How to Repay Your Student Loans Quickly

A few years ago we were carrying about $135,000 in student loans.
If you’re in the same boat and want any way out of that weighty debt, keep reading.
One bright side to student loans is they usually come with education. Ideally that degree helped you get a job. In the 2022 job market, plenty of opportunities exist for recent grads.
Often your major doesn’t matter. My degree has nothing to do with my current IT project management role, yet I turned a social science background into a decent tech career.
I think employers favor four-year grads because they’re more likely to stick around. With student loan payments, leaving a job isn’t so easy — which is one reason degree holders can be more attractive hires.
I even thought I got hired because I studied Remote Sensing and Landscape Architecture in college. Turns out it wasn’t that simple.
Understanding how interest affects your loans is crucial. Of our $135,000, $75,000 had a fixed 4.6% rate. Over 30 years (per our lender’s schedule), that 4.6% adds up to almost $70,000 in interest. That hurts.
So it made sense to attack the higher-rate loans fast. Yes, you might earn more long-term in stocks or real estate (maybe 9% or 15%), but freeing up monthly cash is vital if you want to retire early or save for property down payments.
The other $65,000 of our debt sits at about 2%. We don’t plan to pay that off early — 2% is close to inflation, so extra payments there aren’t as useful as investing the money elsewhere.
By paying off the $75,000 higher-rate loan, we wiped out over $300 a month and redirected that cash toward paying our mortgage. That’s the debt snowball in action. It’s satisfying to watch monthly cash flow improve and net worth slowly climb.
Persistence is the most important thing. It’s tempting to spend on trips and experiences, especially with FOMO everywhere, but those loans will still be waiting when you get back. Simple living can help. Experiences matter, but having a plan matters more. Strengthen relationships with low-cost activities like game nights or potlucks. Travel, but consider cheaper road trips or staying with friends to cut costs.
How did we do it in under two years while paying for twins’ childcare? Honestly, a lot of it felt like autopilot because of sleep deprivation, but there were specific steps we took that helped. Here are a few that might help you too.
Bonus: consider student loan consolidation. It combines multiple loans into one payment, often at a single rate. We consolidated some loans at about 6% into a larger loan at 4.6%. If you can lower your rate and monthly payment, consolidation is worth exploring.
Living within your means sounds simple but it’s powerful. Live smaller, drive a used car or bike, or rent out an extra bedroom if your house is too big. But don’t stop at cutting costs — focus on earning more too. You can only squeeze so much out of the budget.
Find side income that actually pays: start a blog, rent a spare unit or a room, take a part-time job. Or become indispensable at your current job — build strong emotional intelligence and relationships so you’re the reliable “can do” person everyone wants.
When you combine frugal choices with increased income, your debt snowball rolls much faster.