Two years of grad school equals taking out about 41k in debt. Add the 26k I have in debt from undergrad. So I'm looking at about 67k total. Add in interest, and we're look at mid-70's kind of debt.

Crazy, huh? It does scare me to think about the amount of debt I'm taking on. I have to keep telling myself about the boy who calculated that he's taking out 64k in debt JUST for undergrad, and then I feel a bit better, but it's still crazy. I am lucky that I kept private loans to a minimum- leaving Wesley was the best decision of my life, because I had to keep taking out private loans from this place called Campus Door to attend there. Federal student aid loans are just a better deal in general, so there's that. And I did get a lot of grants while at UD, which is why I'm not floating 40k in debt for just undergrad like some kids I know.

Still, on top of this student loan debt, I've got 8k in credit card debt. A lot of that got racked up when I was going to community college for a year and didn't want to take out student loans.

Grad school does buy me some extra years, but I've got to figure out a plan...

So, what's the plan? Here's what I'm thinking...

1.) Get a part-time job while doing my two years of grad school. Use the money I make from that job to attack as much of the credit card debt as possible.

2.) Live as cheap as possible- get a cheap apartment, don't get a new car, don't spring for deluxe cable packages, etc etc. Again, so I can put as much money as possible into paying off that credit card debt while my loans are still deffered. I like to go out, but I'll be on a strict 20 dollar budget for those Saturdays I go out.

3.) As an extension of two, I have to pretty much put away any dream of getting a house within the near future. I've read of people who get a house just before they graduate from grad school because they know that debt will count in their income-to-debt ratio for mortages if they do it after...and...nah. Not going to do that- I refuse to juggle student loan payments and credit card payments and then juggle a mortgage just for the sake of owning a house.I will not consider ever getting a house until I'm credit-card debt free- that's a rule I'm setting for myself. It'll probably not happen until about 2025 or so, but eh.

4.) While I'm in grad school, I want to do my best to go after grants and paid internships so I can bring down the level of loans I'm taking out. I might look around for a cheap apartment in the area- right now I'm going to live on campus because it's a whole new area, but I'll try and network and see what happens. What would really help a lot is if I could manage to become a t.a., which would bring my tuition down by a lot.

Mark Arbour, is my plan sound enough, or is there anything you'd like to add?