Student Loan Freedom Achieved: How I Paid Off $25,000 in Just Over 2 Years!

[S_Happens]

Paid off my student loans!

Not 100% accurate, but I did file for a final payment submission for next week and my paycheck clears this weekend. I'm too excited to wait until then. FREEDOM! :!)

All in all it was a little over $25,000 since I started paying in Feb. 2007. My goal from the start was to pay IT off in 1.5-2 years and this is just a hair over 2 years. I was doubtful I could do it, but I kept at it.

It's such a huge weight off of me, I can't even express it. There's more to it than just being 25k, but I think even that is pretty good.

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

 

[turbo]

Congratulations! Now, the real trick is to start saving that same amount of money that you have been devoting to retiring that debt, until you have built up enough savings to get through rough patches, unexpected expenses, etc. I left college debt-free because I worked full-time all my summers and worked in bands on weekends and spent time and money buying, refurbishing, and re-selling electric guitars and amps. It was a lot of work, combined with my course-load, but it was a heck of a lot less stressful than contemplating carrying debt for years.

 

[hypatia]

Good S_Happens, that's a great debt to be free of, in such a short amount of time. You have every right to be very proud of yourself.

 

[physics girl phd]

Huzzah! congrats!

I have a wee little subsidized loan (only enough taken so I could afford to move to the location of my grad school). While I make regular payments above and beyond the "normal" payment on that (and could have paid it off a year or two ago), I've chosen instead to pay off some of the higher interest loans that my husband came into our marriage carrying.

AND I'm presently without a car... so I've balanced loan paying with some saving (so that I can either have a decent down-payment or buy a nice used vehicle flat out... should the need arise for me TO have a car again). Oh yeah... and we're expecting a little one... so I've been saving money for that (total pre-natal and birth medical expenses are about 1K with our insurance... and then there's probably the additional set-up costs, even though we aren't into fancy nurseries, etc. (heck... my sister's husband had a large box for a cradle when he was a baby!)

Turbo is right... now think of taking those loan payments and saving them... it's be a lot of money to put towards something important... a house down-payment, a car, perhaps a wedding if life takes you that way (if a large fancy wedding is your cup of tea... or a loved one's cup of tea). And you could take a few nice vacations if your schedule allots. Two of my single friends went to Manchu Picchu together recently. Heck... you only live once!

 

[CFDFEAGURU]

I still got years. Lucky you physics girl phd.

 

[S_Happens]

Turbo is right... now think of taking those loan payments and saving them... it's be a lot of money to put towards something important... a house down-payment, a car, perhaps a wedding if life takes you that way (if a large fancy wedding is your cup of tea... or a loved one's cup of tea). And you could take a few nice vacations if your schedule allots. Two of my single friends went to Manchu Picchu together recently. Heck... you only live once!

I'll have been a homeowner for 1 year on the 17th of this month and my 1 year wedding anniversary is may 3rd. (PITI less than 25% bring home, low fixed interest, and paid in full on time every time, so don't try to blame me)

It was much more of a mental burden than a fiscal one. We are very lucky to be in our financial situation, but we planned it that way and dated for 7 years just so that we would be financially stable when we did actually wed.

Congratulations! Now, the real trick is to start saving that same amount of money that you have been devoting to retiring that debt, until you have built up enough savings to get through rough patches, unexpected expenses, etc. I left college debt-free because I worked full-time all my summers and worked in bands on weekends and spent time and money buying, refurbishing, and re-selling electric guitars and amps. It was a lot of work, combined with my course-load, but it was a heck of a lot less stressful than contemplating carrying debt for years.

Absolutely sound advice. Luckily we've had the means to pay the loans with purely extra income, as I have the opportunity to work a good amount of overtime. We have enough liquid savings to get us through some hard times, benefits for the unhealthy times, and zero credit card debt. We couldn't have done it without the help of our parents who allowed us to live at their homes while saving up money to start a life.

 

[Evo]

Congrats S! My ex-husband just married me and I paid off the $40,000.00 in student loans he still owed. :grumpy:

 

[Andre]

Wow, Evo, that sucks. That's so the world upside down.

 

[turbo]

Absolutely sound advice. Luckily we've had the means to pay the loans with purely extra income, as I have the opportunity to work a good amount of overtime. We have enough liquid savings to get us through some hard times, benefits for the unhealthy times, and zero credit card debt. We couldn't have done it without the help of our parents who allowed us to live at their homes while saving up money to start a life.

I'm so glad to hear this and proud that you have taken this attitude. My wife and I have not had a loan of any kind in about 20 years. If we can't afford it, we don't buy it, and we never stress our savings with large purchases.

I splurged this year on the urging (nay, incessant nagging) of my wife. My father had an over-powered supercharged Buick Park Avenue Ultra that was nickel-and-diming him to death, and I nagged him into cashing in a CD that he was saving for us kids and buying a Subaru Forester. The next time my wife took some food to him, he made her take the Forester out for a drive (proud new owner!) and when she got home, she insisted that I go out and buy one. My old Nissan 4x4 is like a roller-skate on ice, and she hates it in winter. Like my father, I went to the dealership with the upper-hand - a personal check with no financing required. We both got great deals and ended up with free automatic transmissions - we both have arthritic knees, and clutching gets tedious.

 

[S_Happens]

Congrats S! My ex-husband just married me and I paid off the $40,000.00 in student loans he still owed. :grumpy:

Wow, I bet that makes for a sore spot.

 

[Ouabache]

Congrats S! My ex-husband just married me...

Huh?

 

[Evo]

Huh?

all my husband had to do was just marry me in order to get his debts paid off.

 

[mcknia07]

Congrats, S_Happens! That is awesome news!

Wanna share some of your wealth, Evo?! I could use the money!

 

[Topher925]

Also, look at the flip side of it, back when you took the loan the money was actually worth something. Now the money your giving the bank isn't worth crap!

 

[apples]

all my husband had to do was just marry me in order to get his debts paid off.

I haven't slept for 3 days. So I first read this as:
all my (ex-)husbands married me in order to get their debts paid off.

For a second I was like woah.