Discover how we paid off $50,000 in student loans in only 14 months as a young military couple. Learn our best strategies and tips for achieving a debt-free life.
Weâve all been there. Youâve worked YEARS to receive your diploma and the day has finally come. You walk across the stage to shake your college presidentâs hand (or watch a screen from your living room for those of us who graduated during COVID đ ), and spend the rest of the evening celebrating.
Then, as you lie in bed awake from all the excitement that night, it suddenly dawns on you that student loan payments are right around the corner! As daunting as it may seem, it is entirely possible to pay off your loans sooner than you think.
Making a Goal: Setting Our Debt-Free Plan
To understand how we paid off our loans, youâll need some context. Iâll give you as much information as possible to help you see what we did and hopefully be able to apply some of it to your own situation.
After graduating in 2020, I told myself I would pay off all my loans within 5 years of graduating. The 6-month grace period ended and I prepared to start making minimum payments until I could afford more. Around this time, the COVID payment pause took effect, halting all student loan payments and, along with it, any interest.
A year later, my husband (Mr. Handful) and I got married. In doing so, we joined more than just our stuff; we also joined our student loan debt, equaling more than $50,000. We werenât sure exactly how we were going to pay it all off, but we knew we didnât want it hanging over our heads the typical 10+ years most repayment plans last, so we made a plan.
The Strategy: Living on One Income
When we got married, Mr. Handful still had one semester remaining in college and was only able to work part-time. This meant we were essentially living on a single income.
We made the decision that, after he graduated and commissioned from ROTC, we would continue to live on the same amount even as he started working full-time in the military. This freed up an entire income stream to use solely on paying off student debt.
ââŚwe would continue to live on the same amount even as he started working full-timeâŚâ
The ROTC Curve: Adapting to Changes
Our journey took a bit of a turn, however, after he graduated.
When you commission from ROTC (Reserve Officersâ Training Corps), you can either be one of the lucky ones who gets orders right away, or like us, you can be left waiting several months.
We were told it would likely be a year before he got his orders, so we decided to move in with his parents for a few months after our apartment lease ran out. (Yes, itâs okay to move back in with your parents for a bit, even when youâre married.đIt was a great opportunity to get to know my in-laws better!)
In doing so, I switched jobs and he used his time to study for an exam he would need to pass once he entered Active Duty and began Tech School. This meant we were still living off one income, but one that was substantially less than before due to the job switch.
The best option for us at this point was to save up as much as possible for the upcoming move when he got his orders. Our saving factor during this time was the COVID payment pause. It helped us get our feet under us without worrying about incurring extra interest.
Tip: If you are in ROTC, we highly recommend saving up for your first PCS, including enough to live off for 1-2 months. It cost us several thousand dollars and we werenât reimbursed for a couple months after moving.
How This Applies to You: Tips for ROTC Graduates
If you are currently in ROTC or newly graduated, you wonât get the added benefit of the COVID payment pause outside of the typical 6-month grace period. However, use these 6-months to get your feet under you and save up for your first move.
You are in a unique situation compared to other college grads, so tactics they use may not be applicable to you. Once you go Active Duty, get settled, and reimbursed for your first move, you can use the extra funds from your DITY (Do-It-Yourself) move as a backboard to start paying off student loans.
Tip: Consider looking into an ROTC specific starter loan, like the one from Navy Federal, to refinance your student loans. Because it had such a low interest, we used it to âpay offâ Mr. Handfulâs private student loans. We still owed the same amount, but rather than 7-9% interest, it was now only 1.99-2.99%.
Payments Begin: Our Strategy in Action
Now that the background is out of the way, here is everything we did to pay off our loans.
1. Living off one income.
Once Mr. Handful finished Tech School and we had been at our first Duty Station for a few months, the COVID payment pause ended on Oct. 1, 2023 and we started making our payments. Since we already had a game plan, we referred back to it and continued living off one income and using the other solely for loan payments.
2. Determining which method to use.
Two common repayment strategies are the âSnowball Effect,â where you pay the smallest loans first so you quickly reduce the number of loans you have, or the âAvalanche Effect,â where you pay off the highest interest first. In wanting to save the greatest amount of money, we opted for the latter, focusing on the highest interest. If we had multiple loans in the same interest bracket, we paid off the larger sum first.
3. Keeping ourselves motivated.
To maintain our motivation, we would pay minimum required payments until we had enough saved up to pay off one loan completely. For instance, with a loan that was, say $5,000, we saved up for 2 months before we had enough to fully cover it. In the meantime, we would pay the minimum $200 or so that month. Once we got into the smaller loan amounts, we were able to pay off multiple loans in a single month!
4. Sharing a car.
A couple other strategies worked out well for us too. First, we were able to get by with a single car to avoid another large purchase. By the time we moved for Tech School, I was working a remote job. This allowed me to stay home most of the day. It was hard not having independence, but made us work even harder to pay off our loans.
5. Waiting to start a family.
Second, we made the conscious decision to wait on having kids. We could not stress this point enough. Many young couples (ourselves included) are itching to start a family right away. However, if you are in a place where you can get by with waiting a couple extra years, it will be well worth it. It will give you enough time to get established in both your relationship and your finances to set your family up for success.
Conclusion: Achieving Debt Freedom
So thatâs it! Everything we did to pay off our student loans. After 14 months of following the 5 steps above, we found ourselves student debt free! I hope these tips are helpful to you as you pay off your own student loans.
Where are you in your student loan journey? Let us know in the comments below!
Disclaimer: All content in this post is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Always seek professional advice before making financial, legal, or tax related decisions.
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