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I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

benjaminlabaschin.com

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Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#2
A few years ago, I set myself the goal of paying off all my student loans before I'm 30. I turn 30 in two months. And as of this month, I paid them off. All $194k of them...

Obviously, this was a significant milestone for me. So, I took this opportunity to reflect on my journey so far. How I even came to owe that much money, how I overcame this obstacle, and what it all means to me.

Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#3
post #2

A few years ago, I set myself the goal of paying off all my student loans before I'm 30. I turn 30 in two months. And as of this month, I paid them off. All $194k of them... Obviously, this was a significant milestone for me. So, I took this opportunity to reflect on my journey so far. How I even came to owe that much money, how I overcame this obstacle, and what it all means to me.

Yes you owed a lot of money but it seems to have been worthwhile as you must have a well-paid job: indeed, 194k over 6 years means that on average you paid back about 32k every year, which happens to be the median income in the US.

Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#4
post #2

A few years ago, I set myself the goal of paying off all my student loans before I'm 30. I turn 30 in two months. And as of this month, I paid them off. All $194k of them... Obviously, this was a significant milestone for me. So, I took this opportunity to reflect on my journey so far. How I even came to owe that much money, how I overcame this obstacle, and what it all means to me.

Sounds like you made all the right choices. You spent $200k on a degree which awarded you a job that allowed you (with some expected struggle) to pay it off. Congratulations.

Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#6
The cost of higher education has been increasing at 3-4x inflation for decades.

It has finally nullified any socio-economic advantage it once held as evidenced by the large number of graduates unable to repay their student loans.

The solution --- stop steering your kids toward college. AI is working toward eliminating many of these "careers" in the near future anyway.

Instead, orient them toward entrepreneurism. A business as simple as landscaping or construction can be just as financially rewarding as being a corporate desk jockey ... and even more so in some cases.

The key element here is to learn the trade but then move up to hiring/managing others who do the actual work --- for a company owned by you.

Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#7

The cost of higher education has been increasing at 3-4x inflation for decades. It has finally nullified any socio-economic advantage it once held as evidenced by the large number of graduates unable to repay their student loans. The solution --- stop steering your kids toward college. AI is working toward eliminating many of these "careers" in the near future anyway. Instead, orient them toward entrepreneurism. A bu…

This position would have more merit if it held equally true across all degrees. Not counting the inevitable graduates in every field that don't pan out, is it actually equally true for every degree though? Usually when I see people unable to pay their student loans it's my friends who went for the humanities or the soft sciences. The people who chose their degree by treating it as an investment they wanted as high a return as possible from generally did well.

Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#8
post #2

A few years ago, I set myself the goal of paying off all my student loans before I'm 30. I turn 30 in two months. And as of this month, I paid them off. All $194k of them... Obviously, this was a significant milestone for me. So, I took this opportunity to reflect on my journey so far. How I even came to owe that much money, how I overcame this obstacle, and what it all means to me.

Yes you owed a lot of money but it seems to have been worthwhile as you must have a well-paid job: indeed, 194k over 6 years means that on average you paid back about 32k every year, which happens to be the median income in the US.

[deleted]

Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#9

The cost of higher education has been increasing at 3-4x inflation for decades. It has finally nullified any socio-economic advantage it once held as evidenced by the large number of graduates unable to repay their student loans. The solution --- stop steering your kids toward college. AI is working toward eliminating many of these "careers" in the near future anyway. Instead, orient them toward entrepreneurism. A bu…

> The key element here is to learn the trade but then move up to hiring/managing others who do the actual work --- for a company owned by you.

Sure, that's totally not gonna be another gold rush / pyramid scheme like the student loans were.

Re: I Paid Off $194k in Student Loans in Six Years. It Wasn’t Easy

#10

The cost of higher education has been increasing at 3-4x inflation for decades. It has finally nullified any socio-economic advantage it once held as evidenced by the large number of graduates unable to repay their student loans. The solution --- stop steering your kids toward college. AI is working toward eliminating many of these "careers" in the near future anyway. Instead, orient them toward entrepreneurism. A bu…

Business isn’t so easy. Regulations intended for large corporations are constantly killing small businesses, health care costs will cut your take home by 1/3. If you just factor in taxes and healthcare that’s probably 50-60% right off the top.
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