Seemingly plastered over the news these days, it’s little secret that student loan debt is a big deal to a lot of people in 2021. With outstanding debt loads that can rival, or beat, many car notes–or even approach some mortgage payments–it’s a burden that is certainly felt strongly by many tens of millions of Americans.

I, too, have felt that burden. However, recently, I was able to pay off my student loans in six years and three months’ time–shaving nearly four years off my (typical) 10-year loan term (your own loan terms and lengths may vary depending on when the loans were taken out and any lender-specific requirements).

*In the spirit of self-disclosure: The loan-load I carried was very typically in line with the average current student loan debt  for many borrowers (just to give an idea). While it certainly wasn’t the six-figure loan amount horror stories that you sometimes hear about, it was also an amount ($300-$350/month) that certainly left a noticeable void in my bank account each month.

Because I was able to pay off my loans with almost four years to spare, I am hoping to save other borrowers some coin, and share some tips and strategies that worked really well for me. Forewarning:  Some of these tips and strategies may seem a bit draconian for some; for others, you may be able to take an even more Spartan-like approach to things. Recognizing that everyone is different; everyone has different bills they must pay; priorities; and personal preferences, I tried to keep the following tips generatable to the largest extent possible. On the other hand, I also recognize that I am indeed quite frugal and always try to go for value when making purchases, so if you can connect with even just one or two tips or strategies, I still see that as a good win for any borrower.

This month, we will look at six specific tips and reminders, and next month, we will look at the following six, for a total of twelve. Without further ado, who’s ready to save some money?!

1. Set a Goal (Time-Wise):

I will be honest, this is a tip that I did not start doing until about three years into paying back my loans. My first two years with student loans, I was working at a grocery store; still actively enrolled in graduate school; and Interning as a school counselor. I was only making the minimum recommended payments at that time. However, after three years, I committed to my very first goal: Completely paying off my loans in nine years–basically shaving one full year off my loans. Doable? I thought it was realistic. Little did I know, I would slowly begin to set more ambitious goals. Ultimately, I just decided to pay off the loans as quickly as I possibly could. My advice: Set a very attainable goal at first, then see if you can top it later on. If your term-length is also ten years, the shaving off one year (about 10% of the length of the loan) might make a lot of sense. Just think how happy (and thankful) you will be once you get through Year #8 or Year #9! This nine-year plan not only is incredibly doable for many borrowers, but, as you will see, it also doesn’t make the typical monthly repayments all that much higher, either. This could be a great starting–and maybe ending–strategy for many borrowers.

2. Pay Off Private Loans and/or Smallest Loans (With Average to Higher Interest Rates) First:

For this tip, there is a certain amount of strategy, or personal preference, involved here. For example, 80% of my loans were issued through typical federal loan programs (like a majority of borrowers); the remaining 20% was financed through a private loan provider (in terms of dollar amounts). Not only were the interest rates different on the loans, but so, too, were the loan-length terms. I don’t have the time to get into all the differences or preferences when seeking out loan providers, other than to say: If you are eligible to receive federal subsidized loans (the best) or federal unsubsidized loans (not quite as good as subsidized loans, but still better than the next option), then you should probably look to go that route, as opposed to going with the large majority of private loans. Disclosure: I reached a point in my graduate degree studies where I had no choice but to take out a smaller private loan, so that’s what I mean by my recommending paying off any private loans first–if possible. For me, the private loan interest rates were much higher, and it was harder to see forward progress (because so much of the monthly payments were going towards paying-off interest–and not the initial loan principal amount–in the early years of the loan). Also, if you have loans that tie specifically to certain scholastic terms (quarters or semester, for instance) that happen to have varying interest rates (with some on the highest interest end), perhaps look to pay those off first, as it may help to create a nice “snowball” effect (of completely paying off one part of your loan in order to move on to paying off the next part). No matter what you do, however, it is worth knowing your current interest rate for your loan (or each part of the loan),  then look to apply the largest amount(s) possible to the loan(s) with the highest interest rate.

3. Be Your Own Bank (If Possible):

I recognize that this tip may not feasibly apply to each reader. Many, many people, unfortunately, have little in the way of personal savings. If that is you: Don’t give-up or be overly harsh on yourself (many of the financial systems at home and around the world are often rather predatory-like in nature and are set up in ways to keep the average borrower broke or paying back for things for exceedingly-lengthy periods of time). If that’s you, now is the time to understand what you are up against and map out a financial plan for moving forward, with the simultaneous goal of also being able to set aside some personal savings reserves for your current, and future, self. For those folks with some potential (and reasonably liquid) savings funds available, this tip is for you. If you have some sort of reserve (perhaps even Emergency Funds set aside–of course, depending upon your age, health, and financial situation and obligations–temporally borrowing from your own reserves to pay off your student loans, or a portion of your loans, may make a large amount of sense for many people. However, if you do borrow from yourself, don’t forget to also pay yourself back! The nice thing about being your own bank is that you can take out interest-free loans for yourself, along with paying yourself back on your own time schedule.

The average student loan borrower may have to pay back roughly $1.50 on every $1.00 borrowed (due to accruing interest), so saving on student loan interest–by paying off loans quicker–can save each borrow several hundreds (or often even thousands) of dollars in future-accruing interest. So yeah, as an example, while a borrower may only take out $20,000 in principle loans, they will have to pay back the loan provider(s) a final total of $30,000 (paying back the principle loan amount along with accrued interest over the course of the life of the loan, or loans).

4. Write Down Your Balance Still Owed:

You may ask, “Why should I write down what I still owe when I can just look up the balance anytime I want to?” or, “I’m too scared to even look at my balance, why would I want to be regularly reminded about what I still owe?” Those could both be valid sentiments; however, I think it is both motivating and inspiring–that while you know exactly what you still owe–you can visibly see how far you have already come, and that can also provide that extra motivational incentive to look at paying back any loan(s) as quickly as possible. I am old-school; I just kept a simple spiral notebook and regularly updated it anytime that I contributed money towards my balance owed. Seeing that number regularly shrink lower and lower made me all the more determined and emboldened to pay off the remaining debt still owed (I also did this same thing, this past winter, when I bought a new vehicle–with a cashier’s check  from the bank–fully self-financed).

Bonus tip: If your loan-provider has a mobile app, I recommend downloading it and regularly logging-in to your account to monitor your loan(s). I did this a couple years into my loan, but wish I would have started doing that from the very beginning. It saves some time logging-in and it’s extra convenient to have right on your smartphone.

5. Make Two (or More) Additional Payments Per Calendar Year:

I understand that many people are on different pay schedules. Some workers get paid weekly; bi-weekly; or monthly; other people may get paid on a non-schedule format, but whatever way you get paid, consider making extra payments (even partial, or smaller-type one-off payments) whenever possible. For example, with my job, I am paid bi-weekly (I set it up so that I receive twenty-six bi-weekly pays in a year). Student loan payments are usually made on a monthly basis, but if I budget for pulling money out of 26 pays–instead of, say, 24 pays (two paychecks/month)–then it becomes more obvious how a borrower can super-charge the payment schedule to their benefit. What is more, all of this can be done without incurring much of an added financial burden because the budgeted amount of repayment stays the same for every received check, or direct deposit, throughout the entire calendar year (this, of course, assumes either a fairly consistent, regular salary or hourly wage amount over extended periods of time). Borrowers may even find this additional payment method preferable because there’s little remembering or guess-work involved: The budgeted amounts for each pay schedule stay the same no matter what. Again, though, with this–or any of my other tips and principles–everyone’s financial situation may be a bit different, so use what you can use and scrap the rest (if it doesn’t apply to your own unique financial situation).

6. Take a Deep Breath:

Perhaps this is the first time you are taking a real, careful look at your student (or other) loan situation(s). Perhaps you have been making the minimum monthly payments for a while now; or perhaps you are trying to navigate other ways for delaying repayments. Both may be largely unnecessary if you have a plan (and work that plan to perfection or otherwise). Maybe you have already even incorporated some specific strategies into more aggressively paying back student loans–but whatever it is–and however you may be feeling–remember to take a deep breath. Talking about loans can be an anxiety-laden endeavor; it may bring up some strong feelings and emotions, so that’s why I wanted to close this month’s article with this helpful reminder. If you are going to do the “heavy-lifting” of tackling your student loan debt–head-on–you want to make sure you are emotionally and mentally into a good space. Remember to breathe. Now, go do some self-care–something nice for yourself–and check-back in with me next month. No, seriously.

In the meantime, which tips or strategies might you start to incorporate? Maybe consider writing down some of your thoughts and feelings between now and the next few weeks. We’ll come back here next month to look at some additional key tips and strategies for super-charging your loan repayments.

–The Blue-Collar Counselor