How To Pay Off Student Loans Fast - How I Paid Off $40,000 In 7 Months (2024)

Want to learn how to pay off student loans fast? Here’s how I paid off my $40,000 student loan debt in just 7 months. In July of 2013, I finished paying off around $40,000 in student loan debt. This still does not seem real to me. I honestly thought that I would be paying this…

Want to learn how to pay off student loans fast? Here’s how I paid off my $40,000 student loan debt in just 7 months.

In July of 2013, I finished paying off around $40,000 in student loan debt. This still does not seem real to me. I honestly thought that I would be paying this forever. The minimum payments scared me as well. Many people have asked mehow to pay off student loans fast, and I am here to help.

We were saving for quite some time, and then towards the end I just started plopping down as much money as we possibly could towards my student loan debt.

I worked like crazy as well. We both increased our day job income significantly over the year before and put this increase in earnings towardspaying off our student loansquickly.

We also never really increased our budget. Yes, we did buy new cars, but weirdly enough our budget did not increase.

This is because we switched to more frugal entertainment (such as hiking, riding our bikes, etc. – and not focusing on spending every last penny on clothing), and we also focused on cooking better meals at home for ourselves. So our income kept increasing, but our budget did not.

How to pay off student loans fast.

See if your employer will reimburse your education expenses so that you can pay off your student loans fast.

Some companies will pay your student loans quickly if you work for them. I even know of someone who receives a $2 bonus for each hour that she works for student loans.

$2 may not seem like a lot, but if you work full-time then that’s over $300 a month. $300 a month for student loans is a good amount! And, it’s free money so it can all just be put towards paying off your student loans quickly.

Reduce your interest rate for your student loan repayment plan.

If you automatically pay your student loans each month or consolidate them, then sometimes you can get an interest rate reduction. With Sallie Mae, I believe the reduction is 0.25%. Not a ton, but that is something!

Related tip:I highly recommendCredible for student loan refinancing. You can lower the interest rate onyour student loans significantly by using Crediblewhich may help you shave thousands off your student loan bill over time.

Pay extra towards your loans each month in order topay off student loans fast.

If you’re wondering “How can I pay off my student loans faster?” – then this is a major tip!

You will, of course, have to start paying extra towards your loans.

Even if you don’t have a ton of spare money in your budget, even an extra $25 is important. Most people can find a spare $25 in their budget, so go and look!

Increase your income to pay off your student loans fast.

It’s no secret that I love making side income. It makes life so much easier. Without it, I definitely do not think that I would have been able to pay off my student loans as quickly.

You can completely pretend that this extra income is not in your budget, and just shuffle ALL of this extra income towards student loan debt so that you do not miss it. If you have any extra time, then I’m sure that there is something out there that you can do to make extra money.

For me, the main thing I did to make extra money was by blogging and freelancing. If you are interested in starting a blog of your own, I have a tutorial that will show you how to easily make a blog of your own in just minutes. You can find the tutorial here.

Related articles:

  • 75+ Ways To Make Extra Money
  • 10 Ways To Make Money Online From The Comfort of Your Home
  • 10 Things I’ve Done To Make Extra Money
  • Ways To Make An Extra $1,000 A Month
  • Howto Earn Extra Income Part 1

Decrease your spending for your student loan repayment plan.

There are plenty of ways to decrease your spending. Decreasing your spending can really help you pay off your loans more quickly because you can throw all of your extra income towards your student loans.

There are plenty of ways for you to lower your income. Check out the articles below:

  • How To Save 50% Or More Of Your Income
  • Saving Over $2,000 A Year With Republic Wireless Review – How Much Money Could You Save?

Think about your goal for your student loan repayment plan.

Yes, student loan repayment can seem very stressful when you think about it. Many people owe thousands and thousands in student loans. And, no matter how old you are, it can seem impossible. However, think about your goal and how good life will be once all of your student loan debt is gone.

Try to not let it get you down. Think positively and attack that debt so that you can pay off your student loans fast!

There are many creative ways to pay off student loans, so if you are feeling like you don’t have much motivation, I recommend creating a vision board.

Is it smart to pay off student loans quickly?

This depends on the person and their own personal finance situation. If you have debt, then it can be a good idea to pay it off quickly.

I recommend reading Pay Off Debt Or Save Money – Is One Better For You? to help you make the decision.

How long will it take to pay off student loans?

The amount of time hat it takes you to pay off your student loans will vary. This may depend on factors such as:

  • how much money you put towards your student loans each month
  • the amount that you have in student loans
  • your interest rate
  • What is the smartest way to pay student loans?

Some people pay them off quickly, and others may take longer.

What are you doing to pay off your student loans fast?

How To Pay Off Student Loans Fast - How I Paid Off $40,000 In 7 Months (2024)

FAQs

How to pay off 40k in student loans fast? ›

Here are eight more ways to pay off student loans fast.
  1. Organize your student loan debt and make a repayment plan. ...
  2. Pay more than the minimum due. ...
  3. Make additional payments. ...
  4. Apply for loan forgiveness. ...
  5. Take advantage of interest rate discounts. ...
  6. Leverage tax deductions and credits. ...
  7. Make biweekly payments.
Jul 2, 2024

How long will it take to pay off $40,000 in student loans? ›

Average Student Loan Payoff Time After Consolidation
Total Student Loan DebtRepayment Period
$7,500-10,00012 years
$10,000-$20,00015 years
$20,000-$40,00020 years
$40,000-$60,00025 years
2 more rows

How to pay off a $40,000 loan fast? ›

5 Ways To Pay Off A Loan Early
  1. Make bi-weekly payments. Instead of making monthly payments toward your loan, submit half-payments every two weeks. ...
  2. Round up your monthly payments. ...
  3. Make one extra payment each year. ...
  4. Refinance. ...
  5. Boost your income and put all extra money toward the loan.

Is $40,000 a lot in student loans? ›

Right now, the average student loan debt in the U.S. is nearly $40,000 but many students borrow much more. Depending on your field of study and career prospects, borrowing upwards of $100,000 to fund your higher education could either be a smart investment or a big mistake.

How fast do most people pay off student loans? ›

How long it takes to pay off student debt depends on the repayment plan you choose as well as the interest rate, size of the loan, and your budget. On average, people with student loans have spent just over 21 years paying back their loans. Federal student loans offer repayment plans that last from 10 to 30 years.

How much a month is 40k in student loans? ›

The monthly payment on a $40,000 student loan ranges from $424 to $3,591, depending on the APR and how long the loan lasts. For example, if you take out a $40,000 student loan and pay it back in 10 years at an APR of 5%, your monthly payment will be $424.

How much student debt is too much? ›

Regardless, one rule of thumb for student debt is that you should try not to borrow more than the first year salary you can expect in your chosen field. For example, if you expect to earn $38,000 in the first year of your career, you should try to borrow $38,000 or less for your degree.

Are student loans hard to pay off? ›

It typically takes between 10 and 30 years to pay off a student loan balance, depending on your loans' interest rates, balance owed, annual income and repayment plan. Your chosen repayment plan greatly influences how long it will take to eliminate student loan debt.

Is student loan consolidation a good idea? ›

Student loan consolidation has many benefits for student loan borrowers. For example, if you currently have federal student loans with multiple loan servicers, consolidation can greatly simplify loan repayment by giving you a single loan with one monthly bill.

What is the payment on a $40000 loan for 5 years? ›

If you take a loan for five years and your interest rate is 4%, your monthly payment for a $40,000 loan will be $737.

How fast can I pay off $40,000? ›

It will take 47 months to pay off $40,000 with payments of $1,200 per month, assuming the average credit card APR of around 18%. The time it takes to repay a balance depends on how often you make payments, how big your payments are and what the interest rate charged by the lender is.

How to clear loans quickly? ›

Make a lump-sum payment or prepay the loan: If you receive extra funds, think about allocating them towards your loan principal. This directly reduces your outstanding balance, resulting in quicker payoff and reduced interest charges.

How long does it take to pay off 40k in student loans? ›

Examples of How Long It Will Take to Pay Off $40,000 in Student Loans
DebtMonthly PaymentPayoff Time
$40,000$42410 years
$40,000$4619 years
$40,000$5657 years
$40,000$7555 years

What is an OK amount of student loans? ›

Rule of thumb #2: loan payments should be less than 10% of your gross income. Another way to avoid taking on too much student debt and ensure affordable payments is to see how much you'll pay on your student loans each month after graduation.

What is considered high student loan debt? ›

This is an ROI (return on investment) based approach. See our full breakdown here. Based on our analysis, if you are a man and owe more than $100,000, or a woman and owe more than $70,000, you have high student loan debt and your debt is likely not worth the income you'll earn over your lifetime.

How long does it take to pay off $50 000 in student loans? ›

Total Repaid

For example, say you have a $50,000 loan balance with a 6.22% interest rate — the average student loan interest rate for graduate students. On the standard 10-year repayment plan, you'd pay $561 per month and $17,277 in interest over time.

How to pay off $100k in student loans in 5 years? ›

6 steps to paying off your $100,000 student loans
  1. Choose a repayment plan.
  2. Make a budget to pay down your student loan debt.
  3. Prioritize your debt repayment.
  4. Consider multiple payments per month.
  5. Consider refinancing to change your repayment terms.
  6. Increase your income.
May 28, 2024

Can I take out 40k in student loans? ›

Undergraduate students who are dependent on their parents for financial support can take out a maximum of $31,000 in Stafford loans and students who are financially independent can take out up to $57,500 in Stafford loans.

Is it smart to pay off your student loans early? ›

Pay less over the life of the loan: Because your student loan, like most other debt, accrues interest when you carry a balance, it's cheaper if you pay off the loan earlier. It gives the debt less time to accumulate interest, meaning you'll pay less in the long run.

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