Paying off student loans as a teacher?

I've always wanted to teach, for as long as I can remember. I'm not a materialistic person and have a grip on the fact that I'm not going into teaching for the money, but rather the love of teaching... BUT... I'm a young single mom to a little boy, in college with no help from parents or anything else, so I rely on financial aid with a big portion of it being student loans to pay for it.





My question is basically how hard is it to pay those student loans back on a starting teacher's salary? If you're a teacher with student loans, how much do you pay a month, and how much did you borrow?





I'm scared of hurting my family financially, especially being single/one income. :( My baby comes first, my career second.





Also, what are some ways to ease off the loans a bit to get through college? I work enough to pay the bills, that's all I can handle without failing classes.

Paying off student loans as a teacher?
Dear Paying off student loans as a teacher!





Well I hope this information can help. First of all I am 27 years old and have been teaching for 5 years now. I was in the EXACT same situation. I have an 11 year old son so I understand how family is a priority. I don't know how far you are in your college education but please listen carefully. I relied on financial aide to get through the first 2 years of college then I had to rely on loans once I transferred to a 4 year university. If I wanted to pursue my dream of teaching I knew I had to sacrifice so basically I lived off of financial aide and student loans to survive.





Like I said before, I have been teaching for 5 years and have not started paying off my loans yet. I borrowed a grand total of 40,000 to pursue a degree in Liberal Studies. The reason I have not paid it back is because IF your still enrolled in school you do not have to make payments toward your loan. Once you complete your credential and your master's degree then you have one year to start making payments. Which most likely you will be in school because after your bachelor's degree you have to get a teaching credential. I am currently working on my master's degree so I don't have to start paying on my loans until I finish graduate school. During this time, my salary is increasing every year. I live in California so the staring salary is 36, 000 as a first year teacher. Now I am currently making 42,000 a year. I haven't paid one cent toward my student loans. I wouldn't be able to afford it as a first year teacher.





Now once I start making payments, my monthly payments will be under $200 a month because I consolidated my loans when interest rates were very low. Yes, get all of your loans and consolidate them into one. As long as the interest rate is low. I know you hear stories about students paying a lot of money each month but you have to do it the smart way. I will be able to afford this amount because my salary consisitantly increases every year. It will do the same for you! Once I complete my master's degree, it will increase even more because of the amount of units I have taken.





So basically as long as your enrolled in college, you do not have to begin making payments. This is called a deferment of payment. This is why I have pursued my master's degree. It takes two years to complete a master's degree so this gives me more time to prepare for the monthly payments of 200 a month. Plus, once I receive a master's my pay increases almost 8000 more a year. More education, More money!





TIP! Even after i finish my master's degree, i can apply for a forbearance. Which gives me an additional year to pay off my loans due to financial hardship. I probabaly won't do it, but it's an option.





The other good news is that 18000 of my student loans were paid off by the state because of a program called APLE. If you teach in a school that is considered economically disadvantaged which most schools are, then they help pay off part of your loan. You have to apply in the beginning of the year and maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better.





Once you complete your bachelor's degree, try to get an internship at any school that will accept you. I didn't even do student teaching because a school in my community gave me an internship. I started teaching a month after I graduated from college. This internship even paid me a regular teaching salary. Some schools may require you to have your credential but some schools will not. So while I was teaching I was in college finishing my teaching credential.





Please believe me when I say that things will be OK. You will endure financial hardships and have some gloomy days when it gets tough. I have been there. Eating Top Ramen way too often, living in low income apts, not having a reliable car to travel to school. Some days even crying myself to sleep wondering if it will pay off. It does, think about it this way. The 40, 000 that I currently owe is basically paid for with just one year of teaching. It makes sense to sacrifice in the beginning because now I am set for life and now my son can enjoy a comfortable life as well.


The benefits are great for teachers as well. Pensions are awesome.





My husband is a teacher as well and now we have two incomes. We come from poverty and know how it is to struggle. We are first generation college graduates as well. We are able to do things that we would never be able to do if we didn't get an education.





Please forgive me, I know this is more info than you probably wanted but you have to know that other people have walked in your shoes.





Please don't give up on your dream because it is possible and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.





I know you say that your child is first and your career is second.


The best gift you can ever give your child is an educated mommy!
Reply:There are a lot of grants out there for aspiring teachers. Try googling some of them. You would certainly qualify as a single mother. If you really want to teach, then go for it. You have up to 10 years to pay off those loans and the payments typically don't get any higher than 250 a month. There is a low-income option for repayment on most subsidized student loans anyway.





Also, as a teacher you get first dibs and 10% off of HUD homes so if you buy a foreclosed home once you finish school you could make money flipping houses on the side at substantial discounted rates simply because you chose such an honorable profession.
Reply:Believe me, you are not making a mistake.


What you pay back depends on what you borrow and you only start paying back when you earn a certain amount (£15.000) per year.


I started paying my loan back 6 years ago and finish paying next April, i did not miss the payments as i was earning more than i did before taking my degree.


Stick with it, you can always take the loan and bank it in a high interest account and let it work for you as well.


Good Luck.
Reply:If you plan on going into teaching, you are not going to have much money--especially the first 10 years. I borrowed $25,000 to get through college (and that was 12 years ago ). But keep in mind, your education does not stop once you get that teaching license. You are continually taking classes. Some of those classes can be $1000.00 plus books.


The rewards of teaching are spectacular. It is probably the most wonderful profession in the world. However, it is not always financially feasible to be a teacher. I was a teacher. I am now a telemarketer making much, much more money.
Reply:In Australia we only start paying off students loans (or 'HECS / 'HELP' as they're known as) after a certain number of years (4?)and only once you go over a certain salary threshold (I think its around 25K) and then its only a small percentage. We get benefits for paying off amounts early e.g. for each $500 you pay, it actually pays off around 600 or so (these aren't exact figures!).


I paid as much as could every pay after the compulsorary amount was deducted and got the loan out of the way in just under 4 years. If for some reason you forget to pay (and its hard because it is on every employment reg forms!) it ends up coming out of your tax return!!





Teachers certainly don't get wonderful salaries for the amount of work we do! Try and meet other single mums who are studying and share caring for each others children / buying food as a co-op, having swap meets for kids clothes etc.


As a last resort re-finance the loan.


Talk to a financial advisor (most uni provide some sort of free/moderately priced advice) most unis also have support for parents / parents room - talk to other parents!





As soon as you start teaching get a firm budget under control and stick to it!





And just remember - what you are doing is wonderful, don't let the negative side impact on the good things!