A few weeks ago, my husband Clay hit a very significant milestone: Paying off all student loans.
In 2007, I graduated from Francis Marion University with a degree in professional writing, and Clay graduated with a chemistry degree. He began working as a chemist the following Monday, while I was a slacker and unemployed for three weeks until my first technical writing job.
Over the next few years, both of us lived in Florence and our relationship blossomed. I left my first technical writing job to work at ACS Technologies, where I still work today. Clay and I enjoyed living in the same city and going to the gym, grilling out with friends, going on weekend trips, and well, most of the same things we do now. We both worked full-time and had benefits, with some money to splurge.
In 2010, Clay decided it was time for a change. Working in the chemistry field didn’t allow much advancement without an M.S. or Ph.D. This would mean both of us would have to move so he could attend (a more expensive) college, and we’d both have to find new jobs.
In addition, working at a pharmaceutical plant has risks, especially when working with pre-clinical trial medications. One medication Clay handled was later found to negatively affect contraceptives, and while that didn’t affect Clay, there’s always the risk that you could be exposed to something that could hurt your health down the road.
Even though only a few years passed since we graduated, FMU’s computer science curriculum was basically overhauled, so Clay returned to pursue a computer science degree.
Returning to Francis Marion University (go Patriots!) was an easy decision. We wouldn’t have to move, and FMU is one of the best bangs for your buck when it comes to South Carolina’s universities. Since it was his second degree, Clay didn’t have to retake the general education courses, and he completed many of the math requirements from majoring in chemistry.
Those years were tough. Clay worked 3rd shirt full time as a chemist, went to FMU full time for computer programming, interned at ACS Technologies, occasionally helped out at a pizza place, and put up with his snarky wife. Working full-time while in college was tough, but helped prevent taking out any loans for living expenses or items like textbooks, laptop, etc.
On May 5, 2012- exactly five years after our first FMU graduation, he graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science.
One month later, we packed up our lives and moved to Charleston, SC, where Clay began his career as a software engineer- and the process of paying off student loans.
As far as HOW Clay paid off the loans, he used what most people know as Dave Ramsey’s “Snowball” method. He paid off the highest interest loans first, then worked on the lower-interest loans. He also paid off some of the smaller loans, and knowing that a loan was paid off gave him the motivation to put that extra money toward the next loan.
Any “extra” money went toward the student loans, including birthday and Christmas money from family. Since I was not paying off student loans, I kept an emergency fund for household expenses that popped up. When (and after) we bought a home, I covered some household items we needed so that Clay could put more cash toward the loans.
However, we didn’t deprive ourselves. We still took vacations and weekend trips- but stuck to a budget. We still made time for a weekly date out, usually a Saturday or Sunday brunch, and we attended the occasional Carolina Gamecocks football game. Saving money and paying off debt are important, but you have to enjoy life too. We’re not fancy people, so lunches out or dates with coupons and gift cards are just fine for us.
Also, we were very fortunate. Neither of us has fallen on hard financial times over the last few years. We haven’t had periods of unemployment or health or home emergencies that zapped our savings, and we are child-free. Everyone’s post-college and life journey are different.
If you’re working toward paying off student loans or any other debt, it gets easier. Let the progress you make encourage and motivate you to stay with the journey, and do the best you can. The years after college aren’t the easiest financially, but education is worth it and so are you.
