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StormHawk42

StormHawk42

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Nov 3, 2009
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I’m bored so I’m keeping track of all of HROT’s net worth. And the commencement thing today where the guy was offering to pay everyone’s loans got me thinking.

How much did/do you owe and how long did/will it take to pay off?

Probably should throw in some qualifiers of when you went to school and the level of degree obtained.

Started with a cool $80k after law school in 2015. Currently down to $49k. Should be done in 5 years or so.

May not be the best financial decision to pay so aggressively instead of invest but getting rid of that weight will feel damn good. Especially while I don’t have kids and have good stable income.
 
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Started off owing $39,000 w/BA in History and an MA in sport Admin.

Total waste of money and degrees. Loved school and I’ve done pretty well in spite of that pedigree but I only wish there was half the scrutiny there is over student loans then as there is now. I mean seriously...who the F should’ve loaned me 40 Gs for those worthless degrees? How was I viewed as a good financial risk?!

Still owe $16,000 but that’s largely only b/c I elected to string them along and pay minimally during the early years. Scheduled to be done w/them in 4 years...at precisely the same time my daughter (no pics) is scheduled to finish college herself.
 
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I owed about 32k, had it paid off and liked the payment so much i went back and spent another 30k. Still have about 3200 left to pay on it.
 
TDJ7 said:
I owed about 32k, had it paid off and liked the payment so much i went back and spent another 30k. Still have about 3200 left to pay on it.
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Everyone’s different but if I got to that level, I’d be so tempted to just write the check and be done
 
$100,000ish for law school and a bar study loan in 2003. I've completely blocked Iowa Student Loan from my memory. They've been paid off since 2009 or 2010. Mr. Birch and I can't remember exactly when. Little Baby Birch #1 was born in 2011 and it was before that. I don't regret paying them off as fast as we could at all.
 
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I owe $40,000 after bs in exercise science and psychology and then master's in Kinesiology. I just started paying them recently.
 
hawkbirch said:
$100,000ish for law school and a bar study loan in 2003. I've completely blocked Iowa Student Loan from my memory. They've been paid off since 2009 or 2010. Mr. Birch and I can't remember exactly when. Little Baby Birch #1 was born in 2011 and it was before that. I don't regret paying them off as fast as we could at all.
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I’m amazed by some other people I know that went to law school without scholarships and are $150k in the hole and didn’t get a great job so their loan repayment is like 25 years. That’s basically a second mortgage and is crazy to comprehend.
 
StormHawk42 said:
I’m amazed by some other people I know that went to law school without scholarships and are $150k in the hole and didn’t get a great job so their loan repayment is like 25 years. That’s basically a second mortgage and is crazy to comprehend.
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Mr. Birch paid out of state tuition for law school and had undergrad loans. It was a second and a third mortgage.
 
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I had a $1200 loan in 1981. I paid it off over, I believe, three years.

My son recently graduated with a $27k loan and I have a $40k PLUS that we’re paying together.

Daughter starts school in the fall. Groan.
 
My parents paid for almost all of school. I also worked full time while in college.

Because the 20 year old version of me was stupid, I still wound up with about $10K in student loans. Paid them off my first year out of school.
 
Zero loans to get my AA. I borrowed about 20K to get my bachelors and paid it off in about five years.
 
StormHawk42 said:
I’m bored so I’m keeping track of all of HROT’s net worth. And the commencement thing today where the guy was offering to pay everyone’s loans got me thinking.

How much did/do you owe and how long did/will it take to pay off?

Probably should throw in some qualifiers of when you went to school and the level of degree obtained.

Started with a cool $80k after law school in 2015. Currently down to $49k. Should be done in 5 years or so.

May not be the best financial decision to pay so aggressively instead of invest but getting rid of that weight will feel damn good. Especially while I don’t have kids and have good stable income.
Click to expand...
Owed about 50k after undergrad. Employer paid for my grad school.
Undergrad was paid off in 5 years but it was tough.
 
pink shizzle said:
I owe $40,000 after bs in exercise science and psychology and then master's in Kinesiology. I just started paying them recently.
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What do you do with that degree. It’s a popular Major now. Did you consider physical therapy or do you have lots of career options without it?
 
I owed about $450,000 total at the peak. Went to public undergraduate with some tuition scholarships and private medical school with some scholarships. I paid off as much interest as I could during my 6 year residency and didn’t even put a dent in the interest.

Now I’m getting ducked by both student loan payments and health care administrators, so really loving life.
 
Wife’s parents paid all of her Comp Sci degree. I worked my way through engineering school. We paid for the three kids. No debts.
 
Run&Blade said:
What do you do with that degree. It’s a popular Major now. Did you consider physical therapy or do you have lots of career options without it?
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My emphasis was in sport and exercise psychology. I completed it and realized it wasn't for me, which really sucks. I finished that early and went on to strength and conditioning, which also is under Kinesiology which was nice since I didn't have to add many different classes. At some point I'd like to be a strength and conditioning coach for a collegiate or professional athletic team. But for now I work at a facility and do the weight training there. It's a stepping stone until I really figure out what I want.

I hadn't considered physical therapy, but in hindsight that would have been a great career. Rehabilitation was just never my thing.
 
I left school with about 50k or so, I think I have about 25k left. I could have been more diligent and I also invested about 3-4k of the proceds in my 2009 year that made like 5x or so, so that helps a bit.
 
Had about 45K from undergrad (and I worked 2 jobs and had a couple small scholarships). Med school added another 300K. I paid an income based payment throughout residency and it didn't even pay the interest, so after residency it was around 385K. Unfortunately my parents couldn't help.

I'm really counting on the 10 year public loan forgiveness program since our group is set up as a non profit. I still will basically pay the principal, but they'll forgive a shitload of interest. But to qualify, I can't consolidate privately. So I'm stuck paying 6-8% interest.
 
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GI bill helped fund a professional degree. Also helped that I got married after the first of the four years and she taught the last two
 
StormHawk42 said:
I’m amazed by some other people I know that went to law school without scholarships and are $150k in the hole and didn’t get a great job so their loan repayment is like 25 years. That’s basically a second mortgage and is crazy to comprehend.
Click to expand...

I just graduated law school this year with a half-tuition scholarship and still racked up over $100,000 in student loans. I guess that’s what happens when tuition is over $60,000 per year- which, by the way, is absolutely ridiculous.

All told, I’ll have about $130,000 in loans counting law school and undergrad. On a ten year re-payment plan, but hoping to pay it off a bit sooner than that.
 
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11k. Put the last semester on my credit card, 4.5k. Didn’t know I wouldn’t get the Iowa tuition grant my last semester.
Fortunately, one month after graduation I had a big night at the blackjack table and paid off my cc balance that month. Took me another 3 years to pay off.
I had scholarships cover everything my first two years. I actually made money each semester.
That and I lived life on the cheap. Very cheap. I also did very well betting on sporting events.
 
I was dumb as feck. Borrowed more than I needed and couldn't afford to pay any for several years. Owe 40k+ and don't even use the degree. If I would have worked my current job for 4 years I'd be 4yrs farther along in my career and no debt. I did sober up while in school and I don't work in a factory so there are plusses. Just not financial ones.
 
hawkbirch said:
Mr. Birch paid out of state tuition for law school and had undergrad loans. It was a second and a third mortgage.
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Jeebus. That guy can't even mow a lawn or shovel snow, and you keep him around for what reason?:) He is dead weight.
 
IAHawk2011 said:
I just graduated law school this year with a half-tuition scholarship and still racked up over $100,000 in student loans. I guess that’s what happens when tuition is over $60,000 per year- which, by the way, is absolutely ridiculous.

All told, I’ll have about $130,000 in loans counting law school and undergrad. On a ten year re-payment plan, but hoping to pay it off a bit sooner than that.
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Good luck man. Bold endeavor going for the ten year repayment but it’s definitely best if you can afford it. Where you heading after the bar exam?
 
I was lucky and my parents paid undergrad (it was in-state Iowa 1992-96, so a bargain by today's standards) for a BA in Journalism/History. I did grad school on my own 2000-20003 at Drexel for an MS in Information Systems. Racked up $54k in debt. Deferred for a bit after moving to OKC in 2003, but consolidated at 2.8%. Lined up payments over 30 years, so I'm still paying $260/mo. Down to $25k. Could pay it off, but at that rate, it doesn't matter much.
 
I was debt free with my bachelors. Mrs. Lucas went to Wash U in St. Louis for her graduate studies. Funny story there. Mrs. Lucas is what you'd call a successful person, and really wound up tight inside. I finished my bachelors in IC as she was in graduate school and we'd talk at night sometimes and she'd be stressing out about a test. She'd convince herself she was going to fail, and she'd flunk out of school and we'd be $100,000 in debt for nothing… One night I said to her, "You'll be in debt. We aren't married, yet".
I'd talk to her two days later and asks her how the test went and she'd say she got a 90 whatever. She finished third in her class. We moved to the South after she graduated because of a job that offered a tuition reimbursement of $25,000 for 2 years of service, plus her salary. We paid off the rest of it in just under 9 years. That was going on 20 years ago.
My kids will go to college knowing no debt. Mrs. Lucas and I have both gained inheritances the last few years, and we set aside enough for college, factoring in what we've already saved. We told them undergrad is on us, whatever comes beyond that is on you. That will hold exactly as long as they are undergrads. Mrs. Lucas will cave in. The oldest is already fancying law school for some reason. 4.0 after the first year at the University of Minnesota. Smart kid, but there isn't a shortage of lawyers the last I heard.
 
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LOL at all the suckers on this board who paid for college. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren will be giving away college degrees in two years. ;)
 
I was fortunate to have parents and grandparents cover enough of my undergrad costs that I didn't need any student loans. Same with my wife. We covered our masters. Saving as much as I can for my kids.
 
I finished law school with just under $100k in loans. I consolidated them at 1.8% over 30 years. I’ve been paying for about 15 years. I still owe about $25k. I’m not rushing to pay them off considering my fixed rate so I target other debt first.
 
I made it through undergrad with no loans and racked up a small amount (<$10K) in grad school. I was raised in a no-debt household before Dave Ramsey made it cool.

We made sure there's absolutely no reason for our kids to take out student loans.
 
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IAHawk2011 said:
I just graduated law school this year with a half-tuition scholarship and still racked up over $100,000 in student loans. I guess that’s what happens when tuition is over $60,000 per year- which, by the way, is absolutely ridiculous.

All told, I’ll have about $130,000 in loans counting law school and undergrad. On a ten year re-payment plan, but hoping to pay it off a bit sooner than that.
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Wow. That's crazy. I think law school is a bit out of control these days.

Just out of curiosity, what is the ballpark starting salary for a lawyer right out of school these days? I know it varies by location but let's say in Iowa. Is 100k realistic?
 
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