NWR: student loans

hi ladies,
so FH and I have a LARGE amount of student loan debt combined to get through college- he has a lot more than me but still...ultimately its ours. We combined pay nearly $1500 a month...i know the size of a mortgage nearly. anyway, have any of you consolidated your loans recently? If we keep with these payments, we won't be owning a home until these stupid things are paid off!!!! god i regret going to college!!!! lol

NWR: student loans

I don't have any student loan debt (thanks mom and dad!) but FH does and it's only growing as he gets his MBA. We've spoken to several mortgage reps at several banks who basically said, when we're ready to buy a home, call the loan companies and get the minimum payments down as low as you can. Explain that you can't afford the minimum payments, give them whatever sob story you want. It doesn't matter what your total debt is, it's your debt-to-income ration (DTI) which is your month minimum payments vs. your monthly income. So it doesn't matter if you have $1million in debt, if you're min payment is $100/month, that's what matters. So just try to get those minimum payments down. You can continue to pay as much as you're paying now, as long as the minimum is lower. Good luck!

NWR: student loans

Unfortunately that's no realistic. You can give them a sob story believe me I tried they will tell you they don't care will get their money one way or another and will start putting liens on accounts garnish wages or whatever else. There is truly no way to lower payments other than extend the life of the repayment terms.... my biggest concern is consolidating if it's actually worth it and has helped lower payments at all (interest is usually higher when you consolidate but the term on the loan is usually longer). It's just a bad thing to have student loans! :( fortunately we can make our payments with ease right now but we won't be saving at all to buy a house which is what I want.

NWR: student loans

Hmm.. what if you try to put them in forbearance? I'm not sure about it, I'd definitely talk to a financial advisor before doing it, but if you can get them forgiven for even a year it could help you. FBIL just put forbearance on his loans to be able to apply for a personal loan in order to pay off his credit card debt he's paying 30% on right now. He was approved for the loan and all is fine now (his terms of fine lol). Definitely look into it. I'm not sure if you have to be less than a certain amount of time out of school though.. like a year or two.

NWR: student loans

Look into loan forgiveness..certain professions are more forgiving than other namely healthcare professionals and teachers..

NWR: student loans

I hear ya on the student loans! We would be much better financially if I didn't have them. Mine come to about $600 a month but its still ridiculous! I consolidated some of them at a lower interest rate. I could get you the info if you want?

NWR: student loans

i consolidated right as i came out of school... I think when i consolidated the private loans it was just an average of all the rates. I think maybe when I did the federal it was lower cause i did it before that day they say it goes up. I think it is sometime in July it usually goes up. But I was not able to consolidate the federal with the private. They had to be seperate

NWR: student loans

I have an insane amount of loans and my payments will be higher than you and your FH's combined (from undergrad and three graduate degrees). I get stressed about this ALL the time but there are many programs that help w loan forgiveness in my field.

I feel your pain though and am right there with you wondering if I will ever be able to have a house :/

NWR: student loans

Are they private or federal loans? If they are federal, it should almost definitely lower your interest rate and be the best alternative. If they're private it may be a bit more difficult...

Call your college financial aid office. I bet their loan officer can help you even though you're an alumni.

NWR: student loans

Between my graduate and undergraduate I'm pretty good and all are federal. I don't have credit card bills it's these loans that kill me..I'll have to look into the consolidation more closely.

NWR: student loans

If you have Federal Loans, put them into an IBR (income based repayment), ICR (income contingent repayment) or PAYE(pay as you earn) plan. Plans are based on when you took out your loan. It should lower your payments significantly.

Private loans are much more difficult to deal with, unfortunately.

On Facebook, there is a group called ForgiveStudentLoanDebt.com (now known as Student Debt Crisis) and they have thousands of people talking about the whole student loan issue, post articles, plus there are a couple of lawyers on there that can help with advising people on issues.

NWR: student loans

I have the same issue! Luckily FH joined the military after high school so I am the only one with loans... but they kill us and we are starting to look at buying a home too. Ugh these damn student loans :(

Re: NWR: student loans

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Posted by rcotter90

I don't have any student loan debt (thanks mom and dad!) but FH does and it's only growing as he gets his MBA. We've spoken to several mortgage reps at several banks who basically said, when we're ready to buy a home, call the loan companies and get the minimum payments down as low as you can. Explain that you can't afford the minimum payments, give them whatever sob story you want. It doesn't matter what your total debt is, it's your debt-to-income ration (DTI) which is your month minimum payments vs. your monthly income. So it doesn't matter if you have $1million in debt, if you're min payment is $100/month, that's what matters. So just try to get those minimum payments down. You can continue to pay as much as you're paying now, as long as the minimum is lower. Good luck!

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I had my student loan on hold twice then lowered(which dragged it out but its all paid) and I gave them the sob story(first marriage and then when I had a baby)...The only thing is it will just make for a longer payment. The student loan company gives VERY low intrest(they used to at least) so make sure whatever loan you get in in line with what you have now

Re: NWR: student loans

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Posted by MissToMrs

hi ladies,
so FH and I have a LARGE amount of student loan debt combined to get through college- he has a lot more than me but still...ultimately its ours. We combined pay nearly $1500 a month...i know the size of a mortgage nearly. anyway, have any of you consolidated your loans recently? If we keep with these payments, we won't be owning a home until these stupid things are paid off!!!! god i regret going to college!!!! lol

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Ugh I know your pain. By the time I end up paying mine off, I could have bought a very nice house. I would love to know about consolidation too, as my loans are currently in forbearance. But of course, my forbearance ends in May- just in time for my wedding. What a lovely gift =|

NWR: student loans

I've heard good things about income based repayment. Have any of you guys tried that? I'm thinking of switching my repayment plan option that I selected since I just graduated in May