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Hi there! My name is Madison. My husband and I have lived in the beautiful state of Oregon since 2021 with our four-legged child, Woodford. While we don’t see ourselves staying out West forever, we’re making the absolute most of our time here.
We love driving to the coast to watch Woodford play in the ocean. We enjoy taking visiting friends and family to the Trail of Ten Falls. And—how could I forget—the incredible food scene!
As fun as it all is, we do miss our old Kentucky home and hope to be back in the Midwest someday—but not before we live out our dreams a bit more.
I started this blog—more like a diary—as a way to vent my thoughts and feelings about my journey to paying off student loan debt. But let me back up a bit.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in Interior Design with $0 in student loans. After graduating, I took no time off and jumped straight into a master’s degree in Architecture that summer. Unlike undergrad, I had to take out loans, which is why I’m now tackling the fantabulous task of paying off… $144,000 in student loan debt!! Yay me.
Going into grad school, I don’t think I really knew what I was getting myself into. I did some quick math to estimate costs, but at some point, I just hit a mindset of I’m getting my master’s in Architecture no matter what it takes. Well, now I know what it takes—$144K (or $144,217.13, to be exact, as of today).
I joke about my student loan debt—to myself or to my husband—because at times, it’s a terrifying number to think about. But the first step to paying off debt is… to pay your debt!! (I should clarify that I am not a finance person, so I totally just made that rule up.)
All jokes aside, having student loan debt doesn’t feel great—especially as someone who falls into the 7% of borrowers with a balance of $100K+. But 7% of 42.7 million Americans with student loan debt still means nearly 3 million people are in the same boat.
To people with student loans, I want you to know something. Yeah, it kinda sucks, but we’re going to pay it off. When we do, it’ll feel like the biggest weight off our shoulders! And you know what else? That debt doesn’t define you as a person.
Student loan debt comes with a lot of regret and shame, and it’s unfortunate that it’s still so stigmatized. I recently read a 2022 NYT article by Charlotte Cowles that referenced a research study, and she put it best:
“Destigmatizing student loans doesn’t just make people feel better; it can actually help them tackle their balances.”
[Check out the full article: Big Mouths About Big Debt.] This really ties into my mindset about paying off debt: just keep going. No matter how tiny the step, you’re still moving forward.
Debt Avalanche vs. Debt Snowball: What’s My Approach?
There are two main strategies for debt repayment:
| Debt Avalanche | Debt Snowball |
| Prioritizes interest rates by paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first | Prioritizes balances by paying off the smallest debt first regardless of interest rate |
| Then paying off the next highest interest rate debt | Then paying off the next smallest debt |
| Pay less interest over the life of the debt(s) | Good for building motivation as debts are paid off faster |
I’m using the debt avalanche method because I want to minimize the amount of interest I pay over time.
I hope that by sharing my journey, you feel less alone in yours. Student loan providers (looking at you, Aidvantage) often make repayment confusing, frustrating, and just plain difficult. That’s where financial literacy comes in. By educating yourself and becoming an “expert” in your own loans, you can take control of your finances and make big changes.
42.7 million people are navigating some kind of student loan repayment—so join me, let’s educate ourselves, and let’s pay off these loans together.
[featured image: Landscape Vectors by Vecteezy]
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I would love to hear from others! Where are you at on your student loan debt journey?
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