Are you making student loan repayments? If so, read!

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

I don't understand why you'd pay extra when you interest rate has gone down. While your interest rate is 0% you could pay nothing until it goes back up again and whilst it would take longer to pay off it would cost you no more. If you pay extra then sure you would pay less in interest when the rate goes back up, as it is a percentage of the overall balance, but you can do that and reduce the overall balance at any time. They take interest as a percentage of your balance, not as a percentage of your payments.

Now im not very good at maths and numbers but I think I understand what you just said. I've now decided that Im just going to continue making the minimum possible payments and keep all extra cash for savings (my next headache is buying a property ). The joy!

I have cleared my student loans where they take it direct from your wages. I do still however owe money on the old style "mortgage" loans. These are the ones that you defer if you don't earn enough. I do earn over the threshold, however, my interest rate for this year is... -0.4%... That's right. They're paying me interest!

I had been happily deffering my old style ones but one of my payslips was £3 over and they started taking the money back.

I skipped the country and now they think that I haven't earnt a penny for the past 2 years. I keep thinking that I should probably just pay this off, but now it's interest free for the next 10 months, I'll think i'll wait

currently they're taking £7 a month. Pointless really, i've no idea how much my debt now is but i'm guessing it's a hell of alot more than it was 4 years ago. Skipping out to another country is a plan

I was 4 years at Uni with relatively little financial support from my parents. Came out with 16 grands worth of debt despite working in pubs all the way through and factory work during the holidays, 6 grand of which was student loans. Just managed to keep myself out of court and avoid CCJ's by doing the income versus outgoings trick and paying them all at £2 per week so they couldn't take me to court, plenty of defaults though. I still open envelopes thinking "WTF is this?", even though I have no debts other than the usual mortgage and credit cards. I opened a bottle of bubbly with my wife the day I paid the last of it off, then went out and ordered my SV!

I have got all this to come with Becky. She is hoping to start her HND next year. She has decided against going away to Uni and will stay at home and go to local college where she is currently doing her National Diploma. She got no financial support for last 2 years because she has not lived in England for 3 years, she got ema for this year and will get it til 2012 provided she does not go into higher education, so needless to say she will lose that next year.

[Mr Speirs]

Ah I get annoyed by Student Loans. You never know how much you owe as it only calculates it annually!!! I think I would have mine paid off soon but can't find out as it says I still owe nearly £2k on it although I have been paying back nearly 200 a month since April!!!

Originally Posted by phil24_7

my interest rate for this year is... -0.4%... That's right. They're paying me interest!

That is bl00dy brilliant..!

Originally Posted by Mr Speirs

Ah I get annoyed by Student Loans. You never know how much you owe as it only calculates it annually!!! I think I would have mine paid off soon but can't find out as it says I still owe nearly £2k on it although I have been paying back nearly 200 a month since April!!!

Well, you can work out roughly how much you've got left by logging into here and bashing in a few numbers. Or just ring them up and request a statement

HTH