When Is It Smart To Consolidate Student Loan Debt?

[@JoyceSherri]

I definitely appreciate all the good work Dave is doing and the information he provides to the masses. The thing I don't appreciate is the judgment that comes from Dave when people talk about their student loan debt they've accumulated. "What in the world? Who got the expensive degree?" "So you just overpaid for the degree is all..." This kind of nonsense implies that everyone has had the SAME opportunity to advance in their lives and the same ACCESS to important information when it comes to our finances. For some people getting student loans are the only way they can get out of their current situation (usually a very very low socio-economic status) and try to put themselves in a better position to help themselves and their family by getting an advanced degree. Not everyone grew up with educated parents who had all the answers on how money works and why it is important to stay out of debt. Most of us didn't learn any of this until it was already too late. Miss me with all this judgment and just focus on helping people get out of debt instead of making them feel bad for making decisions based on what options were available to them at the time.

[@nicolettekanellos759]

Completely agree!!!

[@soulbi23]

It is a good lesson for those who are currently thinking about getting student loans.

[@Lagunaticmom]

Agree. It also doesn’t take into consideration whether a spouse stays home with the kids (like I did); a husband who had issues with employment (like I did); a child with mental health needs which kept a spouse out of the The work world, like I did.

[@tkleo2006]

I’ve heard of low income areas in Washington DC where kids studied hard and got scholarships for college.

[@ebonneenelson2325]

I consolidated my student loans and I don’t regret my decision. I was paying 4 different companies 30% interest rate combined including variable rate. When I consolidated I now pay 5% interest and just 1 loan payment. And it even helped me pay down my loans faster because I was giving an extra $200 in addition to my minimum monthly payment every month. In 2 years I will be done paying off this loan.

[@SawlRZ]

Hey Nelson, who did you use?

[@ebonneenelson2325]

Zombie Related SoFi at a fixed rate

[@ebonneenelson2325]

Brandon Kick well I was paying 4 different providers and it was separate loans with small rates which totaled 30%. If I knew what I know now at 18, I never would have taken out a student loan.

[@rachaelshay7649]

@@ebonneenelson2325 Same.

[@chelliea42]

Did they charge you a service fee? If so, did they take it off the top? I consolidated and they want their fee first, then payments go toward the loans.

[@DanielIles]

Check the interest rates you have vs what you could get. Don’t let the decreased payments make you let up from working down the debt!!

[@mikebrophy2583]

Why talk in gross incomes. The practically of his entire approach is based on the NET income of the caller; money that can be used to pay off debt. Calculating off gross income makes no sense.

[@JK20239]

Dave didnt even ask about other debts. CC, do they have children? All this eats up the income.

[@JoyofRVing]

Brandon Kick not true. Volleyball club, soccer club, varsity uniforms, piano lessons, clothes, shoes, different shoes for different sports, school projects etc. extra curricular activities are costly. I didn’t force any of my kids to do sports. They just come home one day saying, I wanna play this and that. A lot of times we don’t even get to watch their games, but since they love it, it’s better than hanging out with the wrong crowd

[@GryGroven]

@@JoyofRVing Most of the things you listed are things that you can choose to go without. This is part of how expensive you let them be. Of course it's terrible to be unable to let your kids do the sports or activities that they want to do, but it's in the end something you can live without.

[@brysoncherry9884]

@@GryGroven So you can choose to have a child with expensive recurring medical bills or not?

[@GryGroven]

@@brysoncherry9884 I never said anything about medical bills. Of course you can't choose whether or not to have a child with medical needs, but this isn't the case for the majority of children. For those who do however, it's important to save up for the medical bills in the times when the child is well.

[@ericananz]

Anybody have any good beans and rice, rice and beans recipes?

[@musicvixen24]

Erica Rose 😂

[@LittleMissSunshineHA]

pinterest LOL

[@mycustomizedlife6992]

Google Cuban style beans and rice recipes; tastes amazing :)

[@AwngSutLearning]

what u mean? we eat rice and beans everyday.

[@SuperTracilee]

😂😂😂

[@m3aquatics]

Dave seems severely out of touch. $100,000 gross would mean take home (in my State at least) would be touching $70,000. The cheapest 1 bedroom apartment that is run down comes in at about $1800 a month, then add in normal things like gas, utilities, medical bills, conservative amount of food... and I don't see any chance of them being able to pay $50,000 a year. He is as bad as the lenders not assessing the holistic experience of bills and just hyper focusing on the loan payment as if that is the only thing they have to be accountable for.

[@reviewitwithkimberly8497]

@Creatotron los Angeles is 4K a month. Not 1800 a month. 🙄 another person out of touch.

[@user-gx4wi4cv2m]

@@reviewitwithkimberly8497 use your brain MOVE. I live in Santa Ana CA and pay 800 a month in a very nice house. Find roommates. Why would you want to live somewhere where you pay $4k. What on earth.

[@reviewitwithkimberly8497]

@@user-gx4wi4cv2m I don’t live there 🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@reviewitwithkimberly8497]

@@user-gx4wi4cv2m I would never live in California , I have close friends that live there....and no thanks to the roommates I have a home with a husband and son and we live very comfortably. Thanks tho. 👍🏼

[@Tunechi65]

Dave doesn't do math

[@colorblindkid720]

I hate how Dave says all the time "you overpaid for the degree" NO. They DON'T always overpay. State schools are still what.. best case $14-20k a year? that's pushing $80k for a four year degree. There's two of them. I think that amount of student loan debt is reasonable for two people who didn't have assistance from their parents and had to take out loans to go to school. Is it a ton of SL debt? YES? But it's not like they went to a $60k a year college and majored in ancient dance history...

[@ramuelcabuena7949]

You can always start from a community college to get your prerequisites and pay less, then continue to a university. There are options out there to explore.

[@Tunechi65]

@@ramuelcabuena7949 I did that and still ended up with high loan. Fortunately I'm an engineer making good money but everyone's case isn't mine

[@Spilllage]

I suggest to anyone who's about to consider taking out student loans for school really thinks about where that loan will take them. Don't go to school unless your career is going to make you at least 150k a year or you really will be eating rice and beans. And realize that your loan amount basically doubles with interest if you're not paying all that you make in a paycheck. Also, everything I learned in school for my profession 10-15 years ago is now on youtube. As someone who works in media, I never once had to show my $25k degree to my employers. School isn't the only place you will find education.

[@iceman2921]

Dave, he said gross is 100k. We all know after taxes are taken out, he not making 100k a year. 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@JK20239]

Mechanical engineer making 50k. Hes really on the low side if his wife is making 50k as a teacher

[@mle011]

I doubt his wife is making $50k as a teacher. Her salary is probably closer to $32-40k. He’s probably the one making closer to $60-70k.

[@iceman2921]

Brandon Kick hard to know their monthly obligations. How high rent is, cc, car payments, insurance and much more.... probably lucky if it was $25k a year. Otherwise they wouldn’t be calling Dave....

[@mikaelawaye2242]

@@JK20239 how is it being a ME?

[@ianmowbray3284]

Married at 23 😳I did not meet my wife an till I was 30.

[@N1mro8]

grandpa xD j/k

[@lonestarr1707]

I'm 33 and still not planning on getting locked

[@bobfty2680]

@@lonestarr1707 Smart man. Divorce rate hella high these days

[@raphaeldelaghetto85]

Another thing to consider, is whether the loan is a federal or private. If you lose your job, you can get a forbearance on a federal loan and not have to pay for up to a year. You can't do that with the private ones.

[@jthrilla84]

Good info. I was actually trying to find that out

[@JK20239]

Forbearance meaning the interest doesnt stop accumulating?

[@mle011]

Interest continues to accrue during forbearance, but you still do not have any payments you need to make during that time.

[@brettf2]

Avoid forbearance. It causes capitalization -- your interest will get added to the principal balance, which will cause you to accumulate even more interest.

[@raphaeldelaghetto85]

brettf2 Generally speaking yes but depending on how tight someone’s budget is, it can give you breathing room if the choice is pay the student loan or buy groceries.

[@austinpatrick2682]

I just consolidated all my debt into my car loan which already had huge equity built up. In the consolidation I saved so much on interest it will take me half the time to pay it all off. As you probably guessed it, my interest rate is wayyyyyyyy lower than it was. I went from loan on signature to loan with collateral. Smartest thing I've done since being in debt. I'll be out in only a year even on a steak and potatoes budget. Less time if I buckle down. Once out of debt I'm never going in debt for a car again. In fact I'll probably buy a junker car to preserve the nice new car I've already put so much money into so I have a chance at getting my money's worth out of it.

[@nataliarivera4854]

How do you do it? Did you have multiple car loans?

[@Hallowsaw]

how about 200k in 4 different loans all with over 9%? On top of government loans at about 190k at 3%. Household income of 137k and it will probably increase 5% within a year? Would you consolidate then? We Live off of 60k and the rest goes to loans.

[@fsmoura]

♪ Rice & Beans Rice & Beans Rice Rice, Beans Beans Rice & Beans Rice & Beans ♪

[@honesthose]

Interest make life interesting they always say. It's better to the lender but worse to the borrower.

[@jthrilla84]

Which is better.. Consolidating a student loan or refinancing it? I was thinking about refinancing my loan from Navient to a bank thru Credible because a few have the forbearance option which may help if I was to ever lose my job. Plus the interest rate is fixed and a little lower. Any opinions would be great. Thanks

[@Eveningbreeze721]

Government loans with navient? If so would they be purchased by a private institution? If this is the case I would research the pros and cons of gov vs. private school loans. If you consolidate government loans you can pick a better servicer other than Navient.

[@CABuildz]

Dave keep inspiring!

[@jayritchie6596]

Sounds like a great young man. Mech Eng is a good career (might be a bit of a slow burner with that level of debt) and his wife has a proper steady income with a future. Shame they are in so much debt but suspect they can get out of it in a decent enough timescale. Would like more emphasis on career development and pay rises in this type of case.

[@p38pilotdk01]

The part that sucks is being salary with no overtime. I'm one week out from paying off my 40ish thousand in loans for my degree in Mechanical Engineering in 13 months

[@jayritchie6596]

@@p38pilotdk01 Man - thats great going! Well done! How do you save so much? High salary and low COL or a very high salary?

[@p38pilotdk01]

@@jayritchie6596 Modest salary with low COL, I was dumping an average of 2k a month with extra when I had more than 1k in my emergency fund.

[@Whoisderon]

What’s a good insurance rate?

[@evansmmsaweb1188]

What company did you consolidate with?

[@humbleweare]

anyone have thoughts on Cornerstone Doc Prep?

[@nehemiahstewart]

Thanks Dave.

[@chevyguy2063]

Beans and bens, rice and rice

[@y2ksierra]

Chevy Guy as opposed to Steak and Loans 🤣

[@superduperjoi6800]

Go Tigers!

[@andrewf4623]

Tim P I think he’s just affectionately referring to the couple who called in as tigers lol

[@JK20239]

Never.. cause you can never get out of it.... lol

[@AN-tp4rs]

Being 23 and getting married was your first mistake

[@kawirider338]

A N Yeah, no. Dating around and waiting to get married is a mistake. That’s how we ended up in this culture of 29 year olds going on 19 still living with mom and dad.

[@mroliver3130]

@@kawirider338 well said

[@illegalalien6542]

Speak for yourself

[@AN-tp4rs]

kawirider338 sorry remind me of the current divorce rate...?

[@laneyljk]

Idiot

[@KnockoutInvesting]

100k combined is low income. My wife and I combined is $200,000.

[@jeffreybouche3817]

Depends what part of the country you live in

[@Heyitsmuffy]

Depends on where you live and how you budget! I could live very well on 100k a year with my family.

[@AN-tp4rs]

It’s a good thing you can afford your own cookie.

[@ALXSSA]

100k combined is a lot..... Average household income is like 52,000...

[@nathangolding6846]

Assuming they been in their fields less than 2 years each that is about right. Lot of companies have been low balling starting wages since they want people with experience. Their total earning potential a decade from now would be much better.

[@QueenStylin]

Roll Tide!

[@superduperjoi6800]

First