Hi Monique,
When I graduated from pharmacy school, I had about $275k in student loans so I definitely understand your situation. I lived with my parents for about 2 years and managed to save a good 60k (I still paid them rent and helped with bills). I stayed with them until I got married. I think staying with your parents would be a great strategy, but I wouldn't use that money to pay off the student loans. Are there any nonprofit offices or opportunities with the VA as a dentist? I ask because I currently work for a nonprofit hospital which qualifies me for the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness program. You have to be on one of the income based repayment programs which you already are and after 10 years your loans would be forgiven (no tax on what's forgiven). Now, I focus all of my savings on real estate investments. I use to follow Dave Ramsey's principles to pay down debt but then I read something very profound "the number one wealth building tool is not income, it's time)". The quicker you can invest, the more money you can make. Think about all the time(=money) you would be wasting focusing on putting all your money towards your loans. I would rather have the cash flow from my investments pay off my debt...
"Many young people have been made to believe their income is the number one wealth building too they have. They've been told to waste their valuable time doing everything else, but invest. They're told - pay off debt, have a fully funded emergency account, have your down payment on your house, pay off your mortgage, pay off student loans- and the list goes on. You end up paying everyone else during the best years of your life when you could have started investing early..."
