Next week I will be celebrating my 30th birthday. However, the party will begin a few days early. Upon receipt of my next paycheck, this Friday, I will be back to zero. It will be the first time my assets* (not counting mortgage) outweigh my debts since taking out that original student loan about a dozen years ago. In some ways it is sad to think that it has taken me this long to get back to having the net worth of toddler... but looking back on these last few years, I'm really proud at how far I've come.
I started college in the fall of 2002, grad school in 2007 and graduated in the Spring of 2010 with over $90,000 in student loan debt and $0 in retirement. I was 26 years old and in a pretty deep hole. My first post-grad job, which began in the fall of 2010, provided me with an annual salary that was roughly half of my total debt load. [Yes - I made some mistakes along the way]. Luckily my amazing girlfriend (now my amazing wife) had a nice paying job and, more importantly, was understanding of my situation. We lived in a cheap, below-code 400-square-foot studio apartment for over a year and a half until I could start to get on my feet. In retrospect, it was probably the best thing for us both; it was during these times that the frugality muscles really began to develop.
Now, about 40 months after starting that first job, I have about $41,000 in retirement, almost $7,000 in cash and just over $48,000 left in student loans (at 6.25%). Having spent the last 13 or so months firing everything I can at my loans--roughly $20,000--I decided this year to scale off the payments a bit. Not to live a more lavish lifestyle, but to get closer to maxing out my 401K and to continue maxing out my Roth.
*When I refer to "my assets", I'm just taking about the assets (bank account / retirement) and debts (student loans) that are in my name alone. I have to admit that, as a couple, my wife and I are doing well. This is mostly thanks to my wife. The only reason that I care to celebrate the "my assets" figure is because, for the longest time, I didn't feel like I was making a positive impact on our financial future. Happy to say that I don't feel like the anchor holding us back from achieving FI anymore.