student loan advice

Unlight · 5 Aug 2008 at 20:49

No, the repayments are NOT small.

I've been paying approx £150 a month for the past 2 and a bit years. Luckily I only took out one years loans, so its going to be paid back within the next couple of months.

To all you people looking to go to uni this year... try your best not to take one. Its not free money, and its a pain in the bum when you start earning..

Glaucus · 5 Aug 2008 at 20:53

iBot said:
Wow its that much? HAHA. They should have borrowed less money then

That's on a poor month. I can pay upto £60 a week, which is no small sum. Especially when you have to pay rent/mortgage, bills and everything else.

Which Is why I want to try and pay it of. Yes I could make more money by saving it, but the amount is not worth it and having an extra £150 a month makes a hell of a lot of difference.

pingwing · 5 Aug 2008 at 20:53

just do what my half sister did after her first degree, she worked in tescos for a year (thats what an english degree does for you) then went back to do teacher training. If you dedicate most your income to paying it back (aka live on the cheap) and work a lot you can be debt free pretty fast.

That said i personally think you should just take it as it comes, iv got one years worth so far and am on course for 2 more years of debt with no guarunteed income at the end, and use your savings for something more important (like buying a house)

tom_e · 5 Aug 2008 at 20:54

iBot said:
Wow its that much? HAHA. They should have borrowed less money then

jesus your an irritating bugger when you want to be some people have no choice but to borrow the full amount

Saytan · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:04

i graduated in 2006, earn well over the threshold - they have never started taking mine back off me

no idea why

Indy500 · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:05

Saytan said:
i graduated in 2006, earn well over the threshold - they have never started taking mine back off me

no idea why

Not PAYE then? They usually check your status yearly with the HMRC..so it may be possible you missed this year's check.

iBot · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:12

ema > student loans

lopkinfop · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:28

ema is only for 6th form is it not?

edit: and college?

Kristoph · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:35

iBot said:
ema > student loans

What the hell are you on about?

EMA = bribery in return for attendance.

Student loans = making university possible for those who can't afford £6k+ a year for a degree.

HangTime · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:38

iBot said:
Wow its that much? HAHA. They should have borrowed less money then

It makes NO DIFFERENCE how much money they borrowed, whether it be £200 or £20000, they will still have the same monthly repayments (until such time as it is repaid). You pay repay 9% of everything earned over £15k. So the only people paying back over £100/month must be earning in excess of 15+(100*12/0.09) = £28333.33+/year

HangTime · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:46

Unlight said:
To all you people looking to go to uni this year... try your best not to take one. Its not free money, and its a pain in the bum when you start earning..

I disagree, by not taking out a student loan people are missing out on a relatively straightforward way of making money. Not only is it cheap credit, it is also (unlike nearly every other type), safe credit. Even for people with poor self control who don't invest it properly, the repayments are still linked to earnings, so you never have a situation where you lose your job and are faced with having to pay it.

AcidHell2 said:
Which Is why I want to try and pay it of. Yes I could make more money by saving it, but the amount is not worth it and having an extra £150 a month makes a hell of a lot of difference.

I don't really understand this logic. If you are paying it off, then by definition, you must be sacrificing cash to do so. You aren't really getting an extra £150/month if you've had to stump up thousands up front to pay it off. Say for example you pay off £6k of a student loan, that's the equivalent of an extra £150 you could have had to spend for the next 40 months - and that's not even allowing for the fact that you can get a better rate of interest than the RPI on savings.

OpenToSuggestions · 5 Aug 2008 at 21:57

AcidHell2 said:
9% of over 15k, works out at a large chunk of you pay packet.

Got a source to confirm this?
Ouch! On top of 20% tax and 11% NIC that is going to hurt.
Looks like I should take as little loan as possible

mp3kla said:
EMA = bribery in return for attendance.

Student loans = making university possible for those who can't afford £6k+ a year for a degree.

True. I never received EMA, and I had full attendance in 6th form, oh well

aproctor · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:05

I just found this thread...bugger.

12k to go

OpenToSuggestions · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:09

I find the whole loans thing a bit disheartening. A uni friends mum lives on her own, goes uni (shes 50), she works 1 day a week at morrisons (so major sponge on the tax payer - this is for 2 years before she went uni) and is doing social studies or something rubbish at derby, on lots of free grant money. Afterwards she will not earn 15k and not even pay the loan back

Indy500 · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:12

mglover070588 said:
Got a source to confirm this?
Ouch! On top of 20% tax and 11% NIC that is going to hurt.
Looks like I should take as little loan as possible

the Student Loans Company work out your monthly repayment schedule using the same principles as for those who stay in the UK. So, you will repay 9% of your earnings over the repayment threshold.

http://www.slc.co.uk/thresholds/index.html

Meloco · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:14

Isn't the whole point of going to university to get a good enough job to pay off your loan, without it being too much of a dent to your earnings?

Although, like my teacher said until your about 45 you are paying back everything you owe to society. Once you reach 45 you can have a life and start buying things

...

Indy500 · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:14

Meloco said:
Isn't the whole point of going to university to get a good enough job to pay off your loan, without it being too much of a dent to your earnings?

Still a risk, and not a guarantee. There are things beyond your control, and it isn't easy to predict the job market 3 years in advance.

iamTakeo · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:16

haha I miss my EMA - Entertainment Maintenance Allowance

I'm in uni now with about £1,666 per year from student loans.
I'm planning to try and get a job at Tescos sometime this year to either inflate my savings or spend what in my terms of money will seem like millions.

OpenToSuggestions · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:19

Meloco said:
Isn't the whole point of going to university to get a good enough job to pay off your loan

Yes, but half the degrees people have cannot get a related job with good pay. The course has to be good, at a good institute.

Mech eng is good but at wolvo uni is useless
Oxford/Camebridge are very good but if you do english you will be stuck job wise.

Just general courses like psychology, art, english, geography, media, sociology, sports studies really dont have jobs at the end of the degree.

And whoever let burton-on-trent college become a university needs to be shot.

Meloco · 5 Aug 2008 at 22:28

mglover070588 said:
Yes, but half the degrees people have cannot get a related job with good pay. The course has to be good, at a good institute.

Mech eng is good but at wolvo uni is useless
Oxford/Camebridge are very good but if you do english you will be stuck job wise.

Just general courses like psychology, art, english, geography, media, sociology, marketing really dont have jobs at the end of the degree.

And whoever let burton-on-trent college become a university needs to be shot.

MMM I suppose it's what you get and how you use it.