popo

Of course I have life & disability insurance which would do more than support my family if anything happened.

Braisler: a dental education at a private university costs ~$35-40k tuition/year plus living expenses & instruments, etc. Going to school in Boston where rent was in the $1200 range leads to around 60k/year with living expenses and instruments. That's $240k for 4 years. I'm doing a 5 year residency in a school that has that same tuition for 3 of the 5 years. That's another $115k plus. Add in a modest ~$30k for undergrad loans. As I already noted, my loans are private loans with high interest rates that have been accumulating interest from Day 1. It's around $400k plus what 3 more years of interest will do. 4 years ago my wife was earning $28k/year and has moved up to what she earns now. Over the past couple years she has just this month finished payed off her own personal student loans (~$30k). She maxes out the retirement funding to the poin t where she takes home less than half her gross. There are no scholarships available for this type of education. And no, I haven't financed family members or others, as you can see. I'm not sure how you get that I'm living the lavish lifestyle with a 1999 Altima (110k miles) and a 1998 Civic (160k miles and paid for). I commute 74 miles/day and my wife commutes 52 miles/day. Local gas prices average $2.55 now. Figure out the cost.

NoSoup: Yes, that would be a great idea to continue to live off my wife's salary and use mine to pay the loan. Of course, planning for kids gets in the way a bit (I'll get out at 35 years old). But the idea is really to use her entire take home plus a chunk of mine to pay the loan. I just wanted to see if there's a financial pro here who could work out the math, offer tips, etc.

Sage: good advice. I'm checking out Edward Jones right now. Thankfully, no credit card debt.