Thanks for the advice. Honestly, being that I work in startups, am a year and a half out of grad school, don't have to well-to-do parents, and support my partner, I think you've helped me realize it's definitely not so smart to be bufferless.

Honestly, part of this mania began when I looked at my statements for just one provider (Chase) and realized the minimum payments they were asking for (~$300) covered ONLY the monthly interest. That sort of freaked me out, and I got spooked at the prospect of allowing that bank to rent-seek on my back for the next few decades, while I lack any sort of consumer rights to even ask a court for bankruptcy protection.