Why I’m Not Rushing to Pay Off My Student Loan Debt

You’ve heard the stories about people paying off their student loan debts in months or a few years. You know the people that budget and save accordingly to pay off their debt in quickness? They make me envious because I’m nowhere near their level of owning it.

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Student loan debt sucks. I’ve talked about this subject before in 5 Ways I’m Handling My Student Loans where I touched on ideas to manage student loans and not panic about the payments. I’ll probably talk about it a lot because my means to monetize is to try to own my debt while I’m still young.

Back to the topic of people owning their debt is a small period — their timelines are achievable for some people, but in my best interest, those timelines aren’t right for me. Of course, it would be ideal to pay off my loans in two years which I probably can do but the idea of giving all my extra money a month to my loans just isn’t feasible to me.

Maybe it is to you which I will give it up to you and say good job because that’s something. But for some of us, that’s just not something we can do. Not everyone is blessed enough to fall into a 70K salary or sell their car or stop eating out, everyone’s situation is different. Don’t let anyone tell you what and how you are paying your debt off as something that is wrong because they have a different timeline than you.

For myself, I could never sell my car because that’s my way to get to and from home, work, etc. Some people sell their cars and cut out things they don’t think they need. Some people move back home with their parents which is an understandable and convenient money saving plan. Situations vary, some people have the means to pay more than their monthly payments, and there are people with 100,000 in loans that can’t make those extra payments. I can do make extra payments on my Federal loans but not my private loans  — the government is way cooler when it comes to giving you a repayment that is not going to take all of your savings. I do not have 100,000 in student loans or anything nowhere near that amount, but I understand that everyone has different debt costs and means. At the end of the day, I’m not putting all my extra cash towards my debt because I do have a savings and emergency fund that I don’t touch and want to build.

These all factor into why I’m not rushing to pay off my debt in a two-year span — can I? I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t know unless I tried. Kudos to the people that do pay everything off in a small period.

What can you (and I) do while we pay off our loans on our own timeline?

Accept the debt

Come to terms with the fact that you have debt. Don’t run from it because you can’t. Unless you’re like that woman that faked her murder and moved out of the country which I must say is a brilliant plan. You can’t run from the debt; you need to accept it. It’s going nowhere without your payments or forgiveness. If it makes you feel better, you aren’t the only one with student loan debt. There’s so many of us because of how expensive college is, and we want to be great. Just keep pushing. You invested in yourself, and this might not seem like one of the benefits, but you’re going to achieve great things. Accept it and conquer it.

Create a plan

Rather than create a timeline and tell yourself you need to have it all paid off by insert date here, you should create a plan of how much you can pay per month and what’s achievable for you. I think you need to do what is right and affordable for you. That’s what I’m doing! I refuse to sacrifice other things because of my debt. It might seem like a mistake or wrong move by others, but this is my debt. I’ll find a way to get through it, trust me. Last year, I panicked over the size of my payments, and I’m paying those now… it’s all about figuring it out and what works for you. I don’t go out on the weekends, but I do travel. I don’t buy new clothes as much as I used to. It’s all about how you go about it.

Find a side hustle

There are many side hustles out there! I say this as I explore them myself. You can start blogging and monetize it by sponsored posts are joining affiliate networks like Awin, ShareaSale, Linqia, etc. You can sell things on the internet like your creations on Etsy. Some sites pay you for taking surveys like Opinion Outpost. Be patient when you are signing up for these sites because it does take the time to get accepted into programs and given sponsored posts. You could sign up for Posh Closet and sell your old things. Have a yard sale. Pursue one of your passions like doing make-up. You just have to go out there and do it. There’s money out there; you just have to do your thing and find it.

Don’t get down on yourself

This is the most important thing you can do. Don’t get down on yourself about your situation. Don’t let your student loans get to you because you saw someone else paid their 200,000 amount off in two years. Just because it’s attainable for someone else doesn’t mean you have to follow. Let them be an inspiration to you and your ladder of paying everything off but don’t let them get you down. Don’t let someone else’s success be a put down for you. People do things differently, we are all living our lives differently.

This is why I’m not rushing to pay off my student loans. I’m not one of those people that can pay off their debt in two years, not yet.

This is why I’m not rushing to pay off my student loans. I’m not one of those people that can pay off their debt in two years, not yet.

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I can’t tell you that it’s going to be easy and that you are going to pay your student loans off when you want to pay them off. I don’t know how things are doing to play out for you. But I can say that you are trying, and you are going to pay them off one day. Do they suck? More than anything. Can you conquer them? Yes. Take all these stories about people paying their student loans off in months and years, take those stories and know that if they can beat such amount so can you.

Just take it one step at a time. Look into different things and figure out what works best for you and your budget.

You got this, and I got this.

What are your student loan plans?

If you get hte chance, feel free to pin this post or share it. I would appreciate it and love to keep the conversation going with people that are dealing with the same thoughts and plans. Thanks again for taking the time to read!