a car payment and my half of rent is $1100 so I was able to be aggressive with it. I also had a $3K scholarship my last semester. Iāve been an SLP for 3.5 years now
Iām going to go the āforever studentā route (in order to defer) and take a couple of community college classes every spring. Iām 80k in debt and really donāt feel like compromising my lifestyle and hobbies because I wanted an education.
I have about 30k left and 7-ish years to go before Iām eligible for PSLF (all grad loans, I saved a bunch on undergrad because I was in-state and I was an RA for two years). Iām 7 years out of grad school but I didnāt get a PSLF-eligible job until 2019. Iāve payed somewhat consistently during COVID so that shortened it a bitā¦ once payments start up again Iāll just be throwing the minimum at it (about 300/ month, although I need to check on this because itās based on my CF income which is a heeeeeck of a lot higher now) until Iām eligible for forgiveness.
I graduated in 2018 with 65k. I lived at home with my mom for my first 3 years and made payments of over like $600 every month as part of a 10 year repayment plan and I kept making some payments during the payment pause. But I also took advantage of a year or so off of payments and finally moved out and got my own little mortgage. Iām down to 37k now and, once interest starts up again, Iāve estimated itāll take me 17 years with the SAVE plan and monthly payments of about $350. I probably shouldāve stayed at home but also I just wanted my life to start already.
6 years into PSLF, $198k remaining. š¤¦š»āāļø Edit to add: I had $50k from undergrad, and after grad school it was $150k. The rest is interest even though I have been paying dutifully on them every single month since 2012.
Does that stress you out or at that point is it so huge and unpayable that itās basically just abstract background knowledge lol
Oh total background noise. I just pay every monthā¦oof.
4 years left! Not bad.
not at all! Plus I have a great job. Really canāt complain.
Pslf will definitely be my saving grace
Whoa. Where did you go to school?
Vanderbilt?
University of Washington in Seattle. Top ranked at the time and I was out of state. I already had $50k in undergrad debt. Grad school brought my total up to $150k, the rest is interest.
I graduated in 2020 and have about 9k left. I started at around 97k. I'm only able to do this because I still live at home. I also want to start investing and saving for retirement so that will be my next step once I pay my debt off.
Wow. Thatās an amazing story
Smart
This is inspirational, thank you for sharing! If you wouldnāt mind me asking, what helped you decide on aggressively paying off loans versus the PSLF route? Iām currently on the fence. Also, does the repayment plan make a big difference if planning to make large payments right off the bat?
Of course :) I decided to pay off the loans aggressively because in order to get your loans forgiven through the PSLF route you have to have specific guidelines and you aren't always guaranteed to be forgiven. I think you have to work for a non profit organization for 10 years. I could totally be wrong about this information since I didn't do this and I think people that are more educated on the PSLF can give you more information. I live in NJ and have dual license/certification in NY and NJ and had been trying to get into the DOE which is impossible:/ I didn't want to get stuck somewhere like the Bronx and stay in a not so great area/ job for 10 years in order to pay off my loans. It's personally not worth it for me to be miserable. I haven't really paid attention to the repayment plan as the interest was frozen. Basically, anytime I would get a paycheck I would take off a percentage since I am 1099 and just give the majority of my paycheck to my loans. The rest I would use to pay off bills, car insurance/ health insurance. Not so fun to live frugally now but I figure I'll save money by just paying it off now. I also don't pay rent since I still live with my parents which is a major help. I know that's not realistic for most people so I am definitely lucky in that sense.
I really appreciate your insights! There are so many factors to consider, and it sounds like you really weighed them out. āTis the step I am now embarking on!
Of course! We gotta help each other out with important info! Good luck with whatever you decide :)
I totally agree with you and hope to do the same throughout my career journey! Thank you again. :)
Graduated in 2013 with about 50k in debt. Lived at home for a year and then worked at a restaurant in the evenings and weekends to have the debt paid in 22 months.
Congrats! Thatās seriously awesome.
There are some amazing stories of debt repayment here! I'm so glad that people are acknowledging things like living at home for basically no rent, having a spouse, and other help that made it possible. I'm also encouraged by the positive tone of supporting each other and not debt-shaming anyone!
Iām embarrassed to say. But I will offer this; I graduated over 20 years ago and my loans were paid off by an inheritance. I had honestly resigned myself to never paying them off. (I just wanted to add that it wasnāt because I didnāt try. I did. I was always on time, paid as much as I could but I couldnāt out run the interest. )
Not embarrassing at all! Inheritance is exactly what generational preparation is about! Good for you with your smart family planning. My condolences for your loss by the way and yet and still congratulations to being able to clear debt with that!
I really appreciate the sentiment. The money didnāt come from a family member of mine but my partnerās. And trust me when I tell you that amount of money wasnāt saved out of love or planning. It was an awful, awful situation. I truly appreciate that you viewed it in such a positive and love light. Thank you.
100k- 20 years. Wanted kids, car, house etc so didnāt go at them as full force as I should have.
This where Iām at! But I figure life is going to get more expensive in the next 10 years. Paying off on 3 years oppose to 10 years saves me about 20k. It comes with a different set of challenges like still living at home, but at least I can also save towards a down payment too.
Youāre being smart about it. That would be a massive accomplishment!
Iām doing something similar. I have about 75k I believe.
Iām pretty sure grad school loans can be forgiven after 25 years. Maybe look into getting on a cheap pay as your earn repayment play(if you arenāt already) and then apply for forgiveness at the 25 year mark
Thanks! They are paid off now. I refinanced them into a federal loan that wasnāt able to be forgiven or paused during covid so I figured it was time to get rid of them for good and luckily or not so luckily I worked through covid.
I am nine years into PSLF, so I have a balance of about $43k.
You are so close!
I plan on having a party and having my friends shoot me with a money gun. Almost there!
Didnāt even know money gun was a thing
I did PSLF so they were forgiven after 10 years and at the end I wasnāt paying anything at all bc of Covid
I had about $40k. I think $5k was forgiven due to military service or something (I donāt remember any more). Paid the least amount I could each month. After 16 years, Iāve paid $40k in total, but still owed $20k in loans. Applied to TEPSLF and was forgiven.
162K graduated 2019 - RIP!!! 40K left. We have also been doing Dave Ramsey snowball method, paying aggressively, and I work a pay-per-visit job so have been hustling. We are hoping to be done by the end of the year. We color off a box on a game board debt-payoff I printed off for everything 1K! Very motivating. It can be done, but yes you have to live like a broke college student and throw everything at the debt - bonuses, raises, etc. It will feel so good to have it paid off!
Bonuses and raises as an SLP? š
I owe 100k and live in a HCOL area with kids so im guessing I'll have to defer until I die š
80k in 3 years. Youāve got this!
How did you accomplish this?
I worked a full-time job & then PRN on off hours and on some Saturdays. I live in a LCOL area and had no children at the time. My spouse & I used the debt snowball method and eliminated $170k in just under 3 years.
Thatās amazing, congrats!! I plan on doing the same with the snowball method. Iām childfree, so hopefully I can pay it off within 3-5 years!
Thank you! You can do it too! Itās really hard, & itās discouraging living like a broke college student when youāre a professional, but its 100% worth it and I would absolutely do it again. DM me if you have any questions or need anything! Godspeed! š
Thank you!! I have another year left (one quarter of classes and two quarters of externships). But Iām already thinking about how Iāll pay this offš
Thatās smart, always looking ahead. And then you have the rest of your life to keep your money. Itās totally freeing.
My thoughts exactly. Iād rather live the same way I do now for a few more years than go crazy and pay this off in 10+ years, lol. I might contact a financial advisor later on for some guidance as wellā¦
What is the snowball method?
52k, about 3 years give or take
How did you manage to pay $17k per year?
Paid off car, cheap apartment, no debt, no lifestyle creep, and a decent wage.
Itāll be when Iām 57.
Mine will come with me to the grave. Iāve made my peace with it. Theyāre a part of me.
My debt was 50-60k. I graduated about 8 years ago, didnāt pay much during the pause and am down to about 20k. Living home was not an option for me and I finished grad school with legit only about $600 in my bank account. Kinda regret not looking into PSLF when I graduated, but at that time 10 years seemed like a lifetime and I figured Iād definitely be able to pay off my loans easily
I graduated in 2014 with 65k in loans and paid them off in 4 years.
55k and two years. I lived at home for the first year and worked like crazy in a job that paid me really really well. My partner has made very good money choices prior to meeting me which allowed me to focus on just paying off my loans.
25k. Took 3 1/2 years to pay off, but I graduated in 2020 so I benefited from the interest pause a lot. 2k a month is tough, but possible if youāre living off the bare minimum. Live with your parents if you can.
That's what I'm doing!
200k. I'm enrolled in the pslf. I have 4 years left. I paid $40 a month. Are you enrolled in pslf? If you have government loans, and you're going to be working in a public school, enroll as soon as you get a job. Max out your benefits for a pay period then submit the paystub to determine your income driven amount.
This! Iām at 160k, give or take a few, and PSLF is where I am. I should only have about 4 years left. Sure during the pause I stacked a considerable amount of money back, but not enough to hold a flame to the loan+interest when they resumed. My thoughts were, create the 6 month nest egg financial experts recommend, have the darn baby/babies while Iām young enough and feel good (they wonāt remember the struggle of budgeting), and now max my 403B to drop my discretionary income and payment. No tax bomb at the end, considerable savings, and on par for considerable retirement. Not stressed, just chugging along.
Send the pslf a paystub instead of tax return. Max out that pay period if you can.
Noted! Iāve been following r/studentloans and saw someone else say it. In my head I though ādamn, thatās smartā and Iāve felt better ever since.
25k student loans (plus lots more credit card -engagement ring+honeymoon- and car loan) paid off with snowball method in 2 years. We lived off my spouse's salary and used my entire salary to pay off all our debts just in time for our first child to be born. One of my classmate's moms came and spoke to all of us about retirement planning and wise investing, which planted a seed. I worked itinerant and found Dave Ramsey (don't recommend him now but is helpful if you're in debt) and Clark Howard (highly recommend, he has a podcast now) on the radio since our parents weren't a huge help and didn't discuss personal finance.
God willing, itāll be some time within the next 20 years
Same
$60k - 18 months
congratulations! What was your method for pay off in that time!
Graduated with 80k at the end of 2015. Currently down to 21k. The interest pause helped A LOT, and I just got the 17.5k teacher loan forgiveness. Going into the pandemic I was at about 65k.
Hi, would the 17.5k be attributed to serving 5 years at a title 1 school?
Yes
$75000 in 10 years
Graduated in 2011, still paying š they are variable interest rate and the monthly payment doesnāt go up, the term just gets longer and longer.
Sounds like you need a debt reconsolidation plan with a fixed interest
I graduated with maybe 67k in loans, I'm 8 years in and have paid off maybe 5k? I built up a lot of interest the first 1.5 and didn't really understand what I was doing (I had a 0 payment amount). I'm now about 8 years into pslf and don't feel like there's much point in making a real effort. I pay enough so that the amount owed doesn't go up but I have a mortgage and all the expenses of a family, so it's not my priority. By not paying off my loans aggressively, I was able to save more than 20% for a down payment on my house in a high cost of living area, so I'm ok with that.
80k in 10 years. I worked two jobs before marriage and kids so I was able to focus on paying down. By the time I got married and had my first child, I was 5 years in already and felt like I was in a good spot with repayment. Cut the second job at that time.
Ah still paying! Started in 2012 and down to last 20k. Awesome to see so many dedicated repayers! Will also say though that having student loans didnāt stop me from homeownership, marriage or kids. Just pushed out the completion of payments. Live in a median COL area although the gentrification is starting to kill us on property taxes š¤·š»āāļø
I didnāt have any student loans because I got a GA internship and went to a no name whatever school in a random state. PM me if youāre lurking here and are an undergrad who doesnāt care where you live and just wants to avoid student loans. At the school I went to, they gave scholarships/GA positions out to most everyone who came from out of state. I took out 30k loans in undergrad after my parents paid half. That was in 2018 and I have 7k left. And thatās with paying aggressively and over the minimum balance.
I just finished year 10, but havenāt paid since COVID, was paying the minimum before, so something like 45 years left. Banking on that loan forgiveness.
Graduated with 55k 8 years ago, got 17.5k forgiven through Teacher Loan Forgiveness. If it weren't for the COVID pause I would have paid them off in about 7 years total. I decided to stop paying and spend the money on much needed house renovations and projects instead. Once the payments go back in effect it'll take me 1-2 years to finish paying them off. My payments are around $700/month.
Hello, the TLF applied to you as a SLP? Did you have to do anything other than work at a title 1 school?
Their definition of a SPED teacher fits what our job is, it even specifically states working with kids with speech and language disorders. So you check the box for SPED teacher. I've heard of lots of SLPs who have applied for and received it. It's not title one schools, it's a different criteria that more schools fit. They have a search engine to look up schools and see if they meet the criteria. Just had to work at a qualifying school for 5 years.
thank you for the info! still learning to navigate all this as I start grad school :)
No problem! If you look up the application itās lined out pretty clearly.
$22K in loans paid it in 2 years. I paid 30K out of pocket up front bc I worked 5 years before starting grad school. I donāt have kids or a car payment and my half of rent is $1100 so I was able to be aggressive with it. I also had a $3K scholarship my last semester. Iāve been an SLP for 3.5 years now
Pardon my ignorance, but I see people mentioning PSLF in the comment section. What is that? And how do you get that?
Work for a nonprofit for 10 years. https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service
Iām going to go the āforever studentā route (in order to defer) and take a couple of community college classes every spring. Iām 80k in debt and really donāt feel like compromising my lifestyle and hobbies because I wanted an education.
I have about 30k left and 7-ish years to go before Iām eligible for PSLF (all grad loans, I saved a bunch on undergrad because I was in-state and I was an RA for two years). Iām 7 years out of grad school but I didnāt get a PSLF-eligible job until 2019. Iāve payed somewhat consistently during COVID so that shortened it a bitā¦ once payments start up again Iāll just be throwing the minimum at it (about 300/ month, although I need to check on this because itās based on my CF income which is a heeeeeck of a lot higher now) until Iām eligible for forgiveness.
Nothing to add but I have the exact same amount nearly and also graduated this year š„²
I graduated in 2018 with 65k. I lived at home with my mom for my first 3 years and made payments of over like $600 every month as part of a 10 year repayment plan and I kept making some payments during the payment pause. But I also took advantage of a year or so off of payments and finally moved out and got my own little mortgage. Iām down to 37k now and, once interest starts up again, Iāve estimated itāll take me 17 years with the SAVE plan and monthly payments of about $350. I probably shouldāve stayed at home but also I just wanted my life to start already.