my situation is kinda different than most. my school was not acredited until we graduated. we were the first class through. so we could not take any 'federal' student loans out. all my loans were private loans through a private bank. my school was and still is kinda expensive. my intrest rate is hovering around 8%. i have tried to refinance a few times but a) no one wants to touch a private loan or b) the refinance fees are not worth the few tenths of a percent i can save by refinancing. right now i have 2 jobs to help make ends meet. i figured the second job would go to my student loans but right now they are going to medical bills. kids are so dang expensive. in a few months i should be in the free and clear of medical bills (knock on wood) i just bought i a book called automatic millionaire to teach me how to save. we'll see how that goes. i do have a house and i had hoped at one time that it would pay my loans off. i figured id buy low and sell high. at the time i bought my house the market here was going up about 5 to 6% a month. its since taken a dump. so my h0use is probally only worth 1o to 15 thousand more now than when i bought it a year ago. i know there is no EASY way to pay loans off. but there has to be an EASIER way. i have not started a 401k yet but im determined to this year.
So....you've got a tough situation for sure! But...you didn't say the term? 8% (I assume variable) for how long? Are you accelerating or is this what is required for a 20 to 30 yr term?
You have kids (with medical bills
🙂 ) - have you got a wife? If so...have you talked about her taking a job as well? If she's got her own career, it may not be possible, depending on what your kids ages are since someone has to be there at night...but, if they are pre-school age, she might be able to work there or if they are school age, she might be able to work within the school district - as an aide, clerk, even if she's not a teacher. She'd be out when they're in school & home when they're home.
What's the benefit? Well...you might get dual health insurance. You also might be able to have dual retirements ultimately.
That won't help the loan situation. But, some other things to think about - you may not be able to afford the house (no - I'm not advocating selling at a loss!). Just perhaps, now at the beginning of the year, you might need to reevaluate all your expenses. A house can be helpful in the long run - but, in the short term - it eats up a lot of money. There is always something that goes wrong or needs doing - and you working two jobs doesn't give you a lot of time to do them yourself.
However, when you bought the house - did you get a loan that had a loan equity feature? If you did, you might be able to use that to pay down some of the private loan. A loan secured by something - real property, car, whatever, will always have a lower rate than an unsecured loan. However, you don't want to risk your housing.....but if you run into default on a loan - they'll access your house anyway.
Its easy to start that 401K - just have it taken out of your paycheck automatically. Start with a low amount - $5 per pay period. Trust me - you won't miss it & it will begin mounting slowly.
Finally, as another poster said....evaluate ALL your expenses. I know its tough - particularly with kids - but...really sometimes you have to do the right thing & it won't make the kids happy. Perhaps this year they can't play little league or go to DisneyWorld...just examples & not meant to be a criticisim (sp?) you may not do these things. But...I do know how expensive kids are - I've raised (still raising??
😳 - will it ever end??) two of my own. Look at everything - dinners out, trips to grandparents (have them come to you), gym memberships, etc.
Best of luck - I hope 2007 is a better year!!!
