How hard will it be after college?

Question

My boyfriend of 2 years and I are both in college for engineering. We love each other, and plan to spend the rest of our lives together. Right now, we are both taking out loans to pay for school. After this year I will have about $20,000 in debt and he will have near $40,000. How hard will it be for us to buy a house, start our lives, etc. while paying off these debts?

Answer 1

No too much, though some difficulty.

Answer 2

Right now its looking like your debt to income ratio will be too high. However, with the field that you and your boyfriend are going into is in good demand, the salaries will even the debt to income ratio pretty. I would advise to try to set money aside to pay as much as you can to the loans now. Remember if you are planning to get married that debt becomes combine or the credit report so you want to make sure you both are financially prepared to incur each other's debt.  

Answer 3

You'll have a lot of debt.  But with school bills that high, must be at a solid school, and with a little luck will get good jobs.  It won't be easy paying all that back, and you might have to put off things like home ownership for awhile.  But it's doable.

Good luck.

Answer 4

I went to a private college and now I owe $52,000 in student loans.  I had no luck getting a job in my field of accounting so I am working at a restaurant.  I deferred my payments at first, but then I made a promise that I would start paying.  But the payments were too high and I defaulted on my loans.  My credit score is ruined because I went to college.  I am just being honest with you.  Remember every loan you take out you have to pay back.  

Answer 5

My wife and I are carrying a total of around $75K in student loans, and just bought a condo for a loan of $275K. You'll be able to do it, but pace yourselves. Don't rush into anything, and make sure you're in a secure/stable place before marriage and children enter the discussion. Or at least make sure you're in a position to provide stability should life move in that direction for you.

Good luck!

Answer 6

The main thing you'll want to remember is to be smart with your loans. Apply for FAFSA and scholarships and only take out the minimum that you'll need (in loans). Don't take out extra hoping to get a loan refund so you can buy things you want or pay your bills. Get a part time job and pay for those things now.  

The two of you together will only have $60K in debt? That's not bad at all! My husband graduated in 2007 with a BS in commercial aviation and $103,000 in loan debt. Now he doesn't even want to be a pilot and is training for another profession. I won't lie. School loans suck. Especially when they're adjustable interest. When you go to buy a house, they'll look at your income, credit score, and your debts. There are "good debts" and bad debts. Credit cards and car payments are "bad" and home and school loans are "good". As long as you'll be able to make the payments every month on all your bills with some cushion room, I forsee no problem. But don't stop there. Buy a house below your budget (nobody gets their "dream home" as their first house). Buy a cheap house that you can work on over time and pay extra toward your mortgage and school loans each month. When you sell that house, you'll make $$$$$$$ in profits and you can use it to pay off your debt or buy a bigger, better house. Don't try to live pay check to paycheck. All it takes is the loss of a job, or an injury or your spouse's death to put you in financial ruin. And declaring bankruptcy will NOT cancel out your school loans. You'll always have to pay them until a.) they're paid off or b.) your death.

Sometimes engineering is a hard field to get into. Entry level positions don't pay well and the jobs with the big bucks and great benefits require at least a few years of "job related experience", so interning now can only help you in the future.

Hope I helped!