Tuesday, June 10, 2014

One Down, One to Go

It was a little over a year ago when I shared my student loan spreadsheets and how I'm working to knock them out. And I'm pleased to say that I have finished paying off my second-to-last loan!

Yeah, my congratulatory message to myself is weird this time. When I first took out my loans, I didn't really know the difference between federal and private loans, and I didn't realize that, at the time I took them out, the interest rates between the two were DRAMATICALLY different. And not in the way I expected them to be. Which is why I wound up with two private loans at 3.25 and 4.5 percent interest rates, and four federal loans via Sallie Mae at 6 and 6.8 percent. Ridiculous.

Sidebar: It really should be a requirement that someone explain exactly what the different types of loans mean and what their implications are before any student is allowed to take them out. Other than "you'll have to start paying them off six months after you graduate, from then until THE END OF TIME," I don't think I knew anything about the different types of loans, how they could (or could not) be consolidated, what consolidation meant, or anything else, and it would have been nice to know exactly what I was getting myself into.

ANYWAY.

I started paying down the high-interest ones immediately, at least a year or two before the six-month grace period started. When I graduated college, my parents — generously — paid off that horrible Sallie Mae, and allowed me to pay them back instead at a much lower interest rate.

Thanks, parents!
Only one more to go!!! It is ON.

(Still working on yours? As always, I'm happy to share my handy-dandy "blank" interactive spreadsheet, if you e-mail me!)
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5 comments

  1. Katie @ A Beautiful Little Adventure.comJune 10, 2014 at 11:45 AM

    wohooo congrats

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  2. The Lady OkieJune 10, 2014 at 1:03 PM

    SO EXITED FOR YOU. All caps are necessary. You're doing awesome! And how nice of your parents to pay off the huge interest rate one. That's insane for interest. Geez. Being student loan debt free is the BEST feeling, and I'm excited for you to have it too. So close!

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  3. StephanieJune 10, 2014 at 2:37 PM

    Yay! We're working on it too - only two more high-interest loans left and then we can put more $$ towards the low-interest ones. Keep fighting the good fight :)

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  4. Kristie W. June 10, 2014 at 3:21 PM

    Congratulations!! That's a big accomplishment. I heard that the President is trying to initiate some things so that students can avoid the pitfalls you mentioned above. I've been out of college for so long now that I can't remember what my rates were and I lived at home so was able to focus on paying them off before going out on my own.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownJune 11, 2014 at 11:06 AM

    Congratulations! That is so wonderful, and how nice that your parents paid yours off and allowed you to pay them back. My husband had big loans and we paid them off completely about two years ago. It felt so freeing and we were able to enjoy a little more financial freedom after that, like we could breathe a little easier.

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