monthly loan payment and how much left?

[PumpkinSmasher]

i know this is dumb but how does one make 176 per year...

Well lets do some multiplying....🙄

52 weeks x $55/hr x 60hrs/week = 171k/year

Looks like 20 extra hrsweek at a prn company floating would get you there.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[sakigt]

I am glad this topic was bumped up. With this new administration and recent changes to student loans, how do you think it will affect us? I am wondering if I should go to an in-state or OOS school. I would go OOS if I had a reasonable financial plan, but I have yet to come up with one that actually makes sense.

Im under the mindset that you should only count on the government (or institution else for that matter) if you are forced to do so.

Go cheap as you can without sacrificing education. 👍

 

[MountainPharmD]

The walls were so thin that I could decipher the slight audible difference between her boyfriend slapping her face versus her a**. The screaming was the same in both cases though.

Thats awesome!

 

[Chuck61686]

ok this is a little strange..

VAST MAJORITY of americans are living on like 15k a year. earning somewhere around 20 and 4-5k tax or so.

How does this look
$7500 a year for an apartment
$5000 a year for a nice car
$3000 a year for phone bill, cable tv, electricity, heat
$6000 a year for food (GENEROUS food allowance here)

rats, that only leaves about $9000 left for spending money.. ****, wont be able to buy that yacht!! 😱

At this rate you got a nice car, eat whatever you want, have the expensive cable tv and internet, and maybe even the iphone plan.

btw i consider cable tv, iphone, a car that's more expensive than 10k, and food more than $50 a week to be luxurious. But maybe thats just how i was raised out in farm country.

okay so maybe put in a thousand for insurance and a couple thousand for retirement.. STILL you're living VERY comfortably. that leaves still leaves you with more than $100 a week in pure spending money

PS: really expensive areas like you want to live in, are almost impossible to get jobs there.. so maybe you wont have to worry about the high cost of living of wherever you're going

I like your definition of luxury. Even when I earn a pharmacist income I won't waste a cent of it on an iPhone or Crackberry.
I live off less than $12k/year right now (not counting pharmacy school tuition cost). It's what I gotta do to keep my loans to $8.5k/year 🙂

 

[MountainPharmD]

ok this is a little strange..

No, not really....posting ridiculous comments about things you have no clue about is quite common for you.

VAST MAJORITY of americans are living on like 15k a year. earning somewhere around 20 and 4-5k tax or so...

Really? The VAST majority of Americans are living on 15k a year? Really? And where did you make up those, opps I mean find thoses statistics?

How does this look
$7500 a year for an apartment
$5000 a year for a nice car
$3000 a year for phone bill, cable tv, electricity, heat
$6000 a year for food (GENEROUS food allowance here)

rats, that only leaves about $9000 left for spending money.. ****, wont be able to buy that yacht!! 😱

At this rate you got a nice car, eat whatever you want, have the expensive cable tv and internet, and maybe even the iphone plan.

btw i consider cable tv, iphone, a car that's more expensive than 10k, and food more than $50 a week to be luxurious. But maybe thats just how i was raised out in farm country.

okay so maybe put in a thousand for insurance and a couple thousand for retirement.. STILL you're living VERY comfortably. that leaves still leaves you with more than $100 a week in pure spending money

PS: really expensive areas like you want to live in, are almost impossible to get jobs there.. so maybe you wont have to worry about the high cost of living of wherever you're going

This overly simplistc break down is quite funny. You have no clue at all what you are talking about. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. You are going to be in for quite a shock once you graduate and hit the real world. I feel sorry for you. Enjoy the ignorance is bliss state you are in right now. Enjoy being a thinks they no it all student because the real world catches up to you quick.

 

[type b pharmD]

I like your definition of luxury. Even when I earn a pharmacist income I won't waste a cent of it on an iPhone or Crackberry.
I live off less than $12k/year right now (not counting pharmacy school tuition cost). It's what I gotta do to keep my loans to $8.5k/year 🙂

Same here. I've been living off of about $9-12,000 a year cash for a long time now, being a student feels pretty luxurious (they give us 14k a year). I figure when I get out, I will splurge on myself and raise my living standard to $15,000 a year and live in real luxury!!

MountainpharmD

What is there to be surprised by when i graduate? I have already been living my dream (to live on a very small amount of money), when i graduate there is nothing stopping me from continuing to live on 10-15k/year. And yeah i more or less made up that statistic, but if you look at the average wage being somewhere in the 20s , after tax most people i know at that income level are maybe making 15k and guess what, they're living better than i am. And $6000 for groceries was pretty extensive. I have gotten by for the past 5 years spending less than $1500 a year on food and I am very happy with my level of subsistence.

So until you have tried it and can see that it is very possible to live on ~$10k a year, dont knock it. Not only is it possible, but you can still have a great life! And that is how i intend to continue.

 

[mipharmd]

Well lets do some multiplying....🙄

52 weeks x $55/hr x 60hrs/week = 171k/year

Looks like 20 extra hrsweek at a prn company floating would get you there.

i started off saying it was a dumb question 😀 I wish i had that option and time and pay..

 

[Chuck61686]

Same here. I've been living off of about $9-12,000 a year cash for a long time now, being a student feels pretty luxurious (they give us 14k a year). I figure when I get out, I will splurge on myself and raise my living standard to $15,000 a year and live in real luxury!!

MountainpharmD

What is there to be surprised by when i graduate? I have already been living my dream (to live on a very small amount of money), when i graduate there is nothing stopping me from continuing to live on 10-15k/year. And yeah i more or less made up that statistic, but if you look at the average wage being somewhere in the 20s , after tax most people i know at that income level are maybe making 15k and guess what, they're living better than i am. And $6000 for groceries was pretty extensive. I have gotten by for the past 5 years spending less than $1500 a year on food and I am very happy with my level of subsistence.

So until you have tried it and can see that it is very possible to live on ~$10k a year, dont knock it. Not only is it possible, but you can still have a great life! And that is how i intend to continue.

Right on! It is certainly very realistic to live off this budget you describe. It all comes down to planning and ADHERING to pre-set budgets. What I do is if I go over my budget for an expense, then I balance the budget by spending less on another expense even if it's food or heating.

 

[jinga]

My wife and I lived comfortably off of less than 20K last year. This includes expenses involved in applying/getting accepted to schools etc.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

Same here. I've been living off of about $9-12,000 a year cash for a long time now, being a student feels pretty luxurious (they give us 14k a year). I figure when I get out, I will splurge on myself and raise my living standard to $15,000 a year and live in real luxury!!

MountainpharmD

What is there to be surprised by when i graduate? I have already been living my dream (to live on a very small amount of money), when i graduate there is nothing stopping me from continuing to live on 10-15k/year. And yeah i more or less made up that statistic, but if you look at the average wage being somewhere in the 20s , after tax most people i know at that income level are maybe making 15k and guess what, they're living better than i am. And $6000 for groceries was pretty extensive. I have gotten by for the past 5 years spending less than $1500 a year on food and I am very happy with my level of subsistence.

So until you have tried it and can see that it is very possible to live on ~$10k a year, dont knock it. Not only is it possible, but you can still have a great life! And that is how i intend to continue.

There is a difference between a working professional and a student. I agree with Mountain that you will be in for a shock. How about adding student loan payments? Medical expenses? Retirement? Taking care of your family (parents? kids?).

There is also surprises like maintance on your car, tickets (you are driving more after all). I just spend 500 on a check engine light on a 4 year old car and it wasnt anything serious...

6000 on food is NOT generous. You will blow through that depending on your situation. For a lot of us, we have to order takeout because we cannot leave the pharmacy. In addition, we might not be able to cook a nice meal after a 14 hour shift, 2 hours of commute, and have to wake up in 5 hours for the next day. This is assuming you can get all of your errands such as laundry, car repairs, yardwork, etc on your off day.

 

[type b pharmD]

There is a difference between a working professional and a student. I agree with Mountain that you will be in for a shock. How about adding student loan payments? Medical expenses? Retirement? Taking care of your family (parents? kids?).

There is also surprises like maintance on your car, tickets (you are driving more after all). I just spend 500 on a check engine light on a 4 year old car and it wasnt anything serious...

6000 on food is NOT generous. You will blow through that depending on your situation. For a lot of us, we have to order takeout because we cannot leave the pharmacy. In addition, we might not be able to cook a nice meal after a 14 hour shift, 2 hours of commute, and have to wake up in 5 hours for the next day. This is assuming you can get all of your errands such as laundry, car repairs, yardwork, etc on your off day.

please dont assume. it seems you have failed to read my posts.

--Not going to live 2 hours away from my job (lol)
--Retirement and medical expenses and loans, take that out of the $4000 a month that is left over after living expenses
--No family or kids to take care of. Family has more than enough money to take care of themselves. No spouse or kids. And by the time my parents need care I will be done with my loans.

$6000 for food is more than $100 a week. Considering I spend $25 a week now.. How will my food expenses more than quadruple when i become a pharmacist? I fail to see this.

I also fail to see how being unable to leave the pharmacy means you have to get takeout. Even if i took a job that did not let me leave for lunch, I would just eat a PB&J. There we go! Saved money right there!

You dont have to cook a long meal every night in order to eat cheaply. 😴

One day off a week? Please 🙁 Very few pharmacy jobs are like that.

Also, you must be either a bad driver or reckless to assume that more driving = more tickets. I have not gotten a ticket since I got my license and never plan on getting one. You know how you can guarantee that? Following traffic laws ! 🙂 Source: Being a professional driver. If you can drive 8 hours a day with no tickets, you can commute to and from work with no tickets.

Of course you already know I dont mind driving a ****ty car and living in poor areas (and before you mention cost of thefts and break-ins.. there's renters/homeowners insurance)

 

[busyizzy]

My wife and I lived comfortably off of less than 20K last year. This includes expenses involved in applying/getting accepted to schools etc.

This really depends on where you live. In the DC area, you could barely survive on 20k for two people, let along live "comfortably."

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

There is a difference between a working professional and a student. I agree with Mountain that you will be in for a shock. How about adding student loan payments? Medical expenses? Retirement? Taking care of your family (parents? kids?).

There is also surprises like maintance on your car, tickets (you are driving more after all). I just spend 500 on a check engine light on a 4 year old car and it wasnt anything serious...

6000 on food is NOT generous. You will blow through that depending on your situation. For a lot of us, we have to order takeout because we cannot leave the pharmacy. In addition, we might not be able to cook a nice meal after a 14 hour shift, 2 hours of commute, and have to wake up in 5 hours for the next day. This is assuming you can get all of your errands such as laundry, car repairs, yardwork, etc on your off day.

Definitely understand your point of view but then again not every pharmacist job is like you describe.

14 hour shifts continuously, eating takeout all the time and 2 hour commute sounds like a low quality of life. Hopefully you escape that existence if that is your current life... 🙁

 

[BelleMD2B]

I am glad this topic was bumped up. With this new administration and recent changes to student loans, how do you think it will affect us? I am wondering if I should go to an in-state or OOS school. I would go OOS if I had a reasonable financial plan, but I have yet to come up with one that actually makes sense.

Income based repayment at 10%. Forgiven after 20 years.

 

[type b pharmD]

Income based repayment at 10%. Forgiven after 20 years.

Yep. Go work for Upitt , make 75k , your monthly payment will be like $600-700. Pretty good deal if you ask me

 

[wes011]

This thread really cracks me up.

 

[jinga]

This really depends on where you live. In the DC area, you could barely survive on 20k for two people, let along live "comfortably."

Very true. I tend to forget that the Midwest is a crazy cheap place to live depending on the region. Our starter home would cost us about 400-500K on one of the coasts; it's worth 120-150K here. I love the Midwest and will never leave. Just got done catching some catfish and bullheads - a nice release after a final this morning.

Oh, BTW...BUMP!

 

[type b pharmD]

This thread really cracks me up.

it actually is pretty depressing that people dont seem to know basic money management skills.. i swear some of my classmates have never worked in their life

 

[iknow]

Income based repayment at 10%. Forgiven after 20 years.

I think this is only for students who take loans after 2014 so we don't benefit. Right now I think it is 15% for 25 years and 10% for 10 years if you work in some type of public service (like the VA)

"Only new borrowers of new loans made on or after July 1, 2014 are eligible for the improved income-based repayment plan. Current borrowers are eligible for the existing 15% version of the income-based repayment plan."

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/ibr10.phtml

How are you all planning on paying your loans?

 

[eddie269]

Lots of ignorance in this thread.

My old career was a personal banker/financial adviser so I saw how majority of Americans managed their money. After kid's college tuition savings, kids clothing, kids food, kids school tuitions, kids medical, dental, and visual insurance, kids allowances, throwing kid's bday parties, kid's vacations to Disneyland, kid's new hobby (basketball shoes? jerseys?)...you get the idea.

And notice how I just mentioned one kid? What happens when you start a family? Your car's warranty runs out and you are stuck with a $5000 repair? Furnishing your new house/apartment/condo? Buying a new mattress to replace that twin you've been using since college? Or that AAA membership that cost $200/yr for the whole family? Anybody like to workout at the gym ($30/mo). Can I host a Superbowl party at my new house for once in my life (easily $500).

Reality is, a lot of you will be in for a rude awakening when the real life hits. Sure not everyone will buy $100 pair of jeans, but that doesn't mean life is going to be put on hold any longer.

I guess some of you guys will never go on a real vacation with the wife, buy your parents that new washer and dryer set they so desperately need, treat your best friend out for a nice birthday dinner, buy a round of drinks at the bar to celebrate your buddy's job promotion, etc.

Life happens...and it can't always fit in a nice spreadsheet. Best you can do is budget, save for retirement, and spend wisely.

Majority of the stuff I mentioned above I do not believe is "spending irresponsibly." Yet I haven't seen most of those points address in everyone's simplified budget spreadsheets. And "$1000/yr to splurge" or whatever was written isn't realistic to most people.

 

[Ackj]

it actually is pretty depressing that people dont seem to know basic money management skills.. i swear some of my classmates have never worked in their life

I just worked out my budget for this coming year. My rent went up to $795, which is fine, because its a nicer apartment and very close to school (not worth packing everything up and moving to save $20 a month). The town I'm in has their own power company, so thats $15 a month (in the summer with generous air conditioning). I've got my internet bill for $30, don't bother with cable tv because the only things I watch are on ABC, Fox, NBC anyway. Generally food is under $120 a month, but I budget it for that much to be safe (taco salads+rice, pasta, stir fry ftw). I also over-budget gas at $100, since I normally drive less than 5 miles a day, so that also covers me for oil changes and the like. Now divide all of that by 2, because I split with my girlfriend. I'm still on my parents insurance, so I can really say I'm living off of $600 a month. I still allow myself more than this obviously, because I'm in school and you don't stay home all the time (sure sometimes I'll drop $50 on drinks, not the best decision, but it happens) and I usually find some nice gift to get myself every year (sweet guitar last year, PS3 this year).

But really, anybody who says you can't live off of 20k, its very unrealistic unless you're in a major city. My dad is a high school teacher, and my mom is a dental hygienist, so they make around 50k combined, and have a good sized house, acreage, go on at least a few vacations a year. Sure I know people who make $80k and are broke, but they hit up Tim Hortons or Dunkin every morning, have an iPhone, eat out almost every night, buy a new outfit every week, etc. The simple ways to save and spend money are what really gets you.

 

[type b pharmD]

I just worked out my budget for this coming year. My rent went up to $795, which is fine, because its a nicer apartment and very close to school (not worth packing everything up and moving to save $20 a month). The town I'm in has their own power company, so thats $15 a month (in the summer with generous air conditioning). I've got my internet bill for $30, don't bother with cable tv because the only things I watch are on ABC, Fox, NBC anyway. Generally food is under $120 a month, but I budget it for that much to be safe (taco salads+rice, pasta, stir fry ftw). I also over-budget gas at $100, since I normally drive less than 5 miles a day, so that also covers me for oil changes and the like. Now divide all of that by 2, because I split with my girlfriend. I'm still on my parents insurance, so I can really say I'm living off of $600 a month. I still allow myself more than this obviously, because I'm in school and you don't stay home all the time (sure sometimes I'll drop $50 on drinks, not the best decision, but it happens) and I usually find some nice gift to get myself every year (sweet guitar last year, PS3 this year).

But really, anybody who says you can't live off of 20k, its very unrealistic unless you're in a major city. My dad is a high school teacher, and my mom is a dental hygienist, so they make around 50k combined, and have a good sized house, acreage, go on at least a few vacations a year. Sure I know people who make $80k and are broke, but they hit up Tim Hortons or Dunkin every morning, have an iPhone, eat out almost every night, buy a new outfit every week, etc. The simple ways to save and spend money are what really gets you.

👍

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

Lots of ignorance in this thread.

My old career was a personal banker/financial adviser so I saw how majority of Americans managed their money. After kid's college tuition savings, kids clothing, kids food, kids school tuitions, kids medical, dental, and visual insurance, kids allowances, throwing kid's bday parties, kid's vacations to Disneyland, kid's new hobby (basketball shoes? jerseys?)...you get the idea.

And notice how I just mentioned one kid? What happens when you start a family? Your car's warranty runs out and you are stuck with a $5000 repair? Furnishing your new house/apartment/condo? Buying a new mattress to replace that twin you've been using since college? Or that AAA membership that cost $200/yr for the whole family? Anybody like to workout at the gym ($30/mo). Can I host a Superbowl party at my new house for once in my life (easily $500).

Reality is, a lot of you will be in for a rude awakening when the real life hits. Sure not everyone will buy $100 pair of jeans, but that doesn't mean life is going to be put on hold any longer.

I guess some of you guys will never go on a real vacation with the wife, buy your parents that new washer and dryer set they so desperately need, treat your best friend out for a nice birthday dinner, buy a round of drinks at the bar to celebrate your buddy's job promotion, etc.

Life happens...and it can't always fit in a nice spreadsheet. Best you can do is budget, save for retirement, and spend wisely.

Majority of the stuff I mentioned above I do not believe is "spending irresponsibly." Yet I haven't seen most of those points address in everyone's simplified budget spreadsheets. And "$1000/yr to splurge" or whatever was written isn't realistic to most people.

Summation:

Sounds like life to me...

 

[kvl1027]

So back to the original purpose of this thread.

So I owe $147K, looks based on the loan calculator available on the federal loan website, I will be looking at a payment of $1980/month if I take the 10 year fixed payment. The fact is I have a wife and 2 kids, so that is frankly an impossibility. I am most likely going to stretch it out over 25-30 years and take a graduated payment plan which, will put my starting payment around $820/month. This is the only way I can survive. For all of you nay-sayers out there who think it will be so easy to just bang out your student loans in a couple of years, you may be mistaken.

Sure, I will lose a good deal of money over 30 years in interest, but not as much as I will lose if I don't get my credit card debt down to zero first. If I take the 10 year fixed, it leaves nothing for me to bang down my credit card debt and I would be forced to make minimum payments and at 19% compounded interest, try to figure out which will generate the greater loss.

Also, think about this. If you take to longer plan with the lower payment you can always choose to pay more if you have it. If I was to take the 10 year fixed option and something like "life" happens I'm SOL, but the lower payment is more "do-able" in hard times.

Another interesting caveat. Let's just say instead of dumping $2000/month into your student loan, you instead put $1000/month toward the loan and $1000/month towards a mortgage. The is a very good possibility, especially with housing prices so low now, that in the next 10 years, you will make more money on that piece of property than you will lose of 30 years. Especially since, sadly, the interest rates on mortgages are lower now than my student loan interest. Just something to consider.

To sum it up, your money may serve you better in an investment that will grow faster than your student loan interest will lose you money.

Lesson Number 2: Wait to have children.............I love my kids, but I have to live like a chump with a 120k salary, it's just not fair.

 

[jinga]

My parents raised us on ~30-40K. We lived a very frugal lifestyle. Growing up, I resented it and wished we could drive fancy cars, live in a brand new house, and have all of the fancy toys. Now, I think it is probably the coolest and smartest thing ever.

Two years into my undergrad, I found out my dad makes a gross income of 120K and is set to retire at the age of 55. He drives a 20 year old truck with 230K miles.

He's a good role model!

 

[wes011]

it actually is pretty depressing that people dont seem to know basic money management skills.. i swear some of my classmates have never worked in their life

Completely agree.

If you can't balance a checkbook or understand the idea of spending less than you make, you shouldn't be granted a PharmD.

 

[wes011]

My parents raised us on ~30-40K. We lived a very frugal lifestyle. Growing up, I resented it and wished we could drive fancy cars, live in a brand new house, and have all of the fancy toys. Now, I think it is probably the coolest and smartest thing ever.

Two years into my undergrad, I found out my dad makes a gross income of 120K and is set to retire at the age of 55. He drives a 20 year old truck with 230K miles.

He's a good role model!

Completely agree with that, he is a fantastic role model. I have much the same philosophies as your dad. My car is a 2003 Toyota Camry that I bought brand new, it now has 172K miles on it. I could buy something newer, but 1) it's paid for and 2) it still runs so I don't see the need.

 

[wes011]

So back to the original purpose of this thread.

So I owe $147K, looks based on the loan calculator available on the federal loan website, I will be looking at a payment of $1980/month if I take the 10 year fixed payment. The fact is I have a wife and 2 kids, so that is frankly an impossibility. I am most likely going to stretch it out over 25-30 years and take a graduated payment plan which, will put my starting payment around $820/month. This is the only way I can survive. For all of you nay-sayers out there who think it will be so easy to just bang out your student loans in a couple of years, you may be mistaken.

Sure, I will lose a good deal of money over 30 years in interest, but not as much as I will lose if I don't get my credit card debt down to zero first. If I take the 10 year fixed, it leaves nothing for me to bang down my credit card debt and I would be forced to make minimum payments and at 19% compounded interest, try to figure out which will generate the greater loss.

Also, think about this. If you take to longer plan with the lower payment you can always choose to pay more if you have it. If I was to take the 10 year fixed option and something like "life" happens I'm SOL, but the lower payment is more "do-able" in hard times.

Another interesting caveat. Let's just say instead of dumping $2000/month into your student loan, you instead put $1000/month toward the loan and $1000/month towards a mortgage. The is a very good possibility, especially with housing prices so low now, that in the next 10 years, you will make more money on that piece of property than you will lose of 30 years. Especially since, sadly, the interest rates on mortgages are lower now than my student loan interest. Just something to consider.

To sum it up, your money may serve you better in an investment that will grow faster than your student loan interest will lose you money.

Lesson Number 2: Wait to have children.............I love my kids, but I have to live like a chump with a 120k salary, it's just not fair.

I completely understand what you mean. I am curious as to what your wife does work wise? I am a career changer, so my wife and I had higher salaries for several years. I took this opportunity to pay off all of our debt besides our house. I am proud to say we paid off over $100k in debt, which was a really hard conversation to have with my wife when I told her I wanted to go back in debt $125K (principal amount) for school. Back to the topic, I have a son that will turn 3 in August, and we might try to have another kid my 3rd year (acc. program). Even with those additions, if I come out making $120K per year and are bringing home $7K per month I feel confident that I could set aside $5000K for my student loans and use the remaining $2K for additional bills. In doing so, I could pay off my loans in 2.8 years, which is worth it to me. I will have to run the numbers again, but I do believe this is doable, but only because my wife makes a lot of money and only because the only thing we owe on is our house.

 

[jinga]

Awesome, Wes. Mine has 190K and still ticking. I do all of the maintenance myself such as oil changes, battery changes, wiper blades, and rotations. It's pretty basic stuff...

Of course, I'm still going into debt due to pharmacy school, but hopefully it's manageable (shooting for 110-120K). It's still baffling.

 

[jinga]

It's tough in the Midwest though because everyone and their dog drives a sweet pickup with mud tires. Maybe when I get out, but it will be used and cheap.

 

[wes011]

It's tough in the Midwest though because everyone and their dog drives a sweet pickup with mud tires. Maybe when I get out, but it will be used and cheap.

Right on!!!

I live in Louisville, KY, grew up in Fairdale, KY which is a smaller community kind of a rednecky area. I keep telling my wife I am going to buy me a truck when I graduate, and she keeps telling me no because it won't fit in the garage. My response to that is no way I am putting something that "purty" in the garage, I am going to leave it in the driveway for the neighbors to admire. 👍

 

[jinga]

Exactly. Redneck? Lol. My old neighbor was a Vietnam vet who owned a fully automatic "uzi." According to him, he shipped it back piece by piece during the war. I heard him shoot it lol it was so sweet.

 

[kvl1027]

I completely understand what you mean. I am curious as to what your wife does work wise? I am a career changer, so my wife and I had higher salaries for several years. I took this opportunity to pay off all of our debt besides our house. I am proud to say we paid off over $100k in debt, which was a really hard conversation to have with my wife when I told her I wanted to go back in debt $125K (principal amount) for school. Back to the topic, I have a son that will turn 3 in August, and we might try to have another kid my 3rd year (acc. program). Even with those additions, if I come out making $120K per year and are bringing home $7K per month I feel confident that I could set aside $5000K for my student loans and use the remaining $2K for additional bills. In doing so, I could pay off my loans in 2.8 years, which is worth it to me. I will have to run the numbers again, but I do believe this is doable, but only because my wife makes a lot of money and only because the only thing we owe on is our house.

That is great that you wife pulls in a significant salary, If you can swing the 5k I say go for it. Unfortunately and fortunately my wife is a stay at home mom. The bad: no extra cash The good: our kids get raised by their mom.

My goal is to open my own pharmacy and in doing so provide an income eventually to help me get ahead of my loans, until then the minimum payment shall be the way to go.

 

[Ackj]

That is great that you wife pulls in a significant salary, If you can swing the 5k I say go for it. Unfortunately and fortunately my wife is a stay at home mom. The bad: no extra cash The good: our kids get raised by their mom.

My goal is to open my own pharmacy and in doing so provide an income eventually to help me get ahead of my loans, until then the minimum payment shall be the way to go.

I'm no expert, but I'd say by the time an independent becomes profitable, (which is usually after a few years of building clientele) your school loans should probably be gone. Not to mention getting business loans you'll need to get started and build an inventory might be harder to obtain if you're still in considerable debt from school.

 

[storyhill]

I graduated with about 140,000 in debt about a year ago. I started working in august so I've been working for about 9 months. Right now I am down to about 103,000. I don't save a dime. I rent an apartment ($650). i have a wife who doesn't work. I take home about $2900 every 2 weeks. I did spend about 15,000 on a used car because my college car had run its course. I believe it will take me about a total of 3 years to be out of debt. If you just try to live responsible you don't have to feel like a hobo or anything. I feel fine and I'll be glad to be out of debt pretty soon.

 

[kvl1027]

I'm no expert, but I'd say by the time an independent becomes profitable, (which is usually after a few years of building clientele) your school loans should probably be gone. Not to mention getting business loans you'll need to get started and build an inventory might be harder to obtain if you're still in considerable debt from school.

Well, if I was starting an independent from scratch, I probably wouldn't be able to pay myself a salary for about 2-3 years and that is if I was doing really well. I work for an independent now that does very well and the owner and I are talking about a possible junior partnership in a new store we might open up. I would be able to buy my store from him in about 4-5 years while working and maintaining a full salary and of course that salary would increase every year as I buy more of the store.
The owner is very "seasoned" and not really interested in expanding his own business, but he is interested in helping a young aspiring pharmacist obtain his own store. It really is a fantastic opportunity and frankly one that is widely available if you look in the right places.
I would rather stretch out my loan payment and invest that extra money into my business, which is likely to pay out more than I would lose to interest. There is always a risk of course, but as an old codger pharmacist once told me the risk for a pharmacist trying to open his own store is that his business fails and he has to take a job making 100K per year. Well worth the risk, and with the right guidance not too difficult an undertaking.

 

[wes011]

That is great that you wife pulls in a significant salary, If you can swing the 5k I say go for it. Unfortunately and fortunately my wife is a stay at home mom. The bad: no extra cash The good: our kids get raised by their mom.

My goal is to open my own pharmacy and in doing so provide an income eventually to help me get ahead of my loans, until then the minimum payment shall be the way to go.

Completely understand that. It was tough for us to put our son in daycare, but he loves it and they have a structured learning program so it is nice that we actually get to enjoy our time with our son doing mostly fun/exploration activities. If you are open to relocating, you might be able to find a company that offers loan repayment opportunities. The only positions I have found that offer this is for specialist positions.

 

[jinga]

I graduated with about 140,000 in debt about a year ago. I started working in august so I've been working for about 9 months. Right now I am down to about 103,000. I don't save a dime. I rent an apartment ($650). i have a wife who doesn't work. I take home about $2900 every 2 weeks. I did spend about 15,000 on a used car because my college car had run its course. I believe it will take me about a total of 3 years to be out of debt. If you just try to live responsible you don't have to feel like a hobo or anything. I feel fine and I'll be glad to be out of debt pretty soon.

Storyhill, how has this approach been treating you? This is how I plan on eliminating my debt and my scenario is VERY VERY similar to yours.

What setting do you work in, if you don't mind?

 

[storyhill]

Storyhill, how has this approach been treating you? This is how I plan on eliminating my debt and my scenario is VERY VERY similar to yours.

What setting do you work in, if you don't mind?

Jinga,
I work in a 70 bed rural hospital. Staff/Clinical position. As far as how the approach to living right now is treating me... I'm great. I have all of the things that I need and I still fly back home with my wife to visit family and take a weekend every once in a while and go spend the weekend in the closest city. I just don't spend a lot on all the different gadgets and toys. I also don't want to have a mortgage while I have the loan. It's really not bad if you just can be content with what you have and not always desire what you could have if you didn't put your money towards loans. If stuff comes up where I need to purchase some things (baby coming) then I just put less towards some loans for that time. It's not rocket science. It's fine.

 

[PharmaTope]

Well lets do some multiplying....🙄

52 weeks x $55/hr x 60hrs/week = 171k/year

Looks like 20 extra hrsweek at a prn company floating would get you there.

IF he can find it. PRN work is not guaranteed to be out there no more.....

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

IF he can find it. PRN work is not guaranteed to be out there no more.....

Well duh...

Insightful post though.