Hi Heather,

I will be graduating in a few months with nearly $130,000 of debt in federal Direct loans (mixture of Stafford and Grad Plus loans). Luckily, I’m single and will be making a salary of approximately $100,000 next year. Using the information and the calculator from ibrinfo.org, it looks like I will qualify for the IBR plan with monthly payments of around $1040. This would be substantially lower than the $1500 payments I would have under the standard 10 year repayment plan.

However, I want to pay these loans off as quickly as possible. I’ve been inspired by people like the guy who wrote the No More Harvard Debt blog and the Mr. Money Mustache blog to make paying off debt my top priority, and have mentally committed to living as frugally as possible until I’m debt free. I want to apply all of my income that exceeds my living expenses to my student loan debt. This would inevitably involve some substantial prepayments. 

So, my question is this: Is IBR a good choice for a person who plans on making frequent, substantial prepayments? I’d prefer that option over the standard repayment plan so as to keep my monthly payment lower in case of unexpected expenses, etc. Would making prepayments like this be cause for the government to find that I lack the “partial financial hardship” required for IBR eligibility?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!