So coming up on the start of paying back my student loans and was wondering about tips. I went through the consolidation paperwork and everything is set, but I have 15 days to stop the consolidation. I was reading that I might not WANT to consolidate since my loans are all after 2006, and therefore all at fixed interest rates. Total loan amount is 55k, with a total of 110k being paid back after 10 years with Standard payment.
I have a mixed % of rates though. Ranging from 6.8% to 1.75%. All loans are federal, never took out any private loans. So my only lenders were US Department of Education and ACS.
Should I look into consolidation, and should I think about going with an income based repayment plan?
I work at a community college, which is tax exempt which I believe will make me qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness after 10 years (I have to go check with payroll about this over the week). Which means if I go with income based, id pay less and then wipe it all away after 10 years. But that sticks me in the community college job for that time frame, which isn't a horrible gig since it's IT, and lets me get a lot of experience under my belt (I'm 30 so i'd be 40 after the shackles come off). Leaving me another 15 years at least to work something high paying in the private sector, or if anything comes up during those 10 years I could just jump if it paid very well and change my payment plan I guess.
I also plan to get my Bachleors via the tuition reimbursement at my job, but that only pays 3k a semester which doesn't cover much.
Any advice anyone has who's dealing with this shit?
Also this image 100% relevant.
http://media.riemurasia.net/albumit/...1308181252.jpg