<p>Swimcatsmom–while I certainly don’t disagree with how foolish that type of loan can be, I disagree that one would need a 233,000 salary to “comfortably” pay it off. I’m guessing that comes from the idea that loans should be only a certain percent of one’s salary. But the flaw in that is to assume that one’s level of living needs to go up as one’s loan burden goes up. To pay that off, what one actually needs is, above and beyond what one needs to live, an additional 24,000 plus the taxes that one would pay on that additional amount. So, for instance, if one was living on 70K (still above the median), then maybe 30/40K more (admittedly not chump change) would cover the loan.</p>
<p>Please understand that I’m not disagreeing with you, but I think it’s important to use numbers that won’t be easily refuted. I understand where the 233K is coming from, but I question the premise it is based on.</p>