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Does anyone know if the monthly payment changes when you get rate reductions? My gut tells me no, but I'm not certain. I'm trying to put together an Excel spreadsheet that will calculate this stuff exactly and show me the benefits of various consolidation offers in dollars and cents. Edit: Actually, if the payments don't lower, the loan will almost definitely be paid off before it's term... AsphaltBelyflop fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Jun 26, 2007 |
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Jun 26, 2007 21:58
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 13:21 |
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Wiggy Marie posted:It doesn't change the payments themselves, but the amount of payment going to interest vs. principal. Don't worry about the PMs. I figured most of the answers out anyway. I haven't found any other great companies or anything, but if I finish up this spreadsheet I'll send it your way. That way you'll be able to tell directly if one offer is better than another, and perhaps distribute it to other people who would like to see the benefits of various offers. I'll work on it today and post if I get something viable working.
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Jun 27, 2007 13:29
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Ok, so I finished my calculator, and I checked the two options in the OP. Assuming it is a 24 year loan, NTHEA would save you ~$850 over the life of the loan (with the considerations presented). I suppose it's worth mentioning that a lot of that can come from the final $599 forgiveness. If you paid attention towards the end of your loan you could actually maximize it with minimal effort for an even higher yield. I've fiddled with the variables a little, and NTHEA always comes out on top, but the final savings fluctuate a bit. Also, it's worth noting that $850 saved over 24 years is nothing to get too excited about. I also included a way to calculate the benefit (if any) of paying more than the minimum on the loan. Unless I am doing the calculations wrong (which is possible, but they seem to check), I will never pay more than my minimum. The money you would add to your payment can earn a great deal more. For instance, sticking with the OP, if I were to choose NTHEA as my consolidator and then pay $300 a month instead of the $211.56 minimum, I could earn $2000 more in interest (from a savings account with a 4.5% APY) than I would save by paying the loan off early (this of course would require me to actually save every penny of that difference and not touch it for the life of the loan - easy enough I guess, but I imagine most people would rather spend it). Again, $2000 over 24 years is not a whole lot of cash, neither is 4.5% though. If anyone is interested in taking a look at the calc/using it yourself just send me a pm. I tried to make it as versatile as possible.
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Jun 28, 2007 01:04
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Hey Wiggy, Sorry about not getting back to you with my loan calculator... I left the country, traveled for a long time, finished school, got a job, and managed to misplace the calculator in the meantime. I'll see if I can dig it up, but looking around for consolidation options makes me wonder if it's even that useful of a spreadsheet anymore. A bunch of places that used to offer consolidation seem to have dried up in my absence. What the hell happened, and do you know of a couple good places to compare in the "new" market?
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Jun 24, 2008 14:14
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Bullshit. This sucks. Will any of this be fixed in the near future? Like... immediately, or am I just screwed... the bastard stepchild of a system that is ignorant to the effects of its own actions? If I remember correctly, you can "re-consolidate" loans so long as you have two or more. Would it be beneficial to keep one loan out of any consolidation I attempt so that I can re-consolidate when/if any of this gets fixed? Isn't it bad to consolidate after repayment has started... are the "penalties" associated with consolidating after repayment prohibitive in the sense that they will be much less beneficial than the alternative? No luck on the calculator so far... I have to have it somewhere though...
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Jun 26, 2008 14:06
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 13:21 |
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While I'm in a crap position, I don't envy yours. Sorry.
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Jun 30, 2008 12:56
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