Fastest way to get rid of my debt?

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I graduated college in 2012. My parents have been paying for my school, since they didn't want me to have to. Unfortunately, they've also got the parent plus loan, a mortgage, heloc and credit card debt. As you can probably assume, they don't have enough money to successfully pay for all of them. So what's happened is that only the minimum payment is being made on my student loans, with my dad looking to try and find ways to reduce that payment even further.

I've since stepped in and said no to that idea and insisting that after I find a new job i'll take on my student loan debt, since they aren't financially capable. This is a bit annoying to me, as I was always told my student loan debt would be paid by them. I assumed my dad was being responsible with spending, but he wasn't. 

Anywho,

These are the details of my loan: 

Provider: Fed Loan Servicing

Total Loan Left: $28,622

Total Repayments Left: 239! 

This is concerning because i'll be in my 40's at this rate before the loan debt is gone. No thank you. I also have aspirations of eventually going to grad school and refuse to do that as long as any of my undergrad debt is left. Any tips?

[heyitsyeh]

Get a side job along with your main 9-5 job (assuming it is 9-5). For me, it is tutoring after hours and on weekends. I was able to pay off $30k in loans my first year out of college and plan to finish the remaining $15k this year.

[Anonymous]

Pay your loans.  Be thankful that your parents put a roof over your head, clothes on your back, and food in your belly for 18+ years.

Mod Edit to maintain Forum's FSR guidelines --SE

[Anonymous]

How many student loan servicers do you have in total?

I started with $65K worth of student loan debt spread across 4 servicers; one thing I've done is used the snowball method for paying it down. One of the 4 servicers is fully paid, another will be done this summer.. by the time I get down to the last one where the bulk of that debt resides (eta 2016), I'll be putting just shy of an extra $200 every month over minimum payment monthly on that and can expect to finish payments at least 3 years early, if not sooner.*

(*disclaimer: I already throw on average an extra $100/mo at it, so really talking $300/mo on top of min pymt*)

Also, if this is your highest interest debt, tax return dollars you get back annually is another great way to take chunks off the principal.

[SCF]

The folks above me have it - the only way to pay your debt down faster is to pay more than the minimum payment.  Get yourself a budget, be frugal with your expenses and devote everything you can to paying back these loans and they will disappear.  A second job is a great idea if you've already cut as much as you can from your expenses.

[Anonymous]

[disdreamin]

First as others have already pointed out, I would be a bit more understanding about the situation your parents find themselves in.  You thought you had a a free ride - perhaps given the ability to go back you would make different, more economical choices. I'd like to think your attitude comes from regret about that and not anger at your parents perceived mismanagement of funds.

That said, I want to point out the graduate school does not always cost money out of pocket.  Depending on your intended major, you may be offered a free ride tuition lies and possibly even a stipend if you choose grad school in the right discipline.  Additionally, if any of the loans were subsidized federal loans, you will find that you can put them back into deferment interest free during the period of time that you were in grad school.

Lastly, if you got out of an entire undergraduate education with debt of only $28,000, you should thank your lucky stars. Or your parents.  Given the cost of a college education these days, that is a bargain. And with the right job(s) and budgeting, it will take you very little time to pay off the loan. I came out of school with $42,000 in student loans and had them paid off within a few years by pulling in extra income from a second job.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all,

I graduated college in 2012. My parents have been paying for my school, since they didn't want me to have to. Unfortunately, they've also got the parent plus loan, a mortgage, heloc and credit card debt. As you can probably assume, they don't have enough money to successfully pay for all of them. So what's happened is that only the minimum payment is being made on my student loans, with my dad looking to try and find ways to reduce that payment even further.

I've since stepped in and said no to that idea and insisting that after I find a new job i'll take on my student loan debt, since they aren't financially capable. This is a bit annoying to me, as I was always told my student loan debt would be paid by them. I assumed my dad was being responsible with spending, but he wasn't. 

Anywho,

These are the details of my loan: 

Provider: Fed Loan Servicing

Total Loan Left: $28,622

Total Repayments Left: 239! 

This is concerning because i'll be in my 40's at this rate before the loan debt is gone. No thank you. I also have aspirations of eventually going to grad school and refuse to do that as long as any of my undergrad debt is left. Any tips?

---

Wow! Really?! I wish you luck with paying off your student loans. Honestly, I want to say more but I'm not going to. One word, "Karma!"

[Gunnar419]

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@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all,

I graduated college in 2012. My parents have been paying for my school, since they didn't want me to have to. Unfortunately, they've also got the parent plus loan, a mortgage, heloc and credit card debt. As you can probably assume, they don't have enough money to successfully pay for all of them. So what's happened is that only the minimum payment is being made on my student loans, with my dad looking to try and find ways to reduce that payment even further.

I've since stepped in and said no to that idea and insisting that after I find a new job i'll take on my student loan debt, since they aren't financially capable. This is a bit annoying to me, as I was always told my student loan debt would be paid by them. I assumed my dad was being responsible with spending, but he wasn't. 

Anywho,

These are the details of my loan: 

Provider: Fed Loan Servicing

Total Loan Left: $28,622

Total Repayments Left: 239! 

This is concerning because i'll be in my 40's at this rate before the loan debt is gone. No thank you. I also have aspirations of eventually going to grad school and refuse to do that as long as any of my undergrad debt is left. Any tips?

---

Wow! Really?! I wish you luck with paying off your student loans. Honestly, I want to say more but I'm not going to. One word, "Karma!"

---

Why is everybody being so judgmental with this OP??? Yes, he/she resents having to pay the debt, but he's ALSO the one who stepped up and proposed taking the debt on himself! Please lighten up.

OP, the only tip I can offer is pay more than the minimum payments. Set up a repayment schedule of five years or seven years (whatever level of monthly payments you can afford) and stick to that. Remember that people commonly finance cars for that much money and pay it off in a few years. You'll be fine.

[Pat94108]

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@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all,

I graduated college in 2012. My parents have been paying for my school, since they didn't want me to have to. Unfortunately, they've also got the parent plus loan, a mortgage, heloc and credit card debt. As you can probably assume, they don't have enough money to successfully pay for all of them. So what's happened is that only the minimum payment is being made on my student loans, with my dad looking to try and find ways to reduce that payment even further.

I've since stepped in and said no to that idea and insisting that after I find a new job i'll take on my student loan debt, since they aren't financially capable. This is a bit annoying to me, as I was always told my student loan debt would be paid by them. I assumed my dad was being responsible with spending, but he wasn't. 

Anywho,

These are the details of my loan: 

Provider: Fed Loan Servicing

Total Loan Left: $28,622

Total Repayments Left: 239! 

This is concerning because i'll be in my 40's at this rate before the loan debt is gone. No thank you. I also have aspirations of eventually going to grad school and refuse to do that as long as any of my undergrad debt is left. Any tips?

---

Wow! Really?! I wish you luck with paying off your student loans. Honestly, I want to say more but I'm not going to. One word, "Karma!"

---

You should familiarize yourself with the forum guidelines:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Friendly-Supportive-and-Respectful/td-p/2797115

I agree, not sure why some on here are being so judgemental on the OP. He said himself that he stepped in. His parents said they would pay, but he's realizing they can't so he stepped in. I am not sure what karma has to do with anything. 

To answer your question, OP, what truly helped me bring down the balance on my student loan (I owed more than you) are tax refunds and bonuses. I did always paid more than the minimum as well. By the time I am done it would have taken me about 5 years to pay off about 38k. 

As mentioned above, either get a side job or live on a budget that will allow you to pay more than the minium. As someone said, 28k is a bargain in this day and age.