Good luck with your novel writing. I just though I would add my two cents. I've known people who paid thousands to get their MFA in creative writing or studio art and it hasn't resulted in tangible benefits. You graduate with debt and connections with other struggling writers or artists.
I do know one artist who is making a living through painting and she did not get her MFA. She just dedicated time to painting, approached galleries on her own, and let her work do the talking.
Also, have you considred taking a writing class? It's not the same as a two-year program but you do find yourself making time to write, making connections, and getting good feedback from students and the teacher. I took a class through Zoetrope/Gotham but I believe there are many good programs out there.
Best of luck!
One of the reasons I've wanted an MFA is that I find when I meet other writers, the ones I really want to workshop with all have MFAs. I want to be friends, be peers, trade rough drafts, hang out--they want me to pay them to edit my work. It's a status thing. The last time I tried to make friends with another writer who I considered a peer, she said, great! Nice to meet you. You can take my class if you want to talk to me about writing. I did take her class, but I resented being put in my place like that.
When I have tried to start writing groups with non-MFA-possessing writers like me, most of them don't have any training in how to critique writing. I have been in some really excellent classes and groups, so I know how to workshop. You wouldn't think that would be so hard, but it is a learned skill. I spend the whole time teaching these other folks how to give useful comments instead of just saying "I like it" or "I don't like it". I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I find it very hard to meet other writers who I feel are at my level but who don't see themselves as my mentors.
I realize I'm overgeneralizing, and I know I need to try harder to find/start a writing group. I'm sure in my enormous and culturally rich city there are plenty of people who either have MFAs or don't care about who has an MFA, but are skilled editors as well as writers so that I can get something out of workshopping with them. I really need to put more energy into building a social network with other writers. That's one of the things I'm hoping to do if I can give myself this semi-sabbatical from librarianship.
Long answer, but your comment was helpful and also made me think about why I have wanted an MFA (aside from what I'd learn from the teachers and other students in the program.)
It sounds like you're doing all the right things and thinking everything through before making a decision. Life IS meant to be lived, not worked. Heck, if you have a loyal following of readers like myself who are interested in what you have to say about PERSONAL FINANCE I can only immagine the following for fiction 
Best of luck.
I completely sympathize with this post. I too experienced a medical brush with death. Since that time I have made every attempt to live in the moment and pursue my passions, but the responsibilities of life often interfere with my good intentions. I also dream of writing, fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't really matter. Try to devote a few minutes a day to pursuing your passions. With or without a degree you'll spend time doing something you truly enjoy, and that will make your life all the better.
You ARE talented enough to do it - your fiction writing. You have everything you need at this moment to pursue the dream. Quit your job and start writing. You have the rest of your life to work for someone else. Or NOT because you'll be a best seller and won't have time to punch the clock. Visualize it. Claim it. 
Good luck on the health front-- sounds like you'll be okay but it can't hurt to have good thoughts headed your way, right?
And the writing plan sounds fantastic and exciting and I bet it would be great for you. If it's really what you want to do-- and it sounds like it is-- I think it's a good move to seize the moment now rather than wait until you can afford to go for an MFA. It may take some digging, but I'm sure you can find people to help critique your work. (Have you tried connecting with people online? Heck, I'd offer, but I'm sure I'm one of those inexperienced useless feedback-givers of which you speak.)
But anyway... the whole point of being financially responsible is so you can afford to live your life the way you want to, right? No, you don't want to be all about today and never about tomorrow, but nor do you want to always focus on tomorrow and never live in the present. Especially when it's not about the superficial material stuff, but about being fulfilled and following your dreams. I know you know all this stuff already. But in case you need some cheerleaders shouting "Go for it!" I'm here with pom-poms.
Wishing you well as you take a scary new step!
I always figure my greatest regrets are from the things I didn't do, rather than the things I tried that didn't work out.
I spent tens of thousands, sacrificed hundreds of thousands in lost income, and did enough damage to my career to force me to start over, so I could have the experience of travelling for 2-3 years nonstop. I'm the tightest guy I know and I don't regret doing it.
You're good with money, so just figure out all the costs, and then look at that number. If you can think of a more fulfilling way to use the money, do the other thing.
I don't think I'd take any student loan debt to do it though. Houses, lifesaving medical care, and degrees with a positive ROI--only good things to borrow for I think.
WOOHOOO!!!! DO IT! If you want the task-master portion of the MFA so you do not fall into the solataire hole (been there) I am happy to demand drafts! (or completely stay out of your hair)...
once again, in case you did not quite catch my wildly enthusiastic approval of your plan ...
WWOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!
Thanks, everybody.
And thanks, tank--I know I can always count on you for wild enthusiasm.
Speaking from experience re: an expensive masters degree in an art field...I too clung to the idea that putting me in touch with more "professionals" would be key. Yes and no... I found I was more critical of my student peers because I assumed they would be more mature/motivated.
I do not regret the decision of going back to school and urge you to do it if you feel its right for you. However, if I were to do it again I would have been smarter about the financing. For example, I would have really sunk my teeth into finding a job at the institution I wanted to attend or more deeply investigated grants/scholarships. (Believe it or not, I got a fellowship to my program. But, I chose to borrow living expenses and that really increased my debtload). Research it, but don't be intimidated to live your dreams!
I have two published authors in my family. While it was not easy, they did it. If you have the talent and passion pursue your goal - get writing!
Wow, big things to consider. If you really want to publish a book, I'd say write it, or at least most of it, plus a great proposal, and try to get an agent. I don't really know how many published fiction writers have MFAs. Novels are a tough business either way, but I would suspect that the metworking with other writers is more important for teaching, etc, and just being taken seriously within a certain community of writers. But if you have a great story to tell and can tell it well, and get an agent's attention by being "promotable," i.e. attractive, a good speaker, having some kind of unusual background story, etc etc, that is what will get you published, not the MFA degree. Which all sounds very crass and commercial, but from where I sit, that's what a lot of it comes down to! Best of luck whatever you decide!
Good luck! I think you should follow your dream and it sounds like you have some works in progress, so taking a year off and working part-time and living off your savings could really work for you.
It's a tough row to hoe and my writer friends who did the MFA/MA track aren't all successes as novelists, but they do get paid to write and maybe that isn't such a bad thing and a possible alternative too?
I'm happy you are going to try and follow your dreams. Money shouldn't stand in the way of your dreams. The money you've got sounds like it's a good tool to help you get the freedom you need to follow your dreams. I mean, isn't that what money is REALLY for?
Interested to know if you've had work published like a short story or journalism in hard-copy press or paid for online? Keeping one part-time job makes sense for its career value as well as money, while you see how writing might work out for you. I don't really have an opinion on the value of an MFA but some would clearly be worth more than others. Also if you work as a university librarian maybe you can get some free credit to try out a course or two?
Moom,
I've had 10 or 12 poems published in journals and anthologies. I hate writing short stories, so even tho I know that's a logical start I just want to cut to the chase and work on novels.
Keeping the part-time reference librarian gig is definitely going to help with continuity on my resume. I've been there over three years already (a long time for my generation of librarians). When I start looking for another library gig next winter or thereabouts, I will have a lot more confidence because I won't have to explain a gap in my work history.
Oh, and you asked about taking free classes at a university where I work. I could do that, but don't really want to go to school at either of the places where I work.
If I got an MFA I'd want to do a low-residency program (there are about a dozen programs that I know of in the US) where you are onsite for only a couple weeks at the beginning of the semester and study the rest of the time remotely.
I admire your dedication to pursuing your dreams while also being realistic! My advice: don't pay for the MFA. Either find a program where you'll be fully funded (perhaps a less known program in a less desirable geographic area) or take the money you'd have to pay back in student loans to support yourself while you write full-time.
I had 50k in student loans after three years of an MFA program in film from a prestigious art school. The loans now cost me $290/month at a 3.5% interest rate to pay back over the next 20 years, and I'm not even working in the field anymore. And that's largely because I don't have the financial flexibility to take professional risks because of the student loans!
My peers have also all gone into different fields, that great "community" of artists I expected to meet. And as for the faculty, they were too busy scrambling to promote their own careers and earn a living to be much value as "contacts" for the next generation of artists.
I don't mean to sound cynical. I just wish I hadn't paid so much for my MFA degree because it's a tremendous financial burden now. And the cost of my MFA increased significantly after I initially enrolled (I'd projected about 24k in total debt, but then the student jobs were lower paying than advertised and the tuition went up). So be wary of the numbers the schools give you.
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