It’s time for another student loan update! Let’s look at the cycle between November and December.
(Here’s a video for your convenience!)
EdFinancial
In my last update, the student loan I’m tackling, EdFinancial’s Group B, had a balance of $1,057.45. I have been dreaming of finally paying off this loan because that will make my total count of fully paid loans this year to 4.
And after making 5 weekly payments of $180 plus an extra amount, Group B is finally at $0! That is one less student loan I need to worry about for this year.
Let’s take a look at my payment breakdown.
It’s kind of crazy that I made a $900 payment in a span of 5 weeks for this loan. It’s a big chunk of change and I could’ve used that money for something better.
Anyway, my last payment happened on the 13th and I’ve added an extra $157.45 as the final payment. This came from $170 that I’ve allocated to student loans, which came from a bonus that I’ve received recently. It’s great news because my previous estimate to pay this loan off was on Christmas week, but I paid it off 1 week earlier instead.
There’s still remaining money from that $170 — $12.55 to be exact. So I used that change on Group C, which started at $3,566.68. With that extra payment, Group C has been reduced to $3,554.13.
Group C
Just a quick overview of this next loan. I got Group C back in 2018, and it didn’t start in repayment until 2019. It started with a balance of $3,666, with an interest rate of 5.05%. And like my other federal loans, Group C is on a Graduated Repayment Plan.
Since we’re already on this loan, I’m going to add $20 to it every week. So that’s a weekly payment of $200.
I’m not going to lie, this amount actually scares me because it’s teetering close to my max limit set for student loan payments. I would be paying $800 to $1000 every month on just one loan, and that could strain my finances given my current income level.
Anyway, no changes have happened to Group A, and it’s still waiting for me to make payments on it.
Weeks Left to Payoff
Taking a look at how long Group C would be paid off, I made two calculations.
Without taking into account the end of the payment pause, it will take my $3,554.13 balance around 18 weeks to be paid off as long as I pay $200 weekly.
Now, if I consider the end of the payment pause, which is around 7 weeks from now (as of this writing), I would have an estimated balance left of $2,154.13, granted I don’t make extra payments. It would take me 11 weeks to get rid of it, or around the 3rd week of April 2022.
Final Thoughts
The balance as of December 16, 2021 for my entire student loan is $8,898.91!
2022 is going be a good year for my student loans. I can feel that already given how I’ve progressed in 2021.
And I’m quite excited for next year too, not just because I’m estimated to be free of student loans, but because of the things I’ve thought of doing and achieving next year.
The biggest one I’m looking forward to is my investing goal because I’m going hard on it in 2022. I know it’s going to be a stretch, given that my student loan payments are increasing, but I’ll find a way to make it work.
This means I have to work harder and smarter to make more money.
This is the last student loan update for 2021, so I’ll see you again in January 2022 for the next update!