5 tips to pay off huge student loans, from graduates who have done it

Was paying off your student loan debt for good one of your resolutions for 2016?

Seven out of 10 seniors who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had an average student loan debt of $28,950, according to the most recent numbers crunched by the Institute for college Access & Success.

In her second edition release of CliffsNotes Graduation Debt, author Reyna Gobel explains that student loan minimum payments are typically figured for a 25 to 30-year term so you could be paying it for most of your adult life.

The debt could even hamper your ability to move out of your parent’s house, buy a car, buy a house or even start a family.

So, how do you know if your student loan debt is realistically payable before 20 or 30 years pass, given your starting salary? The simple formula cited by Mark Kantrowitz, student loan expert and publisher of edvisors.com is, “If your total student loan debt is less than your starting annual income, you will be able to repay it in 10 years or less.”

Kantrowitz says that paying 10 percent of your monthly income toward student loan debt is manageable, and paying 15 percent is stretching that limit.

Many young adults graduating with student loan debt just want it gone, above all else, and they are willing to stretch. They are proof positive that it can be done, by using extreme student debt payoff strategies.

Student loan payoff strategy #1: Extreme budget-cutting

Name: Zina Kumok
Balance: $28,000
Current profession: Personal finance writer/blogger in Denver, Colorado
Starting salary after graduation:$28,000 in an entry level newspaper reporting job
Time to payoff: 3 years

Why she did it: “As soon as I made that first payment and saw how half went to interest, I realized I wanted to be debt-free as soon as possible. It was so hard to learn how little my $28,000 income really was.”

How she did it: “My strategy was extreme budget-cutting to make as many additional payments toward principal as possible. Once I moved in with roommates and cut my rent payment, it was even easier.”

Extreme student debt payoff secrets: “I signed up for auto-debit and on that day every month I would also put in my extra payment for whatever I could so it would automatically go to principal. That included birthday money, a bonus or holiday gift money. I also used the ‘snowball method‘ of debt payment where you pay off the smallest loans first to free up money from that payment as well as use the momentum for seeing it paid off to put toward paying off the next smallest loan and I just kept going.”

Professional opinion: Edvisors urges you to take advantage of auto-debit programs for 2 reasons.

1. Auto-debit, which automatically transfers loan payments your bank account to the lender, helps you avoid late payments

2. Signing up often makes the borrower eligible for a discount on the loan’s interest rate (0.25% to 0.50%)

Facebook/Columbia Engineering

Student loan payoff strategy #2: Keep college costs low

Name: Micah Fraim
Balance: $11,000
Current profession: Certified Public Accountant, owner of Micah Fraim CPA in Roanoke, Virginia
Starting salary after graduation:$40,000 in an entry level accounting job
Time to payoff: 6 months

Why he did it: “While mortgage debt and other types of debt can be a financial tool, I naturally hate consumer debt and student loan debt which is just a drain on income.”

How he did it: “My goal was to pay it off in one year at $1,000 per month, with a one-month grace period. Because I lived at home and paid only $400 rent to my parents, every other dime went to the student loans in a bi-weekly plan and I paid it off even faster than my goal.”

Extreme student debt payoff secrets: “First keep your college costs low. Then, pay all your other bills immediately so you can’t spend that money on something else, so you can see immediately how much you have left over from each paycheck to pay biweekly toward your student debt.”

Professional opinion: Gobel encourages borrowers to make bi-weekly payments. If you do, you’ll pay the equivalent of 13 monthly payments per year instead of 12.

Flickr / Matea Jocic

Student loan payoff strategy #3: Keep expenses low

Name: Nick Santora
Balance: $60,000,
Current profession: Cyber security specialist, owner of Curricula, a cyber security training program for corporations in Atlanta, Georgia.
Starting salary after graduation:$50,000 in an entry level cyber security job
Time to pay off: 5 years

Why he did it: “I wanted to challenge myself to get that loan paid off by the time I turned 30.”
How he did it: “I paid a ‘bill to myself’ every month of $1,000, the amount I would need to pay the loans off in 5 years.”

Extreme student debt payoff secrets: “I lived with roommates so my rent was only $500 per month. Along with a decent starting salary I received bonuses and raises every year and I used all of that to attack my student loans aggressively. It was me against the student loans. Without that aggressive focus, goals can fall apart.”

Professional opinion: Gobel advises borrowers to put any raises or bonuses towards student loans instead of lifestyle boosts. The only exceptions to that rule are if you have no emergency fund or you have much higher interest credit card debt to pay off as well.

Flickr / danisabella

Student loan payoff strategy #4: Earn extra income

Name: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner
Balance: $40,000
Current profession: Personal finance blogger currently writing and traveling around in an RV
Starting salary after graduation:$50,000 as an entry level financial analyst
Time to pay off: 7 months

Why she did it: “I received my first student loan payment bill around 5 months after I graduated and I realized that I needed a plan to get out of student loan debt.”

How she did it: “I am queen of the ‘side hustle’ to drum up extra cash. My blog was one of my original and most successful side hustles, so much so that I quit my day job after my blog income surpassed it. I’ve also done mystery shopping, surveys, virtual assisting, and freelance writing for others all to pay off my student loan debt fast. I think everyone really does have time for a side hustle and they should use it.”

Extreme student debt payoff secrets: “Towards the end of my student loan debt payoff journey, I decided to dip into my emergency fund to make final payoff so much quicker. Also, I knew my new higher and growing income could support repaying the emergency fund very quickly.”

Professional opinion: Using an emergency fund to pay off student loan debt is only advised if you still have some emergency fund and your current income can replace it quickly. Gobel cautions that you could be at the mercy of an emergency that uses up your cash and delays another debt payment, putting you behind and adding fees and interest.

Via Flickr

Student loan payoff strategy #5: Pay down the principal

Name: Jonna Reczek
Balance: $12,000
Current profession: Public Relations account associate in New York, N.Y.
Starting salary after graduation:$38,000 as an entry level public relations account associate
Time to pay off: Recently graduated and still paying

Why she did it: “I had a discussion with my dad who explained how paying longer results in paying more interest. That’s when I knew I had to pay them off as quickly as possible.”

How she did it: “I used the 6-month grace period to find a good job as soon as possible and build up a savings base. Once the $2,000 loan became payable, I decided to just pay it with the savings I had amassed to avoid stretching it out with its higher interest rate. Now, I can devote all my extra money to the other, lower-rate, $10,000 loan.”

Extreme student debt payoff secrets: “I am currently living with a family friend so I only pay $500 monthly rent which includes everything. I also front-load all my payments so the extra amount goes towards principal. Since I’m newly out on my own, I just learned that opening my mail every day is actually very important. I recently found a letter with a November time-stamp containing a notification that my first loan installment would be due in February.”

Professional opinion: Gobel suggests always being aware of all your student loans (you may have many), their specific interest rates, loan terms and payment dates. She advises using the National Student Loan Data System as your first step in adopting an extreme student loan debt payoff plan.

Any extra amount you can put toward student loan debt is good.

Gobel explains (with a chart in her book) that even $5 reduces the amount you owe and the length of the loan and amount of interest you will ultimately pay. She also advises borrowers to check with each loan servicer to ensure that none of these extreme payment strategies voids any specific direct-debit or other borrower benefits attached to your current payment plan.

SOURCE:BUSINESSINSIDER