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I’m a nearly graduated resident with significant equity in my mortgage. With a recent drop in income from my spouse no longer working (new children) and increased expenses associated with the job search, board certification, licensing, etc, I’m looking at a significant budget deficit until my first attending paycheck. Even if my future job compensated me for some of those expenses, it won’t be until my first paycheck that those funds are available. Cutting non-fixed expenses will not adequately balance the budget either. I have outstanding student loans and making payments, hoping for PSLF. Deferring these wouldn’t make a significant difference as they are on the PAYE schedule. My options as I see them are to accrue credit card debt, liquidate some of my Roth IRA principle, or open a HELOC with plans to pay it off and close after the first few months of attending salary. One caveat there is that I would likely move within 1-2 years and thus be on the hook for the closing and appraisal costs of the HELOC. What are the downsides of a HELOC in this situation? Are there better options I haven’t considered?
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