Do they have a penalty for prepayment? Can you set up automatic withdrawal so your payment is never late?
If so I would say it sounds like a good gig. We just consolidated with ACS and got a great rate but I think his were all federal. I don't have stupid loans so my hubby has to do all the leg work...
Aerandel, Very encouraging to see you have some options. Are those fixed rates? That's awesome.
Ok, so the 1-3% fee upfront is what threw a red flag for me. This is essentially paying interest up-front. I encourange you to track down a mortgage calculator that does 'points' because that is essentially what you are paying. You want to compare the difference over the life of the loan of the 9.75 vs. the 8.75 and the various 1,2 and 3% add-ons. It may be that the one is still the better deal but it might be more expensive over the life of the loan.
I wouldn't make the decision based on the online functionality because who knows...they might add it sometime soon. As far as having them in 2 places, I wouldn't make the decision based on that either. You are very responsible and are not going to struggle to deal with 2 different banks. You'll have 2 loans regardless.
Finally, I would call Sallie Mae and make sure you are on the very cheapest repayment plan possible on the fed loans. That rate is awesome and I wouldn't pay a dime more than I had to until these private loans are paid off. You want to ask them about income sensitive options and possibly even forbearance if you don't land a full time teaching job in the fall.
Finally, when you finally know what you will be doing come the fall, if it is not a full time teaching job (and maybe if it is), I would encourage you to look for a more lucrative 2nd job. I think you might do a whole lot better with tutoring or something more professional than the waitressing that might allow you some more flexibility and pay much better. I taught private violin lessons all my teaching days and I know I couldn't have made ends meet without it but it was a heck of a lot more lucrative than any retail/foodservice job out there.
That's my 2 cents. You're doing great and I hope this consolidation comes together easily.
No, it wouldn't be silly to have some loans federal and some private. That's what I ended up with, actually. I think it was $22,000 federal, $18,000 private, and $5000 directly from the school (a big university) who wouldn't consolidate with anyone else. Having 2 big companies to deal with has not been a big hardship, and who knows, CFS may drag themselves into the 21st century eventually too! (and get online!) As long as you are getting a fixed rate, go for the best deal. Then you can go forth and snowflake :)
I had 2 companies for my loans too. One through Michigan and the Federal loans. The Michigan loan would not allow forbearance so when I was off on maternity, I put the federal loans on forebearance so that I could make the payments on my state loans. You definitely want to have a fixed rate with how high the prime rate is right now and they are talking about increasing it more.
If it is hurting too much, ask for a forebearance on the federal loan for now so you can concentrate on the private loans. No, it isn't a great option but if you can at least pay the interest that is accruing while it is in forebearance, it isn't growing either. It will relax you a bit and will help you by letting you put all your snowballs on the high interest rate private loans to pay them off faster.
Do they have a penalty for prepayment? Can you set up automatic withdrawal so your payment is never late?
If so I would say it sounds like a good gig. We just consolidated with ACS and got a great rate but I think his were all federal. I don't have stupid loans so my hubby has to do all the leg work...
Maybe someone else will have more info
Hello,
As long as you don't have prepayment penalties, the longer term / lower payment option ($209 per month) sounds good.
Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke
Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished
Aerandel,
Very encouraging to see you have some options. Are those fixed rates? That's awesome.
Ok, so the 1-3% fee upfront is what threw a red flag for me. This is essentially paying interest up-front. I encourange you to track down a mortgage calculator that does 'points' because that is essentially what you are paying. You want to compare the difference over the life of the loan of the 9.75 vs. the 8.75 and the various 1,2 and 3% add-ons. It may be that the one is still the better deal but it might be more expensive over the life of the loan.
I wouldn't make the decision based on the online functionality because who knows...they might add it sometime soon. As far as having them in 2 places, I wouldn't make the decision based on that either. You are very responsible and are not going to struggle to deal with 2 different banks. You'll have 2 loans regardless.
Finally, I would call Sallie Mae and make sure you are on the very cheapest repayment plan possible on the fed loans. That rate is awesome and I wouldn't pay a dime more than I had to until these private loans are paid off. You want to ask them about income sensitive options and possibly even forbearance if you don't land a full time teaching job in the fall.
Finally, when you finally know what you will be doing come the fall, if it is not a full time teaching job (and maybe if it is), I would encourage you to look for a more lucrative 2nd job. I think you might do a whole lot better with tutoring or something more professional than the waitressing that might allow you some more flexibility and pay much better. I taught private violin lessons all my teaching days and I know I couldn't have made ends meet without it but it was a heck of a lot more lucrative than any retail/foodservice job out there.
That's my 2 cents. You're doing great and I hope this consolidation comes together easily.
Peg
No, it wouldn't be silly to have some loans federal and some private. That's what I ended up with, actually. I think it was $22,000 federal, $18,000 private, and $5000 directly from the school (a big university) who wouldn't consolidate with anyone else. Having 2 big companies to deal with has not been a big hardship, and who knows, CFS may drag themselves into the 21st century eventually too! (and get online!) As long as you are getting a fixed rate, go for the best deal. Then you can go forth and snowflake :)
-Sarah
Sarah
Mom to Gina & Tony
I had 2 companies for my loans too. One through Michigan and the Federal loans. The Michigan loan would not allow forbearance so when I was off on maternity, I put the federal loans on forebearance so that I could make the payments on my state loans. You definitely want to have a fixed rate with how high the prime rate is right now and they are talking about increasing it more.
If it is hurting too much, ask for a forebearance on the federal loan for now so you can concentrate on the private loans. No, it isn't a great option but if you can at least pay the interest that is accruing while it is in forebearance, it isn't growing either. It will relax you a bit and will help you by letting you put all your snowballs on the high interest rate private loans to pay them off faster.