may as well just pay the minimum until I'm 65

Lokolo

melancholly wrote: »

no no no

don't leave university and immediately jump on the housing ladder.... it's seriously not a wise plan to be that financially and physically tied up just at the point when your career gets going and flexibility is important. it is also a very recent thing to expect a 100% mortgage and it's clearly the worst possible way to buy a house. rent for a while - see what an area is like, wait til you have a deposit/pay rise. this modern obsession with getting a house as soon as anyone graduates is bizarre and one of the reasons why so many people are now mortgaged up to their eyeballs, unable to absorb the increase in repayments with interest rate rises.

Hey!

I wasn't planning on getting a house straight away, I was planning on waiting until 25. But its the concept that the % you are going to pay on student loan is likely to be less than the mortgage so why pay more than you have to?

melancholly

Lokolo wrote: »

Hey!

I wasn't planning on getting a house straight away, I was planning on waiting until 25. But its the concept that the % you are going to pay on student loan is likely to be less than the mortgage so why pay more than you have to?

well i would wait until the time is right, rather than having a set age in mind, but that sounds a lot more healthy than jumping into buying somewhere as soon as you graduate!

Lokolo

Hehe yeh obviously if I am jobless or whatever I won't get a house. But yeh a plans a plan just see how it goes :rolleyes:

Catseyez

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a question:

When I graduate next year, I'll have £9k of student loan debt which I have been saving in an ISA.

My starting salary is likely to be about £28k so, if I pay back the loan slowly, how long will it take to pay off? Let's assume my salary will stay at £28k (although realistically, I know it won't).

[Deleted User]

At 28k, you'll be paying back 98 quid a month.. so, my rough guesstimate is you'll be paying it back for 6 - 7 years.. more likely less if you get significant payrises

baby_fuzz

JammyP wrote: »

Damn I wish I was one of those people who could have afforded to just take out a student loan to save it.

Most people would have to work pretty damn hard to just save it!
I worked every weekend, 30hrs lectures every week, and held 4 jobs down each summer. It's never easy, but I've got a house, and have only got 10 years left on the mortgage because of all the overpayments I have made.

To reiterate what someone else said above, I always prioritise paying off my mortgae (or add to my savings) vs paying off the student loan, beacuse my money works harder for me that way!

Oldernotwiser

baby_fuzz wrote: »

Most people would have to work pretty damn hard to just save it!
I worked every weekend, 30hrs lectures every week, and held 4 jobs down each summer. It's never easy, but I've got a house, and have only got 10 years left on the mortgage because of all the overpayments I have made.

What on earth were you studying that you had 30 hours of lectures every week? What about seminars etc?

sarah_elton

lkmc01 wrote: »

i would expect to see the student loan on my wage slip my entire life anyway. thats what happens. its only a small amount anyway. £7 a month for £15000 income, £75 a month for £25000 income.

I still think it's defeatist to think you'll never pay it off.

I graduated in 2003 and my loan was around £10k. I've just finished repaying (although just started a thread because I'm having trouble getting my repayments stopped bah!). Whatever amount you're repaying, it's a damn good feeling knowing your net salary just jumped up by that amount.

sarah_elton

Catseyez wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a question:

When I graduate next year, I'll have £9k of student loan debt which I have been saving in an ISA.

My starting salary is likely to be about £28k so, if I pay back the loan slowly, how long will it take to pay off? Let's assume my salary will stay at £28k (although realistically, I know it won't).

You can use Martin's credit card calculator to work it out:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/minimum-repayments-credit-card#calc

At £9k debt, guesstimate interest rate of 3.5%, and repayments of £98/month, it says it'll take you just shy of 9 years to repay.

JadeCripps_2

You guys should think yourselves lucky....with the new tuition fees, plus having to do a foundation year and masters year...I will be leaving uni with no less than £35k in student loans!

I will be 31 when i graduate (mature student), but graduate salaries in my field are currently averaging £42k (Geology - highest paid industry in the world) a year so god only knows how long it'll take me to pay off but shouldn't be too long!