Success Story: How One Woman Paid off $89,000 in Under 2 Years

After graduating from college with a Political Science degree in 2011, Julie accumulated $25,000 in student loan debt. But her debt didn’t stop there.

After receiving a big promotion, she went on a spending binge. She bought a new car and took advantage of those alluring zero percent interest credit cards. Suddenly her $25,000 debt load more than doubled to $53,000.

As her debt was increasing, things were getting serious with her then-boyfriend. He popped the question. Though Julie was happy about starting her new life together as husband and wife, she also took on $36,000 of his student loans.

In total, they owed $89,000.

Saying no to “til debt do us part”

Julie realized she didn’t want to enter married life weighed down by the burden of debt. She found inspiration in the blogs No More Harvard Debt and the blog post News Flash: Your Debt is an Emergency. She decided to start her own blog, Millennial Boss.

Full of inspiration and ready to make some drastic changes, Julie started to create a plan towards debt freedom.

She started by using the snowball method to conquer her debt. “I paid down the 0% interest credit cards first since it was motivating for me to eliminate entire accounts early on. I left the student loans with the greatest interest rate for last since they were the greatest amount,” she says.

On top of that, she made some major changes in her lifestyle. She ended up taking a higher-paying job in another city and downsized by living in a small apartment. Because she chose an affordable apartment near her work, she sold her SUV. Downsizing and selling her things helped make an impact on her debt. But there was one thing that helped her eliminate her massive debt so quickly: earning more money.

Making more money

As a Political Science graduate with a nonprofit background, Julie wasn’t exactly poised to command a high salary or score a great job.

But in a matter of years, she was able to go from making $9 per hour in 2012 to making $200,000 per year. Reducing her expenses and downsizing her lifestyle helped, but earning a good income helped her pay off debt quickly.

How, exactly, did she go from making near minimum wage to commanding a six-figure salary? For Julie, it was all about being strategic with her career and the moves she made.

“I had no background in technology but knew it was a growing, well-paying field,” she says. “My previous work experiences had been at non-profits so I was a bit intimidated and wasn’t sure how to enter the field. I leveraged the skills I learned creating my own travel website to land that first internship opportunity and then parlayed that experience into my first tech job.”

Though she didn’t have a degree in the field, she strategically pursued a higher-paying job that aligned with her skills and interests. By landing a well-paying tech job, she was able to pay off debt quickly and also get her master’s degree — this time on her employer’s dime.

Struggles along the way

Though Julie successfully increased her income and downsized her lifestyle, she still had to make sacrifices. After all, paying off a huge amount of debt is no easy feat.

In fact, Julie had to make some difficult decisions while in debt repayment mode. “I didn’t go home for Christmas one year and also skipped out on a friend’s bachelorette party to save money. It was hard to miss time with family and friends and some people called me out on my decision to skip the events. That was hard,” she says.

Not only that, but paying off debt required tough and brutally honest conversations between Julie and her husband. Though they’re on the same page now, they had to work on financial planning together.

From these conversations, Julie decided to pay off her husband’s $36,000 of student loan debt after she paid off her $53,000 in debt. In total, she paid off $89,000 in debt in only 18 months.

How you can get out of debt

Paying off any amount of debt is tough. Paying off a balance inching toward six figures in a short period of time is a monumental feat. In order to get out of debt, Julie says you have to be willing to make the moves required to get you there.

“You have to make big moves to get big results. It wasn’t easy to move, sell most of our belongings and my car, or skip events with family and friends,” she says. “Ultimately, these drastic moves allowed us to pay off our debt in 18 months.”

If you want to pay off debt fast, take a note from Julie’s debt payoff playbook — change jobs and increase your income, move to a location where you can command a higher salary, and always learn new things. Downsize what you can and make sacrifices while looking at the big picture.

What she’s doing next

After paying off her debt, Julie is focusing on her next big goal: saving a million dollars and retiring in her early thirties. Currently, she’s already at 20 percent of her goal using the same strategies and principles she used to get out of debt.

Imagine — what crazy, audacious goal will you strive for once your debt is gone?

Interested in refinancing student loans?

Here are the top 6 lenders of 2018!

Lender	Variable APR	Eligible Degrees
Get real rates from up to 4 Lenders at once Check out the testimonials and our in-depth reviews! 1 Important Disclosures for Laurel Road. Laurel Road Disclosures VARIABLE APR – APR is subject to increase after consummation. The variable interest rates are based on a Current Index, which is the 1-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) (currency in US dollars), as published on The Wall Street Journal’s website. The variable interest rates and Annual Percentage Rate (APR) will increase or decrease when the 1-month LIBOR index changes. 2 Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi Disclosures Student Loan Refinance: Fixed rates from 3.999% APR to 7.804% APR (with AutoPay). Variable rates from 2.480% APR to 7.524% APR (with AutoPay). Interest rates on variable rate loans are capped at either 8.95% or 9.95% depending on term of loan. See APR examples and terms. Lowest variable rate of 2.480% APR assumes current 1 month LIBOR rate of 2.07% plus 0.91% margin minus 0.25% ACH discount. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. If approved for a loan, the fixed or variable interest rate offered will depend on your creditworthiness, and the term of the loan and other factors, and will be within the ranges of rates listed above. For the SoFi variable rate loan, the 1-month LIBOR index will adjust monthly and the loan payment will be re-amortized and may change monthly. APRs for variable rate loans may increase after origination if the LIBOR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% AutoPay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. *To check the rates and terms you qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit inquiry. Unlike hard credit inquiries, soft credit inquiries (or soft credit pulls) do not impact your credit score. Soft credit inquiries allow SoFi to show you what rates and terms SoFi can offer you up front. After seeing your rates, if you choose a product and continue your application, we will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit inquiry. Hard credit inquiries (or hard credit pulls) are required for SoFi to be able to issue you a loan. In addition to requiring your explicit permission, these credit pulls may impact your credit score Terms and Conditions Apply: SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet SoFi’s underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. To qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. If approved, your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, years of experience, income and other factors. Rates and Terms are subject to change at anytime without notice and are subject to state restrictions. SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Lending Corp., NMLS # 1121636. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) 3 Important Disclosures for CommonBond. CommonBond Disclosures Offered terms are subject to change. Loans are offered by CommonBond Lending, LLC (NMLS # 1175900). The following table displays the estimated monthly payment, total interest, and Annual Percentage Rates (APR) for a $10,000 loan. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) shown for each in-school loan product reflects the accruing interest, the effect of one-time capitalization of interest at the end of a deferment period, a 2% origination fee, and the applicable Repayment Plan. All loans are eligible for a 0.25% reduction in interest rate by agreeing to automatic payment withdrawals once in repayment, which is reflected in the interest rates and APRs displayed. Variable rates may increase after consummation. All variable rates are based on a 1-month LIBOR assumption of 2.08% effective July 25, 2018. 4 Important Disclosures for Citizens Bank. Citizens Bank Disclosures Education Refinance Loan Rate Disclosure: Variable rate, based on the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) published in The Wall Street Journal on the twenty-fifth day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month. As of August 1, 2018, the one-month LIBOR rate is 2.07%. Variable interest rates range from 2.72%-8.17% (2.72%-8.17% APR) and will fluctuate over the term of the borrower’s loan with changes in the LIBOR rate, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a cosigner. Fixed interest rates range from 3.50%-8.69% (3.50% – 8.69% APR) based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a cosigner. Lowest rates shown require application with a cosigner, are for eligible, creditworthy applicants with a graduate level degree, require a 5-year repayment term and include our Loyalty discount and Automatic Payment discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. The maximum variable rate on the Education Refinance Loan is the greater of 21.00% or Prime Rate plus 9.00%. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Please note: Due to federal regulations, Citizens Bank is required to provide every potential borrower with disclosure information before they apply for a private student loan. The borrower will be presented with an Application Disclosure and an Approval Disclosure within the application process before they accept the terms and conditions of their loan. Federal Loan vs. Private Loan Benefits: Some federal student loans include unique benefits that the borrower may not receive with a private student loan, some of which we do not offer with the Education Refinance Loan. Borrowers should carefully review their current benefits, especially if they work in public service, are in the military, are currently on or considering income based repayment options or are concerned about a steady source of future income and would want to lower their payments at some time in the future. When the borrower refinances, they waive any current and potential future benefits of their federal loans and replace those with the benefits of the Education Refinance Loan. For more information about federal student loan benefits and federal loan consolidation, visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/. We also have several resources available to help the borrower make a decision at http://www.citizensbank.com/EdRefinance, including Should I Refinance My Student Loans? and our FAQs. Should I Refinance My Student Loans? includes a comparison of federal and private student loan benefits that we encourage the borrower to review. Citizens Bank Education Refinance Loan Eligibility: Eligible applicants may not be currently enrolled, must be in repayment of their existing student loan(s) and must make the minimum number of payments after leaving school. Primary borrowers must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or resident alien with a valid U.S. Social Security Number residing in the United States. Resident aliens must apply with a co-signer who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The co-signer (if applicable) must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with a valid U.S. Social Security Number residing in the United States. For applicants who have not attained the age of majority in their state of residence, a co-signer will be required. Citizens Bank reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at anytime. Interest rate ranges subject to change. Education Refinance Loans are subject to credit qualification, completion of a loan application/consumer credit agreement, verification of application information, certification of borrower’s student loan amount(s) and highest degree earned. Loyalty Discount Disclosure: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower or their co-signer (if applicable) has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower and their co-signer (if applicable) have submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: any checking account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, automobile loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage, credit card account, or other student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, and VT and some products may have an associated cost. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate disclosed in the Loan Approval Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan. Automatic Payment Discount Disclosure: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. Discount is not available when payments are not due, such as during forbearance. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account three or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount. Co-signer Release: Borrowers may apply for co-signer release after making 36 consecutive on-time payments of principal and interest. For the purpose of the application for co-signer release, on-time payments are defined as payments received within 15 days of the due date. Interest only payments do not qualify. The borrower must meet certain credit and eligibility guidelines when applying for the co-signer release. Borrowers must complete an application for release and provide income verification documents as part of the review. Borrowers who use deferment or forbearance will need to make 36 consecutive on-time payments after reentering repayment to qualify for release. The borrower applying for co-signer release must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. If an application for co-signer release is denied, the borrower may not reapply for co-signer release until at least one year from the date the application for co-signer release was received. Terms and conditions apply. Average savings based on 18,113 actual customers who refinanced their federal and private student loans through our Education Refinance Loan between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. The calculation is derived by averaging the monthly savings of Education Refinance Loan customers whose payments decreased after refinancing, which is calculated by taking the monthly student loan payments prior to refinancing minus the monthly student loan payments after refinancing. The borrower’s savings might vary based on the interest rates, balances and remaining repayment term of the loans they are seeking to refinance. The borrower’s overall repayment amount may be higher than the loans they are refinancing even if their monthly payments are lower.
	2.57% – 5.87%	Undergrad & Graduate	Visit Earnest
	2.80% – 6.38%1	Undergrad & Graduate	Visit Laurel Road
	2.48% – 7.52%2	Undergrad & Graduate	Visit SoFi
	2.47% – 7.99%	Undergrad & Graduate	Visit Lendkey
	2.57% – 6.65%3	Undergrad & Graduate	Visit CommonBond
	2.72% – 8.17%4	Undergrad & Graduate	Visit Citizens