Successful PenFed SSL Loan

[FicoMike0]

Great info, good summary. One small correction,

 "early payments push out the next date, not decrease principal"

Actually, it's both, pushes out next payment and decreases principal.

[scratchpad]

Good catch. You're absolutely right about that. 

[user1200988]

Does anyone know if the same applies to other personal loans with PenFed, or only to the secured ones?

[Navaster]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but does PenFed report the SSL loan to all three credit bureaus? My current auto loan with another credit union is reported to two of them. I am trying to be more careful about making sure they are listed on all three.

[Patient957]

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@Navaster wrote:

Maybe this is a stupid question, but does PenFed report the SSL loan to all three credit bureaus? My current auto loan with another credit union is reported to two of them. I am trying to be more careful about making sure they are listed on all three.

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Yes, all 3

[Leo]

@Patient957 , I appreciate your post, thanks.

$25 multiplied by 142 is not $3150, but $3550. Is that what you meant?

Thanks a lot for the data points. I'm currently 3 days away from being able to pull out my SSL. I only deposited $3000, so I'm going to go for 120 months. Is it necessary to set up a payment every month, or is that just something you wanted to do? 

[Patient957]

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@Leo wrote:

@Patient957 , I appreciate your post, thanks.

$25 multiplied by 142 is not $3150, but $3550. Is that what you meant?

Thanks a lot for the data points. I'm currently 3 days away from being able to pull out my SSL. I only deposited $3000, so I'm going to go for 120 months. Is it necessary to set up a payment every month, or is that just something you wanted to do?

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You're welcome.

Nope, I meant $3150.  There is a 2.05% interest rate, so the total of the payments is going to be greater than the loan amount.

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For an even $3000, you should be able to go for a 134 month loan with a ~$25 payment, assuming the rate is still 2.05%.

You can use a loan calculator to work out the numbers: https://www.calculator.net/loan-calculator.html

Good luck on your SSL.

[Leo]

@Patient957 Thank you so much for your response. Unfortunately I read it too late! I opened the SSL today, $3000 for 120 months. My monthly payment is like $27 & something cents. Oh well, that's likely plenty for me anyway. By then I hope to have other loans. 

Right now I believe I'm waiting for it to be finished setting up. I can see the SSL in the PenFed app, but my Share Savings account is still empty. I can see the deposit for $3000, but it's not part of my available balance yet. 

[scratchpad]

I called on 11/10 to set up the SSL. As of 11/14, I see the SSL show up in my PenFed app but it says minimum payment $0 and next due date in January. They also blocked off the same amount of money in my regular savings account and deposited the same amount of money into the HYSA account. It says it has been posted but the available balance is still just $5. So because I haven't received the money back, I haven't been able to make a payment... even though it says "posted" days ago. This is all confusing and not a good experience. 

[Patient957]

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@scratchpad wrote:

I called on 11/10 to set up the SSL. As of 11/14, I see the SSL show up in my PenFed app but it says minimum payment $0 and next due date in January. They also blocked off the same amount of money in my regular savings account and deposited the same amount of money into the HYSA account. It says it has been posted but the available balance is still just $5. So because I haven't received the money back, I haven't been able to make a payment... even though it says "posted" days ago. This is all confusing and not a good experience. 

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So if I understand what you're saying, they deposited the proceeds of your SSL into your HYSA, but the available balance in your HYSA is only $5.  Do I have that right?

If that's right, I would call and ask when the full balance of your HYSA will be available.  

What is the amount of the SSL?