Student Loan Help

I have a company match 401k and pension plan so that's covered and I already have a 3 month emergency stash that I add to when I can

all federal loans are consolidated at 6%, the 3 private loans have an interest of 5,6 and 7%. federal / private loans are split 50/50. I think they are 20 or 30 year repayment. I want to get to a point to where I can knock down some of the monthly payment amount, any Idea what that would take?

I'll make it simple as this will generally be the answer in most cases. Pay anything w/ an interest of > 6%.

ETA: There are tax deductions that phase out when income exceeds threshold , but can also be used to determine pay off approach.

i guess i am doing alirght by knowing i can make the monthly payments but they are pretty damn high and its taking a lot of my salary to do so which doesnt leave much after everything else is payed. I would really like to the the monthly payments down $100-$200 ASAP but im not sure how much extra that would take

As an alternative to extending the repayment term, I think there's an option to have increasing payments over the years. In an ideal world this would match your income increases as your career furthers, but in this economy who knows.

I'm on a straight 10 year payment plan and while it's not killing me to pay $1350 a month, it does suck and I have no savings or money left to invest. I'm thinking about switching to the gradually increasing payment plan.

It sucks but I think you are doing the best you can right now. No lender is going to take on unsecured debt to give you a lower interest rate. We pay ~$1300 per month on our student loans. We have a mix of government and perkins loans. My in-laws are retired and have some extra cash that they are going to loan to us at a lower rate than some of our student loans. They will then make some interest instead of the government. Not everyone has this option, but it is good if available. It keeps the money in the family.

Like the other people have said, try to pay down the highest interest rate ones first. If you have a lower interest rate one that is easier to pay off, try knocking that one out. It will give you a sense of accomplishment and make it not seem like an endless battle. Good luck.

Wife is on a straight 10 yr repayment option $630 a month sucks until i read a few posts above. Still the extra $$$$$ a month would be nice.

I have my private loans with sallie Mae and send a payment each month, thats all i know. Also, those are my biggest monthly payments. I'm not sure on the interest paid first thing.

How are my payments applied?
When we receive a payment, we usually apply it first to late fees (if any), followed by unpaid accrued interest, and then to the loan principal balance. (The order of the application may vary depending on the requirements of your Promissory Note.) Interest on your loan(s) accrues daily, so the total amount of interest you'll pay during repayment can vary depending on when your payments are received. It's to your advantage to send your payments on time, or early, to avoid paying additional interest and late fees.

This is from Sallie Mae's website. I guess I should have said any accrued interest. Now bull shite yourself.