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How much money do you expect to have to pay back and how long do you think it will take for you to pay it all off?
Loans
- Thread starter PublicHealth
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Let's just say, I don't want to think about the answer😕
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About $150K by the time it's all said and done, mostly unsub Stafford loans. I'm an old Stafford borrower (pre-1993), so I only get a 2-year deferment during residency and have to start making payments during my 3rd year. I think they will be around $1200 or so for 10 years, though I'll probably have to look into some sort of graduated payment scale. When I start residency, I hope to have 2 kids (have 1 already) so I honestly don't know how we're going to make it once the loans are due. It'll be a rough year.
Once I'm in practice though, my plan is this: assuming I get a low-paying primary care job making *only* $100K, I'll put myself on a strict salary of $35K. I grew up in a poor neighborhood, where $35K is considered very good money. (My dad supported me on less than half that.) Assuming that another $35K goes for taxes, I'll put $30K towards loans every year. Following that plan, I should hopefully be paid off within 5-6 years. I'm not big on luxuries, so no problem putting off the new car, house, and vacation spending for a few more years. If I get a job making more than $100K or that includes loan repayment, so much the better.
Yes, the loans freak me out big time, especially since I'm planning a career in primary care AND a family. I guess I try to look at it like an investment, sort of like buying a house. $150K is probably about what an average home costs, yet most homeowners make nowhere near the amount of money physicians make. The home is an investment- so what if it takes 30 years to pay off the mortgage? An MD (or DO) degree is an even better investment because it keeps reaping dividends for the rest of your life (well, as long as you remain in practice anyway.)
Once I'm in practice though, my plan is this: assuming I get a low-paying primary care job making *only* $100K, I'll put myself on a strict salary of $35K. I grew up in a poor neighborhood, where $35K is considered very good money. (My dad supported me on less than half that.) Assuming that another $35K goes for taxes, I'll put $30K towards loans every year. Following that plan, I should hopefully be paid off within 5-6 years. I'm not big on luxuries, so no problem putting off the new car, house, and vacation spending for a few more years. If I get a job making more than $100K or that includes loan repayment, so much the better.
Yes, the loans freak me out big time, especially since I'm planning a career in primary care AND a family. I guess I try to look at it like an investment, sort of like buying a house. $150K is probably about what an average home costs, yet most homeowners make nowhere near the amount of money physicians make. The home is an investment- so what if it takes 30 years to pay off the mortgage? An MD (or DO) degree is an even better investment because it keeps reaping dividends for the rest of your life (well, as long as you remain in practice anyway.)
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When I first started thinking about trying to live off of 35K, I thought no way! But then I realized that you were talking about 35,0000 NET, which is similar to around 50,000 gross. It is not hard to love off of 50k, but it does mean that you will be driving a Pontiac instead of a BMW, and your house will be 150,000 instead of 350,000. Paying off the student loans early saves a lot of money in the long run though.
I think that most people believe that they work so hard in medical school and residency that they should get the big payoff as soon as they start working. On the other hand, most of us have been practicing delayed gratification for so long that it should be second nature by now?!
I think that most people believe that they work so hard in medical school and residency that they should get the big payoff as soon as they start working. On the other hand, most of us have been practicing delayed gratification for so long that it should be second nature by now?!
