I need some general advice with student loans

[FamousAmos]

So I got this pre disclosure in the mail from HSBC regarding my student loans. My grace period is beginning and my first payment is due at the beginning of August.

A.) They are giving me four separate bills for loan payments
B) Payments are made on monthly installments
C) I have 10 years to pay these off
D) I totaled up all of the monthly loan payments and it comes to about $400 a month.
E) 6.8% interest
F) some are subsidized and some are unsubsidized stafford loans

I don't have a steady job yet as I am still in grad school (graduating this May) but I have sent in several applications for teacher positions).

My questions are to those who could offer some advice is:

1) Are their benefits to consolidation? Is that an option I should take advantage of?
2) I am a little nervous about no being able to afford 400 a month, so would it be wise to maybe change it from ten years to 15 years?
3) I'm guessing it's a bad idea, but I had a friend who used credit cards to pay off some of her loans. What do you think about that?

Is there any other advice you guys might have?

I would really appreciate it! Thank you in advance for your consideration.

[treydawg]

CC to pay off loans = bad

Consolidation makes sense if you can lock your loans in at a lower rate. If that's possible, go for it.

$400 a month isn't bad at all, I have well over twice that. However, in the next year I'm looking to pay off half my loans which should knock my monthly payment down to around $4-500 a month.

[FamousAmos]

CC to pay off loans = bad

Consolidation makes sense if you can lock your loans in at a lower rate. If that's possible, go for it.

$400 a month isn't bad at all, I have well over twice that. However, in the next year I'm looking to pay off half my loans which should knock my monthly payment down to around $4-500 a month.

thanks Trey, much obliged!

I'm looking for any way to save a little money.

I went onto the loan calculator site
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

And after putting in all the figures, it tells you how much your loan will be per month and it was accurate. Then it says:

It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $51,096.00 to be able to afford to repay this loan. This estimate assumes that 10% of your gross monthly income will be devoted to repaying your student loans. If you use 15% of your gross monthly income to repay the loan, you will need an annual salary of only $34,064.00, but you may experience some financial difficulty.

I think I will probably be making around 35 grand if I get a job here. I'm not sure what "some financial difficulty" means lol

[slowpokemcgee]

thanks Trey, much obliged!

I'm looking for any way to save a little money.

I went onto the loan calculator site
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

And after putting in all the figures, it tells you how much your loan will be per month and it was accurate. Then it says:

It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $51,096.00 to be able to afford to repay this loan. This estimate assumes that 10% of your gross monthly income will be devoted to repaying your student loans. If you use 15% of your gross monthly income to repay the loan, you will need an annual salary of only $34,064.00, but you may experience some financial difficulty.

I think I will probably be making around 35 grand if I get a job here. I'm not sure what "some financial difficulty" means lol


I think they're trying to tell you get used to food stamps. :)

[FamousAmos]

I think they're trying to tell you get used to food stamps. :)

damn, no Bills Season Tickets next year! :244:

[Hipcrocy]

It seems tough at first but then you land the job and you pay that loan off = goodbye.