With the insane cost of college - it's healthy to express concern for someone you're close with. Some of the people in the worst financial positions got part w

With the insane cost of college - it's healthy to express concern for someone you're close with. Some of the people in the worst financial positions got part way through school and had to stop for some reason. They took on a good part of the debt without getting the higher salary they sought. And to top it all off, the debt is not dischargable in bankruptcy with very few, quite extreme exceptions. Taking the advice of Clark Howard, another personal finance radio personality, your student loans shouldn't exceed your first year's salary. This feels like a pretty good rule of thumb overall. That would keep the payments manageable and you would still have room in a budget for other goals, even when paying the loans down faster than minimum payments. And for the higher income range, The White Coat Investor doesn't give a rule of thumb, but emphasizes that everyone should buckle down, live like a resident, and pay off all their loans with 5 years of finishing their training.