Paying Off Nearly Six Figures of Student Debt in Seven Months

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I lucked out with student loans, I only owe 5,000 Nd that was with acquired interest Because I didn't have a know to pay off when I got home. With my current payment plan I'll have it paid off in 10 years. But I can pay however much I want to any given month. As long as I pay thr alotted 60 dollars.
But with my current situation I can pay 1,000 a month and have it paid in 5 months. However I Also acquired about 1500 in other bills thinking I was making good decisions. For the next 3 months I'm only spending 500 on my student loan, and 500 on my other bills which usually pays off two bills.
Which leaves me with 800 monthly to pat off living expenses and have 200 for leisure.... which goes into savings Haha: )

momo of OR 11:20AM September 18, 2012

My creative way of paying off my debt is through affiliate marketing. Those who help me get a freetrial to something like Gamefly and I get a commission used to pay off my loans!
http://locallyreferred.com/member/6585/referred
I've also cut every cost possible in my life. No more cable, no more new car (picked one up for $600) and soon eliminating my data plan on my phone!

J0schm03 of MI 1:33PM August 28, 2012

Final thought. I did all this on an income of approximately 45,000 a year after taxes. Sacrifice, Sacrifice, Sacrifice wherever and however you can to kick Sallie out. There is hope. 'Live like noone else, so you can live like noone else.' Debt is dumb, period, no ifs, ands, or buts. Good Luck

Sean R of OR 12:59PM August 09, 2012

Great Job. This story is about sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice. Dont listen to the student loan crybabies who dont want to pay their loans off. I too had nearly 90,000 in student loans as of December 2007 and currently my balance is 25,000. I will have Sallie Mae kicked out permantely by March 2013. Dave Ramsey says 'Live like noone else, so in the end you can live like noone else.' In five years, I sacrificed everything to repay Sallie. I dont have a house, no wife, no kids, no investments. I'm 33 years old. Finance advisors would say invest your money. I say to the so-called finance gurus, I just saved nearly 95,000 in student loan interest and the peace of mind the loans are gone. In this economy no investor will be able to find you a 95,000 investment earnings in five years.
To those who are paying back their student loans in a responsible manner there is light at the end of the tunnel. Pay Sallie as fast as you can. Sacrifice as much as you can to kick Sallie out. Dont listen to those who say take your time to pay your student loans back. If you get sick and cant pay loans back, guess what student loan interest starts to accrue. 'Live like noone else, so in the end you can live like noone else' Good luck.

Sean R of OR 12:46PM August 09, 2012

You know what I love about these articles is that it is always about the one who makes the good money and its veiwed as a great accomplishment. How about finding the people who make between 30-45000 a year who may be single with dependents and still have the same amount of debt with no savings. How do these people pay it off this is of more interest and applies to more poeople looking into this information. Because if you cant be debt free at 100k a year you have a problem.

J of MA 8:58AM August 02, 2012

Although I just realized, the math in the story has this guy living off of almost 30k . (70% of his post-tax income) a year and throwing the rest at the loans.

SKETCHEE of MD 3:02PM July 26, 2012

I love these kind of stories although much of it doesn't apply to my situation. I don't have the tens of thousands of dollars in savings or in my 401k. And I don't have a motorcycle or anything of that kind of value to sell. That was a really dubious start! $25,000 in savings? Good for him!
However, I can live more frugally, save more and be prepared to give up more. I think that part is what people can learn from

Sketchee of MD 2:53PM July 26, 2012

I am glad to read this story this gives me inspiration to keep going. I got my nursing degree last spring and believe it or not it has not been easy to find work as a registered nurse. However, I landed a job five months ago. My student loan debt was up to $55k. I was not happy just to make minimum payments and to see my time and money get swallowed up by interest accumulation. With extra money in my life finally, I resolved to pay this off asap. I make at least bi-weekly payments to loan services now, sometimes more frequent payments. I have my loan down to $37k now and the closer I get to zero(!) the more amped I am about completing this goal. I have no car (no gas expense, no insurance, no tickets, no repair bills). I cook at home a lot and I eat healthy foods. I work two jobs, often 6-7 days/week. I have no credit card debt. I never buy useless things. I rarely buy useful non-food items. I find cheap hobbies (music, reading and art). Yes dating lacks in my life and this is difficult and often lonely, but to be honest after my indentured debt experience I wouldn't want to be with a partner that expects to ride in a car to the mall on Saturday. I think I have learned something about the value of life and money and seen how wasteful our society has become. I don't know what I'll do exactly when I am due to be debt free in 15 months (at my current rate of repayment). I'll probably get myself a beignet and a coffee at Cafe du Monde and just enjoy the music and the air by the Mississippi River. One thing is sure, I have no plans to take out any loans again. I feel awful for those that have a hard time getting off the ground with repayment. My only advice would be what works for me: Get aggressive about tackling this problem. Log into your loan account and view the interest accumulation on a daily basis. It's painful yes, but it will motivate you. Cut out non-essentials. Get a bicycle. If you sell the car you will be amazed at how much faster you can achieve your goal. Take care of yourself and don't beat yourself up about it. Repayment is damn good therapy. It feels better than I imagined it would. The hardest part was getting started. The first couple of payments were psychological hurdles. Now I am on a roll and 1/3 done. You can do it. Good luck!

Bob of CA 10:52PM July 23, 2012

This is a great story and very inspiring. We all need to look at "out of the box" thinking for solving our own economic conditions.

JRHale of GA 7:13PM July 23, 2012

I must be a dunce >< I don't get how you paid off your student loans. To help my son go to college I took out a student load for three thousand five hundred dollars from sally mae > that was eighteen months ago > I received my first bill WOW that three thousand five hundred bill is now over thirteen thousand dollars! Son took out twenty thousand dollars in loans he now owes over seventy thousand dollars > he finished college in April it is now July and he still has not found a job. I get that you didn't go out > I get that you sold things > but how did you pay the student loans off? Your whole articular sounds like you already had money to play with > move around etc. People like me who live pay check to pay check who don't go out who don't buy nice things > people like me who are in upside down mortgage > people like my son just starting out in life > how do they get ahead?

cynthia of FL 6:27AM July 22, 2012