Question

Hey guys!  oops, another question: I have 91, 000$ of student debt, I know it’ll be awhile to pay off, I am making a good dent in it with TBM, but how do you all deal with the anxiety of knowing it won’t go away anytime soon?Hey guys! oops, another question: I have 91, 000$ of student debt, I know it’ll be awhile to pay off, I am making a good dent in it with TBM, but how do you all deal with the anxiety of knowing it won’t go away anytime soon?  

Answer 1

I started TBM in October of 2019 with $83, 000 in student loan debt. Prior to starting I had the same thoughts as you. But as I started making extra payments and saw my total drop quickly that alone helped me deal with the anxiety that comes along with debt. I am now down to $61, 900! It’s exciting and possible! Although it’s a long road we will thank ourselves at the end.  Keep up the great work!  

Comments

@virtually wow! congrats! you’re right. I haven’t made my extra payment yet, once I see the difference after a couple of extra payments it’ll help, thanks!  

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@virtually this is relieving to hear as I’m just starting out and have $89k!  

Answer 2

I always look at my finances and say, you can either go in the right direction or the wrong direction. Having sinking funds and emergency funds and travel funds I know I’ll never need to touch my credit cards again without having the money to immediately pay it off. There is something freeing about that. Even if it may take two years to be debt free

Comments

@stonehenge mines more like 15 years. like that takes my breath away! I made a sinking fund envelope for my school loan so once I save an extra 1, 000 (i’m almost there! ) i’m going to make an extra payment. I just ugh. I want to know it can be sooner than 15 yrs

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@tiebold it took me 14 years to pay mine off. Our circumstances changed a lot in that 14 years, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Do your best to stick to the plan to pay it off, if you find extra money in your budget try to apply it to your student loans to save yourself some interest in the long run

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@stonehenge ok thank you !  

Answer 3

Remind yourself that you likely didn't rack up that much debt in a day or a month so you can't expect to get rid of it in a day or a month  

Comments

@kurdistan that does help thank you! i’m a nurse but was a psych major prior. so it was after 6. 5 years

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@tiebold see? Took you a bit to get it. take a bit to get rid of it :) You got this✌

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@kurdistan thanks so much. I needed that!  

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@tiebold i hope it helps and you get out from under it

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@kurdistan thank you!  

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@tiebold you're welcome!  

Answer 4

Oh I just did an income based payment and put it out of my mind. I'd rather concentrate my money on my mortgage.  

Comments

@rist21 yea, I don’t have a mortgage, just rent. i’d like a house in the next 3 yrs but I feel guilt doing that when I have so much debt, ugh it’s just hard. I started TBM in march and it already helped me put away an extra 700 for student debt so I need to give myself credit for letting TBM work but i just wish it could be faster. I need to be patient

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@tiebold I hear you. Rents are far more expensive than owning where I live so renting did not make sense. The rent on my house would be $1200-1300 and my 15 year mortgage payment is only $900 w taxes and insurance. I don't feel guilty. The cost of school was insane and they are making plenty off the interest so it can wait ;)

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@rist21 you are right! yea my rent is 1300 (split between my boyfriend and I) but we 900 would be awesome!  

Answer 5

I am dealing with this as well, we’ve paid off 20, 000 in the last year, 400k to go including house, cars, medical, loans, student loans, back taxes, etc. I want to cry at times and hide from it, but know it will still be there no matter what. I want to be that crazy story of being debt free in 12 months, 36 months, my story will be “debt free in 1000 months”  

Comments

@aurie do you count your monthly payment for your student loans as debt payoff on top of extra or just the extra?  

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@tiebold truthfully, we haven’t even begun to touch our student loans . Still in deferment.  

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@aurie I am sorry you have all that to deal with but it’s helpful to know i’m not alone

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@tiebold any payment made is considered debt pay off

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@tiebold absolutely you are not!  

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@tiebold our breakdown

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@aurie I love this! Was it easy to make on excel

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@utilitarianism oh for sure!  

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@aurie I want to do this but not sure I’m skilled enough. I love it

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@utilitarianism there’s nothing fancy. Just typing in each debt, etc

Answer 6

Just curious if i’m doing it wrong

Answer 7

Not sure what method you are using to pay off, but Dave Ramsey says to order them smallest to largest not as a group but individual loans. Like I have one student loan that’s $2, 000 and then $3, 500, etc. This helps keep your momentum going. If it’s all one big loan with one interest rate, I have heard people making a paper chain and hanging it somewhere in their house. Each loop represents $1, 000 or $2, 000 or whatever you want and you get to break the chain every time you pay that amount off

Comments

@citronellal but now that I refinanced to 1 loan, how do I separate

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@tiebold could you do one of the coloring trackers to give yourself a visual?  

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@tiebold I wouldn’t separate it then, just make a paper chain with 90 loops and each time you pay $1, 000 off, break a loop of the chain

Answer 8

I'm paying my portion of my son's student loan. I know there is an end in sight. Get back on my budget pay off all the "lower amounts higher interest" debt. Then put everything i paid into that debt into the student loan. If i had stuck with the plan I would have paid everything off in 5 years. Over $135000. So now that I'm teleworking full-time no commute hardly going out and spending money now is the time to get back to work on a budget plan and strategy.  

Answer 9

Following! Just started tbm and I have 70k in student debt. The thought of taking years to tackle it makes me want to vomit

Answer 10

I've seen others post this, and agree with them, but break it out into small accomplishments and reward yourself for each step you reach. Like when you reach 75, 000, 60, 000, 50, 000, etc; go out to dinner, or drinks and celebrate reaching your short goal. This helps with getting through these large debts.  

Comments

@sept91673 that’s brilliant! celebrate the small accomplishments. thankw!  

Answer 11

I focus on how far I’ve come and how much I’ve already paid off. Then I look at how much more will be added to that total by the end of the year. Between me and my husband, we have about that much in student loans, but we’re chipping away at it.  

Answer 12

Are you paying extra to one loan specifically? Tracking them that way may help you see individual loan segments chipped off sooner.  

Comments

@perspective yea I am! just my school loan, and a little to my car loan

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Great! I am planning on doing a tracker for each of the Lon segments so we see progress faster that way. Check out DebtFreeCharts. com You can print free charts and color them in as you go. If you think it will help you see progress. It has helped me.  

Answer 13

Honestly I break it down into smaller dollar goals. helps tremendously

Answer 14

I understand! I have a lot of student loan debt which sucks! It’s overwhelming at times

Answer 15

Better that kind of anxiety then the anxiety of ignoring the debt or only paying the minimum. Either way there’ll be anxiety, but only one will get you to your goal. Keep at it!