<prompt> Human: First and foremost, I need help and any will be much appreciated. I graduated 2 years ago and have had a good job for the past 1.5 years. When going to school I was mediocre; I has basic scholarships and never was awarded grants. I worked and took out loans to pay for school. This whole loan thing was new to my mother and myself and it turned out that half of my loans were in my name and the other half in my mothers. Currently 21,000 in my name and 28,000 in my mothers. Ive been paying a the bare minimum in repayments in the last year and boy that was a huge mistake. I feel like a fucking idiot, just paying off interest each month and barely seeing any of the principal disappear. Current payments:Mothers name - 28,000 balance 4 separate loans each with 7.9 interest - 263monthly payment. My name - 21,000 balance 6 separate loans, 2 with 6 and 4 with 6.8 interests - 155monthly paymentOf all 10 loans 5 are direct unsubsidized and 5 are direct subsidized. Each month my income is roughly 3,000 after taxes. Rent, phone, car, insurance, general expenses 900monthly.I am a public servant, registered nurse, and read something about Obamacare paying off loans. I have no details, only a generalized summary of having a loan forgiveness program for working in poverty stricken areas after signing a X-amount years contract. Anyone know anything more about this? Also, I guess I need to consolidate my loans, how do I go about that? How do I set up a payment plan with these loans where I can pay them off in the next 2-3 years without living frugal but comfortably?EDIT Thanks for all the responses. I guess its pretty clear that I have to aggressively attack the loan debt first while also saving smaller amounts. Looks like I got a good New Years resolution on my hands but I may need a stiff drink while I start writing these bigger checks for my loans. Assistant: 3,000 after taxes. Rent, phone, car, insurance, general expenses 900monthly.Wow, your expenses are pretty low! OK, so 2100month left over. Mothers name - 28,000 balance 4 separate loans each with 7.9 interest - 263monthly payment.My name - 21,000 balance 6 separate loans, 2 with 6 and 4 with 6.8 interests - 155monthly paymentSo youre paying 400month out of the 2100 you have after expenses? I dont think you need to be a personal finance guru to see that you could afford to pay down those loans much more quickly just by writing a bigger check. Human: I try to save 1 paycheck a month. I want to go back to grad school without using as much in loans as I did for undergrad. I want to double my salary without doubling my student loan debt. Assistant: Pay off the debts first then go to grad school with cash. If you can stick to 900month for expenses and throw 2100 a month at it, you should be free and clear in two years with enough money for grad school in another two years or so. Good luck!Human: Grad school for me is going to be roughly 60k for two years. I will be unable to work during grad school since it is very grueling requires all of your attention Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist which is why I have been saving so much. I need to find a good balance for saving for that and paying off as much of my current loans as possible in the meantime. I think I need to see a financial adviser.  <response>: So trimming your savings down to say, 1000 and aggressively paying down your existing loans, THEN saving for grad school.. isnt an option? 