Trevor, agreed. My wife's pharmacy school loans are what we're hitting the hardest. We took out a home equity loan at 2.5% to pay off all the high interest ones. We should be school loan free in 5 yrs or less.
I could get most of you debt free in less than 2 years, sans your mortgage .... you will also have a nice security account ... THEN comes time to invest .... you will need two kinds of investments .... long term and short term ... this is where true financial security lives.....
In addition to crappy rates, though likely better than some other debt products college loans are not forgiven, even with a bankruptcy--you're stuck with them till they're paid or via some exchange (e.g. working for x years in a school, hospital, etc).
learn to pay yourself first. no matter what you make you should always pay yourself first. look up "compounding value of money." investing, wait let me say SAVING is more of a habbit thing than a rich/poor thing. best advice for you is to start yesterday! your youth is your biggest asset. no such thing like those money movies, get rich quick etc. dont believe me then ask anyone with true wealth, im talking generational wealth. Manning is rich but the guy who signs his check is wealthy. it takes time but nothing to say your family name's wealth cant start with you. i've never been a fan of investing just cause i dont know a lot about it and get uneasy with someone else handling my loot. so i handle it and put that $hit away!!!!! you dont NEED a new truck, clothes, nice dinner out to eat. you WANT them. get your needs/wants figured out and sacrifice now to play later. agree with a lot said on here about land, but at your age i think you have a few years and dont forget to include your bros! yall all love to hunt so why not go in on land with them? build one nice cabin/house at a time, then its the next brothers turn... lastly i'd say keep your debt as low as possible. if you do have debts pay off the lowest ones first. my two cents
Not to call you out, Tony, and I can't speak for Trevor as I don't know what his Pharmacy school tuition was compared to my wife's, but most of my wife's friends that worked 60hr weeks after graduation, were single, and just living in a basic apartment couldn't pay theirs off in much more than 3-4 years. The average indebted person, you might be able to (in fact, I would be curious to see what you suggest...via PM if you're interested). It's just that we're not all in the position to pay of school loans asap even when we're paying a lot extra (we pay $800 extra a month).
Wowza, Matt! The plan would take some sacrificing during those two years, and like you said ... every situation is different ... I am betting that most peeps could do it in less than two year's utilizing a strict budget ... and I mean a budget where every dollar has a name and strict discipline .... my wife and I will have paid off over $40,000 of debt in less than 2 years barring any major catastrophe ....
Multiply that 2 year debt times 5 to get a more realistic feeling for where I'll be setting after graduation and a residency after all this interest adds up. I agree budgeting is where it all starts but I have to think a little more long term than 2 years. I have a 5 year plan on paper that puts me debt free with enough money to put 50% down on a nice house if my goals of a residency and clinical job in anchorage come to fruition.... Good parenting and open conversations about the families financial situation can really help a kid learn budgeting at a young age.
Yep, we were right at that figure times 3. Worth...every...penny, though. You'll do well up in Alaska. PT, congrats on paying down that debt in two years, btw. Hopefully that knowledge passes on to your kids :D
After all of this talk I think everyone jinxed me. I received my student loan papers from where I just completed my MaEd, this past August. I was very fortunate in my undergraduate studies with scholarships, etc. Hoping now to get these loans knocked out ASAP.
Totally realistic! You are a rare young person, Trevor ... I have told you that before ... now I am betting you could shave a year or two of of that 5 ...maybe ... I am not sure how much you,are planning on hunting trips, dating, vehicles, going out to eat ... those are the items that could be sacrificed to shave some time off .... I said it before ... a debt free mindset. Is a rare thing this days.... Trev.... I don't know your parents, but I love and respect them greatly ....
Thanks Matt I put my kids through the same program we went through .... my oldest daughter and her hubby are debt free, as is my younger daughter ... my oldest boy is working the plan and doing great and of course Andrew is debt free ..... sans the ice cream he owes me from a bet :D People need to realize that they do not have to be in debt .... they can actually have their money work for them instead of working to pay debt all the time ... true financial freedom
Step one is definately budgeting. Like PT said, make your money work for you. It take an investment of time upfront, but once you track where your $$ is going, make a plan where you want it to go, and implement that plan, it gets easier with every month. I love the peace I have knowing we're debt free.
Back to the OP, we have Roth IRAs and a slow groth mutual fund that is our long term savings. We are also looking for a good deal on some land. There are a lot of people that bought & sold, bought and sold that are now in it deep or have given it to the bank.
That's where you hit the nail on the head. I likely could try to shave off time, my plan is more realistic accounting for marriage, and 2-3 hunting trips a year. I should have a new Tacoma before these plans begin so hopefully a vehicle won't come into play.
Why do you guys not consider Gauranteed life insurance policy's an investment? Isn't someone going to get that money someday when you kick the bucket? Investment wise my wife and i both have defined benefit pensions through work, defrred comp and a Roth IRA. Our goal at this time in our lives is to save as much as possible and keep paying down school loans.
Life Insurance should never be used as an investment .... it is insurance and should stay that way .... Term is the only way to go .... everything else is a rip off
But someone will get the money some day, correct? Paying every month for something that just dissapears if you beat the system (you live) sounds like a rip off to me. For the amount we pay every month, we would have to get a really good % until i'm about 75yrs old to even out. Obviously we won't see the money but someone in our family will.
There are much better investments and you don't have to die to collect.:D Tony is correct, even though i haven't made the sacrifices yet. Having kids involved in sports and traveling really make it tough. If you have a 401k with company matching. Always max that out. That is free money. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
