Lets talk about debt !

I've made a debt thread before, but I thought I'd reintroduce the topic since some stuff has changed in my life. I recently got out of college and I've been settling my finances here at my new job and my new apartment. I've looked at all of my loans and I've tabulated the interest and I've come up with that I only owe a measley....
 
$155,000.00! 
 
Yes, that's 155 G's. A very large price to pay for an undergraduate education at a pricey private school. My monthly payment is $976.81 and that's on a 15 year repayment plan. Whoo, I've got a lot of work to do!
 
Now, I know this is a very touchy subject, but I feel that the best way to tackle any kind of debt, student loans, credit cards, bank loans etc. is to be open about it and simply know where you are, and how you're going to get ahead. Is anyone else working on paying off some debt from school, or retail debt? You can at least feel better about your debt after reading my post in this topic, which in a way is a benefit of airing out this sort of thing as well.

I came out of school with about $10K in loans to pay back, which I did in less than a year.  I'd think that was pretty good if I were actually putting my degree to any kind of use.

Fuuuuck that. Unless you have a totally rad job because of it, in which case you're winning and don't worry about it.

Good point guy from Full Throttle! I do make 50k/yr fresh out of school, so its a good start to pay off a lot of debt, but with interest, it puts you back a good bit.

If you don't mind sharing, what kind of job did you get?

Holy fuck.

And this is why I'm going to state school.

I just took out my first student loan. I'm junior and I'm transfering to a four year school in the fall. 

I've never been in debt before because I do my best to avoid contracts and the like. I kinda hate how the world punishes me for that though; never been in debt but still don't have much credit.  

@Beforet said:

And this is why I'm going to state school.

I owe Canada about $25k in student loans, Dell 5k for my shitty PC, and my Visa is currently sitting at $980. It would be nothing to pay it all off and be done with it if I could just find a job, but I have been unemployed for about 6 years now so I haven't been able to pay a dime.

I came out of  school with 0 in debt  education is free in Norway they also gave me free cab to school every day (about 30 min trip) and i currently have a shitty job at a convenience store i make 4 5 bucks a hour 

Declare bunkruptcy.

i don't have any debt. i was lucky to have my parents pay for my stuff- new car, car insurance. i saved up money from past jobs.

@jadeskye said:

Declare bunkruptcy

Student loans are actually not discharged after bankruptcy ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_loans_in_the_United_States#Criticism_of_US_student_loan_programs )

I come from a background where needing money for college was never an issue for my family (not even a little bit). It's not fair and its something I'm really grateful for.

I'm somewhere between 20-50K and I'm about halfway through school.

Only gone to the university for a year now so my debt ain't too bad yet. Though in the end it will be nowhere near the amount of money you've borrowed :x

I'm slowly building up debt. When I finish university it'll probably come to like £25k.

I worked my way through college, and upon graduation (this was the 90's, mind you) I only owed like $65K. I got offered a job where they would match me dollar-for-dollar whatever I put toward paying off my student loan and had it paid off in a couple of years. I haven't been in debt since; both houses I've bought have been cash for the full amount (never owned two houses at once, don't get that idea). 
 
Living debt-free is a bit more inconvenient because if I don't have the cash to spare I simply can't get something. However, I can up and leave any time I want, no mortgage or other debts to tie me down, and that's the most free feeling in the world.
 
But yeah, some employers will help you pay off your student loan, just ask.

Debt-free is the way to be. Scholarships and financial aid made me lucky. Don't have enough credit for a credit card though, but in a few months, after all the gas bills and car payments I've been making, I should be good to go, which is nice, since I plan on visiting the UK in the near future.

I've made a debt thread before, but I thought I'd reintroduce the topic since some stuff has changed in my life. I recently got out of college and I've been settling my finances here at my new job and my new apartment. I've looked at all of my loans and I've tabulated the interest and I've come up with that I only owe a measley....  $155,000.00!   Yes, that's 155 G's. A very large price to pay for an undergraduate education at a pricey private school. My monthly payment is $976.81 and that's on a 15 year repayment plan. Whoo, I've got a lot of work to do!  Now, I know this is a very touchy subject, but I feel that the best way to tackle any kind of debt, student loans, credit cards, bank loans etc. is to be open about it and simply know where you are, and how you're going to get ahead. Is anyone else working on paying off some debt from school, or retail debt? You can at least feel better about your debt after reading my post in this topic, which in a way is a benefit of airing out this sort of thing as well.

I've only ever had school debt. I try not to put anything on a credit card that i don't have the money for already and i've always driven crappy cars so i didn't have to pay more with interest and everything. I'm not sure of the specifics but i believe i took out about $40k in loans to pay for my 4 (and a half) years of  state college. I paid around 15k of that by the time i graduated and my parents paid the rest. My options are to either pay my parents back or they will forgive the debt if i pay for a graduate degree. So either way i'm gonna have to shell out another 25k before im in the clear. The job i got pays 37k but i'll be making low to mid 50's in 2 years. The amount of debt the OP took on is terrifying but i bet over the next 20 years he has at least double the net worth that i do. I just could never do it because of the fear i'd have of never being able to pay it back.

Fuck school, too expensive. I just went for a decent blue collar job, my body will be a withered husk by the time I'm 30, but at least I'll have a plethora of cash. 

I've got about 8-10K in credit card debt, but it's more than manageable.  What scares the fuck out of me though is my 200K mortgage.  It's fine right now with interest rates being at a nearly historical all time low, but if those rates double, that could mean trouble.  That's why I'm just trying to pay it down as fast as I can...I'll worry about saving later.

There's one, and I literally mean one benefit to going to a commuter school it's that it's incredibly cheap since the expenses of room and board are ruled out entirely. I'll come out memory-free but also mostly debt-free while my friends rack up debt knowing that they're actually experiencing college/the best years of their lives. Fuck commuter schools.

240K debt at a low fixed interest, and the mortgage payments are just 1400 a month for our two-income household.  We use www.mint.com to track budget trends, it only takes 1 of our salaries to cover all of our spending, but we be doing much saving. We hope to have my wife stop working for 2 years to have a baby, then re-enter the workforce. Our nightmare scenario is that she might not be able to re-enter after 2 years.
 
My credit is pristine because I pay everything with a credit card, and have auto-payment setup from my bank account. Long detailed credit history, 0 missed payments. I bought my car at 0% for 3 years and just paid it off before the 3 years were up. Again, more credit history, and not a nickel of interest paid on that car purchase. 

It sure is expensive to live through life.

21K - Bought a car this year, which works for me.

Man, I am glad I decided to enter the work force and hold off on school. I feel for all you poor bastards with huge school loans and a bum economy!

The military pays for my education and I have guaranteed employment afterwards, going for a commission is the best decision I've ever made.

Also, not sure how much American troops get paid, but when I left for Afghanistan I was almost 20k in the hole. When I came back, I had over 60k in the bank.

I owe -$1,000,000. I don't care who pays me, feel free to pitch in. Much appreciated.

@CitizenKane said:

@Beforet said:

And this is why I'm going to state school.

Go see Larry Crowne, that thing teaches you one or two things about debt while doing its best to keep a smile on your face, fucking strange movie

As for getting rid of that debt, get a second job?

Got about 55,000 dollars in student fees. I can pay it off in about three years with the job I have - if I save like hell.

.....not to be rude...but how the fuck? How did you get that much debt? Not just from school I would imagine?

@ThePhantomnaut said:

@CitizenKane said:

@Beforet said:

And this is why I'm going to state school.

I owe my mom like $90.

Debt allows the world economy to continue functioning.