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Old 09-16-2015, 11:20 AM
 
2,170 posts, read 1,935,109 times
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I don't care how much you love someone, something like this is going to be a major MAJOR strain on the relationship. You'll be sacrificing sooo much it'll be hard not to blame the other person for the things you're missing out on. Vacations, House, nice car, secure retirement, etc. These are all things that are going to be sacrificed. It'll always be hanging over both of your heads.

I honestly don't know what their option is. They need to get involved with someone with a ton of money, someone like a mountain hippy that doesn't care about money, or they need to move home, try to land a job making $50k and littlerally put every single penny they make into that loan over the next 10 years and try to pay it off and just figure life begins at mid 30.
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Old 09-16-2015, 11:28 AM
 
1,198 posts, read 1,783,593 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tujuleez1 View Post
If this person has $300K in student loan debt, I can understand the lack of interest in working. This burden can be overwhelming. Without a high paying job, how can anyone ever pay off this kind of loan? I'd certainly be depressed.

It's a shame this person quit med school after racking up such a debt. I don't know the specifics but if the school was a for-profit school and this friend just found out the degrees from those schools are pretty much worthless, I can understand the sudden lack of interest in pursuing medicine because it will only increase the debt and bury the person further.

Student loan debt is killing the future of this country and most of that debt was created through for-profit schools. And most of those degrees aren't worth a damn.

If this person isn't one of those unfortunate who was duped by the for-profit crooks, I would hope you can convince him or her to go back to school and get that degree in medicine. There are few good paying jobs left in this country.

The other thing to do is join an organization that fights student loan debt and make the schools that sell students on the value of a degree be responsible for delivering a degree of value.
Med school is worth the cost of tuition, the other expense are on the student, but $220,000 in debt is a great value as compared to earnings of even primary care.

I'd take $220,000 for a MD over $40,000 for an MA (medical assistant at the various for profit career colleges, not a masters in arts).
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Old 09-16-2015, 11:31 AM
 
Location: Jamestown, NY
7,840 posts, read 9,154,382 times
Reputation: 13779
Quote:
Originally Posted by selhars View Post
I'd get out of the relationship. And pray this person isn't crazy -- in addition to being mentally ill. (as if that's not an oxymoron).

Clearly this person is not making good decisions about money, his/her career, or life in general.
Unless YOU also want to be saddled with that.....I'd move on.

I'm not saying be cruel about it. You don't even have to say "it's because YOUR NUTS!" Just get out the easiest and least hurtful way you can. So you don't set this person off in some way.
OP, your SO's behavior is symptomatic of something much more serious IMO. I'm with selhars and some of the others: leave. This isn't about just the financial end of things, which will be as miserable as others have said. It's really about your own mental and emotional health, and possibly about your life.
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Old 09-16-2015, 11:47 AM
 
2,170 posts, read 1,935,109 times
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Think of it this way. That debt will likely end up costing $600k by the time its actually paid off. If you met someone who has already been working, has a 401k and maybe a rental property they could already have a positive net worth of $300k.. That's like a $1,000,000 swing.

Money aside I'd have to really question overall loyalty.
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Old 09-16-2015, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Mexico
2 posts, read 1,970 times
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If your significant other wants to teach and has a master's degree, they may consider getting a teaching certificate (roughly a $2000 investment, but can be earned in about a month), such as a CELTA, and then go to any of a few countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, or South Korea to teach undergraduates at a private university. If they can teach subjects such as chemistry, biology or math (instead of just English) -- in English, so much the better. Many schools in the middle east provide free housing, and the pay can exceed $5000/month once you have proven yourself to be a decent teacher. I know a couple of teachers who are banking $2000-$3000/month in Saudi. However, it's not a fun country for women or gays (nor straight white males for that matter). South Korea is a great country to live in and the pay is more like $3K/month, of which a person could save/pay off half that amount if he/she is frugal. Obviously, this is a 10-20 year proposition and it's not a piece of cake, but it is a another path that no one on this thread has mentioned.
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Old 09-16-2015, 01:04 PM
 
1,198 posts, read 1,783,593 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by makulu53 View Post
If your significant other wants to teach and has a master's degree, they may consider getting a teaching certificate (roughly a $2000 investment, but can be earned in about a month), such as a CELTA, and then go to any of a few countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, or South Korea to teach undergraduates at a private university. If they can teach subjects such as chemistry, biology or math (instead of just English) -- in English, so much the better. Many schools in the middle east provide free housing, and the pay can exceed $5000/month once you have proven yourself to be a decent teacher. I know a couple of teachers who are banking $2000-$3000/month in Saudi. However, it's not a fun country for women or gays (nor straight white males for that matter). South Korea is a great country to live in and the pay is more like $3K/month, of which a person could save/pay off half that amount if he/she is frugal. Obviously, this is a 10-20 year proposition and it's not a piece of cake, but it is a another path that no one on this thread has mentioned.
Teach for $36k/yr?

Do you really have to go to Korea to do that? Seems like Jefferson Davis High School in the backwoods of Alambama would pay more than $36k/yr
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Old 09-16-2015, 02:00 PM
 
3,167 posts, read 3,984,232 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by numberfive View Post
I'm seeing a lot of misinformation in this thread, and I wanted to highlight a couple of them:

#1 "The OP's partner is screwed, they'll be paying off those loans for life"
I just ran the numbers -- assuming 5.25% for $300k, 30 year term, that's $1,656.61/mo. The OP mentioned their partner has $50k-$100k in unused loans, which could be immediately returned. That turns the payment into $1,380.51/mo or $1,104.41/mo respectively.

I don't know where you ran those numbers, but they are wrong. Many of the loan calculators - including the ones on the sallie mae and dept of ed websites - are incorrect. You find this out quickly when you actually have to pay back your loans and it turns out to be much more than the site's "calculator" said it would be. Also, there is not usually a 30 year term. There are numerous repayment plans depending on the type of loan (public or private, subsidized or unsub, and more), and the standard repayment is considered 10 years. My lender does not offer more than 25 years, and that's only with financial harship. It's complicated and the rules are constantly changing. It is a mistake to assume the best case scenario or believe anything you find on the internet.

Oh, and returning the unused monies is not necessarily going to equate to never having them.
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Old 09-16-2015, 02:02 PM
 
3,167 posts, read 3,984,232 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MDrenter223 View Post
Teach for $36k/yr?

Do you really have to go to Korea to do that? Seems like Jefferson Davis High School in the backwoods of Alambama would pay more than $36k/yr
CELTA doesn't qualify you to teach in American schools - it's just accepted by some foreign schools. USA requires licensure, which is also possible to get for not too much money (though more than 2K).
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Old 09-16-2015, 02:31 PM
 
Location: Nashville, TN
1,951 posts, read 1,627,650 times
Reputation: 1577
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mnseca View Post
I don't know where you ran those numbers, but they are wrong. Many of the loan calculators - including the ones on the sallie mae and dept of ed websites - are incorrect. You find this out quickly when you actually have to pay back your loans and it turns out to be much more than the site's "calculator" said it would be. Also, there is not usually a 30 year term. There are numerous repayment plans depending on the type of loan (public or private, subsidized or unsub, and more), and the standard repayment is considered 10 years. My lender does not offer more than 25 years, and that's only with financial harship. It's complicated and the rules are constantly changing. It is a mistake to assume the best case scenario or believe anything you find on the internet.

Oh, and returning the unused monies is not necessarily going to equate to never having them.
I did use a website to get some sample numbers, but I'm surprised you think the calculations are wrong.

I just hopped into Excel to confirm, and a $300K payment for 30 years at 5.25% interest is indeed $1,656.61. Take a look if you think that's still wrong.
Open a new cell, type =PMT( and click the fx button
Rate 5.25%/12
Nper 360
Pv 300000
Result is 1656.61.

Or if you change it to a 25 year term, it becomes $1797.74. Feel free to play around with the numbers if you'd like. My point is the payments are big, but manageable on an average or higher salary. They're also more manageable if the OP's girlfriend takes that $50k-$100k and makes a principal payment, then applies for a hardship or other program to alter the payment schedule. They're more reasonable yet if she qualifies for an income-based repayment plan.

And what's this about 'the rules are constantly changing'? Do you mean for someone that's out of school, the contract terms change silently or without the consent of the borrower? If so, can you show your sources on that?
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Old 09-16-2015, 07:43 PM
 
Location: Baltimore
1,717 posts, read 2,721,829 times
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I'll be honest with you, if I owed 300k in student loans no matter what my degree, I know I would be depressed and it would certainly affect my health as well as mental well-being. I owe about 12k from a degree program I never finished and can't wait to get rid of that.

It's just tough for me to fathom ever being in that much student loan debt. Heck, I know 2.75 gpa communication majors at some 3rd and 4th tier schools that owe 100k + back in student loans. Granted a lot of the debt incurred came from being on the 6 year program, drinking 5 night a week, and room and board. However I mostly blame the parents, who are usually the cosigners for allowing it to reach that point.
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