How I did it: For a long time I made slow, steady payments.  Then recently, I was fortunate enough that I could FINALLY afford to pay that last big amount to get me over the hump.  YAHOO!  There's nothing fancy about it--paying off debt usually takes a long time.  Have a good attitude about it, though!  I never minded paying for my loans, as I felt so lucky to be able to go to college and grad school to begin with!  :-)  My education made such a huge difference in my life.

Lessons & tips: Just keep at it, and your day will come too!  It may feel like a long ways off, but STAY FOCUSED on paying down the debt, and before you know it, the time will pass and your debt will be gone.

Resources: Using automatic monthly payment programs helps a lot, plus you typically get a discount on your interest rate (1/4 percent or more) when you participate in auto-pay programs, too.

May 17, 2009, 09:20PM PDT | 1 comment | 3 cheers