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01-28-2018, 12:15 PM | #1606 |
In Search of a Life
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Well guys, could use a little help or advice here.
The wife and I are doing well, bought some land getting ready to build a home. I max out an ira for both of us each year. But I’m not sure if I should be doing more or putting as much as I can towards my student loans. I started with 300k at about 7 % 4 years ago and I’ve taken down 50k or so of it total but the interest is killer. I’m getting ready to join the national guard as a dentist and get some help there with the loans so I think that plus what I pay, I can get the student loans done in about 3.5 years. So, question is would you max out and get out from under those first or try and put more into a brokerage account? |
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01-28-2018, 12:59 PM | #1607 | |
Kind of a mod
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Donkey Land
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Quote:
(And on a side note, I'm sure I'll envy you someday when those loans are gone, but yeesh...$300k in student loans is ridiculous. I had about $20k, and I thought that was a pain in the ass to get through. Good luck, man.) |
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Posts: 52,511
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01-28-2018, 01:03 PM | #1608 |
Kind of a mod
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Donkey Land
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Most of personal finance is about constantly taking steps in the right direction. Consult the chart linked in the OP, and do your best, but don't stress TOO much if some of those steps seem a long way off.
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Posts: 52,511
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01-28-2018, 01:12 PM | #1609 | |
In Search of a Life
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Quote:
I set mine up on a 20 year repay to make sure I could always make the Mo they payment, which is still about 2900 bucks. I’ve been throwing as much as I can at it, but you’ve also gotta pay a mortgage and health insurance and apparently, kids need to eat. As I said though, the Missouri national guard is looking for dentist and if I sign up for a 6 year term, they’ll a lot 40k per year for up to 240k max for loan repayment. So doing 1 weekend per month and 2 weeks per year just doing some dentistry for them, paired with what I’m currently Paul g, I can be done with it in 3 years, 4 max. I’ll atill have 2 years of duty left but I can turn that over into a 50k 2 year bonus and throw that into a retirement plan plus I get paid for my service time there which as an officer would end up being about 13 grand per year. But yeah I just wanna get these damn loans over with |
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Posts: 82,823
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01-28-2018, 02:02 PM | #1610 | |
Supporter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Scott City KS
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However, you have to account for cash flow, and if the payments tough to make, it makes sense to back off your Roth some. |
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Posts: 58,014
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01-28-2018, 02:40 PM | #1611 |
In Search of a Life
Join Date: Jul 2009
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I can make the payment I’m just curious if I should not put into retirement until I get the loan payed off
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Posts: 82,823
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01-28-2018, 02:57 PM | #1612 |
Veteran
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: MO
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2900 a month? Good god.
I make pretty good money and my wife doesn’t work, but mortgage, car payment and 2 kids would make that unbearable. My mortgage and car payment are 2100 a month. I could get a crappy lake house in there for the cost of those student loans. That bubble has to burst at some point. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
Posts: 1,528
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01-28-2018, 03:05 PM | #1613 | |
In Search of a Life
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Quote:
Luckily for us the wife does pretty well but it’s still notcool |
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Posts: 82,823
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01-28-2018, 03:08 PM | #1614 | |
MVP
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Missouri
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If so, I'd invest and let the guards thing get rolling. If not, I'd be trying to knock a chunk of it off in case of an increase. I wanted to know how you talked yourself into accepting that debt. Wasn't dentistry, but I bowed out and settled for bach because I wasn't willing to accept the huge debt load of continuing eduction and then the cost of buying into an established practice on top of it. Over a decade later and I still don't know if I made the right decision. |
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01-28-2018, 03:12 PM | #1615 | |
Supporter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Scott City KS
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Posts: 58,014
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01-28-2018, 03:15 PM | #1616 |
In Search of a Life
Join Date: Jul 2009
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It is fixed on some of the loans and not on some.
If I wanted to be a dentist, I didn’t really have much other options s than take the loans. I graduated and bought a practice right out of school which was scary but I’m a year away from having the practice paid off. Once I can pay off the student loans and the office, it should free up about 6500 per month to really start doing some things with |
Posts: 82,823
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01-28-2018, 03:17 PM | #1617 | |
Supporter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Scott City KS
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Posts: 58,014
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01-28-2018, 03:17 PM | #1618 |
In Search of a Life
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Dentistry is a great field, don’t get me wrong. It has its faults And isn’t the ideal job as it was for the older dentists here who got out 30 years ago, but still a good gig.
If all goes well, I should be debt free (outside of a mortgage for the house) at 34. So I’m hopeful. It hasn’t and won’t be easy but it is what it is |
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01-28-2018, 03:20 PM | #1619 |
MVP
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Missouri
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Posts: 8,683
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01-28-2018, 04:42 PM | #1620 | |
Seize life. Be an ermine.
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: My house
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Quote:
Assuming you can't get your loan interest down, your loan payments are the equivalent of a guaranteed 7% return. If you can deduct the payment, then they're kind of a guaranteed 10% return. Paying into an IRA has the same tax benefit, so if the loan interest is deductible then you have to beat a 7%return, recognizing that it's a guaranteed return. That's probably a breakeven proposition to do over a period of years, and I'd rather eliminate debt. If the loan interest is not deductible, then you just need to beat roughly a 4% guaranteed return on the IRA (7% - tax deduction), which is easy to do in the long term. Did I do the math right there? Someone double check. |
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