was mine this morning when I went to the Dept. of Ed to review my student loan account and find out what my final payment would be, whether they had my current address and phone, and when I could expect to be finished with this ten year obligation. I was pretty sure I was going to be finished in December and that my final payment was slightly higher than the former 359 months' payment had been.
Imagine my surprise to discover that on Nov. 21, I will make my final payment and it will be one third of my regular payment, not more. Wow! What a shock! What a sweet surprise! What a gift!
Student loans are a huge benefit to seekers of advanced degrees and when I took out the loan to go to seminary ten years ago, I knew the monthly payments would be steep for someone on a minister's salary and that I'd pay far more than the principal of $36,000 because of the interest rate, even though it was low. I was lucky to have a medium-sized pension from my 25 years as a Colorado teacher, so it wouldn't break the bank, but for ten years it has been one of the largest monthly bills I've paid.
And in two weeks, I will have fulfilled my obligation to this government subsidized program (oh, no, socialism?) and can stick that cash into a savings CD instead. Hallelujah! And in an unrelated note, the sermon for tomorrow is finished! Yay!
11 comments:
We must have graduated with loans at the same time, because I'm also looking at my last (or second to last?) payment.
What a relief it will be to have this paid off!
And congratulations!
I graduated in May of 99, Ms. T. That sound about right?
Congrats Ms. Kitty.
Maybe you should take some of that money you unexpectedly "saved" and treat yourself to some kind of celebration on the 21st.
A famous quote from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. comes to mind here. I expect that you can guess which one. ;-)
Oh HAPPY HAPPY day! Congrats!
Good idea, Robin! Except I celebrated last night at our church auction by spending more than I would have otherwise. Got a lot of goodies, though!
It does feel so good to be almost done with this obligation.
Congratulations! When I paid off my student loan, I was disappointed that the only recognition from the lender was a letter. I wanted a person in a gorilla suit to come to my door bearing a bouquet of flowers (and a letter).
When my mother paid off her car, she took the last payment in by hand.
It's like burning the mortgage.
Congrats.
Congratulations, Ms. K! It's good to know it can be done - as I look at the debt load my children will graduate with...
Thanks, all. Slow and steady wins the race. Just call me Rev. Turtle.
You're entitled to a sense of fulfillment - congratulations. Just one nit - if you made monthly payments for 10 years, you'd have 120 payments, not 360.
Blush, math never was my strong suit. (Note to self---where on earth did 360 come from?)
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