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Today marks two important milestones for me. First, it's been almost one year exactly since I finished training. For those in school or in training still, hang in there -attending life is awesome and really makes you feel like all the years of sacrifice are worth it. Second, it's payday and the moment my paycheck hit the bank today was the first time in many years that we have been "in the black". I still have some student loans outstanding but they have been refinanced for under 3% so I've been prioritizing tax advantag savings. With the upward momentum in the markets lately, we have exceeded our goal to hit a net worth of zero within 18 months from graduation. We've been blessed in many ways this year but a good bit of the credit for this goes to Jim Dahle and the combined online communities of Bogleheads and the WCI. Thanks everyone for pointing me in the right direction.
For those interested in details, we were in the red by low six figures at the end of med school. One income, stay at home wife with kids (now 4). Used IBR in residency and fellowship so I had 6+ years of payments at the end of training but because of a prior mistake (I did a federal consolidation to simplify life from 3 lenders to one) I would not have been eligible for PSLF for another 6 years. In the end it was a good choice for me to abandon PSLF, take a private job, and refinance. Also, YNAB was very helpful for us to slow down lifestyle creep. I can't do the Dave Ramsey scream for being debt free yet, but I'm happy for now though to yell ZERO (net worth)
For those interested in details, we were in the red by low six figures at the end of med school. One income, stay at home wife with kids (now 4). Used IBR in residency and fellowship so I had 6+ years of payments at the end of training but because of a prior mistake (I did a federal consolidation to simplify life from 3 lenders to one) I would not have been eligible for PSLF for another 6 years. In the end it was a good choice for me to abandon PSLF, take a private job, and refinance. Also, YNAB was very helpful for us to slow down lifestyle creep. I can't do the Dave Ramsey scream for being debt free yet, but I'm happy for now though to yell ZERO (net worth)
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