In total, I have around $120,000 in student loans from undergraduate + graduate school (all federal). I’ve been paying what I can in 2 years and have paid a little over $20,000 but I am STRUGGLING making a $1300 a month payment. If I were to apply to a IDR repayment plan, do my previous payments count toward the overall time? And what are really the odds of the remainder being forgiven (it would be ~$30,00)? I have read the major points of what qualifies for forgiveness, but I guess my question is what would be a smarter move? Hoping that the forgiveness wouldn’t go away in the next 20-25 years or just struggle financially for 8-10 more years? Looking at my loans is depressing and would love to never look at them again, but so is looking at my bank account. I also don’t anticipate much of a raise in the next few years as I climb the corporate ladder.
Posted by Hour-Rip1477
3 Comments
What is your income and what is the difference in total paid between doing the he ten years or riding out IDR? The program isn’t going anywhere for existing borrowers
> Hoping that the forgiveness wouldn’t go away in the next 20-25 years
If they wanted to get rid of forgiveness they would have done so in OBBB. They purposefully left IBR in place and are adding the RAP plan soon. What is your income?
You’re asking the question almost everyone wants to know the answer to … so you’re asking the Right question
But
You’re not providing enough context
Someone could make $200k in SF and be Struggling to make a $1300 student loan payment … throw in anything moderately expensive as a fixed cost (housing, daycare, etc) and it makes that a difficult payment
Someone could be living at home with their parents, making $30k, and be struggling to make a $1300 student loan payment
The context matters because let’s say that you’re right with your estimate of there being about $30k left at the end
IF you’re right about that outcome 20yrs from now…and you make $200k/yr, that’s not a very compelling outcome versus paying it off sooner
But if you make $30k with little chance of getting a ton of raises, then $30k is a significant amount to get forgiven
The answer you’re looking for is somewhere between those two extremes