Student Loan Debts - How do you view these?

Katharine

Thriftylady wrote:

Its funny how 25 years sounded like such a long time when I left uni but 9 years down the line its edging closer. Having said that, mine is one of the old style student loans where you pay it directly to the loan company, not as a deduction from your salary, and you have to be earning a lot more than £15k before you have to pay it back. But even at the top of the payscale with my current employer, I would never have to pay it back. I started to pay it voluntarily a few years back and then realised that it was madness, when there is sadly a very good chance that I will never reach the earnings limit at all. I would rather earn more and pay it off, but I've not got the opportunity to earn more, so......

Its interesting that the government lowered the earnings threshold for paying it back, because to me it seems like another way of admitting that a university education does not bring you the riches that they would like to have every sixth form student in the country believe that it will. But I'd say thats a discussion for another thread!!

Exactly, of my old friends for uni I am actually earning the most (most are on or close to minimum wage) and I'm working in something quite different from what I studied and feel lucky to have been able to get this job (and I only have a HND when they did BSc's!). When you are young you dont really think about what areas will actually have likely jobs, or pay decent money, you want to do what you are interested in. Plus degrees dont meant as much as they used to, which is exactly why there are many people going into training in skilled trades now.

Thriftylady

md_14uk wrote:

As I recall most of the money I spent at Uni was on beer and having a good time I'm sure that that's what 99.9% of students spend their money on... if they don't want debt then they should cut back on the drink!

Lucky you ! Mine certainly wasn't, it went on things like books and paying my electricity bill. I'm not going to launch into some 'poor me' story about how I lived in a cardboard box and ate gravel because it wasn't like that either, but generally speaking my money was spent on essentials. A lot of students do spend 3 years partying, but a lot of them don't....

Mirtos

I have so much debt racked up during my postgraduate studies that the ones from my BA are at the back of the queue - I don't even think about it to be honest, haven't included it in my sig.

[Deleted User]

I certainly did notice paying back my loan (i've just finished paying in the last few months).. my repayments were £86 a month, about the same as my pension contribution or my transport costs. Now i've finished I can put more away towards a deposit on a house. I started in 1998, what are the current repayments like?

K9cuddles

I must admit I've tracked my SL since I started paying it back, I keep all my P60's check that against my statements, my salary is only 16k so my payback is minium, but add a bonus and overtime and I'm paying aback £310 in next months pay check! Now I know I'd rather have that money in my pocket!! The faster I pay it off the better, due to other debt's it's not priority at the moment, but this time next year I'll be sticking my extra payments in an ISA and as soon as I have the balance to pay it off I will!!!

[Deleted User]

k9 ... there's no point paying off your SL if you've got the amount saved up, you'll earn more in interest in an ISA than you'll be paying back

lady_fuschia

I don't think people should worry too much about their student loan- the points already mentioned (you won't have bailifss chasing you, its low interest, it gets cancelled after 25 years) mean its just not worth losing sleep about. Other debts cause enough worry as it is- concentrate on them!
Having said that, I still think that once other debts have been cleared it makes sense to pay off as much as you can, even if you do do it by saving in an ISA to earn interest then paying off a lump sum. Its still debt at the end of the day, and if you're in a position to pay, its better paid than not.

As for the beer thing- I really don't think that's fair. I think that anyone that age drinks a lot- student or not (non-students probably more so if anything), the idea that all students are drunken layabouts is as big a misconception as the fact that they all walk into £25k a year jobs the minute they leave. Sure some waste the money, then go to Mum and Dad for a handout, but far more are too busy struggling to pay rent and counting coppers to buy baked beans to spend that much time out drinking. As with many things, a few give the rest a bad name.

K9cuddles

ringo_24601 wrote:

k9 ... there's no point paying off your SL if you've got the amount saved up, you'll earn more in interest in an ISA than you'll be paying back

I haven't got anything saved up yet!! Don't worry I'm not loosing out!

frugglewump

Mirtos wrote:

I have so much debt racked up during my postgraduate studies that the ones from my BA are at the back of the queue - I don't even think about it to be honest, haven't included it in my sig.

I have to agree totally with this post.

Almost all the debt in my sig is from living expenses during my MSc & PhD, so I don't even think about the student loans. I am above the threshold for repayment but the £67/month to the student loan company isn't noticeable against the £480/month to CCs & 1 loan.

lil'H

Thank you so much for everyones replies, after this post I am going to remove the SL amount from my sig, yes it's a debt but I'm not going to worry about it yet. I have two years on a MA to get through and need to live to budget and pay off other debts in that time. Also I wonder whether I really will end up having to pay it all back, over the next few years I will only be working part time as I have a 4 year old son, I would like a few more children at somepoint which again will mean leaving working or dropping to part time so hey maybe I'll get away with being on low enough payments till the 25 year deadline!!

H