1/5 of our yearly gross income goes towards student loans. 20%
I was like, uh, what? I mean, I know how much we took out, and I know how much our monthly payments are, but seeing the amount we spent yearly. Whew! I don't even feel like calculating what percentage of our net income goes toward the loans. I think I might cry.
I thought it was slightly comical that we only pay $800 more per year for our house than we do for our student loans. That's right. Only $800 more for a year's worth of mortgage payments (PITI), than for a year's worth of student loan payments.
I started listing out other sources and percentages of where our income goes, then I decided to make a pie chart because who doesn't love one of those?
The little 2% sliver includes gas and utilities, and other fun stuff like that. I can't even comprehend what it would be like to not have that big ol' green chunk of the pie going toward student loans. I do know I'll be taking some trip somewhere. I'm feeling the Camino de Santiago.
We play a similar game. We call it, "If we didn't spend $---.-- each month on student loans, what could that cash go towards?" Sometimes (shoot, many times) it's a vacation. Other times it's another car payment (bless Rita's little 14 year old Ford heart), an extra mortgage payment, some sort of upgrade on the house/garden/yard, or saving for future baby Rose's school.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I know! Once a month we could just about build a new fence, completely re-landscape, in a few months we could refinish our floors, get that fabulous piece of art we wanted...
ReplyDeleteNo, my real reason for wanting some frivolous money around is so I can plan whatever menu I want, despite the odd and sometimes more expensive ingredients. A girl can dream, right? [...And I want to be able to walk into the Fossil store...and buy something - without feeling too guilty.]
Okay, and lastly, a new car. Staci is working out all right, but she's about to need a whole bunch of stuff. Like tires. Ugh.
Just a thought... are you two on an Income Based Repayment plan? It can lower your monthly bill, and if you're working at a nonprofit, your loan can be forgiven in 10 years.
ReplyDeleteI second the income based. Because of Dustin's job, we pay like 40.00 a month and in 10 years all loans will be forgiven. I thought if you were a teacher, they have a similar thing. Worth looking into.
ReplyDelete