A few days ago
oreobabylove

If you had $8000 in the bank would you save it for a rainy day or spend it on colege tuition?

My husbnd and I are at a stand off. We have a little money saved up and he wants to keep saving. I am in the middle of my degree and I need help paying my tuition. I dont need $8000 but It seemed like a fitting number. I am a year away from my LPN and I want to go on to get my Nursing degree in another 2 years. After this year I will be able to go to work and pay my own tuition. My husband is concerned about having an emergency savings plan. What do you think?

Top 10 Answers
A few days ago
ciessa1203

Favorite Answer

max out your loans first. there is a good possibility that you could have your loans forgiven and not have to pay them back since you are going into nursing. there are some stipulations and you have to make sure your state does this but generally if you work in an area that is most in need of nursing staff and stay there for 3 or more years, your entire student loan can be forgiven. you wouldnt have to pay a cent of it (or at least have some of it forgiven)! look it up for your state:

FL – http://www.nslfp.com/faq.htm

IA- http://www.studentloan.org/special-programs/nursing/frequently-asked-questions.asp

KY-http://kbn.ky.gov/education/nisf/studentloanpeople.htm

PA-http://www.pheaa.org/loanforgiveness/healthier_futures.shtml

NY-http://www.hesc.com/content.nsf/SFC/4/Nursing_Faculty_Loan_Forgiveness_Incentive_Program

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A few days ago
Anonymous
i think you do everything you can to maximize the financial aid you can receive, and then use the $8000 to pay the rest. The thought being, if you get a degree and a job, you will be able to save much more then $8000 and you will have the skills you need to be employed for the rest of your life.

Just my thoughts on the subject, but there is no substitute for an education, and especially one as potentially redeeming as becoming a nurse. In the city i live in, nurses generally get a signing bonus of up to $20,000 just for signing a contract. Get that degree.

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A few days ago
MJ3000
You need to compare two things: the interest rate you earn on the savings and the interest rate you’d have to pay if you took a student loan.

If you’re earning more interest than you’d have to pay back on a student loan, take the student loan. The interest you earn on savings will cover what will accrue on the loan.

If it’s the other way around, use some of your savings instead or you’ll end up using any savings interest accrued AND some of the original savings to repay the loan.

Be sure not to use all of your savings if that’s the choice you make. You and your husband should come to agreement on how much to save vs. spend. The rest of tuition could then be covered with a smaller loan, if needed.

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A few days ago
Anonymous
Having money available for emergencies is always a good idea because you never know when something could go wrong and if you need the money, its there. However, going to College is one the of the best investments you can make because with that qualification you can take the jobs with a higher income. If possible, go to College, but take 1 or 2 part times jobs as well to pay back that $8000 or more.
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A few days ago
lovesong
If you have no children, I would unreservedly say, use the money to finish your education. Nursing will aways be a valuable skill and I can not see you ever wanting for a job after you have your degree.

Emergency money is wise but having your completed degree will be a means to even greater opportunities; to save money as well as to improve your lives financially and to ward off those “emergencies.”

If it appeals to your husband, I would even go so far as to say that this does constitute an emergency.

All the best and my compliments to you for having a most admirable goal and for all the hard work.

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A few days ago
dm
You should be able to qualify for a low-interest student loan, but not sure on your exact situation. Assuming you can get a low interest loan I would use that to pay for your nursing degree since the interest rate will be lower than other types of loans (i.e. cars, mortgage, etc are all higher).

If you cannot get a low interest loan than it may make more sense to use the money. It really depends on how you plan to use that money. Is it gaining any interest at all? Do you have it in a money-market savings account to at least earn 2-3%?

I don’t know what interest rates are like these days on student loans, all I know is that I graduated in 2002 and my interest rate on my college loans (around 20,000 principal) is currently 2.5%. For that reason seems to make sense to put the 8,000 in a liquid savings account that earns enough interest to offset the interest accrued by your loans if possible.

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A few days ago
Gerald
Huh??? Your not working and you want the husband to let you spend $8000 that he sweat for. School is important but, not as important as balance in home married life. Do like the rest of the students and get a job and go to school at the same time. If you were not married that is the way it would fall…. LPN is only a 2 year CC course–right??? How many years have you been working on the course.??? To avoid conflict and put an end to the argument—the husband is right—savings is to hard to accumulate and replace — please do not go against his wishes…
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A few days ago
Anonymous
Getting a nursing degree is very important and a sensible thing to do. Nursing is a very paying job. Convince your husband that in no time you will be able to work and pay him back that money that he spends on your tution. He can finance you a bit of the cash and you can work part time and earn some too. The rest of his cash he can invest in mutual funds and shares and make money.
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A few days ago
azrielle
I would use it for college, $8000 is alot for an emergency, I mean that would have to be some emergency to need all that, ya know? Well I would maybe split it, maybe $3000 for emergency and the rest for your college. Good luck!
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A few days ago
gefyonx
Compromise.

Save half and spend half on tuition. It will save the interest you would pay on loans. Tuition is tax deductable as well.

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