Pay off Student Loans or Wait

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SkiPharmer

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Quick info..I am a 2008 grad and my wife is a 2009 grad, we had over $300K of student loans and are now down to $28,000 for me and $47,000 for her. We have a baby on the way in March, both work retail and I work 2 other PRN hospital jobs. We can now pay off the rest of the loans with our savings...............would YOU do this? Or just keep plugging away like we have been. The only debt we have is student loans and our mortgage. I know this is mostly a personal decision but I just wanna get some others opinions.

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Quick info..I am a 2008 grad and my wife is a 2009 grad, we had over $300K of student loans and are now down to $28,000 for me and $47,000 for her. We have a baby on the way in March, both work retail and I work 2 other PRN hospital jobs. We can now pay off the rest of the loans with our savings...............would YOU do this? Or just keep plugging away like we have been. The only debt we have is student loans and our mortgage. I know this is mostly a personal decision but I just wanna get some others opinions.

Do you have a sufficient emergency fund?

Having a baby is expensive and you may incur unexpected costs. I'd want to have a good little nest egg in the bank that you don't touch.
 
Quick info..I am a 2008 grad and my wife is a 2009 grad, we had over $300K of student loans and are now down to $28,000 for me and $47,000 for her. We have a baby on the way in March, both work retail and I work 2 other PRN hospital jobs. We can now pay off the rest of the loans with our savings...............would YOU do this? Or just keep plugging away like we have been. The only debt we have is student loans and our mortgage. I know this is mostly a personal decision but I just wanna get some others opinions.

I would bang it out. 2 retail pharmacists should make enough to support a newborn even if it's starting from scratch
 
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The emerg fund is part of our savings.......id rather not touch it...
 
well id rather not BUT we still have 6 months before baby and we could build up the funds by then.......
 
well id rather not BUT we still have 6 months before baby and we could build up the funds by then.......

The question is how much you think you need to have in an emergency fund. You also don't know if your wife will be able to continue to work throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. Or how long she will need to be off afterwards. For that matter, how much time you need to take off. Uncomplicated vaginal delivery? A few weeks for you, 6 weeks for her. C-section, complications, baby in the NICU? Could be weeks to months.
 
Can I just say BRAVO!! You went from 300K to 75K in a couple of years! That's awesome. Can you share what you and your wife did specifically to pay that much off?

In my opinion, I would just keep paying off little by little and keep that emergency fund safe - you never know what life will hand you and you want to be able to take care of yourself.
 
Can I just say BRAVO!! You went from 300K to 75K in a couple of years! That's awesome. Can you share what you and your wife did specifically to pay that much off?

In my opinion, I would just keep paying off little by little and keep that emergency fund safe - you never know what life will hand you and you want to be able to take care of yourself.

I work a lot of OT and extra at my other PRN jobs. We don't spend our money on stupid crap. We do spend it on travel, skiing and boating. We have been to Europe 3 times in the past 18 months and go to Breckenridge/Vail/Tahoe skiing 3-4 times a year and we own a 25 foot speed boat. Again, we do these trips smart too.....my wife does not buy expensive clothes, purses, etc. Make it a priority and it can happen.
 
I work a lot of OT and extra at my other PRN jobs. We don't spend our money on stupid crap. We do spend it on travel, skiing and boating. We have been to Europe 3 times in the past 18 months and go to Breckenridge/Vail/Tahoe skiing 3-4 times a year and we own a 25 foot speed boat. Again, we do these trips smart too.....my wife does not buy expensive clothes, purses, etc. Make it a priority and it can happen.

some people will say this is dumb to do these things, but life is short and I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.
 
If you have been able to pay back a significant amount of 300K in the last 5-6 years and still have had a comfortable life, I'd say pay back the student loan minors the emergency fund.
 
Personally, I would pay off the loans. With no more payments you can quickly build up another nest egg with the money you were supposed to use to have been paying the loans. When the baby comes, you will have a lot more freed up money with no depth except for the house. Just what I would do.
 
Quick info..I am a 2008 grad and my wife is a 2009 grad, we had over $300K of student loans and are now down to $28,000 for me and $47,000 for her.

Yes, pay it off. It is a 6.8% guaranteed return.

300 k for a couple is reasonable. 300 k in student loan for just one person is insane.
 
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I work a lot of OT and extra at my other PRN jobs. We don't spend our money on stupid crap. We do spend it on travel, skiing and boating. We have been to Europe 3 times in the past 18 months and go to Breckenridge/Vail/Tahoe skiing 3-4 times a year and we own a 25 foot speed boat. Again, we do these trips smart too.....my wife does not buy expensive clothes, purses, etc. Make it a priority and it can happen.

You won't be doing any of that stuff after Baby arrives. :oops:
 
What's the rate? I have two rates on my loans 6.55% and 2.1%. I am aggressively ($2500 a month) paying the 6.55% loan off, but the other one I'm just paying the minimum right now. (Unless it goes up to 6.8%, obviously.) Compared to inflation, its basically borrowing for free.

Now this savings...please tell me its at least in a money market account. That's so much capital sitting there doing nothing.

If the rate is high though...definitely pay it off. I only keep a cushion of $20,000 in my savings/checking combined. (Customer's Bank in the Philly area pays 0.8% APR...which sucks but its one of the best out there...but, hey, $160 free dollars a year). And being that you have two high-earners, there really is even less of a reason to have such high levels of liquid cash.

----

Also, you should consider a financial adviser if you don't feel comfortable with this stuff.
 
some people will say this is dumb to do these things, but life is short and I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.

Those people can jump off a bridge. There is nothing dumb about getting out and experiencing life. Props to you, man. Congrats on the baby, too.
 
Those people can jump off a bridge. There is nothing dumb about getting out and experiencing life. Props to you, man. Congrats on the baby, too.

I agree. I think it is important to make sure that you and your family members have enough for retirement.

But I think it is more important to enjoy life while you are young, and not die with a million dollar in your bank account.
 
Those people can jump off a bridge. There is nothing dumb about getting out and experiencing life. Props to you, man. Congrats on the baby, too.

Thanks a lot... I just witnessed my grandma who was very close to me die and it made me realize how short life is and to do as much as possible without going broke. By the way, I think everyone should see Santorini Greece once in their life...nothing like it
 
Thanks a lot... I just witnessed my grandma who was very close to me die and it made me realize how short life is and to do as much as possible without going broke. By the way, I think everyone should see Santorini Greece once in their life...nothing like it

Different people have different views and goals in life. Some want to have as much fun, others want to build something lasting. I had my fun doing European backpacking, skiing, poking around, great fun to be sure but all that was fleeting. As much as i want, I can't be a teenager or an undergrad again. I now view life's goal is more about what you can accomplish during that time to build a lasting legacy.

Not to detract from your view of life, but there are hundreds of different ones out there just as valid as yours.
 
Different people have different views and goals in life. Some want to have as much fun, others want to build something lasting. I had my fun doing European backpacking, skiing, poking around, great fun to be sure but all that was fleeting. As much as i want, I can't be a teenager or an undergrad again. I now view life's goal is more about what you can accomplish during that time to build a lasting legacy.

Not to detract from your view of life, but there are hundreds of different ones out there just as valid as yours.

What do you mean by "building a legacy"? As a pharmacist? Or to your family? There is no way a pharmacist will be remembered in history. The only RPh I know in history is Hubert Humphrey, and he isn't remember for being pharmacist.
 
What do you mean by "building a legacy"? As a pharmacist? Or to your family? There is no way a pharmacist will be remembered in history. The only RPh I know in history is Hubert Humphrey, and he isn't remember for being pharmacist.

You can do both. We all know the names Walgreen or Eckerd for example, and others you may not know but plenty of others know, eg, the name nicolau is famous in psych, nahata is famous in ID.

Other wise, money is a powerful and flexible tool in the building of a legacy. Bill and melinda Gates foundation for philanthropy and unrelated to where the money came from. My college of pharmacy was located in Parks hall, a lasting contribution at a top pharmacy school and remembered by all its pharmD graduates.

If you want to focus on family, you can accumulate a fortune to pass on to your kids, so they will never feel the shackle work because they have to, free them to pursue their passion or provide them with top education and opportunities to build something to rival famous figures like Rockefeller over time.

There are too many ways to build a legacy that it is impossible to list them all. I'm not saying everyone should, but it certainly is just as a valid way to live a life as spending it all on yourself.
 
What do you mean by "building a legacy"? As a pharmacist? Or to your family? There is no way a pharmacist will be remembered in history. The only RPh I know in history is Hubert Humphrey, and he isn't remember for being pharmacist.

Is that the Medal of Honor winner? And if so there is a bridge named after him in my home town! And if so I didn't know he was an rph.
 
You can do both. We all know the names Walgreen or Eckerd for example, and others you may not know but plenty of others know, eg, the name nicolau is famous in psych, nahata is famous in ID.

Other wise, money is a powerful and flexible tool in the building of a legacy. Bill and melinda Gates foundation for philanthropy and unrelated to where the money came from. My college of pharmacy was located in Parks hall, a lasting contribution at a top pharmacy school and remembered by all its pharmD graduates.

If you want to focus on family, you can accumulate a fortune to pass on to your kids, so they will never feel the shackle work because they have to, free them to pursue their passion or provide them with top education and opportunities to build something to rival famous figures like Rockefeller over time.

There are too many ways to build a legacy that it is impossible to list them all. I'm not saying everyone should, but it certainly is just as a valid way to live a life as spending it all on yourself.

nicolau is famous in ID. Hartford nomogram, duh :smuggrin: Never heard of Nahata.

For OP, something to muse over: Michael Rybak PharmD is first author on the IDSA's Vancomycin guidelines is addition to being an author on the IDSA's MRSA guidelines. But I guess rphs aren't famous
 
Quick info..I am a 2008 grad and my wife is a 2009 grad, we had over $300K of student loans and are now down to $28,000 for me and $47,000 for her. We have a baby on the way in March, both work retail and I work 2 other PRN hospital jobs. We can now pay off the rest of the loans with our savings...............would YOU do this? Or just keep plugging away like we have been. The only debt we have is student loans and our mortgage. I know this is mostly a personal decision but I just wanna get some others opinions.

Don't have loans personally, but if I did I'd defer defer defer as long as possible. The US keeps printing more money so the US dollar is gonna be pretty worthless soon. Just pay the loans back with cheaper dollars when major inflation hits. Buy assets NOW before you cannot afford them.
 
nicolau is famous in ID. Hartford nomogram, duh :smuggrin: Never heard of Nahata.

For OP, something to muse over: Michael Rybak PharmD is first author on the IDSA's Vancomycin guidelines is addition to being an author on the IDSA's MRSA guidelines. But I guess rphs aren't famous

Never heard of him...even asked a few of my "clinical" friends, didnt ring a bell. If you ask 1000 random people who that dude is, you MIGHT find one who would know him, I don't call that famous. Unless your goal is to be famous in a real small niche, which is something I just don't get, cuz in the long run no one is gonna REALLY care
 
nicolau is famous in ID. Hartford nomogram, duh :smuggrin: Never heard of Nahata.

Damn, a year and a half behind the desk doing management stuff really did a number on my memories of clinical stuff. :( Thanks for the good catch.

ps: Nahata is famous for ped ID, and the author of Pediatric Drug Formulations. But I might be a little biased on this one, he was my advisor. :smuggrin:
 
Never heard of him...even asked a few of my "clinical" friends, didnt ring a bell. If you ask 1000 random people who that dude is, you MIGHT find one who would know him, I don't call that famous. Unless your goal is to be famous in a real small niche, which is something I just don't get, cuz in the long run no one is gonna REALLY care

Being famous in a small niche is much more achievable than general population. We all can't be Rockefellers. But if 1 in a 1000 heard of you, that's still 7 million people. ;)
 
Damn, a year and a half behind the desk doing management stuff really did a number on my memories of clinical stuff. :( Thanks for the good catch.

ps: Nahata is famous for ped ID, and the author of Pediatric Drug Formulations. But I might be a little biased on this one, he was my advisor. :smuggrin:

Ah. This is why I've never heard of him. Peds.......:barf:
 
Never heard of him...even asked a few of my "clinical" friends, didnt ring a bell. If you ask 1000 random people who that dude is, you MIGHT find one who would know him, I don't call that famous. Unless your goal is to be famous in a real small niche, which is something I just don't get, cuz in the long run no one is gonna REALLY care

I'm guessing your friends are the type that say xyz is what the guidelines say even though they've obviously never read either of those guidelines
 
I'm guessing your friends are the type that say xyz is what the guidelines say even though they've obviously never read either of those guidelines

Couldn't tell ya dude...when we hangout we have better things to talk about than work. One of them did a two year residency in heme/onc and is they head heme/onc RPh of a 500 bed hospital but since she doesn't know your famous dude she probably isn't a good clinician:D
 
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