Just finished paying off my first student loan this month, and it feels unreal. I started with around $28k in federal loans and honestly thought I’d never see the end of it. What really helped was switching to an income-driven repayment plan early and throwing any extra cash (tax refunds, bonuses, side-gig money) straight at the balance instead of letting it sit in my account.
Now I’m trying to decide whether to keep that same “payment habit” going into savings or start investing more seriously. For those who’ve paid theirs off did you keep the same mindset after being debt-free, or did you take a break and just enjoy the extra breathing room for a while?
Finally Paid Off My First Student Loan What Should I Do Next?
byu/Fair-1944 inStudentLoans
Posted by Fair-1944
2 Comments
Emergency fund, savings goals, investing. If you have a 401K, start there after the emergency fund is filled (they say 3-6 months of salary, 6 is safer than 3 but it’s more to your risk tolerance than a specific number).
I’m a caregiver for a man in his 70s with multiple chronic illnesses and just had a leg amputated. He was a physician with no kids and did very well for retirement so he can afford to pay me on top of his expenses. I can’t imagine how people do it when they can’t afford the care and think how awful nursing homes are. That’s a big motivation for me to save as much as possible after my loans are paid off
No, I didn’t take a break. I remained aggressive.