Debt Archives - Page 2 of 47 - Making Sense Of Cents

How I Paid Off My $40,000 Student Loan Debt In Less Than One Year

Last Updated: July 18, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

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Are you interested in learning how to pay off student loans? Are you looking for the best way to pay off student loans?

Today, I want to talk about how I paid off my student loans, tips to pay off student loans, and answer many of your top questions about how student loans work.

I graduated college with $40,000 student loan debt, and I paid off my student loans in just 7 months. It’s been several years since I paid them off, but I still receive so many questions about this topic.

There are approximately 45 million student loan borrowers in the U.S. with a total of $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. Yes, that’s trillion.

With so much student loan debt, it’s not surprising that I receive so many questions about how to pay off student loans. Student loans can stay with you for years, and they can affect almost every financial decision you make until they are paid off.

Student loans can prevent you from saving for retirement, make it harder to pay off other types of debt, find the job of your dreams, and so on. [Read more…]

18 Debt Free Stories That Will Inspire You

Last Updated: January 26, 2022 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I love a good debt free story! If you are interested in learning how to pay off debt, the 18 stories I’m about to share will teach, motivate, and inspire you.

When I was paying off my $40,000 student loan debt in 7 months, I spent a lot of time online reading how other people paid off their debt.

Because I wanted to pay off my debt as quickly as possible, I knew I needed some extra motivation.

Finding a good debt free story would give me the boost of energy I needed to keep working on my side hustles, finding new ways to save, and put all of my extra money towards debt.

I also learned so many great tips and tricks to help me pay off my debt that I wouldn’t have learned about otherwise. Not all of the tips I read about worked for me, but some did.

By reading other people’s debt payoff stories and learning how to become debt free, I believe that you can find motivation to pay off your own debt. [Read more…]

Pay Off Debt Or Save Money – Is One Better For You?

Last Updated: November 8, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Should you pay off debt or save money?

I wish this was a super easy article where I could just give you a clear answer about whether you should pay off debt or save money, but that’s just not how personal finance works.

Every situation is different, and today, I’d like to go over different circumstances so you can figure out the best answer for your personal situation.

Whether you have a mortgage, student loans, a car loan, credit card debt, medical loans, or something else, you may be wondering if you should only focus on paying off your debt and how saving money fits in as well.

And, you may be stuck.

A big question when paying off debt is if that should be your sole focus. Should you still be trying to save money while paying off your debt?

Or, should all of the extra money you have be going towards your debt?

You may be wondering things such as:

Should I pay off debt or emergency fund first, as in set some money aside for emergencies?
Should I pay off debt or save up for a downpayment?
Should I pay off debt or save during a recession?
Can I pay off debt AND save money at the same time?

And so on and so on. [Read more…]

How We Paid Off $161,000 In Student Loan Debt in 16 Months

Last Updated: October 16, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello! Today, I have a great debt payoff story to share from a reader, Kristin Burton. She paid off $161,000 in student loan debt in 16 months, and also just recently paid off her mortgage. Below is her story, enjoy!

In 2016, I finished grad school with $161,000 in student loan debt.

That six figure debt created more stress than I ever thought possible.

I initially got my first job as a Physician Assistant and was over the moon excited to have my first salaried position.

However, I very quickly realized it would be very difficult to ever get ahead financially with my minimum student loan payment of around $2,000 per month over the next decade.

Even though it is well within societal norms to take out student loans to get a degree, especially a graduate degree, I experienced substantial shame over having it when it was all said and done.

My husband brought no debt to our marriage, so the major financial burden we experienced had all been thanks to yours truly.

Rather than wallow in my sorrows, I sat down with my husband and we crafted a plan to get rid of it. [Read more…]

Here’s What You Need To Know About Becoming A Cosigner

Last Updated: November 8, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you thinking about becoming a cosigner for someone? Have you ever been asked to cosign on a loan before?

Many people have been asked to cosign loans for family members and even friends. However, many people do not understand the full cosigner meaning, and becoming a cosigner is never something you should do unless you completely understand what it means.

If someone asks you to cosign a loan for them, you might be hesitant to say yes at first. You also might not want to offend the person or make them mad.

Whatever you may be thinking, I want you to fully understand what you are getting yourself into.

Becoming a cosigner can actually turn into a big financial mistake if you do it without really thinking it through.

Okay, now some of you may think that I’m a mean person for saying that, but I’ve heard many stories from people who’ve had their credit wrecked, have been stuck paying a loan for someone else, and even had their relationships ruined.

All of that from cosigning a loan. [Read more…]

How My Wife and I Lived on $2,000 Per Month for 3 Years During a Financial Hardship

Last Updated: September 4, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 26 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello! Today, I have a guest post from Dave at The Dollar Blogger. Dave lost his job, and then 2 weeks later his wife was laid off. This is their story of how they got by, their sacrifices, strategies, and more.

I’ll be honest – I’m not one for excessive frugality. I wouldn’t consider myself frivolous, at least, not anymore, but my wife Mary and I were hit with a solid dose of reality when we lost all of our income over the course of two weeks in 2012. One wrong turn and a layoff two weeks later took Mary and me from making over $100,000 in a year to zero income.

In this post, I’m going to share with you this scary financial hardship that rocked our world, and how the two of us got through it successfully and back on our feet.

We also learned some life-changing lessons about money, which is excellent for anyone who suffers a sudden and total income loss.

In the end, we lived on $2,000 a month, for just over three years.

How (And Why) We Paid Off $34,000 Of Debt In Our First Six Months Of Marriage

Last Updated: March 28, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello! Today, I have a great debt payoff story from Zach Buchenau. He is a reader of Making Sense of Cents and shares how he and his wife paid off $34,000 in debt in the first six months of their marriage.

A little less than two years ago, my wife Katie and I were enjoying a warm, relaxing honeymoon in Arizona. Like most couples, we spent that time decompressing from all the hectic wedding festivities, enjoying each other’s company, and planning our debt payoff strategy.

Wait, what?

Ok, I understand that paying off debt might not be the most romantic topic of conversation for newlyweds.

But here’s the thing, the moment we got married, our individual debts combined to equal a whopping $34,000.

And as you might suspect, we were both pretty overwhelmed by that number. (Truthfully, I still get a little queasy thinking about it.) [Read more…]