I Paid Off My Student Loans

[Crease]

Thought I (35M) would die with these loans in my name. Not really but sometimes it felt that way. In May 2023, I had a $98K loan balance left. Combination of undergraduate and law school. Today the balance is officially $0. My wife and I have no other debt: no mortgage; no car loans; no credit card balances. We own a 45,000 mile Hyundai free and clear. We lease an apartment. It feels so good to have a clean slate. I attribute the hustle from $98K to $0 to setting clear simple goals, record keeping, and monthly accountability. And my supportive DW. Just wanted to share and know if anyone else here is celebrating similar successes this holiday season.

[roomtempmayo]

Heck yes!  Well done!

[comicguy]

Awesome Job!!!

[clarkfan1979]

That's a win, so good job.

My goal was to hit 1 million net worth before I paid off my student loans because the interest rates were low and I also got 3 years at 0% because of COVID-19. I started with 57K in student loan debt in 2012 and now they are down to 24K in 2024. However, payments started back up in October 2023 and the interest rate is around 7%. My monthly payment is $211. I might start to get more aggressive to pay them off, but it's been difficult because the stock market has been much higher than 7% since October 2023. I'm currently at 1.7 million, so I'm thinking the student loans will be gone when we hit 2 million net worth in about 2 years. 

[Ladychips]

Well done! I remember when I paid off my student loans. The feeling was indescribable. I was so grateful to have had them and so proud/relieved when they were gone!

Happy for you.

[Dicey]

Congratulations!

[Metalcat]

Congrats!! That's so exciting!

I just acquired a new student loan, but I'm in Canada, so it's 0%, so while I'll do what I can to pay it off as slowly as possible, but it's obnoxious to have it hanging around.

I had a massive student loan from my previous degree and it felt amazing to get rid of it quickly. You've done an amazing job, I look forward to hearing about what you do moving forward, because that's an impressive payoff.

[iris lily]

So great! Good job.

[mspym]

That is amazing! I felt SO GOOD once I cleared my student loan - the feeling of freedom was really energising.

[AMandM]

That's impressive--$98k in a year and a half! Well done you!

[Silrossi46]

Awesome!  Imagine how high you will soar from this point on!

[41_swish]

I paid mine off about a year ago and it felt great. That ~20k I spent on my degree was worth every penny. Sometimes I get nerdy with the numbers and wonder what would have been if I didn't just drop 20k to pay them off. Regardless life goes on!

[Loren Ver]

woo hoo!

Way to put your nose to the grindstone and just get it done.  It is so easy to dawdle or hope someone else will swoop in and take care of it.  But you did your own rescuing.  Good job. 

You now also know the power of putting large amounts of money towards something, like an early nest egg!  Compounding is like magic!

I actually did mine backwards where I didn't pay my loans off until after I retired-like years after.  Putting money away and letting it grow and using the growth has us earning more than our small incomes. 

[Warlord1986]

98k in a year and a half?

My guy, I bow down before a master.

[chasesfish]

Congratulations!   We keep the picture of the envelope going in the mail from when this day happened for us in 2015.   What an awesome milestone for you to rememebr.

[goodlivin23]

This is fantastic news! Great job! I did this twice (paying off student loans). Once for my undergrad about 20 years ago and then again for grad school. It is SUCH and AMAZING feeling, isn't it?? Well done!

[cupcakery]

Nice work!

[J.P. MoreGains]

Awesome work! Sounds like you are in a great position to save and invest a ton. I imagine you have a good salary as a lawyer. All that hard work for paying those off will now allow you to have a ton of success.