High Loan Amount

[Aspire2019]

Hi
Very interested in learning about the experiences of other advanced standing dentists and strategies they used to pay off the student loans.
Dental schools for AS students can cost anywhere between 200k to 600k so what are the experiences of practicing dentists who have gone down this AS route?
Looking to learn from others experiences.
Like - IBR plans; Hoping for forgiveness PSLF or Otherwise; paying down as much as you can monthly - whatever it is, looking for real life examples.

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[Aspire2019]

Bump. Anyone?

 

[FutureInternist]

Use the Search function.
There have been countless threads on the same topic.

All the ways you listed are what people have used, but each person’s priorities are different.

 

[Financial Advisor Justin]

The key to paying of student loans or any other kind of debt is making it a priority. Once you take care of your debts or in this example student loans you can then focus on building your life, buying a house, etc. once you start quit paying interest to others you can then start pay interest to yourself and compounding which is said to be the greatest way to build wealth. In the end there are no shortcuts.

Good Luck! Let me know if you have questions!

 

[RangerBob]

You give very good suggestion to paying loans. Can I pay off mortgage by monthly income?

What he's saying may sound obvious, but it's the only "shortcut," unless you qualify for loan forgiveness. You literally need to prioritize your student loans if you want to pay them off quickly, and that means deferring bigger expenses like mortgages/new cars.

Calculating what you need to live on and putting the rest towards loans is the fastest way to pay them off. There's no secret formula of x dollars towards food, x towards rent, etc. It's minimize all expenses but loans, and put everything else towards the loans. And try to avoid living in Coastal CA like me, among other places.

We personally took a balanced approach as we wanted to buy a home. So we've paid off a good chunk of our loans, but if we had rented a small apartment for the last 2-3 years instead of buying a home, we could've paid off all our loans by now (over $400k initially).

 

[SigmaFS]

I think AS dentists are unique in that they are traditionally older than non-AS dentists and more willing to relocate. The former has a disproportionate influence on professional/financial objectives. If you have practice ownership aspirations, that might be objective #1. This might be followed by retirement contributions, homeownership, then student loan repayment. If student loan repayment is not a high priority, an Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plan is a serious consideration (and probably REPAYE if you're not married). But, your facts and circumstances must be evaluated.

 

[Andrew StudentLoanAdvice]

What type of employment are you pursuing? What will your anticipated debt to income be?

If you're going into private practice, you'll likely need to refinance your student loans. If you anticipated debt is 2 to 3x your income you could look into taxable forgiveness in PAYE or REPAYE. Which you'd be eligible for after 20-25 years.

If you have the ability to work at a non-profit or 501c3, you could look into doing Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This could save you lots in the long run if you wanted to pursue a career in public service.

Here's a guide from WCI to help you decide based on your career, debt, and income what to do. Refinance Medical School Loans [Complete Guide] | The White Coat Investor