How I paid off my $25,000.00 student loan (3) years early and what exciting news that means for my f

I am completely passionate about budgeting and planning. It brings me happiness, it brings me a sense of purpose, it’s completely weird and I know it.

But sometimes being weird pays off. Because today, after (7) years of paying on my Parent Plus Student Loan that totaled over $25,000.00, I have completely paid it off. Not only did I pay it off… but I paid it off (3) YEARS EARLY. Do you know how much I paid a month on this ONE student loan? Are you ready to be mind-blown? I paid $400.00. That is someone’s car payment, maybe even someone’s mortgage. That is crazy, ridiculous, and worst of all…not my only student loan. I have (1) more that I am responsible for paying each month, and although it is not nearly as high as $400.00, I am still responsible to pay $155.00 each month to the federal government. When you combine my (2) student loans together, I was paying $555.00 a month for a bachelor’s degree in the social work field. For a social worker to fork out $555.00 per month is difficult to say the least.

But today, I am going to celebrate for (2) very important reasons.

Number 1- My student loan is PAID IN FULL and I no longer have to pay $400.00 a month.

Number 2- I get to stay home part-time with my babies once my daughter is born.

HELLO, BIG DEAL HERE, I get to experience something that so many mothers dream of doing. For so long, it seemed unfathomable, not financially possible, but today, 11/15/2019, I get to tell you that it is. I wanted my blog today to be inspiring to other’s who also have this same dream. I want to share some of my story and how we got to where we are today.

But first, can I vent for a second? The world of student loans angers me. More than that, it makes me sad because I see so many people that I love and care about struggle because of their student loan debt. As 18 year olds, ready to start college, we have no idea what we are doing. I’m sorry, we don’t. We know we should go to college (if that’s the path we feel we are meant to take), and we know that we don’t have the money to pay for it. So we do what everyone else does….we take out loans. We meet with an advisor, fill out some forms, sign a few papers, and then forget it about it until we graduate. I remember when I first received a letter a few months after graduation discussing my student loan repayment options. I was in shock…how could I afford this? In my first job after graduation, I worked as a Foster Care Family Worker making $26,000.00 a year. I remember feeling so ill prepared but most of all s c a r e d. Luckily, my parents made me go to a community college for the first 2 years. I remember being upset with them. Why did I have to stay home and go to Sauk? I knew other people who were going to go away to school. It just seemed like the cooler thing to do. Now that I am a little bit older, I can see that cool and smart are not always the same thing. I left Sauk without having any debt and that was definitely the wisest path for me (thank you mom and dad). When I went away to Illinois State, I really racked up the student debt. Not only did I take out money to pay for my schooling, but I took out money to pay for housing, and any extras. I kept a job all through college which helped but it definitely did not pay the bills. I got a refund check back one year for a couple thousand dollars. I decided to buy all new furniture for my already furnished college apartment. Ridiculous? I think so.

I have friends and family that are drowning financially from their student loans. Some went to a (4) year college for all four years, some went to a private school, some have their master’s degree. Some are paying close to $1,000.00 a month in student loans. HOW ARE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE IT? HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GET AHEAD?

Those same questions burned in my head. My dreams of being able to stay home with my children didn’t seem possible. Part of me felt like it wasn’t realistic anymore in today’s world. But another part of me felt like change was possible and that I could take a proactive approach to our financial situation.

A very intelligent and passionate woman I used to work with first spoke with me about Dave Ramsey. She was following his plan, taking his classes, and was on fire for financial stability. She completely inspired me. I started to do my own research, read his book, and used his budgeting forms each month. We made a lot of progress but would consistently fall back into old patterns. What is your financial weakness? Ours is going out to eat!

After Hunter was born, things got more serious. Now more than ever, I wanted to be able to stay home with my children. And equally as important, I wanted to teach my children the importance of money management. I knew it wasn’t going to be financially possible when Hunter was a baby but I told myself that with our second child, I would make sure I could stay home part-time. We paid off our cabin, Bobby’s student loan, medical bills from Hunter’s birth, and a small credit card. We took our tax money and put it on debt instead of buying materialistic things. I cut the grocery budget, started making more meals at home, and did family activities that didn’t break the bank like trips to Rockwood, White Pines, and our local parks. I sold my old car and put that money directly on my loan. We still indulged (we take a big vacation every year and small trips throughout the year) and we still go out to eat way too much. We do not follow Dave Ramsey’s plan to a science (by any means). But we have made huge headway and have cut our total debt in half since Hunter has been born. So here we are, 2 years later, and we are finally at a place that I can stay home part-time beginning in January.

Here are some things that worked for us….

1. Create a budget, a realistic budget. Figure out how much income you bring in each month and write it down. Write down all of your bills, everything from your Comed to your Netflix bill. Budget money for groceries, gas in your vehicle, clothing, dance classes for your daughter, etc. WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN, every dollar you spend, and figure out what you’re working with. So many people avoid this because they just don’t want to know. I get it, your financial situation might be bad, you might be going into the negative each month, but you absolutely have to KNOW what you’re dealing with. This is where you start.

2. Write down all of your debt from the lowest amount to the highest amount. You need to put everything here including your credit card bills, medical bills, car loans, boat loans, personal loans, etc. Figure out how much debt you owe.

3. After these two steps are completed, you should have an idea of how much money you have leftover each month. Say you have $200.00 leftover a month, that $200.00 should go directly on your smallest debt. It’s called the snowball effect and IT WORKS!

4. Listen to Dave Ramsey’s podcasts while you’re driving, working out, cleaning your house, etc. It totally motivates me. You can also read his books and take his class!

5. Is there something you can cut out or cut down? Take a good luck at your budget and evaluate this.

6. Get quotes for different auto, home, life insurance, etc. I’ve saved big money doing this.

7. Call your cable company/cell phone provider and threaten to leave them if they don’t give you a better rate.

8. Be proactive and plan ahead.

9. At the start of every month, I use my planner to write down every bill in my calendar. I write down the cost of the bill, when it’s due, and will cross it off once it’s paid. It’s a great visual to use and I love doing it (more than I probably should lol).

10. If you need help, message me. If you have questions, message me. I’d love to help in any way I can.

Finances are one of the biggest stressors in today’s world. Do you know that over 75% of the population live pay check to pay check? We live in a culture where if we want something, we get it. We charge it and worry about it later. I don’t want to be like that anymore. My grandparent’s bought every car they ever owned with cash. They bought every house they’ve ever owned with cash. Can you imagine?

Xoxo,

Jordan