I paid off the entire balance of a loan today! It’s such a wonderful feeling! Yesterday I got my paycheck from my nonprofit job, went to the bank to deposit it, came home and scheduled the payment for today. It was exhilarating!
(Did I just describe paying a loan as exhilarating? I have gotten so lame.) I can’t express how great it feels to be down two total loans in just three months. I have made a lot of sacrifices to be able to do that but now the balance is dropping like lead. I am so much closer to debt freedom than I was even yesterday and certainly so much closer than I was at the beginning of 2014!
I’ll let you in on a little secret- January 2014 I had to take a deferment on my loans. I was barely employed (only catering and only catering about 3x a MONTH) and I simply couldn’t pay my loans. I was fortunate enough to receive a 6 month deferment for my four Sallie Mae loans and I spent those six months lining up other jobs, adjusting my lifestyle, saving money and making payments on my privately held loan.
And here I sit today, with two of those Sallie Mae loans completely paid off. It’s been an incredible turn-around. I’m really fortunate to have been able to refocus myself and my work situation to be able to make serious headway in a short time. Even though I have to work four jobs for less than 23K a year, I am accomplishing my goals. I’m not sure what next year will bring but I know that it would have to be both hell and high water to keep me from eliminating all my debt.
Kara Perez is the original founder of From Frugal To Free. She is a money expert, speaker and founder of Bravely Go, a feminist financial education company. Her work has been featured on NPR, Business Insider, Forbes, and Elite Daily.