Hello! I am new to the forum. I have been absorbing all things in the WCI universe (book, blog, podcast, partner websites, etc) over the past few months but this is my first time posting on the forum. I am in my final year of residency and trying to get my finances in order before becoming a real doctor. I have learned a ton of stuff that nobody has taught us in medical school or residency.
My current question is regarding student loan repayment options. Briefly, I will be going into a private practice surgical specialty and my wife is continuing training with a couple fellowships with the goal of staying in academic medicine long-term. Separately, it is pretty clear that I would be best served by private refinancing and paying off quickly (3 yrs?), while my wife should do one form of Income Driven Repayment and go for PSLF. My question is given that I will soon have a much higher income but she won’t, will this still be the best option? Given she has another 6 years of payments before PSLF, I am not sure if it would be best to just pay both off on privately refinanced loans? And taxes - MFS vs MFJ? I have searched the forum and there are only a couple similar posts that I found, and none with this exact scenario as far as I can tell.
Quick bios:
Me: current last year resident, soon-to-be hospital-employed surgeon (not 501c3) starting Aug 2018; expected income ~$400K; federal student loan debt $220K @6.8% currently on REPAYE
Wife: current fellow, will be a fellow for another 2-3 years at ~$65K annual income (+/- another 30K if she moonlights), and then likely academic medicine in a specialty playing ~170K. Federal student loan debt 190K @6.8% currently on PAYE. She has about 45 months of eligible PSLF payments at this point (certified annually), so need about six more years of payments.
Us: Mortgage ~$200K @2.9%, car ~$10K @2%, no other debt, no kids yet. We have been filing our taxes jointly, but can do separate if better. My goal is to get out of debt as quickly as possible, but will obviously take the PSLF for her if we are eligible and it is still around in six years. I will get a decent ‘signing bonus’ in the form of a loan forgiven after one year which will go to paying down some loans, but no formal student loan repayment from my employer. We are both on board with the live like a resident for a few more years lifestyle to get out from under this debt, but are looking for guidance on the most efficient repayment options. Are there any other two physician couples out there with a gap in income & PSFL eligibility?
Thank you for your input.
My current question is regarding student loan repayment options. Briefly, I will be going into a private practice surgical specialty and my wife is continuing training with a couple fellowships with the goal of staying in academic medicine long-term. Separately, it is pretty clear that I would be best served by private refinancing and paying off quickly (3 yrs?), while my wife should do one form of Income Driven Repayment and go for PSLF. My question is given that I will soon have a much higher income but she won’t, will this still be the best option? Given she has another 6 years of payments before PSLF, I am not sure if it would be best to just pay both off on privately refinanced loans? And taxes - MFS vs MFJ? I have searched the forum and there are only a couple similar posts that I found, and none with this exact scenario as far as I can tell.
Quick bios:
Me: current last year resident, soon-to-be hospital-employed surgeon (not 501c3) starting Aug 2018; expected income ~$400K; federal student loan debt $220K @6.8% currently on REPAYE
Wife: current fellow, will be a fellow for another 2-3 years at ~$65K annual income (+/- another 30K if she moonlights), and then likely academic medicine in a specialty playing ~170K. Federal student loan debt 190K @6.8% currently on PAYE. She has about 45 months of eligible PSLF payments at this point (certified annually), so need about six more years of payments.
Us: Mortgage ~$200K @2.9%, car ~$10K @2%, no other debt, no kids yet. We have been filing our taxes jointly, but can do separate if better. My goal is to get out of debt as quickly as possible, but will obviously take the PSLF for her if we are eligible and it is still around in six years. I will get a decent ‘signing bonus’ in the form of a loan forgiven after one year which will go to paying down some loans, but no formal student loan repayment from my employer. We are both on board with the live like a resident for a few more years lifestyle to get out from under this debt, but are looking for guidance on the most efficient repayment options. Are there any other two physician couples out there with a gap in income & PSFL eligibility?
Thank you for your input.
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