Goodbye Studen Loan...Forever!

I got some exciting news in my email.

Dear LINDSAY M NOWOTNY:

Congratulations!  Edfinancial Services is pleased to inform you that your Department of Education loan has a zero balance and is considered paid in full as of the date of this letter.

 

Yahooooo!!!

When I started college in 1998 I knew I would be taking out student loans to fund my education.  My parents fit into that middle category of making too much money to get free PELL Grant money and not making enough money to actually pay for college.  I chose to attend Boise State and live in the dorms, which upped the cost even more.

I LOVED COLLEGE.

Seriously, I loved every minute of college and living in the dorms that if I could do it over again I would.  Only this time I would have even more fun experiences.  After all, you are only young once.

I worked at BSU all my years of school.  In the summer before my first semester of college we visited the Financial Aid Office to discuss my financial aid allotment.  My counselor Margaret was able to award me some work-study money and told me there was an opening in their office for student workers.  My mother marched me straight to the Student Employment Office and I was given the position.  This turned out to be the start of my employment with Boise State and what would eventually lead me to becoming a permanent part-time employee with the State of Idaho.  I worked in different positions at the Financial Aid Office and then moved to the Admissions Office and finally the Registrar’s Office.  During my time at BSU I met so many wonderful people, many of whom make up my core group of friends today. 

Once I became a part-time employee with the State of Idaho I was able to attend college at a reduced cost.  Even though I was attending at a fraction of what a regular student paid I still managed to take out $20,000 total in student loans.  Obviously student loan debt is “good” debt and the interest in tax deductible.  I always knew I would be on the ten-year-plan for repaying my loan and I never missed a payment.


It took me 11 years to pay off my student loan.  I ended up using some of the insurance money I was paid from my car crash in December to pay off the last of my loan balance.  I had been paying extra for the last year and was on track to pay off my student loan by June of 2015 so it was nice to get it taken care of sooner.  I have been saving the money each month from my previous loan payment for our upcoming travel plans.  We have our sights on a Europe River Cruise in 2017 or 2018 so I have to get that savings balance to increase STAT.

It feels really good to be responsible with money.  It wasn’t always that way.  I’ve worked hard on my credit score and I worked really hard to pay off my student loan earlier.  I didn’t anticipate a new car, and insurance money, to make that happen sooner.