I need life direction. Should I go to grad school now or later?

Have you talked to your fiance about any of this? You're getting married, the two of you are a team. You're going on and on about all these different life plans, and I can't figure out where he fits in; I assume you're getting married sooner than 4.5 years from now, right? You don't need to have perfect finances to get married; in fact, getting married and pooling resources might make more sense financially. Maybe he could be breadwinner for awhile and you can focus on going back to school, or having children and then going back to school. Or not! You'll be able to do a lot more together than you will apart. As today's NYT Modern Love column discussed, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/fashion/learning-to-lean-in-together-modern-love.html?ref=fashion! I agree with lunasol re: having children while in school (we did; I work and husband is full-time student/part-time work). Is there a rental market in your area? You said "real estate agents" which makes me think you looked into buying homes instead of renting. Would renting be a more affordable way to get out of your parents' house? Talk it over with your fiance. 8K is really not all that much when it comes to student loan debt. Would it be possible to refinance to get a lower monthly payment? That freedom might help you feel better about your personal finances.

Your main problem is money - not making enough at your job, not having enough to move out, not having enough to start your own family. And your solution is to spend more money to go to grad school? No, wrong answer. You should go to grad school later, way later. And in the mean time get a better paying job that can support an independant life. It's really not necessary to make your career some rewarding supernova of recognition and achievement. It is necessary to make your career able to pay a winter heating bill. Expecting more sets up many young people for extreme, dramatic, and lasting disappointment, especially "in this economy".

OK. First things first: the perfect does not have to be the enemy of the good. You can deal with a lot of these problems, but probably in ways that are sub-optimal. This is ok. For instance, you can have a baby when you're in school. People do this. In some ways, it's actually better than doing it when you're working (unless you're working in a high-paying field) because you can often get grants for childcare, your schedule can be a bit more flexible, etc. Second: what if you and your fiance moved in together with roommates for now? Could that work? Again, not ideal, but better than living with your parents, for sure. And certainly not an uncommon situation for 25-year-olds. Third: do some serious analysis of different amounts of loans you could take out and what that would mean for monthly payments when you get out (under various repayment plans). And then look at your expected income once you're done. This will give you a realistic idea of how much you should be taking out in loans. It may actually be more than you think. Another option: could you do all of this in a cheaper city?

I agree that you might think about taking a job you don't love but pays you significantly more in the short term, reducing your overall debt and getting ready to go back to school (even starting the pre-reqs while you are working the higher-paying job). Your dilemma is one money can help solve. Look for a higher-paying job, probably in a different field. It's not your life's work, it's a means to an end.

I have a considerable amount of student loan debt as well, and I empathize with your situation and thought process right now. I've been there, so many times. The first thing you have to realize is that the dread/fear/anxiety that comes with student loan debt can distort your thinking. You're not doing anything wrong (in fact, your brain's response is almost entirely rational) but economic stress can http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/08/how-poverty-taxes-brain/6716/. The wording of your question makes it appear that your anxiety about this is causing your thoughts to spiral a bit (jumping to conclusions about your only 3 options, allowing that anxiety to spiral out into anxiety that you won't be able to have children, then jumping back to memories of being 17, etc.). The only reason I can identify this so clearly is that I've been there. Oh man, have I been there. My advice is to slow down, try to disentangle the various lines of thought, try to pull apart the fears from the realities, and make a concrete plan based on facts rather than anxiety. Easier said than done, I know. Let's list out some options you could consider (try not to dismiss any out of hand - they're all going to have upsides and downsides): A. Find a job making really good money, save up, go to school sooner B. Move to a cheaper city with your fiance, go to school right away and subsist on his income plus a part-time job that you get C. Find scholarships that will help pay for part of your grad program (some will depend on where you go to work afterwards) so you can start it sooner D. Move in with your boyfriend and some roommates, keep doing what you're doing, but enjoy life in the meantime more because you're not living at home E. Save up money, take a leave of absence from your job for one quarter to jam in as many pre-reqs as you can in that time, speed up the process. Essentially, you seem to have three different goals: 1. Move out of your parents' house 2. Start your 'real' career 3. Have a family You're going to need to figure out how you want to prioritize those. If your #1 goal is to start your real career, you're probably going to want to find a way to jump into a grad program sooner rather than later. If your #1 goal is to have a family, you're probably going to have to postpone some or all of this for a few years. If it were me, I'd think hard about prioritizing moving out of your family's house - because that's the one step that seems like it'd make everything else better. Finally, when you're doing these financial calculations, make sure that you calculate in how much your life is worth. So how much $$$ would you have to save to make living in your parents' house for one more year worth it to you? Would an additional 2 years of student loan payments be a price you'd be willing to pay to not have to live there another year? Etc. Those are a lot of different pieces of advice, but it's hard-won knowledge, so I wanted to include it all. I've emerged at the other end of a similar situation - and it is all eventually worth it. :)