Pharmacists: How manageable is $150k-$200k in debt?

[LatePrePharm]

I have loans from 4 years of undergrad, and I'm applying to pharmacy school this coming cycle. I calculated the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses for my top choices. My total loans will be around $200k once I'm done with everything. The total amount will be somewhere between $150k-$200k since I plan to work part time.

Right now my spending is conservative and I budget. I have no desire for fancy clothes, cars, etc. I don't plan on ever having kids, but possibly adopting. I don't plan on buying a house anytime soon. My most luxury expenses would probably be traveling a few times a year.

Would you consider $150k-$200k in debt to be manageable for someone in my situation?

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[trailerpark]

I graduated with 150k-ish and feel that it's manageable, but 200 seems pushing it!

 

[MatCauthon]

200k is manageable, but it still takes a lot of discipline to pay off in 10 years or less. The monthly student loan payment on a 10-year payment cycle is $2,300 at 6.8% interest.
You may be able to refinance lower, but usually not for at least 1-2 years in practice.

Most pharmacists have a monthly net income of about $6k. Therefore you will have about 38% of your monthly income going into your student loans if you use the 10-year payment method. Out of the remaining $3700 you will probably need to spend at least 1k on rent+utilities depending on where you live. You will also want to try to save at least 1-2k per month so you can purchase a house in the next 5 years. If you plan on going on nice vacations a couple times a year you need to save $300-500/month in the vacation fund (the budget can vary greatly between single and married folks) Car payments plus insurance plus gas plus maintenance can approach $500/month. Food can easily cost $500/month or more, especially if you like to go out a lot. There are many other bills that can go into creating a budget, but you the $3700 to spend goes very very quickly.

The budget numbers can vary a lot, but the student loan payment doesn't go away. Paying rent and saving for a house and paying student loans at the same time takes financial discipline. That is why so many people are now using IBR. Taking a 2nd job can really help if it is available. However, options like working a 2nd job and picking up overtime shifts aren't as available as they used to be. Another problem is that many new graduates aren't getting hired at 40 hours. Many are making 32-36 hours per week and this greatly cuts down on available money to budget.

Student loans are a drag, so don't take them too lightly.

 

[PAtoPharm]

200k is manageable, but it still takes a lot of discipline to pay off in 10 years or less. The monthly student loan payment on a 10-year payment cycle is $2,300 at 6.8% interest.
You may be able to refinance lower, but usually not for at least 1-2 years in practice.

Most pharmacists have a monthly net income of about $6k. Therefore you will have about 38% of your monthly income going into your student loans if you use the 10-year payment method. Out of the remaining $3700 you will probably need to spend at least 1k on rent+utilities depending on where you live. You will also want to try to save at least 1-2k per month so you can purchase a house in the next 5 years. If you plan on going on nice vacations a couple times a year you need to save $300-500/month in the vacation fund (the budget can vary greatly between single and married folks) Car payments plus insurance plus gas plus maintenance can approach $500/month. Food can easily cost $500/month or more, especially if you like to go out a lot. There are many other bills that can go into creating a budget, but you the $3700 to spend goes very very quickly.

The budget numbers can vary a lot, but the student loan payment doesn't go away. Paying rent and saving for a house and paying student loans at the same time takes financial discipline. That is why so many people are now using IBR. Taking a 2nd job can really help if it is available. However, options like working a 2nd job and picking up overtime shifts aren't as available as they used to be. Another problem is that many new graduates aren't getting hired at 40 hours. Many are making 32-36 hours per week and this greatly cuts down on available money to budget.

Student loans are a drag, so don't take them too lightly.

Financially speaking, is it unrealistic to expect to be able to rent a house upon graduating from pharmacy school and beginning work as a pharmacist, or is renting an apartment usually the only viable option? I just moved back home with my family, but I spent about 6 months living in an apartment for the first time in my life, and I really didn't enjoy it. I prefer to have more space, not be around other people, and just not live the apartment lifestyle.

 

[anonmember]

One thing you can look at is the REPAYE (revised pay as you earn) program that was established recently. It caps your payments at 10% of your net income minus 150% of the federal poverty level, and also reduces interest on unsubsidized loans (which all of the graduate-level federal loans are) by 50%. You may want to chip in a bit over the minimum to make sure you're covering the interest + some principle every month though, because after 25 years the remainder of the debt is forgiven and the forgiven portion is taxed as income. So if you let it balloon out of control you could have a year where you're taxed as if you made an extra $300k, but if you plug away at it slowly you may have it fully paid off or at least only have ~$50k or so forgiven which isn't too bad.

 

[pezdispenser]

$200k will start to feel overwhelming. The interest alone on a $200k balance will be:

$200,000 x 0.068 / 12 = $1,133 per month!

This means the first $1,133 of your payment just goes towards interest and you don't even touch the principal! If you go on REPAYE and the payment is less than $1,133, this means the principal won't go down, and will probably be higher than where you started after 25 years.

You're going to feel like a hamster on a wheel. You keep on running but you never get anywhere.

Try to keep it below $150k by working during school and Summer as an intern. When you graduate, take-home pay is around $6k/mo so you can make extra payments and make meaningful progress on paying down your loans.

 

[mentos]

Don't expect 6k/month take home pay in 4 years or whenever you graduate. Most new grads are only getting 30 hours from the chains today. Health/dental insurance goes up every year so that will eat into your pay too.

 

[sosoo]

i won't recommend taking on so much debt. you're practically a slave. its best to work your butts off, save money, and in 20 years let your child get a shot at pharmacy school.,. i spent 5 years to pay off 140k in loans. it was miserable to be in so much debt. going back in time i would rather get a career thats in demand without the big debt.

 

[MatCauthon]

Financially speaking, is it unrealistic to expect to be able to rent a house upon graduating from pharmacy school and beginning work as a pharmacist, or is renting an apartment usually the only viable option? I just moved back home with my family, but I spent about 6 months living in an apartment for the first time in my life, and I really didn't enjoy it. I prefer to have more space, not be around other people, and just not live the apartment lifestyle.

It's your money, but the focus upon graduation should be getting out of debt not racking up more bills.

 

[confettiflyer]

Pretty manageable. 4 years in to PSLF, should be done in 6. Started with $230k balance, payments super low w/ REPAYE. Was still able to buy a place to live and a new car after PGY1 graduation (nothing fancy, though).

I also have a non-standard financial situation, though. But even without that, it's doable.

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[gwarm01]

Pretty manageable. 4 years in to PSLF, should be done in 6. Started with $230k balance, payments super low w/ REPAYE. Was still able to buy a place to live and a new car after PGY1 graduation (nothing fancy, though).

I also have a non-standard financial situation, though. But even without that, it's doable.

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$230k balance, bought a house in CA after residency, non-standard financial situation. Hmm... might need some details, confetti! I'm dealing with 140k in student loans, also on PSLF and it it is manageable but definitely not fun.

 

[confettiflyer]

$230k balance, bought a house in CA after residency, non-standard financial situation. Hmm... might need some details, confetti! I'm dealing with 140k in student loans, also on PSLF and it it is manageable but definitely not fun.

Haha, it's not hard. You just need to have a clean slate for the mortgage with respect to debt (car payments, credit cards) since they count 1% of your student loan balance as a payment....so $140k = counts as $1400/mo. That's about the hardest hurdle you have to clear. The 2nd hardest hurdle was amassing the down payment....I was actually offered a 10% down payment loan w/ no PMI and a nominal bump in the interest rate (3.875% vs. 3.75%), but instead just opted to put a full 20% down.

So for you... if your $1400/mo is your only counted debt, assuming you make about $150,000/yr (ballpark average for CA), you can safely afford a $750,000 condo or house and remain at < 43% DTI (assumption = 10% down payment of $75,000, 3.5% interest rate, property tax & insurance of ~$895/mo, no HOA). This is just you, so add spousal income to the mix if that's in the cards.

 

[pezdispenser]

So for you... if your $1400/mo is your only counted debt, assuming you make about $150,000/yr (ballpark average for CA), you can safely afford a $750,000 condo or house and remain at < 43% DTI (assumption = 10% down payment of $75,000, 3.5% interest rate, property tax & insurance of ~$895/mo, no HOA). This is just you, so add spousal income to the mix if that's in the cards.

That's going to be very tight: (all percentages of gross income $150k)

28% Federal, state, SS, Medicare, CA disability. Already accounted for deductions and 401k
43% mortgage, property taxes, insurance, student loans
12% $18k 401k
5% utilities, home maintenance
5% car or transport expenses (even with a paid off car)
5% food
===
98%

Still haven't included things like
- vacations
- health insurance and expenses
- kids
- of course you won't be making extra payments on your debts so you are pretty much guaranteed to be stuck in debt for the rest of your life.

 

[LatePrePharm]

i won't recommend taking on so much debt. you're practically a slave. its best to work your butts off, save money, and in 20 years let your child get a shot at pharmacy school.,. i spent 5 years to pay off 140k in loans. it was miserable to be in so much debt. going back in time i would rather get a career thats in demand without the big debt.

I've read messages like this in other threads but I can't really think of other career options that wouldn't take just as much time and a lot of money. I'm 23 years old. I have a BS in biology and discovered the PhD/research route seems pretty miserable.

 

[confettiflyer]

That's going to be very tight: (all percentages of gross income $150k)

28% Federal, state, SS, Medicare, CA disability. Already accounted for deductions and 401k
43% mortgage, property taxes, insurance, student loans
12% $18k 401k
5% utilities, home maintenance
5% car or transport expenses (even with a paid off car)
5% food
===
98%

Still haven't included things like
- vacations
- health insurance and expenses
- kids
- of course you won't be making extra payments on your debts so you are pretty much guaranteed to be stuck in debt for the rest of your life.

Never said it was the best idea for a single person/single income couple to drop $750k on a house...and why would want to pay extra on a mortgage running at 3.5%?

Health insurance and expenses are usually provided free for most employers, or at some insanely reduced cost (Kaiser, most hospital systems, etc...). By the time you start incurring more costs as you age, your income will be rising ($150k is new grad pay, most of us make substantially more).

Marry someone else with the same income or more and you're really making some headway and will have a ton of fun money....you need someone to make babies with anyway, right? So the kid cost comes with parent #2 income (hopefully).

Would I be better off living in Austin, TX financially? Yeah, duh, but we've beat this over the head in other threads.

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[Eichhoernchen]

I have a colleague that has even more than that debt and his payments are way lower than mine. He did IBR I believe and that's why. I am at 45k in loans.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Live at home or continue living like an extremely poor college student. I have a friend with $380,000 in loans. Boy do I feel bad for him.

 

[BMBiology]

Never said it was the best idea for a single person/single income couple to drop $750k on a house...and why would want to pay extra on a mortgage running at 3.5%?

Health insurance and expenses are usually provided free for most employers, or at some insanely reduced cost (Kaiser, most hospital systems, etc...). By the time you start incurring more costs as you age, your income will be rising ($150k is new grad pay, most of us make substantially more).

Marry someone else with the same income or more and you're really making some headway and will have a ton of fun money....you need someone to make babies with anyway, right? So the kid cost comes with parent #2 income (hopefully).

Would I be better off living in Austin, TX financially? Yeah, duh, but we've beat this over the head in other threads.

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Even in today's low interest environment, good luck getting 3.5% interest rate with that kind of debt and mortgage.


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[gwarm01]

Hey confetti, do you know if Kaiser hires informatics pharmacists? Or are they one of these places that will hire an Epic Willow analyst that only has a high-school diploma? I'm working on my five year plan and wouldn't mind moving out west, but I'm accustomed to the cushy 9-5 life.

 

[awval999]

Never said it was the best idea for a single person/single income couple to drop $750k on a house...and why would want to pay extra on a mortgage running at 3.5%?

Health insurance and expenses are usually provided free for most employers, or at some insanely reduced cost (Kaiser, most hospital systems, etc...). By the time you start incurring more costs as you age, your income will be rising ($150k is new grad pay, most of us make substantially more).

Marry someone else with the same income or more and you're really making some headway and will have a ton of fun money....you need someone to make babies with anyway, right? So the kid cost comes with parent #2 income (hopefully).

Would I be better off living in Austin, TX financially? Yeah, duh, but we've beat this over the head in other threads.

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Lol confetti!

$150k new grad salary? Only in the People's Republic.

 

[confettiflyer]

Even in today's low interest environment, good luck getting 3.5% interest rate with that kind of debt and mortgage.


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Do I need to show you my closing docs? Mortgage rates are determined by the market forces, down payment, and credit score. DTI up to 43% is an all or nothing deal.


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[confettiflyer]

Lol confetti!

$150k new grad salary? Only in the People's Republic.

Lol...what, I'm being conservative. Most new grads earn more from OT and 2nd per diem jobs before dialing back after kids.


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[PumpkinSmasher]

Haha, it's not hard. You just need to have a clean slate for the mortgage with respect to debt (car payments, credit cards) since they count 1% of your student loan balance as a payment....so $140k = counts as $1400/mo. That's about the hardest hurdle you have to clear. The 2nd hardest hurdle was amassing the down payment....I was actually offered a 10% down payment loan w/ no PMI and a nominal bump in the interest rate (3.875% vs. 3.75%), but instead just opted to put a full 20% down.

So for you... if your $1400/mo is your only counted debt, assuming you make about $150,000/yr (ballpark average for CA), you can safely afford a $750,000 condo or house and remain at < 43% DTI (assumption = 10% down payment of $75,000, 3.5% interest rate, property tax & insurance of ~$895/mo, no HOA). This is just you, so add spousal income to the mix if that's in the cards.

Safely...I don't know about that. Maybe income 300k-500k, then can afford a house in that range or higher, just my opinion. Depends on retirement goals, college funding for kids, flexibility, hobbies, etc

 

[confettiflyer]

Safely...I don't know about that. Maybe income 300k-500k, then can afford a house in that range or higher, just my opinion. Depends on retirement goals, college funding for kids, flexibility, hobbies, etc

...most people here making $300-$500k/yr or so aren't living in $750k condos or town homes, they're usually in the $1.25M-$2M homes.

Hard to quantify because compensation is usually a mix of salary + stock options exercised. Most people cash out at the unlock period and pay cash for homes (or sizable down payment). Non-stock option people usually have a sizable down payment anyway (family inheritance/loan & own money mix).

The key is down payment...doesn't matter how expensive houses are, if you have a big down payment, your monthly payments function like if you bought a cheaper home.

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[awval999]

Lol...what, I'm being conservative. Most new grads earn more from OT and 2nd per diem jobs before dialing back after kids.


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You laughed when I said "people's republic" tho.. Admit it.

 

[confettiflyer]

You laughed when I said "people's republic" tho.. Admit it.

Haha, I'm iust so used to people saying that I didn't even notice. ::


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[wagrxm2000]

This is why you don't live in cal. $750,000 would be a small mansion here.

 

[confettiflyer]

This is why you don't live in cal. $750,000 would be a small mansion here.

I wouldn't live here either if house cost and cost of living was the singular consideration. I hear Austin is like the San Francisco of Texas (funny Frisco, TX is not the San Francisco of Texas).


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[wagrxm2000]

I wouldn't live here either if house cost and cost of living was the singular consideration. I hear Austin is like the San Francisco of Texas (funny Frisco, TX is not the San Francisco of Texas).


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I just can't imagine paying $2000 more per month just to live in cal.

 

[ldiot]

I'll be at around 140k including interest and ~25k of undergrad. It's a lot of money but it could be worse; I am going to the most affordable school that I could and on top of that am getting 10k/year in academic scholarships. What really kills me is my rent.

If I don't get married (which seems likely) I'm hoping I can kock the loans out in 3-5 years; but I won't be getting a new car and will have to live with my parents or rent. I honestly have no idea if this is feasible after taxes and insurance; I guess I will find out.

Then once the loans are paid off you have to buy a car and house. More debt repayment. Seems like it's impossible to build a net worth until you are in your 40s.

It seems like in pharmacy these huge debt numbers are normalized since everyone has them. They are manageable but are also a huge burden/time bomb in the event that you become unemployable or cannot find an enjoyable/tolerable job.

On a Side Note: Do you guys think it is more realistic to make an extra 20-60k by picking up overtime OR finding a secondary job? Assuming your main workplace is retail with no residency. I am highly considering this upon graduation, but I might not jump in right away; I'd like to establish some stability/level of comfort learning my "main" job before overloading myself with overtime/stress of starting a second job.

 

[PikminOC]

I have loans from 4 years of undergrad, and I'm applying to pharmacy school this coming cycle. I calculated the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses for my top choices. My total loans will be around $200k once I'm done with everything. The total amount will be somewhere between $150k-$200k since I plan to work part time.

Right now my spending is conservative and I budget. I have no desire for fancy clothes, cars, etc. I don't plan on ever having kids, but possibly adopting. I don't plan on buying a house anytime soon. My most luxury expenses would probably be traveling a few times a year.

Would you consider $150k-$200k in debt to be manageable for someone in my situation?

Do the big box drugstores offer repayment

 

[PAtoPharm]

I'll be at around 140k including interest and ~25k of undergrad. It's a lot of money but it could be worse; I am going to the most affordable school that I could and on top of that am getting 10k/year in academic scholarships. What really kills me is my rent.

If I don't get married (which seems likely) I'm hoping I can kock the loans out in 3-5 years; but I won't be getting a new car and will have to live with my parents or rent. I honestly have no idea if this is feasible after taxes and insurance; I guess I will find out.

Then once the loans are paid off you have to buy a car and house. More debt repayment. Seems like it's impossible to build a net worth until you are in your 40s.

It seems like in pharmacy these huge debt numbers are normalized since everyone has them. They are manageable but are also a huge burden/time bomb in the event that you become unemployable or cannot find an enjoyable/tolerable job.

On a Side Note: Do you guys think it is more realistic to make an extra 20-60k by picking up overtime OR finding a secondary job? Assuming your main workplace is retail with no residency. I am highly considering this upon graduation, but I might not jump in right away; I'd like to establish some stability/level of comfort learning my "main" job before overloading myself with overtime/stress of starting a second job.

I wish I was in your situation.... my AA school failure loan has snowballed to $63k and is generating ~$400 of interest every month, and I won't be able to go to pharmacy school for any cheaper than $111k. Hope I can live at home for a few years after I graduate so that I don't have to go on IBR.

 

[confettiflyer]

I just can't imagine paying $2000 more per month just to live in cal.

$2k more than what? That's how much a beach house was/is(?) to rent per month in off season, then the owner kicked you out for summer and rented it for like $2k a week. Related but unrelated thought.

I guess our super low property tax rates and cheap utility usage helps offset. I still can't believe how much people pay to heat homes in the northeast, it's insane.

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[wagrxm2000]

$2k more than what? That's how much a beach house was/is(?) to rent per month in off season, then the owner kicked you out for summer and rented it for like $2k a week. Related but unrelated thought.

I guess our super low property tax rates and cheap utility usage helps offset. I still can't believe how much people pay to heat homes in the northeast, it's insane.

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My utility bills don't make up that extra $2000 a month. Heck that might be low balling it, I doubt a pharmacist is putting 20% down on 750k.

 

[confettiflyer]

My utility bills don't make up that extra $2000 a month. Heck that might be low balling it, I doubt a pharmacist is putting 20% down on 750k.

:::raises hand:::

honestly almost every pharmacist I know comes from a family of means and marries into a family of means. most of my peers buying houses are doing 20% down via a combination of deferred loan from two sets of parents and own money.

Even those without parental and in law support can get jumbo financing at 10% down. Payments are atrocious, though.

So a pharmacist isn't putting 20% of $750k down, but no single pharmacist I know is doing this transaction on their own.


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[PumpkinSmasher]

$2k more than what? That's how much a beach house was/is(?) to rent per month in off season, then the owner kicked you out for summer and rented it for like $2k a week. Related but unrelated thought.

I guess our super low property tax rates and cheap utility usage helps offset. I still can't believe how much people pay to heat homes in the northeast, it's insane.

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What do you consider low, my friends in San fran are paying 15-25k/yr in property tax, given that these are 》2-3M homes. Still I don't call that property tax cheap...

 

[confettiflyer]

What do you consider low, my friends in San fran are paying 15-25k/yr in property tax, given that these are 》2-3M homes. Still I don't call that property tax cheap...

But you're ignoring the statewide prop 13 mandated 2% max annual increase cap on assessed value...looking at current $ at current property value isn't instructive because of how that is structured.

An owner can similarly request reassessment down in the event of a crash.


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[pezdispenser]

But you're ignoring the statewide prop 13 mandated 2% max annual increase cap on assessed value...looking at current $ at current property value isn't instructive because of how that is structured.

An owner can similarly request reassessment down in the event of a crash.


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So how does this Proposition 13 thing work? Limited to 1% of purchase price, then increases 2% max per year? If so, then I would think current property values which will be your purchase price, are very relevant. Like if you buy a $750k house, are your property taxes going to start at $7,500? The dollar amount is still quite high, even if the % is low.

Florida has something similar called Save Our Homes. The increase in the assessed value of your homestead is limited to the lower of CPI or 3%. Plus you get a $50k exemption. So my assessed value is based off of 2010 values when the real estate market hit bottom, which is around $180k, even though the current market value is around 400k. The dollar amount of my property taxes is $4000.

Here's a map of property taxes by county for anyone interested: http://money.cnn.com/interactive/real-estate/property-tax/

or this one: http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2013/county-property-taxes-map

 

[confettiflyer]

So how does this Proposition 13 thing work? Limited to 1% of purchase price, then increases 2% max per year? If so, then I would think current property values which will be your purchase price, are very relevant. Like if you buy a $750k house, are your property taxes going to start at $7,500? The dollar amount is still quite high, even if the % is low.

Florida has something similar called Save Our Homes. The increase in the assessed value of your homestead is limited to the lower of CPI or 3%. Plus you get a $50k exemption. So my assessed value is based off of 2010 values when the real estate market hit bottom, which is around $180k, even though the current market value is around 400k. The dollar amount of my property taxes is $4000.

Here's a map of property taxes by county for anyone interested: http://money.cnn.com/interactive/real-estate/property-tax/

or this one: http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/2013/county-property-taxes-map

The assessed value rises max 2% per year (your ceiling), and the floor is actual market assessment should your house value drop. I bolded the important point in your post.... absolute dollar wise, yes, it's a lot, but people pay off mortgages while property taxes attach for life. This makes a difference when you're 60 with a paid off house & don't live in a state that caps/restricts property tax increases.

This is also how you end up with a $2.5M beach house with a paltry $5,000/yr tax bill, because property value rises have outpaced the assessed value that is statutorily capped. It also buys a measure of certainty vs. a jurisdiction that reassesses value each year that can cause dramatic swings in property tax burden.

Sounds like Florida has the same thing going on.

I mean, no matter how I slice it, it's just expensive living in California. Everyone gets that, accepts that (obviously, they're here, not a few hours away in Nevada), and doesn't dwell on it too much. It's only when out of state people get sticker shock do we even really talk about it. Same with earthquakes. Don't even bother talking to me unless it's like a 6'er or something.

 

[pezdispenser]

The assessed value rises max 2% per year (your ceiling), and the floor is actual market assessment should your house value drop. I bolded the important point in your post.... absolute dollar wise, yes, it's a lot, but people pay off mortgages while property taxes attach for life. This makes a difference when you're 60 with a paid off house & don't live in a state that caps/restricts property tax increases.

This is also how you end up with a $2.5M beach house with a paltry $5,000/yr tax bill, because property value rises have outpaced the assessed value that is statutorily capped. It also buys a measure of certainty vs. a jurisdiction that reassesses value each year that can cause dramatic swings in property tax burden.

Sounds like Florida has the same thing going on.

I mean, no matter how I slice it, it's just expensive living in California. Everyone gets that, accepts that (obviously, they're here, not a few hours away in Nevada), and doesn't dwell on it too much. It's only when out of state people get sticker shock do we even really talk about it. Same with earthquakes. Don't even bother talking to me unless it's like a 6'er or something.

One more question. Is it portable? Florida's is. You can transfer the reduction in assessed value from one homestead to your next.

 

[Apotheker2015]

Lol confetti!

$150k new grad salary? Only in the People's Republic.

$72.11/hour apparently.

 

[confettiflyer]

$72.11/hour apparently.

Yeah this is slightly under what we start our new grads at, not counting any differential or anything.

 

[confettiflyer]

One more question. Is it portable? Florida's is. You can transfer the reduction in assessed value from one homestead to your next.

I want to say yes, there is a provision for transferring one's base to another property. Kind of called the "downsizing grandma" rule. Wait, n/m found an explanation:

"
Under Prop. 60, homeowners who are older than 55 or permanently disabled can sell their primary residence and transfer its assessed value to a replacement home in the same county of equal or lesser value.

Prop. 90 lets them transfer their assessed value to a replacement home of equal or lesser value in a different county, but only if that county accepts incoming transfers. Only 10 counties do, including San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Clara.

There is some wiggle room: Seniors who sell their home before buying a replacement can spend up to 5 percent more on the new home if they buy it within a year, or up to 10 percent more if they buy within two years. But if they buy first and sell later, they cannot spend even $1 more on the new home. For more rules, see http://bit.ly/1nVHYXS.

If married, only one spouse must be older than 55 to qualify. Once you have used this transfer, neither you nor your spouse can get it again, unless one of you becomes disabled, in which case you can transfer again because of the disability.

Last year, 4,402 California homeowners filed Prop. 60 claims and 2,207 filed Prop. 90 claims, according to the state Board of Equalization."

http://www.sfchronicle.com/business...A-homeowners-can-get-property-tax-6778070.php

The incoming transfer counties are:
Alameda
Orange
San Diego
Tuolumne
El Dorado * (sunsets 10/1/16 w/out extension)
Riverside
San Mateo
Ventura
Los Angeles
San Bernardino
Santa Clara

So I can sell my home and buy a beach house after 55 and retain the same assessed value of the first home. They're trying to pass another bill that will allow purchase of a more expensive home at some nominal increase, but it's still in committee.

 

[Apotheker2015]

I have loans from 4 years of undergrad, and I'm applying to pharmacy school this coming cycle. I calculated the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses for my top choices. My total loans will be around $200k once I'm done with everything. The total amount will be somewhere between $150k-$200k since I plan to work part time.

Right now my spending is conservative and I budget. I have no desire for fancy clothes, cars, etc. I don't plan on ever having kids, but possibly adopting. I don't plan on buying a house anytime soon. My most luxury expenses would probably be traveling a few times a year.

Would you consider $150k-$200k in debt to be manageable for someone in my situation?

I'll just send you a message

 

[Apotheker2015]

Yeah this is slightly under what we start our new grads at, not counting any differential or anything.

No way...

Yeah this is slightly under what we start our new grads at, not counting any differential or anything.

Retail? What company is this? I know pay in CA is higher but >150K to start?

 

[confettiflyer]

No way...


Retail? What company is this? I know pay in CA is higher but >150K to start?

Inpatient/hospital generalist, Northern California/San Francisco Bay Area.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[Apotheker2015]

Inpatient/hospital generalist, Northern California/San Francisco Bay Area.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

Got it. Makes sense. It just sounds like a lot for my midwestern ears.

 

[ExpressMaiL]

I have loans from 4 years of undergrad, and I'm applying to pharmacy school this coming cycle. I calculated the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses for my top choices. My total loans will be around $200k once I'm done with everything. The total amount will be somewhere between $150k-$200k since I plan to work part time.

Right now my spending is conservative and I budget. I have no desire for fancy clothes, cars, etc. I don't plan on ever having kids, but possibly adopting. I don't plan on buying a house anytime soon. My most luxury expenses would probably be traveling a few times a year.

Would you consider $150k-$200k in debt to be manageable for someone in my situation?

It's manageable. Some people are lucky enough to have family where they work... and you can shove a lot of money into the loans. If you're unable to do that, refinance as soon as possible. Some programs out there are fixed and <3%.

 

[radio frequency]

If you're unable to do that, refinance as soon as possible. Some programs out there are fixed and <3%.

I haven't seen any major refinancers offering terms like that recently. The best I'm seeing today is around 4% fixed for a five year payoff (higher for longer payoffs). Some 3.25-3.5% loans were available last year for five year terms, but they seem to be inching higher.

 

[nikgurl64]

$72.11/hour apparently.

So i know this is 6 months old now... but while most Wal-Marts are starting around 55$/hour (in Florida) My father who is a district manager was looking to fill a position in Georgia for 70$/hr last year, I couldn't believe it! One pharmacist said he would do it for 75$/hour and he was denied. They eventually found someone.