I really wish I had a jar full of $100 like this! photo cred
I paid off another student loan!!! Whoo! That bad boy was originally $8,500 plus interest at 6.8%. I’ve now upped my monthly student loan payments to $2000 on the advice of a financial planner who works for my school. The idea is that there is a guaranteed return if I pay back my loans (6.8% return for most of them), especially now that the stock market isn’t at its best.
I have now paid off $29, 461 in student loans since graduating from undergrad in 2007. Plus interest, which I can’t find when I look at my loan history at https://www.nslds.ed.gov. I originally had 12 loans and now I am down to 8!
Also, one of my loan providers sold two of my loans to my other loan provider so ALL of my remaining loans are in one place! Whew! Originally I had to make student loan payments to three different providers so it is SOOOOOooooo nice to only pay one provider.
I’ve now increased my monthly student loan payments to $2000 on the advice of a financial planner who consults for my school. The idea is that there is a guaranteed return if I pay back my loans (6.8% return for most of them), especially now that the stock market isn’t at its best.
He actually told me to stop investing in my target retirement fund and put everything I have toward my student loan debt. I’m not going quite that far because I believe that investing in the stock market when it is down is sorta like shopping at Black Friday sales and will pay off in the long run. So I will continue investing a few hundred dollars a month for my retirement.
I am writing about my debt repayment plan here to hold myself accountable. It would be so easy to pay the bare minimum on my loans and travel and indulge like most of my friends here. Instead, I want to have this load off my shoulders! I have $36,154 left to pay.
I am still on track to be loan free by the end of July 2017!
Now for a musical interlude:
My upcoming loan milestones are:
Pay off next loan in July 2016, thanks to my summer “bonus”, bringing my total to $25,424
Pay off another loan in September 2016 bringing my total to $21,641
Pay off another loan in November 2016 bringing my total to $17,816
Pay off another loan in January 2017, thanks to my December “bonus”, bringing my total to $12,447
Pay off another loan in April 2017 bringing my total to $6,536
Pay off another loan in June 2017 bringing my total to $2557
Using my summer “bonus”, pay off my FINAL loan in July 2017!!!!
Are you paying off your student loans too? Are you still investing for your retirement? What do you think of my plan?
Teaching Wanderlust 
You just confirmed my decision to move to Venezuela.
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If you are trying to save or pay off debt it is a fantastic place to do it!
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Congratulations! It always feels good to hit a target and all your milestones aren’t too far away. Looks like you’ll have them paid off in no time 🙂 I’m still paying off mine, but not too much farther to go!
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I can’t wait to be debt free! How much longer do you have until yours are paid off?
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This sounds like such an awesome plan! I have tons of student loans to pay off, and am looking at a very similar plan for myself. Well, since I’m just starting out in overseas teaching, I won’t be paid off by 2017. I think it’ll probably take me about 5-6 years. But I’m fine with that, as long as I get it over with! Thanks for posting this. I have thrown around the idea of just paying the minimum so I can travel and spend like a wild, but I think you are totally right: it’s best to just get it all taken care of!
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I’m happy to hear about another teacher making the tough choice to get rid of her debt. I always wonder why there aren’t more teachers who have student loans choosing to go abroad. Once I had someone else paying for my rent, most of my utilities, and in some cases giving me a tax-free income, it became so much easier to pay off my loans! The hardest part is resisting the urge to fly somewhere for every vacation and long weekend.
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