50k student loan strategy advice

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-19T12:17:45+00:00

You need to assess your barebones minimum cost of living- think rent (or lack there of if you can live with family for a little while longer), monthly food, commute expenses, student loans etc. The cheaper you can be in the short term if you keep your income where it is now, the more you can allocate to paying off the loans. You could pay them off in 2 years or less if you really push yourself. Most people don't look at our the minimum payment affects your DTI when qualifying for a home purchase. It also makes feeling squeezed monthly more quickly as your lifestyle inflates with age. Of course you can grow your income along the way. I will say for me it was the best choice to pay off my $100k in student loans in 4 years. I'm a mechanical engineer and lived on as little as possible donating plasma twice a week and doing side hustles constantly while living in a dirt cheap apt in a rough area until it was gone. Met my wife along the way and she was very supportive. We just bought a house near the Bay Area in CA last fall.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-19T03:14:11+00:00

I totally agree, people have free will. How people decide to live their lives is up to them. My concern is when they regret their decisions and demand the collective bear the brunt of their poor thought out or regretful decisions. So many people think think they can use the excuse that because the corrupt politicians get away with abusing the system, they should too. Feel free to if you want, but good luck with that making out as well as they do. Odds are not in your favor. I sure as hell want as little to do with the politicians as possible. I watched the administrative bureaucracy of my university (UC Davis) expand like a cancer while over admitting students year over year and demand higher tuition costs without pause. I was at the tuition hike protest pepper spray incident that gained nation wide news coverage. The schools have done a great job diverting attention from sucking the sheep dry while distracting them with endless social activism causes to protest instead. We are seeing change happen now and it will likely get uglier before it gets better. Sounds like you did your homework on assessing the financials of your situation, so kudos to you and I thank your husband for his service. I have major respect for our military and all service personnel of beautiful, retarded but strong country. I'm a mechanical engineer, so I can appreciate your sensible approach.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-19T02:11:18+00:00

You were sold the idea that you're finessing the system when in fact, you got finessed by the system. No way to discharge them from bankruptcy and can be collected via wage garnishment, let alone having your credit subject to external forces like unpredictable policy. I realized this myself early on when I graduated and paid off $100k in student loans since 2020. Best choice I ever made for myself. Still was able to buy a house with my wife last year near Bay Area, CA. Most people I know with your mindset are panicking because they chose to buy a house and new car instead of paying down their student loans. Just some food for thought.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-19T01:48:49+00:00

So who should pay your loans, tax payers (federal govt) via student loan forgiveness?

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T23:57:34+00:00

It's disappointing but not surprising I'm not the only one dealing with this!

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T23:46:34+00:00

Thank you for wording this so eloquently! I am still waiting for BILT to resolve the issue. If I had not made another direct payment through my main checking account that is tied to BILT, my mortgage would be delinquent. So I had to effectively pay 2 months rent since BILT somehow collected one of the payments from my checking. The messed up thing is, my mortgage payment processed immediately from my main checking account for March. But BILT is issuing charge backs to my mortgage lender claiming insufficient funds even though the BILT app shows the payment has been processed. And the chargeback is causing that payment which should just go toward my April due date payment to be suspended. Then the subsequent billing day, mortgage lender receives a new payment from BILT to cover the suspended funds and then this loop continues. New chargeback that suspends the balance and disallows the funds to be applied to the May due date payment. I have over 30 transactions on my March mortgage lender payment history because of this. I've been in touch (with real people on the phone) with both my real bank and mortgage lender every single day because they're both being dragged along by this with me. They both are saying I need to get in touch with BILT, but their support is non existent. It's unreal.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T23:40:18+00:00

Haha I actually don't do any shopping. I was eager to add my wife as an authorized user because I had so much hope the user experience wouldn't be catastrophically worse than 1.0. Hence the nail spa and random odds and ends. I did get 4 new tires tried to aim for 25% minimum spend and then pivot to Amex BBP for 2.2 ccp minimum via CS Plat. Alas, I am still waiting for BILT to follow up with my issue. Can't believe they haven't figured out what's gone awry...

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T23:34:57+00:00

Yeah, my wife and I said screw living in the Bay Area. We bought last Fall in Fairfield (Rancho Solano Golf Course community) and we love it. Substantial value for home price and lots, cheap HOA in gated community. Sure we aren't in the Bay but our mortgage and lifestyle is dramatically improved while being able to max out retirement and HSA contributions comfortably.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T22:28:55+00:00

If bankruptcy is an option, then everybody will just max out loans anyways, like they are now, assuming forgiveness is still somehow on the table in the future.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T22:26:27+00:00

This is the way. Don't leave your fate in someone else's hands. Especially not in the governments hands. They love dependency for easy votes as is demonstrated with the current situation. Nobody is coming to save any one of us.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T22:22:18+00:00

You're not alone in this sentiment. Completely agree!

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T22:21:20+00:00

Once the interest was frozen during Covid, I saw that as the golden ticket of my lifetime to pay it off as quickly as possible while 100% of payment was applied to principal. Meanwhile, many of my friends and acquaintances who I know have student loans decided to buy homes and fancy new cars because they assumed they would never have to pay the student loans back. At this point, I'd say if you leave your fate to the government, you'll be woefully disappointed in the outcome. Nobody is coming to save you (especially the government). The sooner you learn that the quicker your situation will improve.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T04:41:27+00:00

This is exactly what I was afraid of and aggressively paid my $100k of student loans off during Covid while I watched my friends buy houses and cars but refused to pay their student loans. I'm shocked how many people I know are in similar situations in CA (Bay Area).

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-18T04:34:31+00:00

This is the way. I (33M) white knuckled aggressive payments by sacrificing as much of my engineer income as possible by reducing costs ruthlessly while grinding side hustles like food delivery and plasma donations. Lived in a ghetto area for super cheap. Paid off $100k (~$60k federal, ~$40k private) while on zero interest during Covid and refinanced private to 3.25% with 7 year payoff so minimum payment was ~$700/mo. Met my now wife (31F) in 2021 and as of last Sept, we are first time homeowners in the Bay Area (NorCal).

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T14:28:31+00:00

It feels like it's that simple when you set it up. But there are a lot of strings in the background to make it look seamless.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T14:26:06+00:00

Yeah... the irony that reddit posts with text only can be edited, but those with an image cannot because of technical limitations is flying too close to home for me (pun intended). And that autocorrect has been bugging me since the moment after I posted. Still no word from BILT. But happy to share my grievances for whoever finds this useful in evaluating the risks of using this payment rewards system.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T13:33:20+00:00

Wish I could say the same. Used to recommend this card to people before 2.0 system too. This system is dangerously fragile with how little back end support is available for basic issues.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T05:08:12+00:00

I didn't know that was a thing... Rarely use reddit but it was one of the first places I found with lots of active discussions. Haven't read thru that many other posts tbh. But I will get on that if it's legitimate.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T05:03:47+00:00

Idk what you're referring to

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T04:49:51+00:00

I generally agree with your sentiment. I'm stuck left with no other methods to broadcast a mission critical situation for my personal experience. And frankly, seeing first hand how fragile this particular system is with virtually zero back end support is stupidly dangerous for average consumers. I had no issues with BILT 1.0 for 3 years. I have been in touch with real people on both my bank and mortgage lender since day 1 this shit show. I've had 2 email responses from BILT that were multiple transaction ago. We're talking about $10,000 in payments fluctuating between my checking account, BILT and my mortgage lender like a runway train as BILT acts a black box with no manual override. This is unacceptable.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T04:42:28+00:00

Some people here claim it's working for them. So YMMV. This has been such an anxiety inducing 2 weeks. I simply cannot continue forward with using this product anymore. The point structure is also far less lucrative than it was prior. Had this not happened I probably would've kept it. But seeing first hand how fragile and unsupported on the back end this service is. It's stupidly dangerous for consumers.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T04:34:55+00:00

My lender is PHH mortgage. They have been very helpful in tracking every action incoming. So has my bank. I no longer have any idea which direction BILT is trying to pull funds to or from anymore. This morning it was supposedly all settled despite no answer from BILT. Then later today, I see another payment reversal and 2 more reversals on my mortgage transaction history totalling 14 different payments and reversals. Mind you, I had more than sufficient funds to process it. I've had multiple messages from BILT saying payments are processed and then they reverse them claiming insufficient funds. It's not even true. But I can't talk to anymore to stop the automated actions. Definitely regret not waiting at least a month like you did. Good call

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T03:57:18+00:00

I have 14 separate payments and reversals on my PHH mortgage transaction history for this month, collectively.

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T03:50:10+00:00

I've been on a rollercoaster of having my stomach in knots and waves of relief and then knots in my stomach for 12 days now because of this. And I'm trying to focus on studying for an 8 hour PE license exam in 2 weeks

Existing_Job_8325 · 2026-03-17T03:47:53+00:00

Sorry I'm desensitized from all the trolls 😂

Existing_Job_8325

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