A Glimpse into the Financial Future for Too Many

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SigmaFS

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This from the Wall Street Journal. And bear in mind, your debt could be 3x to 4x of this person profiled.

"Betancur, the chiropractor, had been in repayment for over two decades at that point, and hoped to get his loans forgiven. Those plans stalled because of litigation over the Biden-era income-driven repayment plan he’s enrolled in. He applied to move to a different income-driven plan last year, but hasn’t heard back.

Another painful hitch: When Betancur consolidated his loans to help qualify for loan forgiveness, his unpaid interest was added to the principal, pushing his balance to over $300,000. Interest started to accrue again on Aug. 1.

It has fueled fresh regret over his decision to take out loans.

“I have nonstop fear, worry and anxiety over these loans,” he said. “It’s just been a big strain mentally on a daily basis.”

Betancur wants something better for his children, now 13 and 8. He set up 529 accounts, which have historically been used to pay for college, but today can be put to use outside of higher education, including elementary and secondary-school tuition and vocational training programs.

He plans to encourage them to start with community college or attend a state school. “I would want them, in a perfect world, to have zero student loans, to completely stay away from that system and not even touch it.”

 
Im glad I lived at home during dental school, commuted to dental school to limit my debt, lived at home after dental school, and paid it all off in a little over a year. I can’t imagine the struggle all of these people have with loans floating over their head their entire lives.
 
To be fair, taking out student loans to become a chiropractor is beyond dumb and anybody who does that probably doesn't understand math. But speaking of dentistry, yes absolutely should loan amount be considered if you are a pre-dent. You have to do the math for yourself to see if it's worth it. Keep in mind that the US government can't stop spending and printing money, and thus inflation will very likely continue to skyrocket over time. If wages don't keep up, paying back your inflated student loan will cut into your purchasing power.
 
To be fair, taking out student loans to become a chiropractor is beyond dumb and anybody who does that probably doesn't understand math. But speaking of dentistry, yes absolutely should loan amount be considered if you are a pre-dent. You have to do the math for yourself to see if it's worth it. Keep in mind that the US government can't stop spending and printing money, and thus inflation will very likely continue to skyrocket over time. If wages don't keep up, paying back your inflated student loan will cut into your purchasing power.
Going forward, dental school (or pharm, vet, optometry) could be the new chiro.
 
Big Time Hoosier: Care to make a comment, American Dental Association?

ADA:
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Big Hoss
 
Anyone entering dental school right now with 500-600K in debt have no idea what they're in for with this BBB on cap borrowing. Private lenders are going to rake you through the coals on 10-20% annual interest immediately for the extra 300-400K you have to take out after 200K federal unsubsidized. For the 99%, I promise you - you'll never pay back that extra 300-400K on 10-20% interest over your lifetime. You're at a guaranteed 800K-1M for a standard dental degree with those interest rates on a 25 year minimum SAVE plan after school. Unless you're a 1%er super GP owner, you'll never make enough money to pay through those interest payments to hit the principal. This is before any obvious debts to (1) run a dental practice, (2) own a home, or (3) own any asset expense outside of dentistry.

We're in a scary moment for dental students going forward. If you don't have a wealthy family outright to pay your principal, you are 100% cooked and will never pay it back. Some of my friends say "why would private loan companies do this?" Uh, because they can? You have 0 leverage in this. You have no other choice to accept their interest terms if you have to take out 520K for dental school. Why would they charge the standard 5-8% rate that the federal loans offer?
 
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