Well, it finally happened. They found me.
The graduate student loan company.
My Income-Based Repayment plan for my Master’s degree came due in November. This meant I had to drag out my 2012 tax information and reapply. (Boy are there some bad memories associated with that pile of paperwork. The HR company that handles my paychecks made a clerical error that led to a $4,000 tax bill. I’m still not over this. I actually Googled how much a kidney sells for these days.)
The good news is that I made more in 2012 than I did in 2011. The bad news is that the loan company took that as a sign that I could start sending them money. $158 each month, to be exact.
So, after a year off of student loan payments, I’m back on the treadmill of never-ending interest. My current loan balance is $73,296.75. My initial loan amount was for $60,000. We’re not here to get into the bad financial decisions that led to that initial amount, but yeah. 2009 wasn’t my best financial year.
Fun fact- students pursuing a degree in a medical field are allowed to borrow over the legal student loan limit. Funner fact- students can override the legal student loan limit with one click on an online survey. One click. By a 22 year old kid. Suddenly the student loan crisis makes a lot more sense, huh?
Anyway, my goal is to pay off these loans by the end of 2020. (My current balance is 6 times higher than my undergrad balance, therefore I get 6 extra years.) There’s also a failsafe built into this plan- since my loans were issued after 2007, any remaining balance can be forgiven after 120 consecutive minimum payments. If I don’t make it by 2020, at least I know the loans will be gone by 2024.
Rather than go all out like I did in 2011, I’ve decided to set yearly goals. After all, this repayment is going to be a marathon, not a 12-month sprint. So, for my goal for 2014 will be to get the balance under $68,000. For those that hate math, that means a monthly payment of $458 per month, for a total of $5,493.87 to be paid by the end of 2014.
You guys ready to dive back into the agnst-inducing world of student loan monthly payments? The posts will be just as weird as 2011, and on a more regular schedule than 2012. Beyond that, I make no promises.
Losing My Cents 
Does that calculation per month include interest? Don’t know what you’re rate is but with mine, it comes out to $12 interest a day for 67K ::sobs at realization::
Yes, it does include interest. My rate is 6.8%. I locked it in when i got the loans, so it wouldn’t go up on me.