When you leave school with a mountain of student debt, you might believe you will be paying it off for the rest of your life. Of course, this is not the case for most people, especially when you look at the story of this student on Reddit, who paid of her $50,000 student debt in only 2.5 years!
Living at Home
To save a little more and pay off her student debt more effectively, the student decided to stay at home. Even though she helped her parents with bills, she still saved a whopping $600 a month; this gave her $7,200 a year and a whopping $18,000 in 2 years.
Staying Organized
Another way she used to pay off her debt quickly was being organised. She created a spreadsheet which contained all her loans, sorted from highest to lowest interest. She also decided not to consolidate her loans, since it would have costed her some benefits.
By not consolidating her student debt, she could benefit from public service loan forgiveness. She also received a tuition reimbursement worth $2000.
Tightening the Belt
To ensure she could pay back as much as she could, she also tightened the belt a little. She would not spend much on going out. In fact, she would rarely spend time going out at all.
Tightening the belt also meant reducing shopping trips, which is certainly a difficult thing to do for a woman. However, this female student found a solution by buying things at second hand stores instead.
Despite tightening the belt, she did buy a car. Even though it was nothing fancy, she bought a bare minimum car with low minimum payments; this enabled her to build her credit rating.
40% Off the Paycheck
To pay back her student debt as soon as possible, she put a whopping 40% of her monthly paycheck into her savings account. This meant she had $1200 a month to pay back her student debts.
Working Extra Jobs
A teacher’s paycheck did not go as far as this student would have hoped, so she decided to work some extra jobs too. She got side jobs bar-tending and tutoring. She also worked night school, which were all used to supplement her income.
Saving on Lunches
One of the biggest mistakes a lot of graduates make has to do with lunch, because many tend to buy lunch on the job. Over time, this can amount to an incredible amount of money. You could easily spend $1,500-$2,000 a year on lunches. To ensure she would not make the same mistake, she packed her own lunches and avoided work and shop lunches like the plague.
Conclusion
Paying back a mountain of student debt is possible, as is proven by this female student. However, it takes a lot of common sense and willpower.
When you graduate, it is tempting to want the house and the big car right away, even though it would be better to pay off your student debts first.
The moral of the story? Resist the temptations of graduate life and spend your money wisely. By doing so, you can get rid of that pesky student debt a lot quicker!
Related: Paying Off $75,000 in Student Loans in 5 Years – Tips From a Student Who Actually Did It!
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Refinancing Student Loans