I have followed your website and I must admit it is an inspiration to me every time I read new posts. Keep it up~!

I have a question for you and I believe that your experience and suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Presently I find myself doing well in my career, earning comfortably and seriously I kinda of enjoy it as well. On the other hand, I might not know when the ‘enjoyment’ will die on me.

However deep inside me, there is this inner voice or call that I should try out to be an airline pilot which happens to be my childhood ambition too.

I will stare in awe whenever I see aircraft in the sky. And I will wonder when I can be in the cockpit. This childhood ambition can be costly due to initial training fees.

What will you do if you are in my shoes? Stick to the present job? Or to leave the present job and head for the unknown terrain?

Thank you and I look forward to your reply.

When you leave school, look into income-based repayment (see ibrinfo.org) – it’s a new plan that’s available starting now that bases your payments on your income.

also, someone noted that anyone can get Stafford loans. true, but the more income/assets you have, the harder it is to get the subsidized kind for which the gov’t pays the interest during periods of deferment, etc. with unsubsidized stafford loans, interest builds while you’re in school, etc.

You might consider the possibility of fixing the problem yourselves. A lot of stuff is really pretty easy to fix.

Spend a few minutes researching the problem (which sounds like a water fill control switch issue). Just plug in “basic washing machine repair” in your search engine and dig in. Parts can be ordered from http://www.repairclinic.com, where you can often also find pictures of the part; searching on the part name will usually find you instructions on how to repair or replace it.

(Always unplug electrical appliances before working on them!)

Of course, I sat and cried through the montage of Carl and Ellie’s life together, and cried again at the end when Carl and Russell became friends. In fact, I’m so italian that I’m misting up now just writing about it.

What a great movie. It made me want to go home, kiss my husband, hug my kids, and reevaluate my life’s goals.

Glad you enjoyed it too, hopefully without the hanky.

Think of that $40 as an insurance policy against debt. “Murphy Insurance,” if you will.

Since the unexpected will happen, it pays to be prepared for it. A new tire, a trip to the emergency room, a funeral you have to attend, all these will keep you from getting out of debt. If you have that $1000, you have kept the wolf from the door.

The funny thing is once you have that little emergency fund, emergencies tend not to happen as often.

But, to each his own.

Do not sell assets in order to pay down the debt of any person who has not gotten their spending under control.

This is very much the same situation as the person who racks up their credit cards and then pays them off with a debt consolidation loan or a mortgage refinance but then turns around and runs up the card again! You only end up in more trouble.

This is not to say that no one should ever sell their stuff, refi, etc. but you have to be able to be brutally honest with yourself about your chances of recidivism.

I say this because if halfway through you realize that you’ll kill yourself if you stay in the program for another day, not having any student debt makes leaving a lot easier.

Yes, student loan debt is generally low-interest, but it varies a lot with the economy and other factors. In your place I’d advise people to check out the loan rates and terms first before making any decisions.

Also, remember that the interest rate you “earn” by not taking out loans is guaranteed and tax-free, while whatever return you get on investments is not. I’m not saying it’s never the right call to take on more debt while funding retirement, but it really depends on current interest rates.