<prompt> Human: Currently paying 307 a month towards Stafford Loans 9,227 Direct Subsidized 6,365 Direct Unsubsidized 2,899All have 6.55 interestAccording to the loan repayment calculator on the website, Ill be done in 6.2 yearsI have the option of consolidating my loans and applying for public service loan forgiveness, since Im a teacher. Basically, this means that I can pay the lowest repayment amount and, at the end of 10 years 120 in-full, on-time payments, all loans including interest would be forgiven. This is the information Ive been given about that option Ive already applied - I can still cancel it though:Total Loan Amount: 18,780Consolidation Interest Rate: 6.875They havent finished up my income-based assessment yet, which is why I can still pull out if I dont want it. I was told it would be 100-150, based on a rough estimate from my loan provider.I make 60kyear. My fiance also makes this much, and we will be getting married in August. He has almost 250k in student loans, which we are currently paying about 700month towards and will soon be paying an additional 300month towards, as soon as his graduate loans kick in. He will DEFINITELY be consolidating his and is obligated to be a teacher for 10 more years, as we have no other choice. I do not wish to combine our loans, just in case anything were to ever go wrong I trust him - but you never know! Our finances are very tight as is we live and work in a very expensive metro area, but we make it work. We dont really eat out or shop - were just paying off our upcoming honeymoon and some of the wedding stuff right now and its a bit draining. I also have a lot of medical expenses. We have a very small savings, but its definitely there.I like my job as it stands, but the field of teaching is politically volatile, and Ive thought of leaving more than once. Not quite sure what Id do if I left and dont want to right now, but Im not quite sure? Also, not sure what happens to this if I were to take childcare leave? Should I continue with the consolidation, or should I keep what I currently have?tl;dr: Not sure if I should keep higher paymentslower interest rate, or consolidate for a higher interest ratelower payments and get loan forgiveness in 10 years?  <response>: Your total loan burden is just 18,491. You will probably be better served by simply paying down the principle as quickly as possible rather than trying to get PSLF. You have an ample salary to do this with. You may not even qualify for IBR given your income. For some motivation, here is a classic article: 