What's the fastest way to get rid of student loans?

[waffleironhead]

transfer all the debt to credit cards and then declare bankruptcy. its the american way!

 

[DrPizza]

Interest on student loans is generally low. Interest on student loans is tax deductible (if you can itemize). Generally (last 2 years not withstanding), most investments earn money faster than you're losing money to interest on student loans. i.e. if you have extra money, sticking it in a 401k or something will result in you coming out further ahead in the long run than paying down your student loan quicker.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Interest on student loans is generally low. Interest on student loans is tax deductible (if you can itemize). Generally (last 2 years not withstanding), most investments earn money faster than you're losing money to interest on student loans. i.e. if you have extra money, sticking it in a 401k or something will result in you coming out further ahead in the long run than paying down your student loan quicker.

Student loan interest can be deducted even if you don't itemize, although the deduction phases out as your MAGI goes above a certain level. IIRC, the deduction starts to phase out for a MAGI of $50k, and is eliminated if your MAGI is above $65k.

The question of whether to pay off loans vs. invest obviously depends on the interest rate of the loans, but many student loans are at 6.8% fixed (Stafford) or have the potential to go even higher (private loans tied to an index such as Prime or LIBOR). A risk-free 6.8% rate of return is pretty hard to beat IMO, but that comes down to individual preference.

 

[MikeMike]

how do paper plates save you any money vs using real plants and just washing them?

 

[Balt]

Live frugally, but I wouldn't dump *every* penny into student loans unless you already have some savings. You need to build up a bit of a rainy day fund in case some sort of emergency expense pops up (expensive car repair, or whatever). Better to have student loan debt than credit card debt.

Wouldn't advise speculating on a house unless you *really* know what you are doing. You can save yourself a boatload of money by having a roommate somewhere or renting out a room, though.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

0% interest for the life time of the loan, I don't intend to pay any more than the absolute bare minimum for the rest of my life

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: surfsatwerk
Fake your own death and start over as a Canadian lumber jack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQOMxz-O7Sc

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Write a check for the full amount.

This is obviously the FASTEST way to get rid of student loans, PLUS, you'll fuck them out of a ton of interest.

 

[MyThirdEye]

pay them off

 

[GWestphal]

You could join the military. Depending on the job and the demand you can get up to 60K in loans forgiven plus 60K signing bonus.

 

[stinkynathan]

Originally posted by: GWestphal
You could join the military. Depending on the job and the demand you can get up to 60K in loans forgiven plus 60K signing bonus.

That's not exactly how it works, though. If you have the $50,000 Student Loan Repayment Program on a 6 year enlistment, they'll pay out 1/6 of 90% of $50,000 every year and divide it amongst your loans. No idea why it's only 90%. In that case, you'd get an automatic ~$8300 payment to your loans every anniversary of your enlistment, but you're still liable for payments the rest of the year. See, this way the loan companies still get to collect their interest over the period of the loan. SLRP will only pick up pre-existing federal loans. You can try to defer or forbear if you're in the SLRP, but who knows if they'll let it go through.

Yes, I have the SLRP through the ARNG now and I just went into repayment on $42k of student loans in August....and I have no job. Yes, this is interesting.

Not sure why I posted all of that info here, but it just started flowing.....

 

[Finalnight]

A number of people pay off their student loans with their credit cards, wait a while, then discharge their cc debt via bankruptcy.

 

[alkemyst]

send in a check each month.

 

[ChanHo78]

the wife has 250k due next year no more deferment

 

[rgwalt]

Check the terms of your student loans. On my loans, if I die, the debt is forgiven, so I have no real incentive to pay them off ASAP as compared to paying off other debt (car loan, mortgage, credit card debt, etc). You should also take into account the rate you are paying on your loans. Pay off higher interested debt first. Beyond that, your best bet is to pay extra each month early on into the repayment. I wouldn't bet on a house to get you out of debt... lots of people made that bet recently and it didn't work out that well. Houses are the best investment that you can also live in, but beyond that, they aren't that great.

Just suck it up, live cheap, and grind out the payments like the rest of us.

 

[Balt]

Originally posted by: ChanHo78
the wife has 250k due next year no more deferment

:Q

I hope she got a damn good degree.

 

[oiprocs]

Originally posted by: keird
What was your degree and what's your occupation?

Structural engineering. I'll graduate next June.

I was working in technical communications the past year, but I just got laid off.

 

[oiprocs]

Originally posted by: Born2bwire
What's your interest rate?

3.75
4.25
5.25
6.8
7.5

 

[oiprocs]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
Just out of curiosity, how much do you owe? I've been working to pay off the rest of mine ($14,000) since July and should have it paid off in January.

Not much fun though. Basically every spare dollar I make is going into paying off the loan. Then I'll be 100% debt free for the first time in 11 years.


SUCK IT NELNET !!!

When I graduate, I'll owe about 70k.

:|

 

[postmortemIA]

best is to do loan consolidation now if you can, rates have never been lower.

i've seen non-fixed federal rate as low as 2.65.

 

[ChanHo78]

Originally posted by: Balt

Originally posted by: ChanHo78
the wife has 250k due next year no more deferment

:Q

I hope she got a damn good degree.

md

 

[chowmein]

joining the miltary

 

[Balt]

Originally posted by: ChanHo78

Originally posted by: Balt

Originally posted by: ChanHo78
the wife has 250k due next year no more deferment

:Q

I hope she got a damn good degree.

md

That'll do.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: RaistlinZ
Donate sperm. Seriously. If you qualify to be a donor (I hear they are very selective for obvious reasons) I think you get a couple hundred bucks per donation. Donate to a few sperm backs every couple months and you'll be racking in the dough.

Watch out with the sperm donation. There have been cases where don-ees have sued the sperm bank for the name of the donor, then sued the donor for child support, and have won.

$200 right now in one shot (no pun intended ) <<<<<<<<< 18 years of child support payments.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead
transfer all the debt to credit cards and then declare bankruptcy. its the american way!

This is even better if you have a job lined up in a foreign country. Transfer all your debts to credit cards here. Declare bankruptcy here. Go live there for 7 years. Your credit there will be good from the beginning. Then come back here (if you choose to at that point), and your credit will be spotless !!

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: MIKEMIKE
how do paper plates save you any money vs using real plants and just washing them?

If you compare REALLY cheap paper plates, vs. REALLY expensive real plates, the numbers work out.