

An Accountant Explains Why 45% Of Her Income Goes To Student Loans - dimitar
http://www.businessinsider.com/an-accountant-explains-why-45-of-her-income-goes-to-student-loans-2014-5

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_archon_
I would be surprised to know that she's explored and threshed out her
refinancing options fully. With 5 different loans, even a longer-term
refinance could end up saving money if she pays more than the minimum every
month.

On another note, I find it interesting that she's not assigning a dollar value
to having some walking around town money. There are real opportunities being
missed for networking etc., as well as an increased stress load, which can
have career and personal consequences. I'm not saying consolidation's the
proper way to go; I am saying she may be short-changing her happiness and
future upward mobility by focusing only on money when well-rounded balance is
important.

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dimitar
While many of the comments question her judgment, I would rather question the
educational opportunities society (state, federal government etc.) have
provided her. In order to start a receiving a wage she had wager 45% of her
potential future income.

Considering all that talk how education is an important investment for
society, it is seems like a risky business.

~~~
dredmorbius
45% of her _starting_ income. Though based on median income data ($63,550/yr),
it's still 26.7% of her income potential.

[http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-
jobs/accountant/salary](http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-
jobs/accountant/salary)

And accountants make reasonably good money (there's also better upside
potential, but median is a good planning basis).

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WheelsAtLarge
I'm having a hard time understanding why she let herself get into debt and
complain about it. 1st she could have gone to community college for 2 years
and transferred to a 4 year school. Also, living at home would have saved her
a lot. There are other option she should have done if too much debt was a
problem for her. If I decide today that I'm going to stop working and do
something without an income I need to be ready to finance it somehow, debt or
saving. That's reality!

On the other hand, the full college experience is something that nothing can
replace but you got to understand that it going to cost. This was choice. The
reality is that without debt she would have not gotten a chance to go to
school. She should look at the bright side. She got what she wanted and in
time she will be done with the debt but she will always be a CPA.

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ibejoeb
> something is wrong with the system when a student like me doesn’t get
> financial aid — even after repeatedly applying for it

Perhaps there was some sort of dissonance between the expectation and the
reality of how this system works.

School is _expensive_ , probably to the point of being a real problem, but
there's not a lot of substance in this article.

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Glyptodon
Sounds like she's still oblivious to what median household income is in the
United States (~ $45K/household). Her family's $85k a year is almost twice
what's normal.

Frankly, it also sounds like her family wasn't supportive at all, either,
though there are at least a few plausible situations, like living in too
upscale of an area and having high mortgage payments eat their income, which
could explain it.

Likewise, she probably should have started at a community college.

...and she cares more about having fancy wedding than getting rid of her debt.
Meh.

~~~
dimitar
While the family income is $85k a year it has a single working adult, one
person with disability, two children and a senior. So it really depends on how
old are the children and what pensions/welfare do the person with disability
and senior get and how expensive their care is.

I'm not living in the US, but I was under the impression that getting a
community college degree wasn't enough to prepare you for the "CPA exam to
become an accountant".

~~~
mcb3k
I will not comment about finances, but the idea behind starting at a community
college isn't that an associates degree will prepare you for something like
the CPA exam, but that it will help you satisfy degree requirements for a
bachelors degree without spending as much money as doing all four years at a
public four-year institution.

The tuition for a community college, per year, is about 1/3rd [1] the cost of
a year at a public in-state 4-year college. If you live at home, you possibly
save another couple grand a year. Factor in that some states have Guaranteed
Admission Agreements [2], it can make community college an attractive option.

[1]: [http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-
table...](http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-
tables/average-published-undergraduate-charges-sector-2013-14) [2]:
[http://www.nvcc.edu/current-
students/transfer/Search/GAAAdmi...](http://www.nvcc.edu/current-
students/transfer/Search/GAAAdmission.aspx)

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jgmmo
She should consolidate. I had multiple lenders as well and when I consolidated
my payment went down from ~750 a month to ~275 a month. It added .25% to my
interest rate but it was worth it.

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cylinder
Why doesn't anyone know about income-based repayment? You can keep your
payments at below 15% of your income.

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dragontamer
$22,000 per year for 4 years. First of all, this is a gross figure, I can't
believe anyone would be paying that for in-state tuition. It is a failure on
New Jersey that this is happening... but in a state with 0% sales tax, I can
imagine that they have budget issues.

Even then, Community College for 2 years + $44k after that sounds a hell of a
lot better than getting $100k+ into debt.

So yes, the state of New Jersey is to blame for their broken in-state tuition
system. Nonetheless, the approach to schooling here isn't exactly optimal
either.

~~~
lotsofpulp
NJ has a 7% sales tax rate. Except on clothing and uncooked foods, I think.

