Who should I be asking for advice?

[ENTologist]

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I'm trying to figure out how to not get further killed by my med student loans. I have three years left of training in residency/fellowship. I have a ton of debt (like $400k). I am considering different strategies for payoff (IBR, loan forgiveness, consolidation, take out a lower interest rate private loan for a portion of it). I need to run through this with someone who knows more than me. Should I be meeting with a CPA, a financial advisor, someone from the medical school loan department at my institution?

The more I learn, the more questions there are...

 

[thesauce]

Online forums like creditboards, white coat investor, fatwallet finance, etc. No one will work harder than you to figure this out, so you will probably find the best solution for yourself. I definitely wouldn't pay someone for this advice.

 

[Smart Money MD]

Who you go to will also depend on how much time and effort you plan to invest in learning. My approach is that no one cares more about your money and debt than you do (maybe your spouse). What you plan to do after fellowship will strongly dictate how you approach debt repayment. IBR is a viable option, but I believe that if you take a standard private practice or even academic job, you can dig out of a $400k hole within 5 years.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

There are student loan advisors. Two advertise with me. Forum rules don't permit me to mention them here. For a few hundred bucks you can get good advice. But it's not that hard to learn yourself either. The questions really boil down to:

1) Will you get PSLF?

If yes, then stick with IBR or better yet PAYE if you qualify until you get it and make sure every job you take is with a 501(c)3.

If not, then refinance now with DRB's resident refinance loan. $100 a month payments in training, and less total burden due to the lower interest rate.

There's a few minor caveats, but that's pretty much the main decision for most.