View Full Version : I'm done with debt!
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 10:35 AM
Yesterday, I completed my final university examination (surface chemistry and principles of spectroscopy). It was a difficult exam, and summaised what being at uni is all about - learning the content, and recognising how to apply the knowledge gained.
I've really enjoyed my time at university, and if anyone is thinking of taking a chemistry degree / pharmacy course, then consider Kingston Uni.
Right now, I'm hunting for PhD's and applying for them. I've amassed a rather large student loan debt, so I'm hoping to get onto a studentship scheme - london rates are £14,500 per year, tax free. I should be able to pay of some of my loan with that!
Anyway, waiting for results now. Not expecting anything less or anything more than an upper second class degree.
Matt
Luckypants
29-05-08, 10:36 AM
Congrats Matt. Stay in the ranks of the low paid and stuff the student loan.
ArtyLady
29-05-08, 10:41 AM
Well done! what a relief it must be - good luck with the results :cool: :D
timwilky
29-05-08, 10:41 AM
End up like my former boss. PhD in AI (I said I was a country lad and knew all about artificial insemination, he did not see the funny side) and spend the first 10 years of earning serious money paying off the debt accrued living like a student then lecturer who behaved like a student etc. Whilst he caught up to the standard of living those of us who have paid taxes all our lives had.
Still as the say, a university is a fountain of knowledge where students go to drink
Congratulations, feels good finishing doesnt it.
I managed to scrape through university without any debt, but then drink didnt interest me, student fees were only a maximum of ?1250 and not the ?3k+ or whatever they are now and I worked a couple of evenings a week and most weekends which helped but probably effected my finished work marks.
I would hate to be a student now and still have nightmares about it lol :(
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 10:51 AM
a university is a fountain of knowledge where students go to drink
and many turn up already half-cut to lectures :D
I'll admit, uni is not great for having money. BUT I have learnt alot, and have a wider understanding of so many things.
There's still that hydrophobic visor idea I can pursue to make [del boy voice] millions [/del boy voice]
Oh, shout out to my SV, which has been ubur-faithfull these past 8 months
Matt
beaniebikerbabe
29-05-08, 10:51 AM
Yesterday, I completed my final university examination (surface chemistry and principles of spectroscopy). It was a difficult exam, and summaised what being at uni is all about - learning the content, and recognising how to apply the knowledge gained.
I've really enjoyed my time at university, and if anyone is thinking of taking a chemistry degree / pharmacy course, then consider Kingston Uni.
Right now, I'm hunting for PhD's and applying for them. I've amassed a rather large student loan debt, so I'm hoping to get onto a studentship scheme - london rates are £14,500 per year, tax free. I should be able to pay of some of my loan with that!
Anyway, waiting for results now. Not expecting anything less or anything more than an upper second class degree.
Matt
congrats m8 and good luck:smt048
Speedy Claire
29-05-08, 10:53 AM
Congratulations and best of luck with the results
petevtwin650
29-05-08, 10:58 AM
All that education and yet soooo naive. Prepare to spend the rest of your life, vastly extended by healthly living and a nannying society, in the grasp of one wallet draining corporation after another.:(:smt088
Oh, and well done Matt. :D:D:D
missyburd
29-05-08, 11:10 AM
Congratulations on finishing, must be a great feeling! Good luck with the pHD finding :cool:
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 11:22 AM
cheers guys :)
gettin2dizzy
29-05-08, 11:40 AM
Done with debt?! Once you've paid it all back ;)
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 11:56 AM
Done with debt?! Once you've paid it all back ;)
well....im not looking to accumulate any more...(excluding interest)
The interest / whole repaying of student loan thing is crazy. Me and the wife both finished uni a couple of years ago with approx ?13000 loans each. I started repaying immediately and it's actually coming down. She started repaying last year and she's currently repaying about ?30 a month with about ?50 a month going on in interest. So the amount owed is increasing by about ?250 this year. :rolleyes:
Current inflation rate being used by SLC for increasing loan value = 4.8%
Current increases in our wages to cover loan = 0%
But we had a good time at uni so can't complain too much! :)
The student loan is supposed to increase in line with inflation. Do you think they'll deduct money from the total owed if we have a recession? I doubt it!
Oh, and well done alpinestarhero!
wyrdness
29-05-08, 12:37 PM
well....im not looking to accumulate any more...(excluding interest)
So no house-buying then?
Good luck with finding a Ph.D. and financing it. My best mate at school did a Ph.D. in Chemistry and ended up working in the brewing industry. He now lives in the USA and is a renowned expert on beer. :drink: Now that's what I call chemistry.
Flamin_Squirrel
29-05-08, 01:20 PM
Current inflation rate being used by SLC for increasing loan value = 4.8%
That infuriates me.
So is inflation 2.5% like the government usually claims, or is it 4.8%? Answer: they pick and choose as and when it suits them :smt013
metalmonkey
29-05-08, 01:22 PM
Well done and get through all the exmas! Thats great, know the feeling of the last exam:D Good luck with the job hutning and looking for a PHD.
Student loan debt is mad last month I paid of ?161 I figure I'm paying back about ?1500/year. Should be gone in a few years with any luck. More you earn more you pay back, so if you get any extra taxable payments expect some of to go with student loan.
That infuriates me.
So is inflation 2.5% like the government usually claims, or is it 4.8%? Answer: they pick and choose as and when it suits them :smt013
Yup, exactly, they pick and choose the one they want. Apparently they have 'different measures of inflation' for student loans and pay rises. ie, 2.5% odd inflationary rise for firemen / teachers / council workers, etc but 4.8% on our loans. I've had the argument with the SLC, didn't get me anywhere!
We were trying to calculate whether it's better for the wife to make extra voluntary contributions so that at least the interest is covered so the loan's not increasing, but in the end we decided it's better for her to put the extra money in savings and keep just paying minimum payments for all of working life until they write it off.
When we took out our loans the interest rate on them was about 1%! I guess it's the risk you take but it's pretty scandalous the way the gov't set the IR on it.
Luckypants
29-05-08, 01:46 PM
..... it's pretty scandalous the way the gov't set the IR on it.
Indeed and is the reason my daughter has no intention of paying it and will do same as your wife. Should be a bloody grant anyway, how else will our scientists and engineers of the future see University as an attractive option?
Well done Matt
Good luck with the PhD hunting. £14K in London - wasn't that much in my day!! (which wasn't that long ago :rolleyes:) Sounds good anyway.
mary
Congrats Matt. I graduated three years ago, nearly paid off the student loan now I just don't want it hanging around my neck anymore!!! It's great having money!!!
Indeed and is the reason my daughter has no intention of paying it and will do same as your wife. Should be a bloody grant anyway, how else will our scientists and engineers of the future see University as an attractive option?
Good stuff, rough calcs I know (don't take in to account price indices or anything) but we worked out that if she pays £30 a month for the next 40 years (:smt103:shaking: gulp!) that's about £14500 she'll have paid back. The loan total could be double that by then but she'll still have paid back more than she borrowed.
Conversely, at my wage I should have it paid off in a few years using money I've never seen (automatically taken so never got used to having it) so it's not so bad for me.
I can't see anyone being able to afford university in a few years. I haven't kept up with the details but I believe students can now borrow all of the money for their course fees + a living loan (totalling circa £6k per year is it?) and then attempt to pay it all back when / if they start working. Are the gov't trying to get everyone in to horrendous debt?
Sorry, all OT, this thread should be about Astarhero finishing exams!
gettin2dizzy
29-05-08, 02:28 PM
Good stuff, rough calcs I know (don't take in to account price indices or anything) but we worked out that if she pays £30 a month for the next 40 years (:smt103:shaking: gulp!) that's about £14500 she'll have paid back. The loan total could be double that by then but she'll still have paid back more than she borrowed.
Conversely, at my wage I should have it paid off in a few years using money I've never seen (automatically taken so never got used to having it) so it's not so bad for me.
I can't see anyone being able to afford university in a few years. I haven't kept up with the details but I believe students can now borrow all of the money for their course fees + a living loan (totalling circa £6k per year is it?) and then attempt to pay it all back when / if they start working. Are the gov't trying to get everyone in to horrendous debt?
Sorry, all OT, this thread should be about Astarhero finishing exams!
And they wonder why we're so relaxed about debt ;) mind you, the national debt hangs over all of us!
I've stretched uni out to 5 years, so that's a healthy 25K before interest. I'd have done something else in hindsight, but at 18 you're not exactly capable of realising the reality of the situation! That's a fricking deposit on a house, never mind the years of lost wages...
Flamin_Squirrel
29-05-08, 02:29 PM
Indeed and is the reason my daughter has no intention of paying it and will do same as your wife. Should be a bloody grant anyway, how else will our scientists and engineers of the future see University as an attractive option?
They won't, which is why noones doing any more science or engineering.
As for minimum payments, not sure that'll work. Mine are already 130 a month. Much more than that, I'll be better off saving to pay it off quickly.
Biker Biggles
29-05-08, 02:39 PM
Why not emigrate?Surely they cant get the money back if you earn it somewhere else?
I was too dim for degrees which is probably why I come up with daft ideas like leaving the country.
I can't see anyone being able to afford university in a few years.
The only people who will be able to afford to go is....(drum roll).....Kids from poor families, as they dont pay for it......we do.
I think my girlfriend pays back about £120 a month on her student loans :(
Flamin_Squirrel
29-05-08, 02:47 PM
Why not emigrate?Surely they cant get the money back if you earn it somewhere else?
I was too dim for degrees which is probably why I come up with daft ideas like leaving the country.
Not that daft an idea I don't think. I could go to Aus to live without too much trouble (well, Visa wise anyway) if I wanted, but I'm too lazy :shaking:
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 02:49 PM
So no house-buying then?
Good luck with finding a Ph.D. and financing it. My best mate at school did a Ph.D. in Chemistry and ended up working in the brewing industry. He now lives in the USA and is a renowned expert on beer. :drink: Now that's what I call chemistry.
wow, i wanna do that. My dad would be so proud
And drunk
BTW, i dont care about people hijacking my threads; god knows I wanted to drop out after my second year because of the looming debt. But...what else would I do? Chemistryis what i seem to be quite good at!
GP - how much interest does she get per month? Maria was having more interest added than she was paying back - she;s had o make additional payments now to dig into the loan. I'll be doing the same.
Matt
GP - how much interest does she get per month? Maria was having more interest added than she was paying back - she;s had o make additional payments now to dig into the loan. I'll be doing the same.
Matt
I have never looked into it in any particular detail, I would hope she is paying off more than just the interest though :smt013 Kerry only has £9k though I believe as her course was only 3 years.
I will look into it abit more perhaps.
Good one Matt, well done mate :D
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 03:06 PM
I have never looked into it in any particular detail, I would hope she is paying off more than just the interest though :smt013 Kerry only has £9k though I believe as her course was only 3 years.
I will look into it abit more perhaps.
I think she'll be ok. the interest is 4%, so...yea, you can work out the interest and see overall how much she is paying back of the loan
Matt
On 9k interest will be approx £432 this year at current interest rate, so you have to pay more than £36 a month to cover the interest. To pay £36 a month you have to be earning £19363 (you pay 9% of anything over £15k). So if she earns less than £19363 the loan total will increase this year.
It's mad!
It is better to pay the minimum payments all your life and just let the loan lapse when you're 65 though. Say if you intended to make a £50 per month overpayment, that's £600 per year. Over 30 years that's £18000 without interest, and you'd have paid back less than that. Save it, don't make overpayments.
thedonal
29-05-08, 03:17 PM
Congratulations Matt- must feel great to be done with the exams.
I guess with the loan, you either- carry on being a student and amass more debt, get a job low paid enough to avoid paying the loan back, or get a stupidly well paid job (quite possibly in your field!) and repay it in no time at all!
On 9k interest will be approx £432 this year at current interest rate, so you have to pay more than £36 a month to cover the interest. To pay £36 a month you have to be earning £19363 (you pay 9% of anything over £15k). So if she earns less than £19363 the loan total will increase this year.
She earns enough then for it not to be a problem so should be ok.
But thats rediculous for people earning less than £20k, they are just paying for nothing and just having their loan increasing :confused: beggar belief really, but much like wider uk problems the govemerment are unlikely to use their brains and come up with a solution.
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 03:20 PM
I dunno, i'd rather pay the debt off. What if the rules change, and you have to pay it off even after you retire?
I'd like to make in-roads into paying it off now, then have a bit more money when I (maybe) have a family
Oh, and im sure i'll accumulate debt again, but as a morgage. thats sort of a given....ok, im done with getting into more debt, apart from the interest accumulated, and apart form having a morgage :D
Apart form that, im done with owing people money
wait, my dad lent me some money the other week..
Ah carp, its a vicous cycle!!!
Matt
The Mrs rang up and the SLC have confirmed it gets written off when you retire (or at 65, not sure what would happen if you retired at 50 for instance). Without getting all the gumph out (doubt I've still got it to be honest but apparently its on their website) I can't imagine they can just 'change the rules' on it - you sign up to a contract when you take out the loan and I would have thought the only thing that can change is the interest rate, not the general payment terms.
Having said that, I never envisaged the interest / inflation rate would rocket to five times the rate it was when I took it out!
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 03:29 PM
The Mrs rang up and the SLC have confirmed it gets written off when you retire (or at 65, not sure what would happen if you retired at 50 for instance). Without getting all the gumph out (doubt I've still got it to be honest but apparently its on their website) I can't imagine they can just 'change the rules' on it - you sign up to a contract when you take out the loan and I would have thought the only thing that can change is the interest rate, not the general payment terms.
Having said that, I never envisaged the interest / inflation rate would rocket to five times the rate it was when I took it out!
yea! It seemed to shoot up form about 2% to 4% overnight. I think thats what worries me aswell.
Matt
jimmy__riddle
29-05-08, 06:18 PM
congrats, i know the feeling.
Good luck finding a PhD, if youre after an electrochemistry/surface science PhD i know of one!
Alpinestarhero
29-05-08, 06:20 PM
congrats, i know the feeling.
Good luck finding a PhD, if youre after an electrochemistry/surface science PhD i know of one!
well hello...what uni, and is it funded?!?!
Matt
jimmy__riddle
29-05-08, 07:01 PM
Southampton, and yes it will be funded. i dint think its advertised yet as we've only got confirmation of the grant acceptance this week. i will try and get some more info and pm you
Southampton, and yes it will be funded. i dint think its advertised yet as we've only got confirmation of the grant acceptance this week. i will try and get some more info and pm you
The small helpful world of the .org :cool: :cheers:
muffles
30-05-08, 08:11 AM
Congrats! I would say make sure you either earn a little (so you don't really have to pay much - or any - of it) or earn a lot (so you pay it off quickly). Earning a "decent" wage seems to be the worst way to do it! :(
I graduated in 2002 and was finally free of it in around 2005/2006 (forget which) - only ?8300 of capital though - when you see over ?200/month coming out & ?1000+ lump sum each year (bonus environment) it does p*ss you off! But I am glad to be clear of it now - so I probably advocate the "earn a lot" route of the two.
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