Should I prioritize paying down my nursing school debt first or saving for a house down payment?
I wouldn’t. I’d pay minimum. Maybe they’ll get forgiveness. Plus hard to pay loans if you’re homeless!
Personally, I'd say its best to be debt free, so pay off your nursing school loans first. Especially if you have no other major financial responsibilities like kids, etc. The interest adds up quick and you just end up paying more because you slowly paid it off. If you save for a house down payment first and buy a house, then you'll have student loans and a mortgage to pay.
House first, make it a multifamily and take the rental income to pay down the school debt or use it to buy another house.
I recommend the house first. Maslow’s hierarchy. That school debt isn’t going anywhere. Sure, you can save some interest paying it off early but who’s to say you can’t still pay it off earlier than forecasted. Buying a house doesn’t mean you won’t have the extra money to throw down on loans. You are throwing money away at rent. You’ll be building equity and setting yourself up for your future by buying a house. And if you’re lucky, maybe some of your student loans will get forgiven. All the more reason to go after a house!
I did both. There are programs in the US that make home ownership a reality. I bought my first home at age 23 from a HUD program whilst having a 50k student loan to pay off from university. I recently purchased a home with the help of FHA and they put all costs into the mortgage, which you can negotiate terms like interest et .al. Owning a home is not as hard as people make it sound. You have to live somewhere and rent is just not for me.
I would say try to budget out for both, if possible.
House down payment
Aggressively pay your student debts off. However if your company has 401K with matching percent, start that now as well. Home ownership is great, but there will always be maintenance costs! For example hot water heater replacement, air conditioner replacement, this year I had to have my house raised because of the drought! Anything that needs repair or replaced is on you!
Read or listen to Dave Ramsey. Get out of debt FIRST! Make sure you have saved six months of expenses in an emergency fund after an initial $1000 starter. And work some extra shifts to pay for those loans.
The saving for a house down payment seems very expedient to me. Once you have a place to lay your head, you can focus and work hard to pay the school debt.
That's a very personal question, do not take it personally.
I could only answer through my filters (age, experience, life situation - family, children, life goals, career goals, health, financial status, etc., etc.).
If you can have the "debt" on a % interest for however long your monthly payments need to be to stay at 0%, definitely save (the rest) for the house.
Example: I've recently obtained a credit card (Citi Simplicity) with 0% APR for balance transfers for 21 months. Actually 3% fee up front is $300, and 476.19/ month for 21 months for $10000.
Think outside the box, ask financial professionals to whom you can (safely) disclose your detailed situation. I believe you can do both with maximum benefit to YOU. There are loans with 3% interest for both goals.
And when you get the house, pay two times a month. Depends on the type of the loan, but many have the interest up font, so pay the mandatory interest in the first payment, then all the second payment goes to your principal. The interest will decrease much faster. Otherwise, might take years to get to pay the principal.
A good financial counselor will teach you things like this.
Also, the "saving money" can be an investment that brings you money.
Example: CIT bank has a "Savings Connect" account with a (right now) 4.114% APY, daily compounded interest, added monthly, no minimum to open. They also have a CD with 4.545%APY, for 11 months (with no penalty for early withdrawal.
I hope this helps.
I would pay my student loans off to get my debt ratio down and still save some for a house. I believe you can do both.
Paying down nursing school debt first
I don't have any nursing school debt.
Paying off or paying down your school debt first should be your priority. Home ownership is a long term commitment and you'll need all of your disposable income to maintain the mortgage and unexpected expenses that comes with home ownership. Don't forget you'll need to save for a down-payment, closing cost and all the necessities that will be needed for the home. When you do purchase get a home you can grow into but don't buy beyond what you need at the time. Wish you all the best!!!
Prioritize the house at least the loans you’ll pay eventually
Hands down, Pay off the debt!
I would focus on both. Start paying off the student loans that accumulate interest first. Then start paying off the smallest loans than work your way up to the largest. Save money for a house at the same time. There are also many jobs that offer tuition and loan reimbursement which will help a lot as well.
Student loans take so long to pay off. Go see a mortgage broker n have them run a credit report and get advise on what to do. Go to a bank n do same. I would save for a house. Make your life what u want. It will take forever paying off student loans. You can't always count on your life permitting you to save for a house by the time those loans are paid off. Babies happen, marriages illness etc Don't put your life on hold for your loans. Life is too short. It moves swiftly.
Simple answer: you need to both save and pay off debt. Look at your loan's interest rate. If it's variable, refinance to fixed rate asap. If your loan interest rate is higher than saving/investment returns, put more towards paying off debt. If savings/investment returns are higher put more towards savings. But you need to be doing both. There's no point in soley prioritizing paying off debt just to have an unexpected expense putting you further in debt again
Do you really want to own? Some people buy just because they think it's the next thing they "have to do" in life. Add up the time cost of general house maintenance, large repairs, insurance, taxes, and utilities. Is it for you? Consider the cost of commuting too if you buy something "affordable" but is further away from where your work, hobbies and friends/family. Sometimes renting is the smarter financial decision.
If home ownership is what you really want, be logical about what home you buy. Make a list of 3 must haves when shopping for a place so you don't get sidetracked with emotional sales pitches or flashy cosmetic upgrades. Look into house hacking to see if it's for you so that your home can grow into an investment. Possibly start with buying an apartment/townhouse for now before moving on to a house later. Or consider taking a roommate on for the first couple of years of ownership to pay off debts faster.
Good luck!
When
If you have more than one student loan, I would recommend a consolidation loan with a low, fixed interest rate and pay that over time. Housing is dependent on variables you have no control over so I would save for the down payment and make the plunge into housing when the interest rate, area and price are within your budget. Be consistent with your student loan payments because that is considered "good debt" v. credit card debt. Good luck.
high interest student loan should be dealt with first. You won't get approve anyway with a home loan unless you have a lot of down payment. The rates now are also ridiculously high compared when it was the pandemic.
Forts, prioritize paying your nursing school debt first.
Save for my house down payment 😆
You can put your student loans in forbearance, then save for a home. It also depends on which loan can be paid first. If you can payoff the student loans quickly, do so, then focus on getting your house.
Pay your bills down! Or you will have multiple big bills.
Definitely the debt first, school debt isn’t going anywhere but with it gone the peace with which you will house hunt will be sooo worth it!!
My first nursing school in civil hospital ND first saving house down payment in 18000
i should frist prioritize to pay my nursing school dept
Pay
School debt first
Paying nursing school debt
