Thanks to a variety of personal finance and side hustle podcasts, I have been motivated more than ever to pay off my student loan debt. In my 20s I defaulted on my student loans and I have been paying the price on that mistake ever since. I am now on pace to pay off my student loans a month ahead of my personal goal and pay it off entirely in February 2019.
I have been slacking a bit on my side hustle income. Rather than using that extra income towards my debt, I have been buying more inventory that I am holding onto for longer than I should. That said, I am still ahead of my personal goal pay off month to pay off my student loans.
Several months ago for the first time in my life I set myself a target student loan debt payoff goal. I had always just paid my monthly payment amount for the past decade, which was between $800-900. I did not think I would ever come to a point where I can see myself breathing from all the student loan debt.
Here is the current debt payoff chart as of today. I had increased my monthly payment from $2,000 to $2,300 and paying as much as I could extra every month. Based on the (rounded up) $5,100 I currently owe, I am scheduled to pay off my student loan debt a little into February 2019.
I have been able to tackle my student loan debt by budgeting first and foremost and then building on my side hustle income. As you can see from the payment history below, I am able to pay on top of my $2,300 monthly payment. I am not living on rice and beans so certainly I could be doing a lot better with my debt if I decide to suffer a bit.
