Redjake

Haven't really checked this out, I'm only a sophomore in college. I know it varies from loan to loan, but what would ya'll say is the average loan payment per month when you get out of college?

I have two private loans for $5,000, a government loan for $1,500, a government loan for $2,500, and I will have a government loan of $5,500 and $6,500 by the time I get out. So:

5000
5000
1500
2500
5500
6500

That's the total. Those are all seperate loans, but all but the first two are from the government. I don't start paying 'til I get out of college. I just want to know what to prepare for. $50 a month? $100 a month? $200 a month? More?

Anyone have any experiences?

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Rodney

That's $26,000. Your loan payments are going to vary by interest, but let's put it this way. Even if there was no interest, it'd take over 10 years to pay it off at $200 a month. _With_ interest, which of course you're going to have, perhaps 15 years or more. If you went less than $200, you'd be paying off that loan longer than you want to think about.

You've got a few years to think about this. Just remember, inflation is now officially your friend, that means that you'll be paying off your loans with dollars that are worth less than the ones you originally borrowed. It's very possible that inflation will kick in, in a few years. If we're in a high-inflation environment when your loans come due, pay them off relatively slowly, because the longer you wait, the less valuable the dollars are (Your salary might rise in response to inflation, but the loan amount will be fixed.) If inflation stays low or we have deflation, pay off more quickly. Especially if deflation happens.

Redjake

interesting. I'm not sure if I can manipulate how much I want to pay per month, but I doubt the private loan creditors will complain. the government, however, may set a specific amount per month, so I might be stuck with a $100 payment for that. hopefully I can get a job that will enable me to pay it back at a high amount per month. that's what I'm here for, right!

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eribrav

Don't be in a big rush to pay those off, as they are probably at low interest rates. Not only are the rates good, but you will get a tax deduction for the interest. You will probably want to pay off all other debts first. Even if there are no other debts, what's the big rish to pay off low interest, tax friendly loans?

Redjake

well, it's not really my choice (that's why I was asking what the usual payments were). they set my payments per month, and I pay it I just don't know how much it will be. I wanted some opinions on what people thought I could look for

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smithja0423

consolidate, consolidate, consolidate. Pick a large servicer like sallie mae, get a consolidation loan, and lock in a low rate. They're also pretty flexible as far as payment plans go. You can get up to four years of interest only payments.

Student loan interest is usually indexed against certain treasury securities. The lower the prime rate, the lower interest rate you'll be able to lock in at that time. I think that it's less than 4% right now. Some of the lowest student loan rates in history right now.

As for how much your payment will be, my payment for 12 grand at 4.25% is right around $150/month - so you can kinda project your payment from that.

Good luck with all of it!

trileggeddog

Gov't loans do give you options on how you want to pay them back. I'm assuming those are Stafford Loans. They'll give you about 3 or 4 different payment options, like interest only for a few years, start out at interest only for a few yrs and build up, principal and interest, etc. You will have a choice to what your payment will be within reason.

I got out with about 20K in loans, had a minimum payment of about 210 a month for 10 yrs, principal and interest. I paid more than I had to and paid them off in about 6 yrs. I could have paid less and taken 15 yrs.

With rates as low as they are now, you'll be surprised as to how low of a payment they can give you. My advice is pick a payment plan that is the most aggressive that you feel you can comfortable live with over the long haul, then pay extra on it as often as you can. Don't get me wrong, getting a college degree is the best investment you'll ever make in your life (better return than any stock, real estate, etc), but that still don't make it fun to write that check every month for the pizza and beer you consumed in school 5 yrs ago when you're trying to save up money for a new house, new car, kids, and other grown up crap.

Chingal0

My school was 25k and I have 2 payments as of now. One for about 130, and anoteher for 70. So ~200 now, but I have a seperate 6k that I had to cover thru a bank, and that is going to be about 100 a month I would say. Sad thing is, I make jack shit.. .Hah!

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Rubyee

I have $5000 in loans right now, and I pay $50 a month.

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r3ptile

i have about twenty grand in federal student loans, give or take.. i haven't started paying on `em yet, but when i do i think i'll pay $100 a month or less, depending on the type of consolidation i choose... its gonna take <I>forever</I> though -- i'm not looking forward to paying these back and don't feel as if i've gained enough from 2 years of technical school to even come close to justifying the affects of this tremendous debt.

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