Hello everyone. Currently, I am still in the ATP program at the start of my CFI phase. Soon, of course, I will be finished with the program and moving on to instructing either at ATP if a spot is available or somewhere else. This being said, I am starting to become worried about finances. Currently, my interest per month is around 12%, so my payment per month on interest will end up being close to $1,200. Fortunately, there are a few months where you do not have to pay the note yet, but I understand that the note payment is eventually coming.
Obviously, this is terrifying. With how little instructors are paid, I’m not sure paying off the loan is possible for the first couple of years until I am at the airlines. Can anyone please give some insight into how they survived while instructing even with their loan payments?
I simply deferred my payments for the first year and then made interest only until I caught up. While not the most fiscally responsible move, it lowered my stress considerably.
Okay great! I believe that would be worth the extra stress being taking off especially in such a financially unstable time (i.e. instructing). If you don’t mind me asking, did you keep your loan through Sallie Mae or refinance through someone else?
If you have a lender like Sallie Mae, you should be able to defer up to 6 months’ worth of payments on a hardship forbearance. This is the time where creativity and craftiness will come in handy as you figure out a budget that works for you while you instruct. For me, I didn’t go buy new clothes, I didn’t go eat at fancy restaurants weekly (okay, Chick-fil-A ONCE and a WHILE), and didn’t buy the latest and greatest video games out on the market (while my friends did and played).
I refinanced once I got to the regionals, I found it easier to apply once I had a steady consistent paycheck. While flight instructing is a great way to build time, the paychecks can be inconsistent. For this, I recommend seeing if you can pick up open flight events with colleagues if they need help or cover an AATD session for someone who needs help. There are always ways to earn extra pay while benefiting from the experience of instructing.
Payment deferrals and interest only payments is the easiest way to go! We don’t ever want you to commit to an airline too soon for the wrong reasons, however, if you decide which regional you want to fly for most offer tuition reimbursement programs. That means instead of worrying about your loan payments, the airline you sign with will pay for your loan payments until you show up for class!