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canada goose clearance The growing burden of college student debt is often reported as a macro level story, with big landscape numbers on total outstanding loans, average debt Canada Goose online loads and default rates. canada goose canada goose clearance

canada goose uk outlet Jeremiah and Michelle Hooks of Federal Way know the student loan story on the micro level: They’re living canada goose deals it. For them, the story is about their debt payments, how to make ends meet and how to chart a bright future for themselves and their children. canada goose uk outlet

canada goose factory sale The couple are a guidance counselor’s dream. They went to college and canada goose outlet earned the degrees they needed canadian goose jacket to begin lasting careers. They bought a home in Skyway and started a family. Then they sold that house and bought a bigger one in the suburbs for their three boys a 3 year old and twins age 6. canada goose factory sale

canada goose Canada Goose sale clearance sale They owe about $338,000 on their home, as well as about $209,000 in student loans. The student debt, especially, weighs on them. “Because of our student loans, we’ve had difficulty doing things,” Jeremiah said. canada goose clearance sale

“They’re living on the razor’s edge,” said Brian Lockett, vice president of Comprehensive Wealth Management in Lynnwood. Lockett and his colleague, service adviser Marc Knauss, volunteered to work with the Hooks through The Seattle Times canada goose store Money Makeover program.

“They both have heads on their shoulders,” Knauss said. “Despite the cheap Canada Goose loans, they are going to be successful in the long run.”

buy canada goose jacket On the surface, the Hooks’ household finances are a http://www.canadagoosejacketoutlett.com study in simplicity. buy canada goose jacket

canada goose coats on sale They have a small checking account for paying bills. Every month, their bank automatically transfers $300 from their buy canada goose jacket checking account to savings, which has a balance of about $20,000. The Hooks’ retirement savings consist of two 401(k) plans at former employers with a combined balance of about $18,000. canada goose coats on sale

Canada Goose Online As is the case with most Americans, the Hooks’ largest asset is their house. They bought the five bedroom home in June 2017 for $430,000, King County property records show. The market value is essentially unchanged, Zillow estimates. canada goose clearance Canada Goose Online

Canada Goose Outlet Subtracting the mortgage from the value of the house leaves the Hooks with an equity stake of about $92,000. They are currently paying $2,130 a month on a 30 year mortgage with an interest rate of 4.25 percent. Canada Goose Outlet

Their only other debt is $3,000 for a Honda family van. They pay off their credit card balances every month.

What Jeremiah and Michelle regret is how they financed their college educations.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Washington, Michelle decided to get a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Pacific University, a private institution in Forest Grove, Oregon. She owes about $135,000 on her student loans, largely because of her graduate studies.

Jeremiah earned an associate degree from Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon. He then attended Eastern Washington buy canada goose jacket cheap University before completing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His outstanding student loans add up to about $74,000.

In hindsight, both of them wish they had attended public, in state institutions, to save money canada goose coats on sale on tuition. Michelle noted that she could have stayed in Seattle and earned her master’s degree at UW. “I regret that I didn’t do that,” she said.

canadian goose jacket In Canada Goose Outlet a trend now decades old, Americans have increasingly borrowed money to pay for their college degrees. hit $1.53 trillion in the second quarter of this year, an increase of 144 percent in 10 years, according to data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. canadian goose jacket

Thirty percent of all adult Americans have taken on some debt for their educations, the Federal Reserve Board reported in May.

uk canada goose The Hooks are now paying $900 a month on their student loans. Had they not enrolled in PAYE, their monthly student loan bill would have been about $2,300, Lockett estimated. “They would be in a world of hurt,” he said. uk canada goose

cheap canada goose uk The Hooks made some moves to ease their debt burden: They sold a car on which they had a loan back to the dealer. Then they bought an older car for cash, eliminating a debt payment. When the Hooks sold canada goose clearance sale their Skyway house, they used some of the proceeds to pay off all of their canada goose coats credit cards. Canada Goose Parka They haven’t carried a credit card balance longer than a month ever since. cheap canada goose uk

In April they had to buy a new dishwasher and freezer, and fix the stove. One of their cars also needed repairs. They had to pull $2,000 from savings to pay the bills.

canada goose black friday sale The two men scoured the couple’s household spending, looking for places to cut. But the Hooks had already done that. “We actually couldn’t come up with anything in the budget to squeeze,” Lockett said. canada goose black friday sale

Lockett and Knauss next turned their attention to the couple’s student loans. Some, it turned out, had high interest rates.

buy canada goose jacket cheap Jeremiah was paying 7 percent interest on a $5,700 loan, and Michelle was paying 8 percent interest canada goose black friday sale on an $8,000 loan. buy canada goose jacket cheap

The financial planners advised the Hooks to tap their savings and pay off the high interest loans. Doing so would eliminate the most expensive debt and give the couple an emotional reward, Knauss said.

Canada Goose Jackets The payment would also reduce their savings to about $6,000, so Lockett and Knauss told the couple to first get a home equity line of credit, which they could use for emergency cash. Canada Goose Jackets

The financial advisers’ next recommendation was for the Hooks to rebuild their savings to about $40,000 in three years. The money would provide an emergency reserve that could cover the family’s living expenses for six months.

To help the Hooks reach their savings goal, Lockett and Knauss suggested they deposit their money with one of the online banks, which often have higher interest rates.