Hello, Mustachians.
I did a very un-mustachey thing, and took out approximately $100,000 in graduate loans to secure a law degree. I did this for many reasons, mostly because I didn't know what to do with my economics/philosophy Bachelor's degree, and didn't want to face the uncertainty of the job market in 2008.
So, now, here I am. I am admitted to practice law, and working full time for $44,000 per year gross, in the private sector. No insurance, no 401k, no benefits. No pun intended.
The debt is all currently in Income-Based Repayment. That means interest accrues and capitalizes twice a year, but I don't have to make any payments. I've used this to knock my credit card debt down from $7,000.00 to $3,000.00, and I am continuing to make significant progress. All credit card balances are kept at 0%, or else paid off in full.
Compounding the situation, I have recently become engaged. My fiancee is the most fantastic woman on the face of the earth, except that she too made the un-mustachey decision to finance a law degree. She will graduate in 2013 with approximately $150,000.00 in debt (I lived at home during law school, she had to rent an apartment). So I am trying to think strategically about both of our lives, rather than about just mustache-steamrolling my own situation.
I currently live with my grandmother, paying rent of $300/mo. She currently shares an apartment with another graduate student, paying $800/mo plus utilities. We are planning to get an apartment in the near future, although any benefit to her will be outweighed by the detriment to me, on balance at least she will be able to cut down the amount of borrowing she does for living expenses.
My question is this:
1) What is more important? Credit card balances that are currently at 0% but will spike to 13% in April of 2013? Or student loan balances that are currently ticking away at 6.8%?
2) Should I continue kicking the student loans down the road, in hopes of securing a public sector job (I am actively seeking one) and getting the 10 year loan forgiveness?
3) How un-mustachian is it to move out of my grandmother's house? My parents have suggested that we should both live in my grandmother's house, but my fiancee is uncomfortable with that, and I sympathize entirely; I often feel like a boarder myself at times.
The student loans worm their way under my skin when I think about the sheer magnitude of the interest accruing every day. Would appreciate any advice y'all can give.