Finally paid off my student loans today!

[linuxman]

Thank God...

44k, took about 2 years. Something I never realized was exactly how fast the interest adds up on these things. I borrowed about 39k originally. I understand that's how loans work, but looking at the math when you agree and seeing the proof in the pudding are two quite different feelings.

Anyway, as of today, my wife and I are 100% debt free!

[Kip Humphrey]

1. Time to buy a house! Can't have you two debt-free in a debt-driven economy! What would

the neighbors say? I grock what it feels like, congrats!

[linuxman]

3. We want to figure out where we're going to end up permanently first,

Then it's game on.

Can't wait to own a house.

[DrBulldog]

20. You're a Linux man? Good gawd, go to Oregon, man!

Portland is a 50-50 software tech town, split between Microsoft and Unix ... and the boom is on!

[maddiemom]

33. Give that some serious consideration.

As a three time homeowner in three different states,( and location does make a big difference), I can attest to the many unforeseen pitfalls lying in wait, no matter what you may think you've learned the first time around.

[NJCher]

2. congratulation, linuxman

Over a lifetime, college graduates make more than those without a degree, as I am sure you know. It's outstanding that you were able to pay off such a large amount in a relatively small amount of time.

Congratulations, and I wish you the best in your career.


Cher

[linuxman]

5. Thank you.

Oddly, I'm not working in my degree field at the moment. My wife and I have fairly good paying jobs at the moment, but I'm working in an industry that hired me based on my military credentials from before I enrolled in college. I'm about done with this job though. When I finish this line of work in 3 months, I'm looking at taking some more undergrad science classes, then applying to dental school. Things will be lean again for a while, but that's life, I suppose.

[Autumn Colors]

4. You paid off $44,000 in 2 years???

Jesus ... I only owed about $12,000 after college (1980s) and it took me over 10 years to pay it off.

[linuxman]

6. I got lucky and made some choices that paid off in the long run.

I was unemployed for nearly a year after graduation, but picked up a good paying job a little over a year ago. Stressful and difficult work though, so it's not forever. Im just doing it long enough to get us ahead.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

19. Hitman?

[mdbl]

25. LOL

[awoke_in_2003]

44. I just thought of the movie Duplex

he can have Pornographer as his cover job

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

7. Yayyyyy... congrats!

[Logical]

8. Congrats! So did my brother. Like you my brother knew he borrowed money. It is how it works! nt

[MissB]

9. Congrats!

It's a good feeling, isn't it?

[davidthegnome]

10. Congrats...

I can't even imagine being able to pay off 44K in two years. Back when I was working full time - even overtime... I think the most I ever earned was somewhere around 1200-1300 - monthly. It's going to take me probably more than a decade to pay off closer to 14 K now (it keeps growing thanks to interest rates).

I won't pretend I'm not envious - I absolutely am, but I am also happy for you and your wife that you are free of that debt. I know how crushing and overwhelming and insanely stressful it can be. I can only imagine how freeing that must be.

[Orrex]

11. Congratulations!

I borrowed about $21K in 1997. After making about $15K worth of payments, I now owe slightly less than $20K.

Funny ol' world.

[joanbarnes]

12. All the best for a debt-free future, Linuxman

[roguevalley]

13. you are my hero and your credit score must need help to manage its so big. MAZEL TOV! to both of you

[JohnnyLib2]

14. Terrific!

Congratulations!

[OnlinePoker]

15. The cynic in me thought...Time to retire. n/t

[malaise]

16. Being debt free is a most wonderful

Congrats.
Now join a Credit Union for the long term

[retrowire]

17. took only 2 years???

my 45k is going to take my life.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. You can do if you live like Gollum.

[Duval]

21. I know the feeling!

It took me years, and on the day of the last payment, I felt a tremendous feeling of relief. Congrats, linuxman.

[bhikkhu]

22. Congratulations! I just got mine below 9k, after 8 years

but its been pretty low stress, as my interest costs are only about $50 a month. Maybe another year or two and I should be done with it. Well worth the money, in spite of having no direct bearing on my employment.

[SHRED]

23. Congrats!

Now vote for Bernie!

[tblue37]

24. Congratulations! nt

[mnhtnbb]

26. Congratulations!

I have one son in grad school and we begged him to let us help with his living expenses (financial aid/work study covers tuition/books) so he
wouldn't have to take out loans. He wanted to do it himself...but we convinced him not to fall for the loans...and if he wanted to pay us back
once he started working, well, we would accept!


Good for you!

[bluestateguy]

27. I'm about 4 months from having mine all paid off

First, congratulations. That's a big weight off the shoulders.

Indeed the interest adds up quickly when you have a high balance, especially when the interest rate is variable, but even when it's fixed too.

[me b zola]

28. As this is great for you

...My husband and I live on less than 20K/year. Most people cannot begin to pay off their student loan debts. A poster above mentioned that after many years and many thousands of dollars, he is almost where he began in terms of his debt. This is the reality of most Americans with student debt.

Do you feel solidarity with the rest of the US who is being crushed by student loan debt?

[linuxman]

42. I suppose I did,

But then again, I'm no longer crushed by the burden.

I can certainly sympathize, as I understand what it's like.

[PatrynXX]

29. 2 yrs is lucky

not sure if Mine will let me go. get behind then clincally depressed kinda puts things on hold technically don't have any loans but my credit is probably shot so been trying to figure out how to fix it since then (forgiven loans)

[1StrongBlackMan]

30. Congratulations!!! ...

Mrs. 1SBM and I have resigned ourselves to the thought that our estate will likely for resolving two bills of debt ... our mortgage and our educational debt (unless of course, something crazy happens) ... and we are good with that.

[maddiemom]

31. Good for you!

Two years is amazingly record time, compared to my daughter and most of her friends (now close to forty)---and she had two years already completely covered from her college account, started at birth. She is the daughter of two college educated professionals, with advanced degrees, just short of a PHD on my part (and paid upfront). Her four grandparents had only one high school diploma among them. None of them, due to possibilities available at the time, were saddled with huge debts for any of their combined four children. ( post WWII home ownership helped a lot). Although I'm retired from public education myself, I'm just astounded at the college costs our kids are saddled with today. I wish political candidates such as Bernie would be more clear on "free college" meaning free TUITION only. This used to be the case in California before the sainted Reagan and his puppetmasters took control. I had a couple of cousins who had that advantage at the time, but college was only "free" if you were still living at home on your parents' dime and commuting. My generation and our parents', after the Depression ,may be the few who can honestly say that "THOSE were the Good Old Days!"

[gratuitous]

32. Congratulations, and a question . . .

Yay for you. I was lucky enough to go to school at a time when our society valued college more than it does today, and made it more available and affordable than it is, so I never had to take out student loans.

Since you've paid off that debt, I have a question: If (and I know it's a big if) Congress reforms the student loan program, either by making college more affordable, or lowering the interest rate, or some other mechanism (including making student loan debt dischargeable in bankruptcy), would you be in favor of such reform? Or would you feel like you had played by the rules as written, and where's your break? Or should there be some kind of consideration for people in your position (perhaps a lump sum rebate of some percentage of the interest you paid)?

[maddiemom]

37. Interesting take!

College has only lost its value due to its uselessness in the the REAL job market these days and ridiculous grade inflation in many fields (such as Education). Male teachers that I worked with in the Seventies could teach for nine months, then knock off more in three summer months working construction. Job outsourcing, starting with moving jobs to Mexico and, later, third world countries everywhere on the planet, was given a wink and a nod except for those who were actually losing their jobs: but since Unions no longer had much voice, neither did those displaced workers. Rebates? How about HUGE tariffs on stuff coming in? Trump's popularity with the increasingly starving masses, who are more focused on staying alive to google his own business dealings, surely can't be blamed.

[GummyBearz]

39. I'll give you a take on this question from personal experience

My wife has $55k student loan debt. We pay $450/month towards it, and its very painful to our long term desires (such as retirement). If Congress does pass a Sanders type proposal where all college is free, it will really sting personally. But my grandfather and my father taught me that sometimes an individual has to make a sacrifice for the greater good of society. My grandfather landed on beaches in the pacific in WW2, my father patrolled jungles in Vietnam. That was their sacrifice. Maybe I will end up paying a lot of money for something future generations get for free. I will take that sacrifice over what they had to do for me to get to this point, in order to build a better future for us all.

[linuxman]

43. If I was given such an option, I would have taken it.

So I can't really begrudge people that would get an offer like that.

That said, I'd like to be rebated. At the very least, getting my interest returned would be acceptable.

In the end, I'm glad I paid it off. I had the means, and the future is uncertain. The great debt forgiveness act or whatever will probably never come.

[Lithos]

34. Congratulations!

Awesome you did this so quickly.

L-

[silverweb]

35. Congratulations!

[Warpy]

36. Income comes and goes, but a creditor's hand is always in your pocket

whether or not you've got enough to live on. Congratulations on evicting him.

[GummyBearz]

38. Very well done, congrats.

My wife has about 55K in student loan debt right now. We pay roughly $450/month towards her student loans. I have been trying to find a way to get her loans paid off for the last couple years, but every time we save up a nice chunk of cash we either need a new car or something else pops up. 10 years to go at this rate. =/

Just to qualify, I can't complain about our living situation. It's just painful to see that amount of money come out of our checking account every month. She is a junior college teacher, so doesn't qualify for teacher loan forgiveness, and still brings in less than a HS teacher would make...

[bigwillq]

40. Congrats (nt)

[Yo_Mama]

41. Congrats!!! Now put some money aside for a few months for a cash cushion.

Pay yourself first!!!

[eridani]

45. As an aging boomer, it pisses me off that you had to borrow that much

Believe it or not, state and federal governments used to support higher education much more. Still, good on you for getting rid of the debt so fast.

[Recursion]

46. Woo-hoo!

[seanjoycek476]

47. Congrats on this achievement

I'm still paying off mine, have about $10k left to go.

[roody]

48. Congratulations!

[Cobalt Violet]

49. Congrats! Took me 40yrs.

Interest was adding up a lot faster than my payment and income. Fuck the establishment!

[kimbutgar]

50. Congrats

I know the feeling. I was so happy when I paid off my student loan when
I went back to school to get my teaching credential. My principal has been hinting I get a special Ed credential but army age I want no more debt like that in my life. When I went to college in the 1970's I worked part time to pay for college no student loans then for me.

[Missn-Hitch]

51. Congrats! My balance is x 4 here.

I am in an income driven repayment plan. I pay close to $700/month. I am hoping for continued growth in my line of work but as my income increases, so will my payment. I am looking for refinancing options. If tuition can not be free, then at the very least, students should be able to borrow at 0%.

[packman]

52. Ah, debt - a thing of cancerous beauty

[2naSalit]

53. Congrats...

an achievement which I am afraid will elude me to my death.

[Omaha Steve]

54. WOW!

K&R!

OS