Paying Off $102K In Student Loan Debt 

I’m in year 3 of my aggressive debt repayment plan. 2 jobs, working 7 days a week. I knocked out 30k, 20k more to go!

I owed 75k so far its been a year and i’m down to 46k. I’m an Registered Nurse in NYC. I started a small business and currently pay $2000/month towards my loan.

I did $100k in five years I worked day and night for all those years. It made me who I am and I’m glad I did. I graduated as an accountant debt free. It’s my biggest accomplishment. Congratulations!!!!!!! No one can take that accomplishment away.

The fact that her degree was $75,000 and her starting salary (in NYC) was only $40,000 tells me that her degree was extremely over priced. I think colleges will point to "future potential earnings" but I do not buy that logic. Once you start working your employer will teach you more through experience than your college classes will. It would make more sense to set tuition prices based on expected first year salary. It will be interesting to see if colleges make adjustments in the future due to their offering becoming less accessible to most Americans + Americans not being willing to go into massive amounts of debt for a degrees that don't mathematically pay off.

I paid off my last 9,000 last May. It really is a liberating feeling.

Hosting a *funeral for your debt* in such a killer dress, gloves, and fascinator is my vibe~❤🤣 and I'm here for it.🙋‍♀️

They really need to educate high school students more, it's crazy how an 18 year old who can't even have a beer can sign up for six figures of debt. Counselors and parents need to step it up!!

This is incredible, but every time I see stories like this, it always makes me wonder how did this happen? In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, this problem simply did not exist for students. There has never been a generation that has had this type of burden at the beginning of their 20's.

I can't believe I was tempted to study in the US at some point when education in France is for the most part free. Good on her for paying it off 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

An incredible accomplishment but let’s not forget the source problem of sky high tuition fees in the US.

Congrats to her on getting herself out of student loan debt. I would have preferred to see a chart (like in Millennial Money) breaking down how much her side hustles were paying out on average per month for more context.

Just reading the title and seeing that number gives me so much anxiety😫 Good for her for paying it off!

Really. There is no shame in going to a community college--especially nowadays. Many people do this and transfer. If you are lucky enough to be able to live at home (not everybody can), you can transfer. A lot of people I know have gone on to do that. In some states, such as mine, community college tuition is free for residents who went through the public school system. I know people who transferred to Ivy Leagues or great State Schools with international reputations, like UCLA or U Michigan. As a college professor, this is something I tell everybody.

This doesn’t explain how she paid though? 32k in 8 months and 1k every month while making 40 000?

this video was missing information about her increase in salary after her first job out of college. How did she pay off 32k in 8 months and pay rent and other expenses. She had to have at least made 110k in gross income to accomplish that.

THAT'S AWESOME 😊. I paid off 238,000 in student loans and became debt free too! DEBT FREE is the way of life 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Felt like the video was talking to me 🤣. Great job Mandy!

When to school at Arizona State back early 1990s. Cost for instate tuition was $500/semester, unlimited classes. And back then we had these things called "jobs." Paid for it weekend pizza delivery and computer coding. I feel just horrible for what today's generation has to go through just to get a degree. It's criminal.

My loans were between 5-16.5%. Private loans between 9-16.5%. It was overwhelming to have student loans accrue at credit card interest rates. I finally refinanced and got a 4.5% rate. I wish I would have done that years sooner!!! Refinance and snowball 🙌🏼

She is amazing! Although it was a feel good story it did make me sad to hear how much she struggled. If she had saved up $102k without having to think about loans she would already have that house she’s dreaming of buying next.

That interest rate of nearly 12% is messed up. How dare the federal government do this

Attend two years at your local junior/community college. Then attend the last two years at a state university. That's the solution for not getting $75K in debt in the first place.

There has to be a better way. I’m happy she paid it off but we shouldn’t be in this position. College degree worth 75,000 but out of school your getting paid 40,000? That’s ridiculous!

Would have liked a detailed account of how she did it. Rent, Car, etc.

Students loans operate the same way as loan sharks. The interests on these loans is insane. If you pay the minimum you aren't going anywhere. She was very smart to come up with a strategy. I did the same with mine, after it was paid off, I could breathe again

Cudos to her. I would have preferred more details, on how she accomplished it though.

The fact that most of us are in our 30’s before we can even begin to think ab life after college

I had to find a specialist in doing this and that’s when I understood who I was always doing wrong , you all need to make that same move

Thank goodness you brought this up! Truly, investing has changed my perspective on how one can succeed in life; working multiple jobs isn't the optimal way to attain financial freedom and unfortunately, we discover this later in life. Currently earn as much as 10 grand weekly and this has improved my financial life. Great piece!😊😊.

Im not quite sure about the rest but I finally got mine all figured out , quite impressive if you ask me and took only 20 days

Speeding thru the video trying to find out where's she's living , in her mom's basement or with 6 roommates. Lmao how you gonna afford rent in nyc and pay off the loans? Is this a joke

Student loans can destroy your life if you don’t pay them off aggressively after graduation.

It requires money to make money. this is the best secret I have ever discovered we don't make money, we EARn and MULTIPLY money

I'm almost finish paying mine off. I was at 90,000 now I have 29,000 left.

Sad. As a college student, you don't really think about the loans until it's too late. I went to a community college for two years and saved $30k. Missed out on the first two years at a university though then got hit with the pandemic the third. The system for student loan debt needs to be changed.

A less known route of student loan repayment is to join the military. The Army paid off $30,000 of my undergrad loans. I only had to pay $10,000 of a $40,000 student loan bill. They also paid 100% of my graduate school plus gave me a living stipend of $2,400/month while in grad school thanks to the GI Bill. I now have three college degrees (Bachelor's in Business Finance, MBA, and a Master's in Supply Chain Management) all thanks to the Army. I paid the second masters out-of-pocket, but got a 25% discount on tuition due to my military service and went to a state school. Total I only paid $28,000 for three college degrees thanks to the military.

Maybe I missed it...But how did she manage to pay off 32k in 8 months on a low salary in NYC? 🤔

Girl I hear you. I just paid off all my credit cards debt after 2 years of seriously going after it. And it was exhausting. I still have student loans. But I’m going to focus on building wealth for me, snowballing my student loans and being free

Very happy for her, and wish her all the best. Love the tenacity and self reflection of her situation and owning it. Philly/NYC represent!

I paid 7-10k a year to attend University in Toronto. Thankfully was able to pay it off from my summer job income alone with still a lot to save. Appreciate living in Canada every second because of it.

I personally didn’t have anything till two months ago, i had to find my own way and now i can say I am proud of myself , got my credt fixed and everything planned out

Depending on one stream of income had never made any millionaire and earning check don't put you on forbes

I paid off $22k in student loans in about a year too. It was all undergrad loans, and something that helped me was that I was in a graduate program (full ride) which made my interest stay at 0%. That year was probably the most shittiest year on my life and because I had to go through that I hope others can take advantage of any loan forgiveness because being in a situation like that is awful.

I also had $75,000 in student loans when I graduated in 2007. It sucked!!! Our system is really terrible.

The fact that a student can get a loan for 100k is so sad - corporate greed at its finest - my advice to you - get out of the USA and go to school somewhere else

After that, it’s housing to worry about! Our lives is full of debts, debts and more debts! Capitalism at its finest! And banks are loving it!

It's awful that she and so many of us have to waste so much time paying off loans instead of living life. People in other countries don't have to make the same sacrifices even though the U.S. is overall wealthier. Our 20s and 20s are being stolen, and we aren't necessarily guaranteed even living to next week in this pandemic

Shoutout to her for taking action 🙌🏽

I love this woman. She is a rockstar. She wasn't banking on a politician making false promises about forgiving her debt. She Took on a full time job and several side hustles and she got it done! You're killing it!

How are your loans over 10%... thats straight up a rip off cuz the stock market is an average of 8%. Jeez I thought my 5% was bad

$102k for degree for a journalism job? At a gossip rag like the Daily Beast? I mean good on her for paying it off that quickly, that’s very impressive. But she can do better, job-wise. She is absolutely getting ripped off and should look to an actual credible news organization for a job and pay raise.

When I graduated from a 2-year college in 1997, I had $10,000 in student loan debt. Small potatoes by 2021 standards, but big money back then, especially for someone who is a 20 year old child! I barely knew anything about loans, and that student loan debt is like a ball and chain that stays stuck to your ankles no matter how hard you try to shake it off. I didn't know that the ball & chain would make it hard for me to get an apartment, a credit card, a computer, a new mattress, and everything else that requires some sort of recurring payments. I was unable to find a high-paying job in my field of study upon graduation. So in 1998 I put the loans on deferment, and worked whatever low-paying odd jobs I could get. The loan company called me asking how much I could pay per month, and all I could do was make small payments for the next couple of years. In the early 2000's, various life tragedies beyond my control made it impossible for me to make any payments, or worry about loans at all, and the loans went to collections. In 2008 I became disabled, and at that point surviving on my tiny disability income was my main priority, because no way was I gonna pay for a student loan with the little money I got. In 2013, I learned about the student loan forgiveness program for disabled people, and with help from family, I jumped on that opportunity. The interest rate on my student loan was so high that the $10,000 debt I had in 1997 ballooned to $25,000 by 2013. Imagine if I went to a 4-year college! I'd end up like the person in this video with $100k in debt!

I didn't have nearly as much debt cuz I worked through school and graduated in 2013. I've got a year or two left after working 2-3 jobs all this time, car accidents, medical bills, and being robbed by my roommate. I can appreciate the satisfaction that comes with the finish line

what a stupid system lmao. 96K in interest for education. Great job USA!

Crazy... school should not be this expensive imagine if she could've poured that money back into the economy instead of something that happened in the past

Good job, mature and serious approach to a problem that baffles so many. Debt is financial suicide and this young person chose to bury the debt instead of letting the debt bury her.

The story never explains how she paid off $32,000 in one year when she was only making $43,000 that year. After tax that would eat up her entire income. So how did she live with $0 for the whole year. I think she must have had help.

Interest really screws people..

Good for her!! 👏👏 Wonder if Graham will react to this one.

She's lucky that most of her small balances were also the ones with the highest interest rates. Using the avalanche method (paying the highest interest rates first) rather than snowball saves money in the long run.

For those waiting on the government to cancel your loans, you have a rude awakening coming. I will be done with mine by the end of the year.

The total interest you'll pay per year should be highlighted before anyone signs for a loan. Sadly, loan providers prey on people's inability to grasp long-term financial consequences to make killer profits and keep people in debt.

Just the video I need to see.Thank you!

Congratulations! Debt freedom feels great, doesn't it? I made my last debt payment last month! Paid off $54,128 in 26 months!

This is insane! I am from Czech Republic. I got my masters completely free!

This video really motivated me to pay off my student loans, but i only payed like 400$ for 3 years of college 😅

Seeing that genuine relief on her face says it all... Priceless! Happy for you :-)

Love the voiceover! So much easier to understand! Thank you 🙌

Did I miss something? How’d she get the last 32k paid in 8 months? That’s 4k every month...

They still didn't really explain how she paid it all off. 🙄

Throwing a funeral for her loans, what a MOVE! Love the story, and great video as always :)

Its insane how much debt the students in the USA have. I live in Germany and cant even imagine it, because I dont had to pay any debt. I think everyone should have the opportuniy to study for free. My respect how fast you paid this back, thats really not easy.

I wanna know how she paid the last 30k in 8 months. They glossed over that, but that’s the most impressive part!

awesome job! so proud of her!!

I was so hopeless yesterday, crying and even shaking in nervousness just thinking all that I have to pay off on top of my living expenses, between fixing my teeth, paying off the car, helping my elderly mother who can't working paying loans and credit cards I'm around $80k in debt, that's why I researched this video and gave me some hope

Great job, Mandy! I'm so glad to see yet another young person break from the chains of their debt!

This is REASONABLE! Most people can’t pay off over $100k in 2 years. But, those stories are very inspirational. However, with that being said, it’s good to see a relatable timeline. Congratulations girl 🎊🎁🎉

Congrats, 27 year old German here, studied the last seven years, and surprise, I'm debt free too

Wow, so much respect.. I can’t imagine being in her situation.. good for her

Hi Mandy, nice video thanks for sharing your story.

imagine if that 102k went to a index fund that return 7% on average a year...

The system is broken

The disgusting bloated cost of University is the problem 😕 We have to stop enrolling and stay home at community College. The more we feed this monster the bigger it gets

I remember when the student loan funeral went viral 💀😭 lol so cute

People congratulating her are missing the point. NO ONE should be 100k in debt, THIS IS NOT A FEEL GOOD STORY PEOPLE.

How did she live in NYC and pay off loans plus cost of liviing? On top of a pandemic?

Well.. I’m hoping to pay off 53k in around 1 year. May be a little over that but definitely under 1.5 years Graduated in August, started my first job in January. Loans are about 6.6% interest and I’m thankful for the 0% interest since March 2020 and at least until October 2021.

Wow this is why so many people never pay off loans. Like you end up paying 3 times what school costs. Like how did she have enough time for all that? I know nurses that will be in debt the rest of their lives for saving the lives of others. Just sad! And people think we are not paying our debt with forgiveness. No it's reperations for money stolen from us above tuition costs.

My husband changed careers which required full time school for 3 years and has 160k left :/ he came from a low income background so there was no help with anything. We got married while he was in school!

Good job! I did the same. Paid minimum on my low interest loan and forked out an extra 1k$ on my high interest. Buying a home will put you in the same boat. I also put 1k$ extra or 2 every month to get me completely debt free and home occupied.

Everyone is ignoring the problem with this video. She shouldn't have $100K in student debt, it shouldn't cost someone a small mortgage for 3-4 years of higher education.

I think she was featured in an article. The pictures looked familiar

I cant stress this enough, if you can, and your parents are willing, sacrifice a year of your life to pay off the debt. Or how ever long you need. My parents and I struck a deal where I was able to pay off 32k in exactly 1 year on a 50k salary. Stayed at home. Didn't spend anything. My account was at 0 for a long time. But with the help of my parents I was able to not carry a safety valve.

Congrats Mandy!!! What an awesome accomplishment!!

Fortunately, I graduated without student loans. I went to an in-state, in-city public college and majored in criminal justice. I lived at home and took the bus to school. Why should I be responsible for other people’s student loans?

Prioritizing compensation over finding your dream job is something every college grad with debt needs to consider. Once your debt is paid off, you can look for your dream job. She did a great job!

Makes me feel like I'm not alone when I was paying off loans aggressively :) I also had about 75k without interest I believe

Good for you! Congrats!!

Super proud of Mandy. I'm using the snowball method, too.

she started paying student loans when she was 14?