Reply #35: I have 4.5 more years of payments before the loan is paid off. [View All]

[MissB]

The interest rate is very low, so there isn't any reason to increase my payment amount significantly to pay it off sooner- I can earn more than I pay in interest by investing the extra I'd consider putting towards the principal. I don't feel terribly screwed, and the monthly payment is very reasonable.

My niece, on the other hand, will end up owing nearly $100k when she graduates in two more years. She insisted on going to a private college (with little financial help) to earn a degree to become a public school teacher. Dh and I tried to suggest other alternatives that wouldn't leave her in so much debt that she'd never be able to live without roommates or buy a car, but she wouldn't listen. We even crunched the numbers for her. I feel bad for her, but we tried.