Paying off high debt without IBR

[EB73674]

Hi all, been a minute, but I'm back asking for...solidarity? Encouragement? Maybe advice? Don't really know, just feeling somewhat desperate. I'm really concerned that any type of IBR/loan forgiveness plans for federal loans are going to be axed in the next 4 years, and I'm trying to figure out how to deal with the ~$450k student loan debt that I'm staring at once I graduate. I'm certain I'll be able to get a decent job upon graduation in May 2026, and I'm already trying to trim corners & keep my credit card debt low. But has anyone out there managed to pay off a debt that sizeable without doing IBR? My calculated monthly loan payment on the standard repayment plan is upwards of $5k monthly, but I'm honestly ready to just live like somewhat of a pauper for the next 10 years if it gets me to where I can finally own a home & save for retirement. How did you all deal with this, if you did?

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[pp9]

I wish I had something really helpful to offer you. If repayment options are axed, and you are not grandfathered in, I don't know if there's any magic answer to fix your problems. The field would be screwed. $5k/month OOP is a lot...With a higher salary, that's still going to be tough unless you have circumstances (such as an SO) that would considerably lower your monthly expenses. Pair that with future job market concerns, housing affordability crisis with no end in sight, and the possibility that COL is only going to go up in the coming years...

I'm not a financial person nor do I think every decision I made was perfect, but I paid my loans off pretty quickly. I did not have a debt as high as yours (mine was around $240k), and I was on track to pay if off in about 5 years without IBR/other. After my rotating, I worked my base 3 shifts/week in ER (no production), and picked up 2-3 extra shifts almost every week for $$. I was horribly burnt out, but I comfortably paid ~100k off in the first 2.5 years while still putting a good amount into savings and covering maybe 30-40% of our monthly expenses. Our goal at the time was to just get rid of the debt as fast as possible, and when the interest freeze hit, I went into overdrive.

We ended up selling our house for considerably more than we paid (we lucked out with the market), paid off the rest of my loans, and had some leftover to invest a bit. I also really benefitted from the interest freeze, being a DINK, and my husband being able to afford the lion's share of expenses so I could focus on repaying. I also got $15k from my dad’s life insurance that helped.

So it's potentially possible, but also was not an easy thing to do and I had a lot of things go in my favor that we took advantage of. Sign on bonuses (although I don't recommend spending them until the employment length of time is reached), a good production contract, relief work on the side, etc. would be things to consider. Also, if you don't use a budget now, start.

Do you know where you want to end up geographically? It can be helpful to determine what the average salary would be in that city and go from there. For example, if I were single in my city and paying 5k a month to loans, I would be struggling to make ends meet at anything below 150k annually (before taxes) considering my current expenses (which I could reign in a bit, but not much more than I already am). That's probably higher than the average small animal vet salary in my area, so I would end up either with an excessive commute, or in a notoriously unsafe area just to cut down on rent. Things to think about. Maybe someone can chime in with more average salaries these days. Some of the numbers out there seem a bit misleading and possibly overinflated.

 

[MixedAnimals77]

Hi all, been a minute, but I'm back asking for...solidarity? Encouragement? Maybe advice? Don't really know, just feeling somewhat desperate. I'm really concerned that any type of IBR/loan forgiveness plans for federal loans are going to be axed in the next 4 years, and I'm trying to figure out how to deal with the ~$450k student loan debt that I'm staring at once I graduate. I'm certain I'll be able to get a decent job upon graduation in May 2026, and I'm already trying to trim corners & keep my credit card debt low. But has anyone out there managed to pay off a debt that sizeable without doing IBR? My calculated monthly loan payment on the standard repayment plan is upwards of $5k monthly, but I'm honestly ready to just live like somewhat of a pauper for the next 10 years if it gets me to where I can finally own a home & save for retirement. How did you all deal with this, if you did?

This is really going to depend and goes for anyone reading this form. Do you havea dual income household or single income? What are your monthly living expenses? Do you live in a HCOL or LCOL? What type of salary are you bringing in?

While I graduated with significantly less loans, if I had to I could put 5k/mo to loans. That being said I am in a dual income house with a LCOL and lower monthly expenses. However, if I had to put 5k to student loans per mo my saving account and amount of "fun" and excess money for investing etc would look significantly different.

Just some general numbers, but this will look different for everyone based on your individual situation
DINK:~200k/yr. average monthly takehome fluctuates but is usually net income of 10-13k/mo. Pretax 401k and insurances are taken out pretax. House payment is ~1500/mo and ~1000/mo living expenses if we stick to our budget, don't eat out, bare minimum essentials, etc. So that would leave 7500 to do what you need to with. So in this instance would leave 2500 extra per mo to go to saving/investing/fun after a 5k student loan payment.

It can be possible, however that picture can look way different based on where you live and what your situation is. Below is a different situation I know of.
DINK: ~120k/yr or 8k net income per mo. House payment is 2500/mo with 1000/mo living expenses. Leaving them unable to make a 5k/mo student loan payment

This is an estimate for a single income of 120k fresh out of school nets ~7500/mo. Housing would cost say 2000/mo living in a major city and 1000 for living expenses leaves you short on a 5k/mo student loan payment. But if you only spend 500/mo for living expenses or have roomates lowering your housing payment then you can make your 5k/mo loan payment.

Moral being is it can be possible, but also impossible. It really depends on what salary you end up taking and where you're living and your COL. Do what you can to minimize expense where you can and try not to fret about what you can't control at this point.

For anyone considering vet school and not in the middle of it, this is a great example of why going to your cheapest option is important and consider setting a limit on what you would spend, because at the end of the day it is just a job and you have to live with the choice after which can be daunting and a difficult task to tackle.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Oof. That would be rough in my living situation in a high cost of living area. $4000/month employer subsidized childcare plus minimum $1000/month grocery bills alone plus $3000/month mortgage plus other housing costs, $700/month car payment, various insurances of over $1000/month. I mean… we’re kind of at $10k relatively fixed costs just to cover basic living expenses. Nevermind all the ancillary expenses that come along. We are comfortable but do not live extravagantly.

A 1300sf kinda ****ty rental house in my town was over $3000/month rent… Hubs and my combined gross income is just over $200k in our double doctorate household (we both made rather crappy career choices). If I still had student loan payments on top of all of this, I would be screwed!

The good thing is that at minimum IDR is likely to not be abolished for you if they were in place when you signed your master promissory note on your student loans (even if the SAVES plan gets squashed)… so if you’re a current student, minimize your loans as much as possible but I wouldn’t necessarily lose sleep over what you can’t control of your pre-existing student loan amount at this point.

 

[battie]

Side bar for the signing bonuses: if you take them, put them in a CD or something super safe like that. You can then earn interest on them as they sit there not being spent. That way you can access them to pay back at the end of their term if you decide to leave your job early.

 

[pp9]

Also, I want to suggest joining the Debt Free Vets Facebook group. You’ll get some ideas from there, but honestly, most pay-off stories involve someone having worked multiple jobs. There are more pay off stories than you’d think, but 450k is still a lot (does that include undergrad loans?).

At this current point in time, ER is probably your best bet in terms of a good base salary without needing additional years of poorly paid training. ER also gives you a lot of scheduling freedom to work relief on the side, whether that be vaccine clinics, more ER shifts (which is what I did), or GP shifts. You can make a lot of money in this field, the downside is you’ll get a hefty side dish of burnout along with it.

Hubs and my combined gross income is just over $200k

This where my husband and I are at too, and we can’t even afford a house in our area. we can’t afford the exact house we lived in 8 years ago (comfortably, on just my husbands salary which was a little more than half of where he’s at now, while I was in school), that’s how crazy the market has gotten here! 200k should be a great household income, too, and it’s just not getting us far anymore. It explains why families making less are draining 401ks, taking out multiple loans, etc just to make ends meet right now. Recent/upcoming graduates are hatching into a scary world.

 

[Minnerbelle]

This where my husband and I are at too, and we can’t even afford a house in our area. we can’t afford the exact house we lived in 8 years ago (comfortably, on just my husbands salary which was a little more than half of where he’s at now, while I was in school), that’s how crazy the market has gotten here! 200k should be a great household income, too, and it’s just not getting us far anymore. It explains why families making less are draining 401ks, taking out multiple loans, etc just to make ends meet right now. Recent/upcoming graduates are hatching into a scary world.

Yeah if we hadn’t bought our house pre-pandemic for under $400k when the median home price in my state was still $400k and interest rates weren't great but better than now, we would not be home owners. Median home price is like $630k in the state now… No way we could swing that and not end up seriously paycheck to paycheck.

We’ll be in a much better place financially once our kids our out of fulltime daycare in a few years. But yeeesh, I don’t know how other working parents do it. It sucks that it is such a luxury to be able to afford 50hrs of reliable childcare a week so that both parents can work… something ain’t right there.

 

[EB73674]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. I unfortunately did pick the cheapest school I could go to without having an in-state option - tOSU is really pretty decent for OOS cost, and Columbus isn't too bad on the COL. I admittedly haven't been as frugal as I probably should, and haven't worked as much as I really could have, but the big kicker really was getting cancer & having to repeat a year due to a curriculum change - really wish they would have let me either not have to repeat or not pay for the second year, but I get it. No partner or kids at the moment, just me & my dog & cat against the world. I'm trying to bring myself back from doom and gloom about not having an IBR option, I do agree that it would likely be so wildly unpopular as to cause a major policy/party shift going forward. They'd also have to move VERY quickly for it to affect me, since I'll be graduating in May 2026 (although now that I'm thinking about it, I wouldn't get onto any sort of repayment plan until November/December 2026 due to the grace period, so that might honestly be enough time...). I can also, realistically, do the extended repayment plan & lower my monthly costs in hopes of refinancing under an IBR at some point in the future. Definitely looking into doing an ER training program and/or really fighting for a solid salary starting out as a new grad, and rethinking my options on where & how I'm going to live. Not an option to move back in with my parents for any period of time due to my cat & their dog not getting along (also who the eff wants to live with their parents at age 38?), but the cost of living a little south of them isn't too bad, and adds in the option of picking up large animal relief work while still being close enough to major referral centers to do ER stuff. So we'll see. I've had some time to calm down a bit & am starting to see the light a little bit. Thank you all for giving me some good options & things to consider!

 

[scatter.brained.dvm.stud]

Hi all, been a minute, but I'm back asking for...solidarity? Encouragement? Maybe advice? Don't really know, just feeling somewhat desperate. I'm really concerned that any type of IBR/loan forgiveness plans for federal loans are going to be axed in the next 4 years, and I'm trying to figure out how to deal with the ~$450k student loan debt that I'm staring at once I graduate. I'm certain I'll be able to get a decent job upon graduation in May 2026, and I'm already trying to trim corners & keep my credit card debt low. But has anyone out there managed to pay off a debt that sizeable without doing IBR? My calculated monthly loan payment on the standard repayment plan is upwards of $5k monthly, but I'm honestly ready to just live like somewhat of a pauper for the next 10 years if it gets me to where I can finally own a home & save for retirement. How did you all deal with this, if you did?

450k???? Can we get a little update <3

 

[JaynaAli]

450k???? Can we get a little update <3

This thread is only three months old and OP doesn’t graduate until May 2026 so I doubt there’s any update to give…they’re still in school accruing the debt.

 

[Minnerbelle]

This thread is only three months old and OP doesn’t graduate until May 2026 so I doubt there’s any update to give…

Except for the unprecedented craziness that has been the federal government in the past month and a half… and how the courts have been ruling re: all IDR plans other than IBR… so I can only imagine increased worries/uncertainty while continuing accruing debt. I’m so sorry for everyone who is affected.

What I don’t understand is that regardless of whether particular plans were legally put into place in the spirit of whatever congressionally approved plan was… how is the master promissory note not a binding contract? Aren’t the repayment terms written in there? The government certainly holds you accountable based on the master promissory note…

 

[pp9]

What I don’t understand is that regardless of whether particular plans were legally put into place in the spirit of whatever congressionally approved plan was… how is the master promissory note not a binding contract? Aren’t the repayment terms written in there? The government certainly holds you accountable based on the master promissory note…

Isn't this exactly why the programs that have been phased out (at least the ones I've been familiar with in recent years) have had people grandfathered in up to a certain graduating year?

 

[EB73674]

The only update is that I am most likely giving up my dream of living in a certain city and doing a certain type of medicine, in favor of moving to a much cheaper COL city and taking the highest paying small animal job I possibly can. And now figuring out whether I should just cancel my externships in said dream city in favor of trying to extern at places in the smaller city to get myself a job offer with a gigantic sign-on bonus so i can pay off my car. I really love living in unprecedented times.

ETA: I also am trying REALLY hard to remember that it's very likely some of these repeals of loan forgiveness & types of loans available will change with a new administration in 4 years, so preparing for the worst case scenario of a forced non-IBR repayment plan that will likely not be forever. Also, health insurance being covered by my employer is no longer a negotiable. Also also, I truly don't have a single clue what I'm going to do if I am unable to get a Grad PLUS loan for my last 3 semesters. Do I go back to Sallie Mae? Will I even be able to qualify for the full COA with my credit score? Will I EVER be able to get a house even with a physician loan? Forget being stressed about starting clinics in a week, THIS is the s**t keeping me up at night.

 

[cml156]

I have been following all of what's been going on with the loan issues as well. As a soon to be grad this May, having to start paying on loans in November, and also matching somewhere for an internship next Monday where I know I will definitely not be getting enough salary to pay the 3-4K in loans per month on top of living expenses -- I too have been going through the ringer mentally. I'm definitely trying to not let it deter me from still pursing my end goal of being a boarded specialist, but my anxiety is definitely at an all time high with all of this going on.

 

[DVM882029]

The only update is that I am most likely giving up my dream of living in a certain city and doing a certain type of medicine, in favor of moving to a much cheaper COL city and taking the highest paying small animal job I possibly can. And now figuring out whether I should just cancel my externships in said dream city in favor of trying to extern at places in the smaller city to get myself a job offer with a gigantic sign-on bonus so i can pay off my car. I really love living in unprecedented times.

ETA: I also am trying REALLY hard to remember that it's very likely some of these repeals of loan forgiveness & types of loans available will change with a new administration in 4 years, so preparing for the worst case scenario of a forced non-IBR repayment plan that will likely not be forever. Also, health insurance being covered by my employer is no longer a negotiable. Also also, I truly don't have a single clue what I'm going to do if I am unable to get a Grad PLUS loan for my last 3 semesters. Do I go back to Sallie Mae? Will I even be able to qualify for the full COA with my credit score? Will I EVER be able to get a house even with a physician loan? Forget being stressed about starting clinics in a week, THIS is the s**t keeping me up at night.

Do you have a student loan planner? HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you speak with one now. I was accepted to c/o 2029 and met with ours last week. It was incredibly insightful and helpful. We use Student Loan Planner, but I'm sure there are others. Our advisor is a DVM who went into the financial sector and has certifications in whatever money things they need to know. I think you should absolutely meet with a SLP who focuses on professional program debt vs undergrad or masters debt.

 

[cml156]

Update: My school pays for us to have one on one advising about loan repayments and what not and we just had our group webinar this evening. Good news is not all income driven plans are going away so there is still hope for now.

 

[cml156]

Do you have a student loan planner? HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you speak with one now. I was accepted to c/o 2029 and met with ours last week. It was incredibly insightful and helpful. We use Student Loan Planner, but I'm sure there are others. Our advisor is a DVM who went into the financial sector and has certifications in whatever money things they need to know. I think you should absolutely meet with a SLP who focuses on professional program debt vs undergrad or masters debt.

100% agree with this. The SLP group we just met with really brought me a lot of ease for my near future so I definitely recommend this.

 

[EB73674]

I do thankfully have a financial planner who specializes in vet & med school debt, I’m trying not to bother her too much since I’ll be meeting with her a lot more come this fall, but it may be time for a phone call. Good reminder!

 

[JFog]

Can we meet with the SLP before we have debt? I just got accepted and my only option is OOS Illinois. So I’m looking significant debt in the face right now.

 

[supershorty]

@JFog Please uninstall and reinstall the Tapatalk app and clear your cache, or access the site through your browser. I have edited your post to remove the broken quote.

 

[pp9]

Can we meet with the SLP before we have debt? I just got accepted and my only option is OOS Illinois. So I’m looking significant debt in the face right now.

Probably? I don't see why not, it's just a matter of finding someone who is familiar with student loans