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Thank you to everyone for the congrats and well-wishes! The new dream isn't a house + 2.5 kids, but rather paying off your student loans. The one question I got repeatedly was: how did I manage it? First of all, it took a long time, six months shy of 18 years. (1/)
I didn't have nearly as much debt as many of you do: I'm an elder Millennial/Xennial/baby Gen X and graduated in 2002. Things were cheaper. I had $21,625 across two lenders: the federal government and my uni. I benefitted from living free in the dorms for 2 years. (2/)
Please note that this advice below is based on having a US federal student loan and not a private loan. This is aimed at people facing a shaky and uncertain financial future like I did when I graduated. It worked for me, but it may not work for you, and that's OK. (3/)
When I graduated, I was told jackshit on how to pay back my student loans. I didn't know they were in repayment until early 2003 when I got a late notice sent to my first apartment. PRO TIP 1: They kick in 6 months after you stop school, but check before you stop school! (4/)
PRO TIP 2: Defer the hell out of them if you need to. I could have paid this back by my early 30s, but my first few journalism jobs paid almost nothing. I paid when I could, deferred in chunks when I could not. Yes, you will pay more interest. You also need to eat. (5/)
PRO TIP 3: I kept renegotiating if I felt payments were too much. I stuck to an income-based graduated payment plan. This worked for me. I started at $78 per month and ended at $298 the past couple of years. I could only do tips 1 and 2 because ... (6/)
PRO TIP 4: DO NOT REFINANCE YOUR LOANS PRIVATELY. When I graduated, I was warned that I would get a lot of refinancing offers from private lenders. They would be tempting. I would also lose whatever deferment rights and graduated payment plans options I had. (7/)
And because I am a journalist and would not spill this tea without research, here is a good article on the pros and cons of student loan refinancing and consolidation: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/student-loans/consolidate-student-loans-overview/ and how to consolidate your loans https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/consolidate-student-loans (8/)
Having deferment and income-based payment options was a life-saver for me. It got me through my mid-to-late 20s when I couldn't pay squat. The economy has blown up twice since I turned 21. No offer of lower interest rates was more enticing than having those life lines. (9/)
I forget how many times I deferred. It got me through moves and job losses. The last time was when I moved to Pennsylvania. When that ended in ... I want to say October 2010 ... I didn't stop paying. So it took nine and a half years from that point to pay off the rest. (10/)
It is going to take a long time. Do not be ashamed if you need to defer. You have to eat and keep a roof over your head. When life got rough and I couldn't pay, student loans were the easiest thing for me to delay. But you will get to the end, and it will feel amazing.
