Comments on: Revisiting Paying Off Student Loans

By: matt

matt — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:20:43 +0000

Help!

I owe $60,000. in school debt. I consolidated my loans however the payments are killing me! With my other debts I can/t seem to get ahead. What can I do to get this manageable

By: jim

jim — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:25:29 +0000

I understand now what you mean. I’ve never said the snowball technique was dumb but you also have to admit, to call the other way “common sense” isn’t putting down that Dave Ramsey’s technique.

By: Jeanne-Erin

Jeanne-Erin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:00:09 +0000

Forgive me, I hadn’t meant my comment in the way I now see it reads.

I find your posts valuable, but wanted to inform you that you may lose readership (not me) who could benefit from what you are saying.

By: jim

jim — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:17:40 +0000

Jeanne-Erin: In this particular post, I said that “Math says” I should pay down the largest debt first. I never said paying the highest inrest rate was common sense (at least in this post) and I never said paying down the smaller debt first was dumb. I’ve said in the past that the snowball technique works because it’s relies on psychology, rather than math, to be effective and I believe you should do whatever works for you.

I find that proponents of Dave Ramsey are passionate to a fault, as if the man is beyond reproach and everyone should hold their tongue about what they feel about his ideas. Common sense does say that you should pay down your highest interest rate first, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone and I don’t believe someone who days his snowball approach is dumb.

Lastly, while I am grateful anyone would read this site and thankful people do, if you aren’t interested in hearing my opinion, you shouldn’t be reading.

By: Jeanne-Erin

Jeanne-Erin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:01:35 +0000

You know, it’s silly, but i keep getting offended whenever you put down the debt snowball approach. I’m sure I’m not the only one using it to pay down my debt. Yes, it may not make as much sense financially, but it’s WORKING for me, and the other methods did not. When you say that it’s the opposite of common sense you are basically calling me dumb. I’m not.

It makes me question my desire to read your posts, which is something you should be aware of.

By: grumpy

grumpy — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:41:29 +0000

Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman would also suggest paying off student loans as soon as possible because student loans are no longer dischargeable in bankruptcy. (DR especially discourages bankruptcy but accepts it in rare instances).

By: Jenna

Jenna — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:48:44 +0000

I absolutely agree with paying down the higher interest debt first. It just doesn’t make financial sense to do it any other way.

For those Dave Ramsey Fans, I do say, do what works for you! Paying down the debt period is more important than anyting else, but always pay down the debt with the higher interst rate first if you can, it wills ave thousands over the life of the loan!