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I know we should do something to minimize the interest we accrue, but I'm not quite sure what yet! I'd love any help on trying to navigate what the best options are for our situation.
My husband is currently in year 2 of a 6 year training path (Rads) and we have $94k of Stafford loans. $16k are subsidized, but the rest are unsubsidized. Right now all are in forbearance.
We put them in forbearance because I currently work and make a pretty decent income. I don't remember the details at the time, but I don't believe there were any options that offered a payment less than a mortgage. The plan was for me to stay at home at some point in the near future, and it made more sense to forbear and pay what we wanted to each month vs be tied to a fixed payment for X amount of time, especially as we were trying to establish a cushion for me to stay home.
In the end, we didn't end up paying much, and I'm honestly not sure we will, especially when I quit. We are committed to continue "living like residents" when he does finish and paying it down quickly, though. In the meantime, I want to do what we can to keep the interest accrued as low as possible. And that is where I am getting stuck!
This is likely the year I start staying home, though our 2016 total income will still be high (for a resident family) for a few reasons. Am I correct that our repayment options for 2017 will be based on our 2016 income? The other wildcard is moonlighting. My husband can begin in a few months and apparently some of the opportunities can be fairly lucrative in the later years of residency, but we have no idea how much he is really looking at and if they are payed on his W2 or a 1099.
I'm fine with a monthly payment in the $200-300 range, but I really don't want to get in a situation where it is higher than that. We will have a good cushion, but we also have 3 small kids, sucky program health insurance, and a (reasonable) mortgage. At the same time, I don't want $80k accruing at 6.8% for 4 years when there are other options out there. Should we look at refinance options before finishing residency? Are IBR or REPAYE going to give us any benefit before 2018? (based on income numbers)
My husband is currently in year 2 of a 6 year training path (Rads) and we have $94k of Stafford loans. $16k are subsidized, but the rest are unsubsidized. Right now all are in forbearance.
We put them in forbearance because I currently work and make a pretty decent income. I don't remember the details at the time, but I don't believe there were any options that offered a payment less than a mortgage. The plan was for me to stay at home at some point in the near future, and it made more sense to forbear and pay what we wanted to each month vs be tied to a fixed payment for X amount of time, especially as we were trying to establish a cushion for me to stay home.
In the end, we didn't end up paying much, and I'm honestly not sure we will, especially when I quit. We are committed to continue "living like residents" when he does finish and paying it down quickly, though. In the meantime, I want to do what we can to keep the interest accrued as low as possible. And that is where I am getting stuck!
This is likely the year I start staying home, though our 2016 total income will still be high (for a resident family) for a few reasons. Am I correct that our repayment options for 2017 will be based on our 2016 income? The other wildcard is moonlighting. My husband can begin in a few months and apparently some of the opportunities can be fairly lucrative in the later years of residency, but we have no idea how much he is really looking at and if they are payed on his W2 or a 1099.
I'm fine with a monthly payment in the $200-300 range, but I really don't want to get in a situation where it is higher than that. We will have a good cushion, but we also have 3 small kids, sucky program health insurance, and a (reasonable) mortgage. At the same time, I don't want $80k accruing at 6.8% for 4 years when there are other options out there. Should we look at refinance options before finishing residency? Are IBR or REPAYE going to give us any benefit before 2018? (based on income numbers)
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