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  1. #41
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    I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already but you can be in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and IBR at the same time. If your payments are lower under the IBR, choose IBR instead of the standard 10 years. Your loans will still be forgiven after 10 years. IBR will only be better than the standard 10 year repayment if you don't make a lot of money. Check out the calculators online.

    Also, you can ask your loan sevicer for estimated payments on different repayment plans. There is quite a few out there for federal loans.

    The best advice I can give is DO NOT ever refinance the federal loans into private loans. Federal student loans will have way more options for you if you get into a situation where you can't pay your loans back. Private loans from banks will either sue you right away or garnish your wages.

    EDIT: I'd also like to add that student loan interests are tax deductible w/o having to itemize. (the only good thing about paying student loans)

  2. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nesssie View Post
    I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already but you can be in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and IBR at the same time. If your payments are lower under the IBR, choose IBR instead of the standard 10 years. Your loans will still be forgiven after 10 years. IBR will only be better than the standard 10 year repayment if you don't make a lot of money. Check out the calculators online.

    Also, you can ask your loan sevicer for estimated payments on different repayment plans. There is quite a few out there for federal loans.

    The best advice I can give is DO NOT ever refinance the federal loans into private loans. Federal student loans will have way more options for you if you get into a situation where you can't pay your loans back. Private loans from banks will either sue you right away or garnish your wages.

    EDIT: I'd also like to add that student loan interests are tax deductible w/o having to itemize. (the only good thing about paying student loans)
    This is true. I've been able to write off every single penny of interest paid on student loans. So I guess it's somewhat of a relief that you get as a lump sum once a year.

  3. #43
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    maybe it'll put you into a lower tax bracket and save you money

  4. #44

    Hmm I did not know you could do that on your taxes, at least that's a little plus to the whole thing, and yeah not gonna refinance this shit. Talking to my uncle later today, as his son is doing the PSLF program right now and going to ask him about all the details (he handles my cousins finances)

  5. #45
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    Your loan company should get you a 1098-E tax form every January for the previous tax year. A write-off is a write-off.

  6. #46
    I'll change yer fuckin rate you derivative piece of shit
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    I had 42k in loans when I finished grad school, but consolidated them down to like 2.875%. At that rate it makes more sense to be aggressive about paying off my 3.375% mortgage than my student loans. Consolidating at 6.5% seems like madness given how cheap banks can borrow money right now, the prime rate is near-zero.

  7. #47
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    Just to clarify, you're 55k in debt on an associates degree? That seems egregious.

  8. #48

    Quote Originally Posted by Tyche View Post
    Just to clarify, you're 55k in debt on an associates degree? That seems egregious.
    2 associates degrees and 2 years spent going to a 4 year school, one of which was Art Institute which is probably 1/3rd of that total amount alone honestly. Originally went for multimedia when the whole "GrAPhix ArtZ!!" train was rolling,but that shit derailed into a tar pit, plus a few other things going on during my early to mid 20's led to me making some shitty choices and fuck ups.

  9. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by archibaldcrane View Post
    I had 42k in loans when I finished grad school, but consolidated them down to like 2.875%. At that rate it makes more sense to be aggressive about paying off my 3.375% mortgage than my student loans. Consolidating at 6.5% seems like madness given how cheap banks can borrow money right now, the prime rate is near-zero.
    What were your interest rates before consolidation and when/where did you consolidate them?

  10. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ddz View Post
    This is true. I've been able to write off every single penny of interest paid on student loans. So I guess it's somewhat of a relief that you get as a lump sum once a year.
    This is only true up to a maximum of $2500, at least for me at the time a couple years ago. I paid some $4300 in interest in 2010 and could only deduct $2500.

    I had 2 or 3 subsidized loans at I think 2.375% and all of the others unsub at the same 6.8% as many others here.

  11. #51

    Yes, $2500 is the limit for the amount of student loan interest you can deduct from taxes.

  12. #52
    I'll change yer fuckin rate you derivative piece of shit
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mojo View Post
    What were your interest rates before consolidation and when/where did you consolidate them?
    I think the subsidized loans were like 3% and the unsubsidized were 5%? I consolidated through Sallie Mae, this was back in like 2005.

  13. #53
    I'll change yer fuckin rate you derivative piece of shit
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    Quote Originally Posted by RKenshin View Post
    Yes, $2500 is the limit for the amount of student loan interest you can deduct from taxes.
    And once you make enough money you lose the ability to deduct, i think it's around 70k/yr.

  14. #54
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    Lots of interesting things in this thread:

    To put things in context, I had about 60-61k in debt between three loans after getting both my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and a new car payment on top of that right after graduating. Two of them (the 40k grad school loan, and the 12k one I had to take out when my financial aid got fucked) and the car payment were paid off within 4 years of me getting my Masters.

    I will also be the first to admit I benefited from interest rates that were a hell of a lot less stupid. The reason the last loan's not paid off is because the rate's so damn low that I barely even notice the payment being debited from my account. Plus it's there to make my credit look nice, or something.

    Answering the immediate post, the student loan deduction completely phases out at 75k a year. I know that firsthand (and I just looked it up to be sure) since a few years out of grad school, I started making too much to write it off. As your income gets closer to that mark, the amount you can deduct becomes lower. Also, some stuff I'm going to reiterate here:

    Too late for this advice I guess, but I always recommend working your way through college. It took me near 10 years, but I got 3 degrees debt free. Not only debt free, but a very large chunk of additional change along with it, plus work experiance during that time that I used to jump to my "end game" job.
    I think Seraph posted a picture that countered this pretty well, although my hat's off to you. Your way's viable. My train of thought (which I'm fortunate in that it paid off) was that 'better to just power through, since I'll probably be making enough and tuition keeps shooting up'.

    Also in no random order:

    1 - At those rates, don't consolidate.
    2 - Pay off the loan with the highest interest rate first. When you pay off that loan, take what ever money you were using to pay that one and apply it to the next one.
    3 - The Bachelor's might be worth it (is this in Computer Science or another branch of IT); there are more people here who are knowledgeable about it than me, but two people very close to me (one who's in a managerial position) noted that where they work, the degree tends to be a big deal (one even professed 'there are people who knew more and had more experience coming in, but they couldn't apply for my position due to the lack of degree).
    4 - Holy shit at 55k from doing a community college.
    5 - Take advantage of work's willingness to front 3k towards your education. Do your best to supplement the rest through your own salary/scholarships.
    6 - My understanding of the 'we wipe out your loan after 10 years' is that they pay off a certain amount for each year that you're there, until it's gone. I worked a nonprofit that did that, but left because the pay was shit for where I live.

    Dunno if that was helpful, but best of luck to you.

    Also on the renting versus owning argument, more people here know about home ownership than I do, but I'm opting to rent, since the Bay Area is expensive as fuck, even with my salary. I'd rather invest in other markets and such than homes, with how stupid it gets here. Plus, it's just me. Though for where you live, buying might make sense, especially if you're in a boat that someone else I knew was, where, after buying, her mortgage payment was about $200 cheaper than rent.

    Apologies if this seemed a bit more disorganized than usual; just woke up, but wanted to reply to this. Good luck in paying off the loan. It's a lot, but it is still doable if you make smart financial decisions, and are willing to work.

  15. #55

    So I think I will only consolidate the 6.8% loans as it will just make it less of a hassle in paying them and there will be no difference (pretty sure that's correct but I havn't had coffee yet so fuck math). My final decision will be based on how many credits transfer, which should be a complete 2 years and all the electives/base gen ed bullshit, allowing me to just take degree related stuff. I suppose at the same time I can sign up for the Public Service Forgiveness and go that path, and just pay more then I need to on the loans, that way if shit happens and I find a better private sector job I can just change the payment plan or what not.

    Between certs and degrees, i've always felt that a degree shows you have a base knowledge, but certs show you actually know how to do things and have working knowledge, since certs have to be updated for the most part, and degrees in the IT field can become obsolete in just a few years.

    Anyways, thanks for all the helpful tips and suggestions up in here. I envy you fuckers who get locked in before 2006 and 2008 with low % rates lol.

  16. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mojo View Post
    maybe it'll put you into a lower tax bracket and save you money
    I have a question about getting put in a 'lower tax bracket'
    Is that a state tax thing? idk, I'm in Texas with no state income tax
    I'm no expert so correct me if I'm missing something, but for federal taxes, less income (or reduced via stu loan interest payments, which are nice and I do believe caps at $2500 ) won't put you in a meaningful lower tax bracket.
    e.g. this year a single person with an AGI of $36,250 is in the 15% bracket and somebody making $1 more is in the 25% bracket. But that doesn't mean they pay $5437.5 and $9062.50 respectively.
    They will pay - 10% of the first $8925, 15% of the next $27325. and the 2nd person pays 25% for the next amounts, which is $1 in this example.
    So their taxes are $4991.25 and $4991.50 which is a lot different that $5437.5 and $9062.50 when you just apply 15%/25% across the board.

  17. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chrius View Post
    I have a question about getting put in a 'lower tax bracket'
    Is that a state tax thing? idk, I'm in Texas with no state income tax
    I'm no expert so correct me if I'm missing something, but for federal taxes, less income (or reduced via stu loan interest payments, which are nice and I do believe caps at $2500 ) won't put you in a meaningful lower tax bracket.
    e.g. this year a single person with an AGI of $36,250 is in the 15% bracket and somebody making $1 more is in the 25% bracket. But that doesn't mean they pay $5437.5 and $9062.50 respectively.
    They will pay - 10% of the first $8925, 15% of the next $27325. and the 2nd person pays 25% for the next amounts, which is $1 in this example.
    So their taxes are $4991.25 and $4991.50 which is a lot different that $5437.5 and $9062.50 when you just apply 15%/25% across the board.
    Yeah... It totally wouldn't save you any money... Not sure why I thought that.

  18. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by archibaldcrane View Post
    And once you make enough money you lose the ability to deduct, i think it's around 70k/yr.
    75k single, 155k married.

  19. #59
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    Between certs and degrees, i've always felt that a degree shows you have a base knowledge, but certs show you actually know how to do things and have working knowledge, since certs have to be updated for the most part, and degrees in the IT field can become obsolete in just a few years.
    Yeah, but unfortunately, the people making the hiring decisions don't always feel that way.

  20. #60

    Quote Originally Posted by Ayn View Post
    Yeah, but unfortunately, the people making the hiring decisions don't always feel that way.
    Indeed.

    It's been said a thousand times, but it's still true; it's not what you know, it's who you know.

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