How much school debt do you already have?

[Rutabaga]

So I'm just thinking about money and how much I have saved versus how much I owe...and the amount I owe is unpleasantly high (about 40K after finishing my masters). Admittedly, I'm in a field where I could enter the private sector after graduating or work for the gov't and gradually get my loans repaid... but still the prospect of paying all that off when I'm done sucks! Especially when I consider if I should use my savings for that or to say buy someplace to live.

Anyway, anyone else thinking about the massive amount of money they already owe?

[miratrix]

I've been very lucky, in that the loans I had to take out for undergrad were very small and are now paid off. I'd like to avoid accumulating debt because the job prospects are not great in my field, but I'm well aware that if I do, I'm fortunate to be starting from a blanks late.

[t_ruth]

I have loans from law school, but the rate at which I consolidated is ridiculously low! Add to that the rate reduction for timely payments and it is almost free money (especially compared to the high interest rates on most credit cards now, etc.). I'm in no hurry to pay it off.

[poiuyt]

This definitely weighs on me... I'm in the 15-30,000 bracket even though I worked all through college, and the amount I owe grows exponentially with interest. It is especially bothersome because my SO has no debt, is about move his whole life to follow my dream and will of course be the breadwinner in the house - that makes me the lame-o. My plan is to be awesome in grad school, get a fantastic job when I graduate and then he can be a stay at home dad, and I'll be his sugar-momma.

[Rutabaga]

This definitely weighs on me... I'm in the 15-30,000 bracket even though I worked all through college, and the amount I owe grows exponentially with interest. It is especially bothersome because my SO has no debt, is about move his whole life to follow my dream and will of course be the breadwinner in the house - that makes me the lame-o. My plan is to be awesome in grad school, get a fantastic job when I graduate and then he can be a stay at home dad, and I'll be his sugar-momma.

lol, that's my plan too! It's rough being the one with all the debt! Hopefully it will pay off though...

[synthla]

I have loans from law school, but the rate at which I consolidated is ridiculously low! Add to that the rate reduction for timely payments and it is almost free money (especially compared to the high interest rates on most credit cards now, etc.). I'm in no hurry to pay it off.

Isn't that great? Mine are locked in at 2% for the life of the loans and I too will be happy to pay them back over the next however many years than pay them off early. But I understand that consolidations aren't easy to find anymore, so we got lucky graduating at the right time.

[t_ruth]

Isn't that great? Mine are locked in at 2% for the life of the loans and I too will be happy to pay them back over the next however many years than pay them off early. But I understand that consolidations aren't easy to find anymore, so we got lucky graduating at the right time.

Yep. It's a bummer they don't do it anymore. I seriously make more on my savings account than the interest rate on my loans. I guess we just answered why they don't do it anymore...

[Rutabaga]

well I think also that graduate school loans are fixed at 6.something%

I was checking why my rates hadn't gone down despite the lower rates right now and I read somewhere that they remain fixed...