On a Sunday afternoon several years ago, my wife and I sat at our kitchen table, staring glumly at a budget I'd worked up for us.

Even though we were both attorneys at the time, the numbers were ...  less than great. My wife worked at a small law firm, and I worked as a government attorney—good jobs by most standards. But I carried a hefty debt load from law school, and those monthly payments took a serious chunk out of our budget. 

You could have filled the courtroom of the U.S. Supreme Court with all the things I didn't know when I started law school.

Chief among them: A law degree is the second most expensive graduate degree in the United States. Law students graduate with an average $140,616 in student loans. 

Ever dreamed about how it would feel to just hand your loans off to someone else? Of course. We all have.

A surprise Good Samaritan probably isn't going to step in and take over your loan payments, but in certain situations, transferring your loan balance may actually be possible. 

The D-word. Shudder.

No one wants to think about debt—much less talk about it. And when it comes to actually doing something to get out of it? You certainly wouldn't be alone if you found yourself pretending to live in a unicorn-filled land where your student loan balance doesn't exist. *Raises hand*

You might think going into a high-powered profession like law or medicine would guarantee that you'd pay down your student debt quicker than most. But — according to our recent Payback Progress survey — you'd be wrong. 

So who's winning the loan payback game? Get ready to be surprised. 

With a to-do list that’s threatening to take over your weekend and an email inbox in need of attention, the last thing you have time for is a long, involved application process—even if it could mean saving thousands of dollars.

Fortunately, refinancing your student loans can be a relatively quick process, though you will need to set aside a bit of time and have some documents ready before you start. Here’s what you need to know.