ASHLEY BARNES GAVE SALLIE MAE THE BOOT TO THE TUNE OF $28,000
The student loan crisis is a very familiar one today, especially with millennials. Today, according to many reputable sources, the average student loan debt carried by college graduates is approximately $36,000. This particular stat comes from a study completed by Northwestern Mutual Life. It was also mentioned that Gen Xers and Baby Boomers have close to the same amount in debt at about $39,000, but there is a twist: the Gen X and Baby Boomer debt is associated with home ownership, i.e. an investment, NOT student loans. Maybe if we weren’t being held hostage by SALLIE millennials could think about buying a home one day. Anyway, while those stats are surely depressing, not all of us remain saddened and defeated by this historical data. Some of us fight back. That’s exactly what our special guest did - FOUGHT BACK!
Ashely Barnes attended Auburn University and UAB to obtain and further her education as a civil engineer. During that time she amassed $28,000 in student loans. That’s not exactly $36,000, but it is pretty close, for sure. Over the last 5.5 years, she has worked her way to eliminating all of those loans to be student loan debt free! Check out her story below about how it all went down.
Age and residence location?
30, Birmingham, AL
Total student loan debt you paid off (close as you can)?
$28k total - $20k (undergraduate) + $8k (graduate), company covered approx. $12k of graduate student loan debt
How long did it take you to eliminate it all?
5-1/2 years
A range of income during that time (only if comfortable)?
My salary out of college was $50k - $60k
Story – what happened to accumulate the debt?
I enrolled at Auburn University Fall 2007 and graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering Spring 2013. Financial aid and scholarships covered a bulk of my college expenses, but I still owed approx. $20k in student loans. Good thing is, I don’t regret it at all; my college years were some of the best years of my life and I am proud to say I am an alumni of Auburn University (War Eagle). A year after I graduated from Auburn University, I enrolled in graduate school at University of Alabama -Birmingham (UAB). Fortunately, the company I work for provided tuition reimbursement, which covered approx. 75% of the cost. I owed approx. $8k in student loans after obtaining my graduate degree.
Your why for creating this goal of debt elimination?
Student loans was never something I “wanted” to imagine spending my entire life paying back. I am sure no one wants that and I am fully aware the amount I owed is small compared to many, but I wanted to pay it off as quickly as possible so I could spend my energy and money towards the things I wanted. I wanted to live a more abundant and selfless life. It’s been a few weeks since I have paid off my student loans, and I already have a greater sense of peace. I also have more money to spend, save, or invest. I am excited to apply what I learned on this journey to avoid acquiring debt in the future and most importantly encourage others it is possible!
If asked, what was the toughest part AND what was the key to get it done?
The toughest part was choosing to be true to myself and doing what was best for me. There were trips I missed out on, things I wanted but didn’t buy, but all in all I feel like that made me a more disciplined and intentional person. If I am going to spend my money on something, it certainly has to be worth it! It is tough telling that to people who want to share experiences with you, but you find ways to compromise. Most trips I plan often serve a dual purpose, which saves me time and money! All you have to do is plan.
How did you handle saving/investing while eliminating debt? No saving or investing, a dedicated percentage of income, company match only, etc.?
I guess you can say I’ve done all the above, but it was due to a seed planted in college. I spent four semesters of college either co-oping or interning, and each time I received a paycheck, I would alternate putting it in my savings account and checking account. My savings grew quickly! At the time I did not know what I was saving for, but figured it would be worth it later.
I actually ended up needing to dip into my savings sooner than I thought. None of my scholarships renewed my last year of college (to be expected, I was approaching 6-years), so instead of taking out an additional loan, I had to pay for tuition and housing out of pocket (i.e. my savings). Fortunately, I had some savings leftover, which I used as a down payment towards my first home back in 2015.
So most of my saving actually took place as a college student, which gave me a lot of flexibility later when paying off my student loans.
What do you plan on doing with the extra money that was being used to eliminate debt?
First, I plan to build an emergency fund that could cover 6 months’ worth of living expenses. After that, I plan to invest more and give more to programs and organizations near and dear to my heart.
Ashley did it and you can too!!! Get Sallie Mae out of your life!!!