College grads: How long were you paying off your loans?

I'm curious about how long other sherdoggers have been paying off their education. I'm about 40k in debt from student loans, and I still have about a year and a half left till I'm done with my degree. Naturally, I'm dreading the future. Any advice on how to make loan payments/living with student debt more doable?

Obvious answer—get a good job—is obvious.

 

Came here to post about this.

I have 4 student loans separately and it doesn't tally to as much as others, but it's still something I want to get rid of. Anyway, last week I managed to pay off one of them for $1,500 and it felt like a huge relief. I am now looking at paying another one next week for $750 and dropping some cash on one that's $2,500.

My goal is to get out of student loan debt by Christmas time.

Sorry for the bump.

 

I had zero debt upon graduation and became a bum in a ski village.

Would highly recommend.

 

Still doing it.

 

I was about $65,000 in debt after graduation (went to USC). I was lucky enough to find a job overseas where I was making a very good salary and I had almost zero tax implications because of Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. I was able to pay it off completely in a little over 2 years. This is kind of an extreme example, but like I mentioned earlier, I got lucky.

 

Graduated with no debt, since I work full time during summer and part time in spring and winter. The downside was that I didn't save any money until I graduated.

 

Makes me wonder how much you're going to owe at a university.

 

also, you can join the Peace Corps

 

That's pretty fucking impressive man. I have a lot of respect for people who manage that.

 

Die young so you don't have to spend your entire life trying to pay it off.

 

Took me about thirteen months. Had racked up around 42k over like 11 years of college. I just did it. That was all I cared about. One year opens up a lot of doors, sets your career in motion, and gives you the launching point you need. Without that monkey on my back credit wise I was able to throw in some real estate investments and start really looking at my future.

 

That's very interesting. I am actually trying to work abroad for a year or so after I finish school, so that may be relevant for me. I'll have to look more into that.

 

You should def look into it...this year American Foreign Workers will not be taxed on the first $100,000 of their earnings. It goes up every year as well. There are a few stipulations that you must comply with. I always choose the Physical Presence Test, which pretty much means that I have to stay out of the U.S. for 330 days a year. If I go back to the States for more than 35 days, then I will have to pay taxes on all of my income. It works out because I just spend my vacations travelling around the world.

 

undergrad: only about 3-4 years...but that was only because a well off relative with no children left me some

grad: 10 yrs

 

Paid in cash, every quarter. Straight cash, homie.

What school are you attending?

 

I took about 8.5 years. I had only 14k in debt due to going to community college and working full time while in school the last several years.

 

14k in debt from a Community College??? Were you an out of state student?

 

I'm only paying that Cal State university rate. Super cheap.

 

Csun?

 

Thanks. Going to the local university and living with my parents during those 5 years helped a lot.

 

currently a junior majoring in chemical engineering with 3.87 GPA

im gonna have about 20k in debt after college but I feel really confident in getting a job after college.

 

Had about 18k in student loans (from 3 years, had a scholarship the first year but got denied after my stepdad got promoted my freshman year).

paid for about four years before I joined the Army, getting the Student Loan Repayment Program in my enlistment contract. good to go now

 

Well whoopty freakin do!!!!

 

Didn't take time at all, I worked my ass off got a management job by the beginning of my second year and I graduated without debt.

Than with the work experience I had upon graduation allowed me to advance extremely quickly.