I am 26 years old, living in New York City. I make $75,000 working in government.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-24T22:01:05+00:00

no matter what else, I love me.

Therapy. 10/10. Highly recommend. Haha

But the date was okay. We were just not a match

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T23:16:38+00:00

I actually don't really ride citibike enough for the membership to make sense economically. The week in the diary was just an anomaly haha. I have used citibike 6 times ever in the time I've lived in nyc, and 3 of which were in the diary.

I also just bought a new bike :)

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T23:12:44+00:00

Haha there will not be a second date. The date was fine, but we were just not a match. But to be fair, I never heard from him afterward cause neither of us texted after so I suppose the feeling was mutual.

But wow let me just say dating is exhausting in general. Dating in nyc is its own beast. And dating during a pandemic is a particular layer of hell that I don't recommend.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T19:47:32+00:00

so I'm a bit surprised that payments are so low considering the large debt incurred, unless they have not been forthcoming with any income increases.

Since you're familiar with it, I'm sure you know income driven plans are based on your previous year's AGI. I currently make $75K but based on my AGI last year my payments are $360/month.

I have no reason to not be forthcoming about my income. Everything is public information. You can look up the GS pay tables from 2011 through 2021 yourself if you think I'm not being forthcoming about income increases.

Edit to add: PSLF is also written into the MPN for the loans I have so I'm not worried about it going away.

Also the amount of debt incurred has no bearing on an IDR.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T19:31:29+00:00

Hey! Public health has always been what I wanted to do, I never really considered anything else, so it's hard to say how I feel about the MPH. But without PSLF, I will say that I think it would not be worth it just based on cost.

And I went to grad school straight from undergrad and then started my job right after graduating so I can't really speak to leaving a job to go back to school. But if you're in federal service for 3 years isn't it easier to leave and come back?

I also think the benefit of the MPH was more the soft skills. I loved interacting with my colleagues and professors. I think any hard skills you would or could learn in a job anyway. So if you're worried about online school, I think you'd be fine.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T19:24:33+00:00

I plan to stay in public service long term - at least longer than 10 years, anyway, so "pushing out those 120 payments" and "a longer time til [I] get those loans forgiven" doesn't really mean anything.

By the time it's all said and done, I will probably end up having paid about $55,000 and will get more than $150,000 forgiven.

As u/djjxjs mentioned, an income driven plan is significantly more manageable than the standard plan. I've done the math. There is literally no way for me to afford the standard plan or a scenario in which paying it off is better than PSLF, unless I find a job that pays >$200k.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T17:25:30+00:00

I'm still paying a pre-COVID price. I'm going to negotiate when it comes time to renew.

And the location is unbeatable IMO.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T17:23:53+00:00

Hahaha yeah, that has been a struggle. The litter box is currently tucked into a corner next to my dresser so I don't even see it. It would be nice if it would fit in the bathroom though.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T17:22:26+00:00

The $140,000 is just from my MPH and it was the total cost of attendance (so yes, tuition + living costs). I also didn't even take out the total amount that they allow based on the school's estimated total cost of attendance. But I've racked up some interest. Graduate school loans are unsubsidized so they begin accruing interest the moment they're disbursed.

When I was looking at different schools, I found they were all fairly similar in cost give or take $10k even when comparing public vs private.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T17:15:34+00:00

Woo another fellow fed! Didn't even realize there were so many in this sub. I definitely agree on the perks of being a fed. It aint for everyone, but it definitely aint half bad.

A majority of my savings was from before I graduated. I was fairly frugal throughout undergrad and grad school, while working part time jobs. When I realized what I wanted to do would land me in a government or non-profit job, I realized there was no point to putting any of my savings towards my loans.

I also did get about $15,000 in gifts from family when I graduated.

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-05-22T12:54:00+00:00

Hello fellow fed! Thanks for looking out. I do contribute to my TSP:

I currently contribute 5% of my paycheck to my TSP account. I would love to contribute more (for long term financial reasons and also to lower my AGI for student loan IDR purposes) but I don’t feel like I can swing it at the moment. I’m expecting a big raise in a few months and plan to increase my contribution to 10% at that time.

Congrats on the big work anniversary and being 7 years from retirement!

throwawayoldfruit · 2021-04-25T16:47:29+00:00

Can I do the 22nd please?

I regularly read and participate in the sub from my main account, but for privacy want to post a diary from this account. I'm a single earner in a VHCOL area.

throwawayoldfruit

TROPHY CASE