Advice on Student Loans Please?

[Hckey2477]

I just have a couple of quick questions. I have student loans from 3 different sources right now. 1 federal and 2 private. the federal loan is currently around 15,000 and the other private are 80K and 11K. I was wondering if there was way to combine these loans into one to make payments easier, and if so is it possible to get a lower interest rate by doing so? Thank You for your help..... I am getting super stressed out knowing i have to start repaying the 11k next month, the 15k in august and the 80k next year.

[wheelsup]

Federal Loans can be consolidated, I did mine back in 2003 with citibank. I don't know about your private loans, you might want to start calling other loan companies and asking around.

Does your loan include a 4-year degree or is that only flight training?

I did a quick calculation and $106,000 @ 8% for 15 years = 2866.97/month...that's gonna be tough at a regional. Have you looked into CFI'ing for high paying company such as the one in Bakersfield, starting off at $45k/year?

[bike21]

I think the rules have changed for private loan consolidation and fixed rates. I received something in the mail last week but haven't looked into it much. I will post something again when I get more info.

It would be VERY nice to lock in these stupid private loans. Wish I had found JC before 2001

[Hckey2477]

My loans include 3 years of college, I plan on finishing within the next couple of years. I have 20 years to pay back the 80K but still comes to 600+ a month. the 11k is 230 a month (bad rate). Its going to be rough. Hope the wife can pull through for me.

[wheelsup]

The 600/month on the $80k loan is probably interest only or is something like a step payment program where you pay a low amount at first and it gradually ramps up.

[777forever]

I deferred mine til start of 2nd yr pay. Impossible to pay on first year pay, or at least til I pick up a line hehe

[Nihon_Ni]

Originally Posted by Hckey2477

My loans include 3 years of college, I plan on finishing within the next couple of years. I have 20 years to pay back the 80K but still comes to 600+ a month. the 11k is 230 a month (bad rate). Its going to be rough. Hope the wife can pull through for me.

$106,000 and it doesn't come with a Sheepskin? Wow! All of the "Gotta get a big fat loan and get to the airlines right now" crowd should take note of Hckey's situation. Hckey, I'm not ridiculing you, just pointing out the reality of your situation. Education is a valuable thing, and it's worth going into debt if that's the only way you can get it. Most people have to get loans to get through college. I did. The benifit that I had is that I stayed in school full-time until I graduated and didn't have to start paying back my loans until I was finished with my degree. You will be faced with a situation where you will be making big loan payments on entry-level pay, and still need to find extra money to get the last 25% of your degree so you can progress in your career field. How long do you have to finish your degree before you have to start repeating classes. I'll bet it's in the 7-10 year range. 5 years from now when you have planned to have your degree finished you may find yourself still paying on your loans and have a few rug rats that are consuming all the extra time and money you planned to use to finish your degree. Before you know it you might be at the point where you need to repeat classes for credit and the whole degree will have slipped away from you. (This very thing happened to my brother who left college with one year to go. Every time he planned to finish, some other life event came up and delayed his plans. The last one was a round of layoffs at his company because he didn't have a degree that would allow him to move to a position that wasn't being eliminated. He's now been out of college for almost 20 years and will never get back to it.) I would strongly urge you to stay in school full-time until you graduate, if that is at all possible.

Hoping your wife can pull you through is one method. I know you said that toungue in cheek, but as my boss is fond of saying, "Hope is not a course of action." If you rely on your wife to be your sugar mama, it will only make her resent you years from now when you are on the road every night instead of home sweating up the sheets with her. This is how people get the moniker "dead beat" attached to them. A better way is to find a way where you can pull your own share of the load.

Have you looked into a second (or third) job? You'd be surprised how much debt you can eliminate by delivering pizzas or pumping gas into planes or something like that. Step 1 is to get yourself on a budget that will force you to live within your means and not accumulate any more debt (i.e., credit cards, car loans, etc.). Step 2 is to stick to it. Step 3 is to generate extra income and use it ALL to eliminate the highest interest rate debt first.

When I was first out of college I was beyond flat broke. I used to joke that my wife didn't have to work, she just did so we could have the "extra" things in life -- things like food, water, electricity...the perks! All that debt used to keep me awake at night. (Literally) The thing that made me sleep better was when I took steps to generate a tiny amount of extra income and I used it all for debt elimination. Slowly, but surely, we were able to pay off all of our student loans and consumer debt and it gave me a peace of mind that I can't describe. I urge you to do likewise.

[ilove747s]

Questions for ya. You're in California right? Do you happen to own a house that may have some equity in it?

Do this equation:

Estimated Value times 80% (it's 80% on homestead in texas you may have to check for california) subtract what you owe and this will give you your equity that you can use. Sometimes that may have to be less than half the value of your house just depending on what kind of HE option you go for. Rates are pretty decent right now.

My advise would be to develop a solid financial plan that figures out when you can have the debt paid off, provides you with at least 3 months of emergency funds, and your goals for retirement.

As a banker I don't have any other ideas. Hope that helps!

[panman-pilot]

Originally Posted by Hckey2477

My loans include 3 years of college, I plan on finishing within the next couple of years. I have 20 years to pay back the 80K but still comes to 600+ a month. the 11k is 230 a month (bad rate). Its going to be rough. Hope the wife can pull through for me.

Hckey2477, I too disapprove of the last sentence about your wife. It is my belief that hoping that your wife supports your student loans and your demanding career is asking for a bit too much. I believe that your wife should not have to pull through for you. You all need to pull through this together!

Personally, I do not have any student loan debt but my wife has. I have put off rushing to a regional airline at this time so that my wife and I can work towards paying off her student loan debt. We have already payed off all 14K of her private loans in the space of 4mths. To do this, while I worked and took care of our living expenses she dedicated her salary to her student loan debt. I believe it is more important to ensure that you are financially stable before entering such an instable industry. When you are married it is no longer what he or she can do for you but what you can do together. If I were you I would try to get a decent non-flying job and then both you and your wife tackle the loans head-on for a couple years until you reduce it considerably. This would augur well for your marriage and your career. I think you would be a lot happier overall without that debt hanging over your head and not being able to pay for it. My 2 cents!