Just curious, would you/did you start TTC before paying off student loan debt??
No way. I'd want to be financially secure first, which means I'd want to have all that student loan debt taken care of.
@lalabee27: It really depends on the situation. If you're over 30 and the clock's ticking then I would probably TTC and pay the debt down later.
If you're younger and not in a huge rush, it might be wise to put your best financial foot forward before having a baby.
Either way I would make sure to factor into your budget how much it will cost to raise the baby. Things like diapers add up really fast.
Personally I would want to be debt free for years before TTC and have hefty savings, but I know not everyone has that luxury.
I have more than $100k of student loan debt, mostly from law school. I'm scheduled to pay it off in 9 years, but will probably try for a baby starting in 5 years. The payments are manageable, and I still save more than $1k a month, so it's not a problem. If I was struggling to pay my loans, or any other bills for that matter, then I wouldn't TTC.
That depends on your financial situation and debt amount. For some people student loans can be $100K or more depending on length of education and major. Also, your income comes into play...do you make an average income? Above average?
I have student loan debt and while it is quite a bit it isn't a huge amount and we have already paid off two loans with three more remaining. In our case we might be able to pay them off entirely in about five years with the way things are going. So with that in mind I would say yes we would pay it off before having a child. However, we have a six figure household income meaning we don't have to wait 10-30 years to pay off the loans as is often the case.
Definitely, as long as our total debt was well within our financial means. If the Obamas can do it, so can we! :) I don't really see the difference between this, and not having a house paid off for example.
Having student loans is actually good for your credit - as long as you can maintain the payments and will afford to support a child, I don't see a problem with it. However, if your student loans are causing you to live pay check to paycheck and cannot maintain a lifestyle for a child, you should wait.
FI and I consider ourselves financially stable even though we have student loans - the loans aren't very much but since the interest rates are so low, it isn't worth it to pay them all off at once.
as someone who works in finance... THIS. IS. A. BAD. IDEA. The average cost of a child from the time they are born to the time they are 18 averages between 250k-500k.
It is not financially reponsible to add more debt to exisiting debt. Pay off the student loan or at least pay it down to a more realistic and managable amount. If you want a child soon, get a second job, do what it takes but pay off your debt.
IF ANYTHING you should have savings to accomediate the cost of a child before having one. Pay down the debt to at least a managable and start putting funds aside for a baby. Marriage and kids are already tough, adding financial stress can be the straw that breaks the camels back.
If I waited to have a kid before my loans were paid off, I'd never be able to have one.
Most people with significant student loans (50k+) likely do not pay them off before having children. In a perfect world I'd love to but it's not feasible. My boss (and owner of our company) still has student loans (and 4 kids!). They're not the end of the world, as long as you don't have lots of other debt and are struggling to make payments on them or elsewhere in life.
DH and I still both have about $9k in student loans. But we are continuously making payments, and the interest is low. I won't have mine paid off for another 5 years and I'm sure we'll be trying to conceive before then. Debt is not always all bad, as long as you manage it well.
Yeah, between the two of us, it'll take at least 10 years to pay off our student loans (grad school ain't cheap, kids). At that point I'll be nearing 38, so I think we'll just have to suck it up and start trying with the debt. Oh well, there are worse things in life.
I'd be well over 40 by the time DH finished paying off his loans, so YES. As long as the debt is managable and the payments don't interfere with your ability to save, it should not be a problem. Would you feel it necessary to pay off a car or house loan before having kids? Most people have these monthly expenses while having kids. Sure, it'd be great to be debt free, but given the timing of a biological clock, it's not that common.
Ha! I am 30 and have massive student loans from grad school.... which I just started paying off a year ago following graduation. If I waited until they were paid off, I wouldn't be able to have kids.
So no. I am not waiting until they are paid off to TTC.
Im sure we'll be TTCing before my student loans are paid off. I have nearly $40K currently... and that number wont go down very much until after the wedding. BLAH... I recommend to anyone and everyone going to school to WORK during college to pay for as much as they can... and not to worry about graduating in four years!!! Student loans have been awful for me... I have a private one that has 12.5% interest!!!
I put maybe. I think it depends on your financial picture as a whole. If you're struggling to make payments then definatley not time for a kid. But if you're easily making payments, saving for retirement, and living comfortably, then maybe it's okay.
In our financial situation, we will be lucky to have SL's paid off when I am 50 - I turn the big 31 on Sunday, and I'm in grad school on loans. So yeah, no way can we wait to pay off the loans first. But DH is financially secure, and on a high fixed income. If only our credit was better.....working on it!
There is no way that my student loans will be paid of in the next ten years. We're planning on TTC in about 3 years, when I'm done with grad school. I think that TTC while still paying off student loans is fine, as long as your payments are managable.
@LibraryBlondie: What do you mean by 'pay it down' or 'pay it down to a more realistic amount?' The OP never said how much her student debt load was. I think it's irresponsible to tell someone they must be debt free before they can or should do 'x, y, z.' As long as you have healthy savings, gainful employment and aren't struggling to make ends meet, the OP is perfectly capable of starting a family while paying student loans.
Honestly, what would you advise someone who finishes their schooling at the age of 30 and received a master's degree to do? Even if they aggressively pay down their loans, many in that position would not be able to start a family before they were biologically at risk.
The truth is, many of us stay in school longer and don't 'settle down' until we're older. At that point you have to find a balance between waiting to be completely financially secure, and still being able to have children. I think it all comes down to how old you are and how well you manage your monthly payments/savings..
@MrsWBS: If I waited to have a kid before my loans were paid off, I'd never be able to have one.
Same here! My loans aren't actually that much, as I had zero student debt during undergrad ... So it's not as though I have 7+ years worth of student debt to pay off.
My fiance, however, has more significant student debt. It's not ideal, but we're also not struggling to pay our bills every month (even with car payments, insurance, etc.).
Yes, having a baby will cost a lot of money. If you're really young, you may have some extra time to work on paying off your debt. If you're a little older like me (I'm 28), you may not get everything taken care of before you attempt to get pregnant.
I will say that it's very encouraging to see that a lot of other girls are in a similar situation. Debt sucks, but it's definitely manageable!
I voted yes only because of my situation. Everyones situation is different though. My SO has a great income and would be able to live off that alone with the baby, and I could still work per diem or part time once the baby came to keep paying off the loans. You don't necessarily need to put your life on hold just because you have student loans. I agree with artichokey .
I will be paying off my student loans for 20 years, so I certianly would not wait.
Mr. and Mrs. Obama didn't wait either.
@mrsSonthebeach: WB needs a "like" button! 
Yes! I just had a baby this year, my student loans are nowhere near paid off!
I'm on a 20 year payback schedule for my loans, that would make me over 40 before TTC!
Student loan debt isn't "bad", and typically has a low interest rate.
@abbyful: My thoughts exactly. If I paid off my student loans before I had a baby, I'd be over 40 too!
The interest rate on our student loans is so low that it would be silly to spend the cash to pay them off.
For us there is no incentive to pay them off early at all since using the time value of money and investment potential we would lose money by paying them off prematurely.
Well TTC next year.
I'm gonna be paying off student loans for 15 years. I'm thinking it's probably not a good idea to wait that long for my first kid :P
@ThreeMeers: Me too. One of mine is under 2%. I wish I could wrap my mortgage into that!
I am sorry, is this a joke? I sound so rude, but, are you kidding me? If people waited for that to happen some of us would be out of baby making age!
@artichokey: same! I think mine is at 1.6% It was a good year to graduate and consolidate loans!
umm I hear waiting until 40 is a bad time to start trying to a little one... so I am going to have a baby with student debt. This is SO situation dependent. I have a lot of debt from my healthcare related degree, but I also make a decent amount of money. My husband and I are overpaying loans and our mortgage and saving for the baby... I think it has a lot more to do with your over all financial picture than just one marker like student loans.
Absolutely not. If, FSM forbid something went wrong with the baby or the baby needed medical treatment or long term care, that would just add onto the debt that I already didn't pay off. It would dig me into a hole that I may not be able to get out of.
I'm 24 and if I waited to pay off my student loans, I'd be like 35 before having kids. No way! I do have loans, but my fiance and I are financially stable to have kids.
I personally would want to, and agree that waiting until after debt is gone is a good choice if you're young. But, for many woman it might now be so simple: my fiancee is 34. If we waited until our student debt was gone, he's be 44 or 45?
Not going to happen :\
We plan to TTC before paying off the loans. Combined, our debt is probably about $150k in student loans, but DH and I make enough combined that we can afford a baby and still consistently pay back the regular payment monthly. We both went to grad school so if we waited until we were both done, we would have no house or baby for at least another 5-7 years. If we waited that long, I don't think it's worth the risk of possibly having fertility problems and needing IVF or having a child with special needs because we chose to wait. We live comfortably now, so it's not like we would be living in a box with only ramen noodle packets if we were to have a baby and student loan payments.
@artichokey: +1
@LibraryBlondie: When you say "savings to accommodate the cost of a child," do you mean the entire $250,000 to $500,000? That is quite a bit of money! If that were the case, I would never be able to have children.
I have student loans that are low interest and low, managable payments, and I intend TTC before they are paid off. I think of student loans and home mortgages as ok debt to have.
That would be nice. However, it's not going to happen.
You can have student loan debt and still be financially secure, you know.
I want to pay off our student loans before we have babies!
It would be nice, but not going to happn. Our goal is kid at about 30, student loans gone by 35. If im able to get pregnant it's relative ease, we may leave TTC for #2 until student loans gone.
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