The average college senior graduated with $29,400 in student debt last year and the number is projected to rise by a staggering 6% per year. Even worse, a full 44% of borrowers aren't making their payments for one reason or another. Despite the depressing statistics swirling around what's now been dubbed the current student loan crisis, there are still plenty of college graduates who manage to buckle down, live cheaply, and pay off their debt burdens. (See also: How One Inspiring Saver Found True Love, Shook Off Debt Denial, and Paid Off $123,000)Take Zina Kumok, for example, who is just one month shy of making her last payment on what was once a $28,000 student loan balance. Through a combination of tenacity and frugal living, Kumok will pay off her debt in just three years — while bringing home an income that's just slightly higher than what she once owed....Kumok was able to land a marketing and communications position in the city where her boyfriend lived and she even received a slight salary bump. (Her current annual income is slightly more than $30,000.) With a little more money coming in and lower expenses now that she wasn't traveling to see her boyfriend most weekends, Kumok was able to increase her student loan payment by an additional $300 per month. In short, instead of using her excess cash flow to expand her lifestyle, Kumok funneled the extra cash into her loan so she could chip away at her balance month by month.After their engagement, Kumok and her fiance moved in together. They also took on a boarder. "My rent went down significantly," she says. "Now I split utilities and rent with two other people. That really made a huge difference. Now half my take-home pay goes toward my loans."...Even so, she was able to put money aside for a couple of overseas vacations, proving that debt repayment doesn't have to be all work and no play. "It was hard for me to relax and have fun," says Kumok, who was able to take each trip on the cheap. Even so, she says, "I counted my budget every day on those trips. I'm excited to travel on a budget but not feel guilty about it, once my loans are paid off."... full story in the link above
