The Student Loan Resource Page

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For several years, I’ve been reading and compiling articles from around the web on all things related to student loans. It can be overwhelming, and there’s a reason a small industry has been spawned to help debtors best deal with their student loan balances.

Most of the time, you will be best off doing one of two things: pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness while making the lowest monthly payment possible for ten years or refinancing and paying off the loans relatively quickly (within ten years).

However, sometimes a third option may be better. And doing one of the first two options in an optimal way requires a fair amount of learning and doublechecking, dotting of “i”s and crossing of “t”s.

Below, I share a bevy of resources that can help you do the right thing.

If you don’t have the time or interest level to read dozens of blog posts and run multiple simulations via various online calculators, a student loan consult with a professional can save you many hours and possibly tens of thousands of dollars.

I trust Travis Hornsby and his team at Student Loan Planner. Some financial advisors offer similar services as a small part of their practice, and I’ve heard of a lot of bad advice given.

Student loan planning is all Travis does. It started with helping his physician wife manage hers, then her friends, and the business snowballed from there. Check out what Student Loan Planner has to offer.

If you’re ready to go it alone, read on for tons of resources.

 

The Student Loan Resource Page

 

Jump to:

This is a frequently updated page I’ve created, combing the web for all the best student loan information I can squeeze onto one page and working with refinancers to offer you excellent bonuses.

As an added bonus, if you end up refinancing via my referral links, I’ll make a donation of $50 to your charity of choice. Just be sure to follow up after you’ve refinanced and be sure to collect your cash-back bonus (see below) and ask me to make the donation. More details on that at the end of this page.

 

I have three goals with this page:

 

  • Share some of the best posts I can find on the subject.
  • Save you money on refinancing if  that’s your best option.
  • Advance the site’s charitable mission and help you with yours.

 

I have arrangements with the top student loan refinancers. You may find similar offers on other sites, but I doubt you’ll find another blogger who promises to donate so much of the profits from these referrals to charity.

 

With that in mind, I am comfortable sending you away to the farthest reaches of the web to show you some of the best write-ups I can find to help you in this decision-making process.

I do so with the trust that if you choose to refinance your loans, you’ll do so by returning here and using one of the links on this page.

 


As a way of saying thank you, I’ll remind you that if you refinance via one of my links, I’ll donate $50 to a charity of your choice.*

Before closing, please be sure to verify that both you and I receive credit for the referral. If not, you may miss out on the cashback bonus and my bonus donation on your behalf.

 

$1000 Cashback Bonus for >$100K loan and $500 <$100K loan. Variable rates 1.93% - 8.24% Fixed rates 2.70% - 8.49%
VISIT credible
$500 Cashback Bonus for >$100K loan Variable rates 1.89% - 6.66% Fixed rates 2.63% - 6.63%Low Rate Guarantee
VISIT Splash Financial
$300 Cashback Bonus Variable rates 1.89% - 5.90% Fixed rates 2.80% - 6.00%Discount for physicians. Inquire for details.
VISIT Laurel Road
$500 Cashback Bonus Variable rates 2.25% - 6.43% Fixed rates 2.99% - 6.88%
VISIT Sofi
$500 Cashback Bonus** Variable rates 1.99% - 5.74% Fixed rates 2.98% - 5.89%
VISIT EARNEST
$500 Cashback Bonus Fixed rates 2.55% - 6.17%^
VISIT Reset Refinance
With Payback Rewards, borrowers can earn $750 to $1,500 Variable rates 1.89% - 5.74% Fixed rates 2.80% - 5.85%
VISIT Lend-Grow
$550 Cashback Bonus for loans >$75K. $300 for loans between $40K-$74K. Variable rates 1.97% - 6.82% Fixed rates 2.83% -6.74%*
VISIT COMMONBOND
$500 Cashback Bonus for >$150k loan / $250 for loans between $50k-$149K Variable rates 1.99% - 8.56% Fixed rates 2.95% - 8.77%
VISIT LendKey
$350 Cashback Bonus Variable rates 2.39% - 6.01% Fixed rates 2.79% - 5.99%
VISIT ELFI

**Earnest Welcome Bonus Offer Disclosure: Terms and conditions apply. To qualify for this Earnest Welcome Bonus offer: 1) you must not currently be an Earnest client, or have received the bonus in the past, 2) you must submit a completed student loan refinancing application through the designated PoF link; 3) you must provide a valid email address and a valid checking account number during the application process; and 4) your loan must be fully disbursed. The bonus will be automatically transmitted to your checking account after the final disbursement. There is a limit of one bonus per borrower. This offer is not valid for current Earnest clients who refinance their existing Earnest loans, clients who have previously received a bonus, or with any other bonus offers received from Earnest. Bonus cannot be issued to residents in KY, MA, or MI.

 

*CommonBond offered terms are subject to change and state law restriction. Loans are offered by CommonBond Lending, LLC (NMLS # 1175900), NMLS Consumer Access. If you are approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your credit profile, your application, the loan term selected and will be within the ranges of rates shown. If you choose to complete an application, we will conduct a hard credit pull, which may affect your credit score. All Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed assume borrowers enroll in auto pay and account for the 0.25% reduction in interest rate. All variable rates are based on a 1-month LIBOR assumption of 0.13% effective Dec 1, 2020 and may increase after consummation.

 

^Reset Refinance annual percentage rates (APRs) assume you are enrolled in and maintain auto-debit payments from the date of origination. Enrolling in auto-debit results in a 0.25% interest rate reduction. Without enrolling in auto-debit, the rate will range from 2.80% APR to 6.42% APR. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. If you are approved for a loan, the rate offered will depend on your credit profile and the term you select and will be within the ranges shown above assuming the auto-debit interest rate reduction applies.

 

Sofi interest rates on variable rate loans are capped at either 8.95% or 9.95% depending on term of loan. See APR examples and terms. Lowest variable rate of 2.25% APR assumes current 1 month LIBOR rate of 0.15% plus 2.35% margin minus 0.25% ACH discount. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. If approved for a loan, the fixed or variable interest rate offered will depend on your creditworthiness, and the term of the loan and other factors, and will be within the ranges of rates listed above. For the SoFi variable rate loan, the 1-month LIBOR index will adjust monthly and the loan payment will be re-amortized and may change monthly. APRs for variable rate loans may increase after origination if the LIBOR index increases. See eligibility details. The SoFi 0.25% AutoPay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The discount will not reduce the monthly payment; instead, the interest savings are applied to the principal loan balance, which may help pay the loan down faster. Enrolling in autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. *To check the rates and terms you qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit inquiry. Unlike hard credit inquiries, soft credit inquiries (or soft credit pulls) do not impact your credit score.Terms and Conditions Apply. SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE.

 

 

The Student Loan Resource Page

 

Blog Posts & Additional Resources

 

 

Post from Physician on FIRE:

Posts by Student Loan Planner

 

Posts from The White Coat Investor:

 

Posts from Future Proof MD

Posts from Dr. Wise Money

 

Posts by Live Free MD

 

Posts by Investing Doc

 

Posts by Wealthy Doc

 

Posts by Big Law Investor

 

 

Post by Wealthkeel

 

 

Posts by Ben White

Resources from AAMC FIRST Program

 

Posts from Student Loan Hero

 

 

 

Posts from The Simple Dollar

 

$1000 Cashback Bonus for >$100K loan and $500 <$100K loan. Variable rates 1.93% - 8.24% Fixed rates 2.70% - 8.49%
VISIT credible
$500 Cashback Bonus for >$100K loan Variable rates 1.89% - 6.66% Fixed rates 2.63% - 6.63%Low Rate Guarantee
VISIT Splash Financial
$300 Cashback Bonus Variable rates 1.89% - 5.90% Fixed rates 2.80% - 6.00%Discount for physicians. Inquire for details.
VISIT Laurel Road
$500 Cashback Bonus Variable rates 2.25% - 6.43% Fixed rates 2.99% - 6.88%
VISIT Sofi
$500 Cashback Bonus** Variable rates 1.99% - 5.74% Fixed rates 2.98% - 5.89%
VISIT EARNEST
$500 Cashback Bonus Fixed rates 2.55% - 6.17%^
VISIT Reset Refinance
With Payback Rewards, borrowers can earn $750 to $1,500 Variable rates 1.89% - 5.74% Fixed rates 2.80% - 5.85%
VISIT Lend-Grow
$550 Cashback Bonus for loans >$75K. $300 for loans between $40K-$74K. Variable rates 1.97% - 6.82% Fixed rates 2.83% -6.74%*
VISIT COMMONBOND
$500 Cashback Bonus for >$150k loan / $250 for loans between $50k-$149K Variable rates 1.99% - 8.56% Fixed rates 2.95% - 8.77%
VISIT LendKey
$350 Cashback Bonus Variable rates 2.39% - 6.01% Fixed rates 2.79% - 5.99%
VISIT ELFI

Don’t forget to request your donation!

 

*To qualify for the $50 donation, I need to have proof that you did indeed refinance through one of the links or images found on this site. That is typically supplied by the refinancing entity, but if you’ve additional evidence, please share that info with me via e-mail.

Also, the charity you choose must be a registered 501(c)(3) charity that accepts tax-deductible donations. I’ll be donating anonymously from our donor advised fund and will send you proof of donation in the form of a receipt.

I can’t donate to a GoFundMe or similar fundraiser; it has to be an actual charitable organization in the eyes of the law. Fortunately, there are more than a million to choose from. Please supply me with as much information as possible (from Guidestar search) to fill out the donation form, which looks something like this.

 

 

 

If you’d like advice from a former Vanguard bond trader who has consulted on over 1,000 individual’s and couple’s student loan scenarios, or would like a second opinion, consider a consult from Travis, the Student Loan Planner.

If you owe more than $100,000 in student loans and aren’t 100% sure that you’re doing everything the right way, he finds projected savings of 125 times his consulting fee on average (that one-time fee ranges from $295 to $595). That’s tens of thousands of dollars.

If you’d like a custom plan, book a time at this link .You’ll get a consult form to fill out in your confirmation email. Make sure to mention that you heard about it from Physician on Fire on the consult form (currently question #28).

 

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If and when you’re ready to pull the trigger and refinance your student loans, I sincerely hope you will return to this page, collect your bonus from these links and let me know where you’d like your donation to go!

45 thoughts on “The Student Loan Resource Page”

  1. Medical Surveys that PAY Student Loan Refi Rates & $ Back Credit Card Spreadsheet & Strategy Real Estate Investing
  3. Subscribe to get more great content like this, an awesome spreadsheet, and more!

  5. This is an incredible resource for student loans! Will definitely be sharing with friends, both online and in real life. Lots of valuable content here to work through and research.

    Reply
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  7. Another mistake I see people making is deferring loans by continuing with higher education.

    Yes, your loans can be deferred while you’re working on a graduate or doctorate degree, but they are still incurring interest, and you’re probably taking out new loans for the higher degree, which just adds to your overall debt.

    So not worth it unless you have a very specific career plan that requires a higher degree. This post is very much helpful and a lot of students didn’t know where they are getting themselves into and then regret it afterwards.

    Hopefully more students would be able to reach this post for them to be reminded. Thank you for sharing this list!

    Reply

  9. Great resource! You may want to consider adding information about the National Health Service Corps and State Loan Repayment Programs for primary care physicians. There are eligibility requirements and not all physicians are eligible, but it’s tax free money to pay down student loan debt if admitted into the programs.

    Reply
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    Reply
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  18. PoF readers: 1% bonus on debt & preferred equity investment.
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  31. Thank you for all of this great content and thank you to everyone that posts and the comments, this is all great information.

    I have a little bit of a complicated situation…

    I am currently a GI fellow in my 2nd year of fellowship. My wife is an attorney working at the law firm in a major city. I am lucky enough to not have any student loan debt however, my wife has around 300k in student loan debt from undergrad and law school at variable interest rates (4.5 to 6.8%). She has previously had late payments/missed payments so we no longer qualify for refinancing through SoFi or any other company that refinances loans.

    We currently have no savings since we just paid for our wedding recently and have had other major expenses. As a result, we are currently not paying off her student loans. Combined we are making $60k after taxes.

    My plan has been to buy a house after fellowship (for the approximate amount of my wife’s student loans, roughly 300k) and pay it off as quickly as we could (using a 15 year mortgage with low interest). After paying off the house, I wanted to take out a home equity loan at a lower interest rate to pay off her loans.

    My question is if this is a good idea and if anyone has had experience with this?

    Reply

  32. PoF,

    First of all, congratulations on your recent retirement – I hope things are off to a great start! Secondly, thank you for all your fantastic insights via your own content and objective views but also the countless links to other’s (ie. Links and Sunday Best) and the many additional resources you’ve provided (and continue to update!) over the years! This has been beyond helpful in my own FI Journey and I truly appreciate your guidance and time\effort to making this site one of my personal favorites as well as easily one my most recommended (even as a non-physician), so thank you! Lastly, as I’m enjoying a nice cup of coffee this fine overcast morning in beautiful Plymouth, Mn (small world!) looking at this page to see if there are any new student loan refi cash back arbitrage opportunities (now that’s a mouthful), I wanted to reach out to see if you might be willing to donate retroactively per your note above as I just noticed this as well as recently refi’d via your commonbond back in April\May? If so, it’d be great help further support our current\future Gophers via any scholarship fund!

    Cheers,
    Fellow Gopher

    Reply
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