Yeah, I can do that for you buddy. However, since this topic is probably not covered in too much detail, I will elaborate a bit for other members of the forum.
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First, here are some of my assumptions:
- You can aggregate your loans and get a refi agreement. I'm too sure how this would work with federal student loans (I will try and look more into it), but this is my assupmtion. This would hopefully allow for a slightly lower interest rate such as 7.5% or even 7.0%
- Your salary increases a few years after you graduate.
- You are smart and frugal with your money. Even if you have some extra money, you are still not buying that new car, toys etc.
- You would be using a 10 year plan instead of this proposed plan.
OK, the numbers:
8% interest rate:
350K, 30 years:
Int: $2333
Prin: $235
Pmt: $2568
350K, 10 years:
Int: $2333
Prin: $1913
Pmt: $4246
350K, 5 years:
Int: $2333
Prin: $4763
Pmt: $7096
7.5% interest rate:
350K, 30 years:
Int: $2188
Prin: $260
Pmt: $2447
350K, 10 years:
Int: $2188
Prin: $1967
Pmt: $4155
350K, 5 years:
Int: $2188
Prin: $4826
Pmt: $7013
7.0% interest rate:
350K, 30 years:
Int: $2042
Prin: $287
Pmt: $2329
350K, 10 years:
Int: $2042
Prin: $2022
Pmt: $4064
350K, 5 years:
Int: $2042
Prin: $4889
Pmt: $6930
Based on these numbers, the 30 year loans obviously give the lowest
required pmts. However, if you are on a 30 year plan, and pay it off in 10 years with the same interest rate, you have
not saved any money over just a simple 10 year plan. This is because if you look at the interest pmts for both the 10 and 30 year plans at say, 8%, they are all at the same $2333. The same goes for the 7.5% and 7.0% plans. If you notice, the only thing changing within each interest rate set is the principle pmt. If you treat this 30 year plan as if it is a 10 year plan by using the 10 year principle, then you are able to pay it off in the desired 10. The benefit of this is that you have the option to lower pmt back down to the 30 year level should something make this higher pmt difficult (medical emergency, etc). This is a wise choice, since you get all the benefit of the 10 year plan, with a little cushion for emergencies.
However, the real benefit comes from the refi. If you are able to refi to a lower interest rate with the 30 year plan (and aggregate your loans), then you are able to lower that dreaded interest portion. Since the interest portion of a pmt is usually the fixed portion, it is usually something you can't cahnge. However, if you are able to get a lower interest rate, this previously fixed portion of your pmt can now be lowered! For example, if you are able to get 7.5% over 8.0%, this could potentially save you $17,400 over 10 years. If you were able to drop it from 8.0% to 7.0%, this could potentially save you $34,920 over that same 10 years (see calculations below).
Essentially, the 30 year plan in 10 years has 2 benefits IMO. It has the ability to let you pay less IF you need to, along with the ability to (possibly) get a lower interest rate in a refi. These added up make is seem like a solid thing for me to do.
A few additional notes:
- If you want to pay the lower pmts for the first few years on a 30 year plan, you will have to increase your pmts for the last few if you still want to keep you loan within the 10 year mark. I have included the pmt breakdown for a 5 year loan for this reason. This means that if you pay only the minimum for say, 3 years, and then increase your pmt in the last seven, you will have to increase your principle pmt to something greater than the 10 year principle, but less than the 5 year. If this is doable, great. If not, then you probably cant get away with the 10 year plan. Just an FYI.
- (Int@8% - Int@lower%) x 120months in 10 years = money saved from lower interest
- ($2333-$2188) x 120 = $17400 @7.5%
- ($2333-$2042) x 120 = $34920 @7.0%
Hope this helps out!!
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