Interview With a Person Who Paid Off $48,000 in Student Loans in Four Years

By Jacqui Shine. Marnie Gallowy! The Internets told me that last week—eight years after you graduated from our ol’ alma mater—that you paid off the last of your $48,000 in student loan debt. IS THAT TRUE? Are you a wizard?
Hey JShine—you found me out, I’m a wizard! My student loan debt totaled $48,000 and change ($33-ish from undergrad, and $15K from a poorly advised year in grad school). The bulk of my undergrad debt was federal student loans, but bundled in there was a nasty $8K Sallie Mae with a 12 percent interest rate. My grad school debt was also a mix of federal and private, but the private loans I got at that time were comparatively reasonable. More...