The Off Topic Thread

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Well, this is how I do it. I have a cutoff point for my bank account...$10,000. I let the cash accumulate every month until the end of the month. At the end of the month, I pay bills, the credit card, money into my 403(b), etc, and then everything I have over $10,000, I transfer to the Direct Loans people online. Then my balance is $10,000...and I start again...

Some months I pay them like $3500, others like $2000....but it winds up being about $2500 a month I send them. When my wife graduates, then I'll really start paying them down.

It works for me. It gives me a decent cushion if I need it and I am putting it down pretty fast.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Well, this is how I do it. I have a cutoff point for my bank account...$10,000. I let the cash accumulate every month until the end of the month. At the end of the month, I pay bills, the credit card, money into my 403(b), etc, and then everything I have over $10,000, I transfer to the Direct Loans people online. Then my balance is $10,000...and I start again...

Some months I pay them like $3500, others like $2000....but it winds up being about $2500 a month I send them. When my wife graduates, then I'll really start paying them down.

It works for me. It gives me a decent cushion if I need it and I am putting it down pretty fast.
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good advice 👍
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Well, this is how I do it. I have a cutoff point for my bank account...$10,000. I let the cash accumulate every month until the end of the month. At the end of the month, I pay bills, the credit card, money into my 403(b), etc, and then everything I have over $10,000, I transfer to the Direct Loans people online. Then my balance is $10,000...and I start again...

Some months I pay them like $3500, others like $2000....but it winds up being about $2500 a month I send them. When my wife graduates, then I'll really start paying them down.

It works for me. It gives me a decent cushion if I need it and I am putting it down pretty fast.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a solid plan. I'm hoping to do something similar when I graduate. I'd like to have my loans paid off in 3-4 years, tops.

How much did you owe when all was said and done?
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Well, this is how I do it. I have a cutoff point for my bank account...$10,000. I let the cash accumulate every month until the end of the month. At the end of the month, I pay bills, the credit card, money into my 403(b), etc, and then everything I have over $10,000, I transfer to the Direct Loans people online. Then my balance is $10,000...and I start again...

Some months I pay them like $3500, others like $2000....but it winds up being about $2500 a month I send them. When my wife graduates, then I'll really start paying them down.

It works for me. It gives me a decent cushion if I need it and I am putting it down pretty fast.
Click to expand...



Paying down the debt really depends on your loan terms. If you have them at 3% or lower (inflation rate) I would take as long as possible to pay it off since its the same $ assuming you get a regular CPI increase w/ pay. If you have loans at 7-8% like me, pay every cent ASAP since even with consolidation you will be at 6%....Hopefully Obama does something for us in the future....
 
As for me, I currently owe about 55k in tuition loans (luckily) but also a $17,000 car loan. Of course with the car loan having a higher interest rate, I'm trying to pay that one off very aggressively (hopefully about 2 years/loan was scheduled for 4 years). For my student loans I'm on the 10 year payoff track paying the scheduled monthly payments.

While i'm paying off these two loans simultaneously, i'm also trying to save up a good reserve of money should anything happen. once i feel comfortable with the cushion of money that i have for reserve, i will be attacking those student loans.

advice for future grads: no rush to move out when you graduate, hell even if u do move out for work find a roommate (as long as you get your own room), and use that money saved from living with somebody to help pay off your loans.
 
IrishHammer said:
:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Hopefully he does nothing. Anytime he tries to fix something, he makes things worse. It's like a sitcom, only...it's actually affecting people.
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Oh yeah you are right.... Bush did a much better job. I forgot that. Sorry. :laugh:
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
Well, this is how I do it. I have a cutoff point for my bank account...$10,000. I let the cash accumulate every month until the end of the month. At the end of the month, I pay bills, the credit card, money into my 403(b), etc, and then everything I have over $10,000, I transfer to the Direct Loans people online. Then my balance is $10,000...and I start again...

Some months I pay them like $3500, others like $2000....but it winds up being about $2500 a month I send them. When my wife graduates, then I'll really start paying them down.

It works for me. It gives me a decent cushion if I need it and I am putting it down pretty fast.
Click to expand...

Is it worth it to pay off those loans so fast, especially if you have a good interest rate? You could put that extra money that you have in long term investments and get a really good return in 10 or 15 years. Once you get that return, you've actually made money and you don't have to waste your own money on paying off loans.
What do people think about this approach??
 
alenadoma said:
Is it worth it to pay off those loans so fast, especially if you have a good interest rate? You could put that extra money that you have in long term investments and get a really good return in 10 or 15 years. Once you get that return, you've actually made money and you don't have to waste your own money on paying off loans.
What do people think about this approach??
Click to expand...


I don't know what your loan rate is, but, assuming its around 5%, you'd be really hard pressed to consistently beat that in this market. Then you'll have taxes, fees, etc. to pay. You may not be able to deduct the SL interest at all. Holding on to those loans is a loser. They'll be like an albatross around your neck. His plan makes really good sense to me, and based on my experience, it'll pay off big time.

Financial freedom...the promised land.
 
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Exactly. The gov't rate is 6.5%. I look at paying it off as getting a guaranteed 6.5% return on investment in the market. And I'd take that in a heartbeat.

On the other hand, Met Life and my 403(b) has made 18% during Q1 2009. Not sure how the hell they pulled that off....
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
Exactly. The gov't rate is 6.5%. I look at paying it off as getting a guaranteed 6.5% return on investment in the market. And I'd take that in a heartbeat.

On the other hand, Met Life and my 403(b) has made 18% during Q1 2009. Not sure how the hell they pulled that off....
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Very good point too.
Except..I'll have around 100k in loans when I'm all done, so paying it off in 3-4 years will be difficult!
 
alenadoma said:
Very good point too.
Except..I'll have around 100k in loans when I'm all done, so paying it off in 3-4 years will be difficult!
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I had more than that. I'm shooting for 4 years. Right now it's in the $80s. If I keep paying it off at $2500/month, it should be cleared in a tad over 3 years.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I had more than that. I'm shooting for 4 years. Right now it's in the $80s. If I keep paying it off at $2500/month, it should be cleared in a tad over 3 years.
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There is a show about you on the History Channel right now. Hillbillies of Appalachia hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus. They are on Moonshine and Marijuana right now.
 
MountainPharmD said:
There is a show about you on the History Channel right now. Hillbillies of Appalachia hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus. They are on Moonshine and Marijuana right now.
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Hell yeah, I saw that a few months ago. When they start talking about the Battle of Blair Mountain and Sid Hatfield vs. the Baldwin-Felts Detectives, pay attention. Those are some of the best stories that have been written out of the US history books. Sid Hatfield is one of my heros. Dude had more balls than a Spalding factory. Those were real men. All of that was the essential flashpoint of the US labor movement.
 
WVU - I used to live down your way, in Fayetteville, WV right next to the New River Gorge. Bridge day was the best...Ill never forget it. They had one traffic light and one cop in town. His name was Tunney Hunsacker. Nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. Got his ass kicked by Cassius Clay in the 60's..his claim to fame..
 
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alenadoma said:
Is it worth it to pay off those loans so fast, especially if you have a good interest rate? You could put that extra money that you have in long term investments and get a really good return in 10 or 15 years. Once you get that return, you've actually made money and you don't have to waste your own money on paying off loans.
What do people think about this approach??
Click to expand...

Ask someone who took that approach two or three years ago just how much money he "made" doing this. The market has yet to rebound to the point that the money not spent on student loans will even be worth what it was when it was invested! It's always a good idea to pay off unsecured debt as quickly as you can, starting (of course) with the highest interest rate first.

To whoever has the 17K car loan as well, you're doing the right thing. Once the car is paid off, take ALL of the money you were spending on the car and spend that on student loans. It starts to snowball in a hurry.
 
This doesn't seem like an off topic thread at all. I was expecting clown cars and trapeze artists. What a let down with all this sound financial advice.
 
MindOverMatter said:
This doesn't seem like an off topic thread at all. I was expecting clown cars and trapeze artists. What a let down with all this sound financial advice.
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A bit, a bit. Of course, the one in the pre-pharm forum isn't really great either. Mostly just 3-4 people posting funny pitchers and links to youtube videos that were current 6 to 12 months ago. :\
 
NaOH said:
A bit, a bit. Of course, the one in the pre-pharm forum isn't really great either. Mostly just 3-4 people posting funny pitchers and links to youtube videos that were current 6 to 12 months ago. :\
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So why didn't you pick Potassium Hydroxide?
 
Today I found out that I actually have a heart.....


At work I had to Kill a hairless rat with halothane. I didn't think I'd have a problem doing it, considering I hate rats, but it was kind of sad and difficult to do.

I almost cried 🙁. But then I remembered all the bad experiences I've had with rats before, and I kind of got over it.
 
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Farmercyst said:
I think your parade needed a little rain Mikey.
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This is why the internet sucks. Some newb that joined less than 3 years ago gets to go on a power trip. 🙄

Go ahead, protect the people that are destroying the profession. Well, other than the corporate pharmacy people...they suck even more...and if the CEO of CVS started posting, I'd probably get banned for the verbal barrage I'd lay down.

But still...you and I know damn well it's the only way I'd get them to talk about it...otherwise, they get to hide in their little hidey holes...
 
In fact, why don't you and the other mods....I don't even remember any of your names you people turnover so damn fast....why don't you organize a town hall discussion with the people from the new schools. We can discuss the future of pharmacy. I promise I'll go into "serious debate Mikey" mode and not be inflammatory.

I've done it before...not a town hall talky thing...I mean not be inflammatory...
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I was told not to post in that thread, so I won't...but he ignored me blissfilly. And his reply to another similar post was a total cop out.

Thanks for protecting the academics, mods, you've done a great service. 🙄
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HAHA, yeah he responded to my post. I knew you probably wouldn't post back in there, so I took your idea, made up a fictional brother and tried to see what his response would be.


All in the name of WVU! lol
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I was told not to post in that thread, so I won't...but he ignored me blissfilly. And his reply to another similar post was a total cop out.

Thanks for protecting the academics, mods, you've done a great service. 🙄
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That answer was such a total cop out that it pisses me off to no end. You've demonstrated that he won't respond when you call him out, so I'll keep my rant to myself. I'm not cruising the beach and surfing the waves in my spare time, so he can take his geographic relocation and shove it up his ass.
 
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njac said:
I get paid for 40 hrs/week at $24/hr. That's why they call it Moneyton!
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No, they call it Moneyton because the drug dealers from Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Altanta used Huntington as a distribution hub...then when they realized they could just stand there and sell their entire regional stash of Oxycontin to only Cabell, Wayne, Mingo, and Logan counties the name stuck.

And I swear to God, that's 100% true.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
No, they call it Moneyton because the drug dealers from Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Altanta used Huntington as a distribution hub...then when they realized they could just stand there and sell their entire regional stash of Oxycontin to only Cabell, Wayne, Mingo, and Logan counties the name stuck.

And I swear to God, that's 100% true.
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I was kidding - I'd heard you call it that, and a local called it that as well the other day.

The drug trade here is pretty impressive. Nothing like a deal going bad and getting shot in the face with a 12-gauge.
 
Borat is on TV right now, and I've never seen it. I think I'm going to watch it.
 
It's been a year since the last post...
 
powertoold said:
It's been a year since the last post...
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Welcome back.


Just to catch you up on things.....

HVAC school > Pharmacy school

Pharmacy Anesthesia is now an SDN recognized clinical specialty.

Pharmacy is doomed for everyone graduating in the upcoming future.

Michael Jackson is Dead....Turns out he had a drug addiction stemming from a third degree burn he suffered roughly 25 years ago.

:laugh:
 
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