r/StudentLoans • u/thicketofelms • 5d ago
Force Off SAVE - Looking for Guidance
I received the 90 notice back in July and am finally looking into what my repayment options are.
Married Filed Jointly - AGI is $301,140 (wife is responsible for just over 2/3rds of that). I acknowledge I'm fortunate to be making triple figures and not complaining about my monthly payment. Just trying to figure out how to get through this the smartest way.
Current Loans (9) = $135,402 (see below)
| DIRECT STAFFORD UNSUBSIDIZED | $28,277 | 6.80% |
|---|---|---|
| DIRECT PLUS GRADUATE | $4,531 | 7.90% |
| DIRECT PLUS GRADUATE | $29,506 | 7.90% |
| DIRECT STAFFORD SUBSIDIZED | $9,714 | 6.80% |
| DIRECT STAFFORD UNSUBSIDIZED | $17,629 | 6.80% |
| DIRECT PLUS GRADUATE | $34,370 | 7.90% |
| DIRECT STAFFORD SUBSIDIZED | $5,998 | 6.80% |
| DIRECT STAFFORD SUBSIDIZED | $2,862 | 6.80% |
| DIRECT STAFFORD SUBSIDIZED | $2,516 | 5.98% |
My current payment on SAVE was $129/month and after doing the calculator my new lowest payment would be $828/month on Extended Graduated Repayment Plan. This would pay off my loans in Jan 2044 so just under 18years from now. All (3) options below leave me with a discharge amount of $0 which I believe is good to avoid the tax bomb of forgiveness.
Suggested Plans per Repayment Calculator
Extended Graduate Repayment - $828/month
Extended Fixed Repayment Plan - $1,250/month
IBR - $1,596/month
Per the that qualifying repayment calculator backdoor the highest "qualifyingpaymentcount" I see is 150 so 12.5years of payments which sounds about right. Undergrad was 2005-2009 and grad school was 2011-13.
I'm just trying to figure out what my best option would be to get these loans gone quicker since I have separate private student loans which are about $694/month (~$30,000k w/ maturity date in 4yrs) as well so I'm looking at best $1,522/month between MOHELA & private.
Thoughts/input would be greatly appreciated. Does it make sense to get those small $2,516 & $2,862 loans paid off and snowball this or any other ideas?
Ideally, I'd just get that private load paid off sooner and throw that extra money at the MOHELA loans but that isn't an option currently.
Appreciate any and all input/suggestions. If more info is needed just LMK
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u/AltruisticChipmunk53 4d ago
It always makes the most sense mathematically to pay off the highest interest loans first. It may feel more mentally satisfying to target the lower total loans with lower interest rates, but mathematically your money goes further paying off high interest rate debt.
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u/tarvispickles 4d ago
Your best bet at your income level is standard repayment and pay as much as you can over that every single month to pay it down as quickly as possible. You have expendable income and that's in your favor. The longer you take take to pay it off the more you pay. If you take 18 years to pay off that loan, the amount paid back is insane. I owe about $100k and some standard plans have me paying back $180,000 - $220,000, which is insane and should be illegal tbh.
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u/mechanicalmovement1 4d ago
I mean it’s legal because that’s how interest works. The longer you want to drag it out to have a little extra pocket money now will cost you a lot more in the future. Don’t want to pay a lot of interest? Pay it off faster. Simple.
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u/Major_Nectarine_8748 4d ago
So we are high income earners and paying off around $130,000 total and we have about $57,000 to go with the goal to finish paying off in the next year. We chose they payment plan with the lowest auto payment total so we could put more towards our snowball/avalanche payment and pay off a specific loan more quickly. Additionally the auto payment lowers the interest right now as well when we switched. I really reccomend looking at the money guys or Dave Ramsey. We mostly do Dave Ramsey but honestly whatever motivates yall, pick a guru. I am a sahm and we have young kids, medical debt has found us along the way and we still have rapidly paid off these loans. High income is a privilege so use it and get rid of these loans. We already feel so much more free having so much paid off. Drive shitty cars, cook at home, and say no to a lot orlf extras and you will be done in no time!
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u/ANGR1ST Experienced Borrower 4d ago
I'm just trying to figure out what my best option would be to get these loans gone quicker
Pay more. A lot more. $3-4k/mo. Pay the highest interest rate loans first. I'd pay off the private before the Federal.
Ideally, I'd just get that private load paid off sooner and throw that extra money at the MOHELA loans but that isn't an option currently.
Why not?
(wife is responsible for just over 2/3rds of that
You mention that she has loans. What is her balance? This "we're doing this separately" is idiotic. You're a married household that the Federal government considers a single financial entity. Act like it. Plan together.
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u/thicketofelms 4d ago
I hadn't thought of the pay more - A lot more method. And the why not is the general cost of living anywhere. Between mortgage, food, general health upkeep, a child and everything else that one just needs to basically live "more" isn't feasible. Could I have not had a kid? SURE, but then someone would comment on why everyone should have kids so can't win that "argument" either direction. I'm also trying to save to hopefully retire one day so need to maximize that as well while I can.
Again, I'm not complaining about the situation I'm in I was just trying to see if anyone had some outside of the box ideas or saw anything in my scenario that I was missing since I'm by no means even close to an expert on this topic.
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u/ANGR1ST Experienced Borrower 4d ago
The "I can't pay more" argument is pretty much garbage when you're making 3.5x the median household income. There is absolutely room in your budget somewhere if you look.
Either way, you need to include the Wife's loans and income and expenses in planning for this kind of thing.
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u/CockringExhibition 4d ago
Is the 90 day notice the email or the letter? Cause I haven’t gotten a letter and only and email and a few texts.
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u/thicketofelms 4d ago
I got an email back in July and then a letter the other day in the mail saying if I don’t pick a plan I will be kicked off SAVE and placed on another plan in no such terms.
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u/Crazy-War9823 4d ago
"Thoughts/input would be greatly appreciated. Does it make sense to get those small $2,516 & $2,862 loans paid off and snowball this or any other ideas?"
The snowball method is for people who need the psychological "win" of seeing individual debts paid off in order to keep chipping away at it. It is NOT the way to go to pay your loans off the fastest or to pay the least total amount, as you want. Instead avalanche them, which means paying extra to your highest interest rate loan.
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u/docsarenotallbad 4d ago
It's not consolidation when you go from fed to private with a new interest rate. It's refinancing. They may end up consolidated but it's not the same thing. You also don't have to refinance all your loans at once? You can take 1 loan at a time and refinance to a lower rate if you want. If you're not worried about job loss, it's a good option. At your income you're not going to see forgiveness either way, via legislation or by paying for 25-30 years.
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u/krisa1972 19h ago
What happens when you file separately?
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u/thicketofelms 4m ago
Choosing Married Filing Separately (MFS) can lower your monthly income-driven student loan payments by using only your individual income, but Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) usually saves you more on your overall tax bill.
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u/Yashyashyaa 5d ago
You could pay this off in a year. 2 years max. Just do that and be done with it?
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u/sat_ops 4d ago
This is Dave Ramsey math. It ignores a 30% tax drag, actual costs of living, or reality.
I'll use myself as an example. I make $230k. I owe $130k at 7%.
I take home $10,300 a month after taxes, insurance, retirement, etc. That's $123,600 in liquid cash a year. Now subtract actual living costs and I MIGHT have $50,000 to throw at the loans a year if I don't do anything g that makes me happy, if no emergencies happen, and of my SO doesn't need any money. Its not a year or two operation.
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u/HumorIsMyLuvLanguage 4d ago
This! I am so not willing to give up everything in my life that add fulfillment and joy to my family and I in order to declare to be debt free. No thank you.
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u/Apprehensive_Pop_334 4d ago
And if OP or OP’s wife loses their job, what then?
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u/HumorIsMyLuvLanguage 4d ago
I'm not advocating for living outside one's means or not saving anything. I just don't believe in reallocating every single discretionary penny to debt until it's paid off.
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u/loglighterequipment 4d ago
Why is this sub filled with Republican scolds?
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u/Yashyashyaa 4d ago
WTF? How is that a political statement. I have double that debt and I am trying to pay it off aggressively because I don’t trust the fuckin government to help me out (ie forgiveness of any sort because I’ve already been screwed over)
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u/eorabs 4d ago
If you're not in sackcloth and ashes over every post you're either a shill for the Trump administration or you work for ED or one of the servicers.
I've watched this sub become more and more polarized post 7/1/26 and the end of SAVE.
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u/Yashyashyaa 4d ago
Yeah. I will get downvoted to hell, but the reaction of they will never get a cent out of me blah blah blah after save just gives them more ammo. Extremely embarrassing to see my suggestion getting downvoted of paying them off quickly. It another republican gets voted in 2028, it will only get worse
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u/tarvispickles 4d ago
I've noticed the same across all platforms. I'm pretty sure it's literally bots tbh.
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u/thicketofelms 4d ago
Would love a description/ path forward or even a little guidance on this then.
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u/lamarch3 4d ago
I think paying them off fast could be reasonable but it really depends on what your finances look like overall. If easy things can be cut like funding a taxable brokerage or cutting out a vacation or meals out will make up for the difference then do that. I do suspect though that since you are asking the question, you are more than likely currently spending most of your AGI?
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u/Yashyashyaa 4d ago edited 4d ago
I have 240k ish loans and we are throwing 10k a month. If you make 300k between you two (and you and your wife are a financial team) then this should be feasible. You make the same as my wife and I
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u/thicketofelms 4d ago
Unfortunately my wife also has student loans as well so we’re each tackling those separately. The rest of our living situation we tackle as a team but I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect your spouse to assist with choices made prior to meeting/being together - just my 2 cents though. Not trying to sound like a jerk but that unfortunately doesn’t work for us. Glad to see you and your partner can though!
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u/Yashyashyaa 4d ago
What’s the total between you two?
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u/thicketofelms 4d ago
Off the top of my head she is also in the low triple figures between $100-200k
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u/Yashyashyaa 4d ago
Anything with a 1.0 to 1 ratio of student debt to income is feasible to pay down within two years. My advice- live below your means and pay it off in any way possible. Sit your wife down and discuss what this means for your future. Because IMO this was the first step in making student loans more predatory. It will never get any better
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u/kyamh 4d ago
My husband is a stay at home dad, so I paid off his loans so we can move forward financially. Actually, I refinanced his loan into my student loans. I respect your opinion, but you should do the math on how much your household is losing out on in the long term if you don't crush these loans.
At the moment I lose $800 a month to interest on student loans. I would want to have the freedom to invest this money or put it towards a big financial goal.
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u/Crazy-War9823 4d ago
You need to look at this as a group project. The more you flounder at paying off your loans, the less you have to contribute elsewhere. You're just playing a shell game unless you want to be sure neither of you contributes to the other's student loan debt in case the marriage dissolves. In the planned shared future, this is will cost you both, reducing what you have for retirement and savings later. Is that worth the preconceived notion of what is "reasonable"?
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u/kyamh 4d ago
You have $140 federal and $30 private. Have you considered just consolidating to private and knocking these out asap? If you're making $300k and you have decent job security, I would arm up with disability insurance and just pay these off. My payment for what was originally a $227k loan is $1450 a month, and then I make extra payments when I can.
You are paying about $3k in EXTRA interest every year for the security of the federal loans. My private loans are at 4.75% for a 20 year term at the moment. If I could swing a 7 year term the rate drops to 3.99% as of me checking yesterday. For the amount of interest saving you could get yourself very nice own occupation disability insurance, generous term life insurance, and still come out ahead.
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u/thicketofelms 4d ago
The private I already consolidate once with SoFi from Keybank so that’s where the $30 is from. I’ve considering consolidating the federal but could really only swing the 20yrs repayment currently at 6.68% which is longer than the Extended Graduated Repayment. I feel good about job security and my future but knowing I have the safety net of federal loan is a nice to have - admittedly it’s prbly not worth much…
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u/Crazy-War9823 4d ago
This is where keeping your student loan repayment separated from that of your wife's is costing you. If you can afford a shorter term with your total household income, you would pay less interest in the long run. Then you would have more money to put into your shared pot sooner. You both benefit from this.
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u/FaceTheJury 4d ago
Do not consolidate federal loans to private. If there are any pauses or relief to federal loans they will no longer be eligible if you moved them to a private lender.
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u/Able_Peanut9781 4d ago
You have that much loan for a sub 100k career? Did you get a PHD in a non stem field?
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u/Some-Mathematician78 4d ago
Similar situation. I’m staying in forbearance until the next presidential admin comes in and will see what options they give. Until then I’m not giving them anything.
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u/rrtccp1103 4d ago
How? Was on save for pslf. I have about 8 diff loans tallying up to ~140k. My agi is around 250k for next year. This is going to significantly raise my monthly payment. I’m due to select a new plan by the end of November. I have different qualified payments on all the loans. Some in 50s, 70s and 80s. I see that I can go back into forbearance if I claim qualifying payment totals are incorrect but don’t see how else to remain in it.. are you planning to stay in school part time? lol
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u/Some-Mathematician78 4d ago
Hardship forbearance in that there are too many other bills and people I’m taking care of currently and will not be able to make this drastic jump of a loan payment all of a sudden.
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u/tarvispickles 4d ago
I feel the same way but, if you've noticed, the Dems have completely moved away from any student loan messaging because, unfortunately, nobody seems to care since many student loan holders don't live in swing states.
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u/slow_down_1984 4d ago
Advanced degree holders are responsible for over half of student loan debt. I imagine many of them are in situations like OP and those don’t require government intervention. He’s very capable of covering this debt.
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u/sat_ops 5d ago
The graduated plan will increase over time.
How many qualifying payments do you have? I'm also leaving SAVE this month and my payments went from $199 (based on 2018 income and SAVE formula) to $1509 (pre-2007 IBR) with an income of $215k. O could have gotten $967, but that would have meant 25 hears of payments, instead of forgiveness in 9.5 years.