Testimonial from Chantel of ABC Murrah Family
I am a podiatrist (foot and ankle doctor) and there are only a handful of schools around the country that offer a degree in Podiatric Medicine — and at the time, they were all private schools. That meant very expensive tuition.
I applied for every scholarship I could (and received several) but they didn't even cover the cost of my books. And because our academic schedule was so rigorous, we were not allowed to work with the exception of work study on the campus — I picked up as many teaching aid jobs and other positions as I could!
I was also single so there was no spouse to help pay the tuition or even with the cost of living. I was literally living on student loans.
By the time I graduated and finished residency, I was facing about $170,000 of student loan debt. They were on a 30-year note, but with a lot of hard work, I was able to pay them off in 10 years by following a few simple steps:
I Lived on Less:
My husband and I (I was married by this point) decided to live on just his salary so that my entire salary could be sent in to my student loans. At the time I graduated, we had no children but we knew as they joined our family, I wouldn't be working as much anyway, and we didn't want to count on my salary to live.
I Set Small Goals and Tracked the Progress:
$170,000 was a huge amount, and at the beginning, it seemed endless.
So, I set small goals for myself — the first one was a $4,000 variable loan. Even though it barely made a dent in the total, knowing I had met that goal gave me so much satisfaction and a desire to keep going. I also had a ticker on my blog. Watching it go down and down gave me the biggest sense of accomplishment.
I Set up an Automatic Payment:
My student loan company offered an incentive for having automatic payment. This lowered my interest rate by a quarter point.
I Increased the Amount I Paid Monthly:
I had the loan company automatically take out more than the amount due. This paid more to the principle and ensured that I was paying less in interest. I also found I was less likely to spend that extra money on other things because it was automatically being taken out.
I Started with the Highest Interest First:
Most of my loans were on a low fixed rate of 2.25%, but I had a few loans that were on a variable rate of 12%. I applied the extra amount specifically to those loans first.
I Sent in Extra Money:
ANY time I had any extra money, I would send it into my student loans. When I was in residency and making very little money, sometimes it was only $25… but every penny helps!
I Found Extra Ways to Make Money:
I wanted every penny from my salary to be sent into my student loans so I started a Vinyl lettering company at home. The money I made from that company was set aside for other expenses.
I Never Gave Up:
There were many, many times that I wanted to but I didn't and eventually my hard work paid off!
I learned invaluable lessons from paying off my student loans and while I don’t usually condone acquiring debt, this was one loan that I’m glad I took. Without it, I never would have obtained my degree — and that to me was worth every penny I had to spend (and then some).
I also got the satisfaction of knowing I could work hard and reach my goal. I wouldn’t have gotten the same experience had I not paid off those student loans!
Chantel has been married to her sweet heart since 2002. They have four small children, under six, which keep her busy and a little crazy. She also works quarter-time as a podiatrist. Read all about their crazy life at ABC Murrah Family.
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I was really anxious to try this Natural Antibiotic Tea and when I felt a bit of a sore throat coming on today, I knew it was the perfect day for it.
I was really impressed with it. It tasted yummy, it was soothing on my throat, and just felt good to drink.
The jury’s still out on the natural antibiotic properties, but I will say that an extended family member of mine has been sick this week and has been drinking it and it’s seemed to really help.
Have you tried the Natural Antibiotic Tea before? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
(And yes, the ingredients for it are pricey. I used Swagbucks credit to buy the items on Amazon. I figured that it could potentially save money on doctor’s visits/prescriptions if it did indeed work!)
Are you participating in the Make It From Scratch Week? If so, link up your blog post about today's Make It From Scratch Project. Don't have a blog? Tell us about what you made in the comments.
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The Woodhouse Day Spa is excited to be included in a giveaway for the MoneySavingMom.com readers!
Today, we’re giving away an amazing basket of spa products (over $250 worth!) so you can enjoy some of our favorites at home.
If you are near one of our 35 Woodhouse Day Spa locations around the U.S. (click here to find out!), please stop in and say hello. Or better yet, call and schedule a relaxing spa treatment for yourself or a loved one.
Our Spa Boutique is a leader among online boutiques and we hope to share our exciting selection of high quality, exclusive apparel, cosmetics, decor, and more with you. Plus, throughout the month, we will be offering select products at a rock-bottom price — follow us on Facebook or Twitter to be notified of these special offers.
Note from Crystal: When Joy Groblebe, who works with me, saw that I was doing a giveaway with The Woodhouse Spa, she emailed me to tell me she’d been to one and that it was amazing! I’m hoping I get the chance to visit one sometime!
To enter to win a Spa Gift Basket from The Woodhouse Day Spa, just click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address. This giveaway ends Sunday, September 15, at 11:59 pm, CST. One winner will be chosen and posted on Tuesday.
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