Have you heard of http://www.mrmoneymustache.com ? If you still have student loans after 12 years in the industry, you might want to re-examine your spending/saving patterns
Just discovered this website, this philosophy looks really interesting!
The ultimate goal of early retirement is appealing, so the discipline has a purpose. This might get me somewhere, instead of saving for the sake of getting richer.
Thank you for this discovery!
It’s not the easiest decision. Regarding loans, repayment should stop once you go back. Regarding income, it’s hard at first. You might have to downsize, but also research cost of living. Depending on where you go to, it’s doable. Some universities have housing for people doing their PhDs and for families which is cheaper.
Went (going?) through it. My wife is doing her PhD. From 2 really good incomes to one stipend. We don’t live in campus housing so it’s more expensive (savings helped here initially), but we do know of others there with their spouses and some even with kids that are doing good. I found a job after getting here which helped.
I've found a few programs that are open to considering part-time candidates, but they are few and far between, and most of the ones who consider it still strongly recommend against it.