HOW WE PAYED OFF 100K IN STUDENT LOANS IN 1 YEAR!

Many have asked how we managed to pay off my student loans in less than a year.  I am, by no means, a financial expert.  However, here’s how my husband and I tackled my hefty loans.

Our tips and tricks:

1. Start making payments as soon as you can! I made my first payments before my loans came out of deferment. The earlier you start paying them off the better!
2. Pay more than the minimum payment each month and as often as you can! – I made a payment each paycheck.
3. Maximize your payments. Hubby (my excel genius) created a spread sheet so I could see exactly how much of my payment should go towards each loan to minimize interest.
4. Save money anywhere you can! (This may seem like a no brainer, but I’m sure if you look into your own finances you are wasting more than you think!)
   1. Live at home!  Ari lived at home while I was away at PA school. He was able to pay off his loans before I even finished school!
   2. Grocery shop at 5 different stores- jk, but compare prices and keep track of your spending. And set a realistic weekly/monthly grocery budget. (We have an excel spreadsheet that tracks our spending)
   3. Get rid of unnecessary expenses – For us, this was cable (don’t worry we still have Netflix!)
   4. Avoid going places where you’ll be tempted to shop or make sure you have lots of self control 😉
5. If you are married, live off of one persons salary.  This is a tough one, but try your best to achieve this! We lived off of my husbands salary, and my ENTIRE paycheck went into my loans!
6. Put off big purchases. This one is very tough but extremely important! – Ari and I wanted to get into a house ASAP but as soon as we realized how much interest was accruing on my loans each month, it made more sense to put what we had set aside for a down payment directly into my loans to knock them down.

And most importantly, don’t get discouraged! You’ll get there!

XO