I Did Not Want to Borrow More Than I Could Reasonably Pay Back
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Written by David S. Nelson
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Sunday, 25 December 2011 |
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Before 8 a.m. every weekday, Sara M. Harrington and her husband fit their 9-month-old daughter into her car seat and drive a mile to a babysitter's house before going on to the University of Iowa, where Sara's husband drops her at her office. He drives three more blocks to his own office, in the information-technology department of a local hospital. They do the whole thing in reverse at 4:30 p.m.
Limiting themselves to just one car, a Ford Freestyle, is a sacrifice the couple have made so they can pay off their student loans. Each of them graduated with around $23,000 in education debt, and their monthly repayments total $500 - the third-highest item on their monthly budget, after the mortgage and the day-care bill.
Because of their education loans, Ms. Harrington says, they were also frugal when they bought a 1,700 square-foot home, in 2006. "We didn't buy the most expensive house we could afford, knowing that we have these student-loan expenses for 10 years," she says.
They also use cloth diapers and Ms. Harrington continues to breast-feed their baby, in part to save money. And instead of expensive nights out, most of their weekend entertainment is getting together over potluck dinners with other couples.
But Ms. Harrington says borrowing for her education was worth it. She knew enough from her work-study job in the financial-aid office as an undergraduate not to overborrow. "My parents would have borrowed for me, but I felt because it was my education, it was my responsibility," she says. "I willingly took it on myself. But I didn't want to borrow more than I could reasonably pay back with a major in psychology."
Ms. Harrington earns $36,000 a year working as a full-time counselor in the university's Office of Financial Aid. Her portion of the loan repayments amounts to $245 a month. Despite the sacrifices, she says, she doesn't feel deprived: "I have a car, a house, and a baby, and I've been able to move forward with my life."
The Harringtpns also have enough left in their monthly budget to stash money away for expensive purchases, like the big-screen television set and the patio furniture they recently bought. Now they are saving to do some landscaping and for new kitchen countertops.
Working in the financial-aid office has given Ms. Harrington a lot of insight into how students pay for college. She and her husband are already saving for their baby daughter's education.
"I don't want her to graduate with an enormous amount of debt equal to a mortgage on a nice home," says Ms. Harrington. "We plan to teach her savvy money skills from a young age."
--Robin Wilson
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 25 December 2011 )
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