Student loan progress and learning

I look back over my near two years in graduate school and I'm not sure it was a worthwhile investment. I never did get a job in Human Resources and maybe it's not what God  wants me to do anyway. But I did learn about leadership styles an human interaction, so maybe in that sense, it was a good thing to do. But when I completed the program in 2015, I had just under $10,000 in student loans. Now that's not a whole lot compared to other people. But it was aggravating considering I was supposed to have the program completely covered by the school where I was working at the time.

When I graduated school in June 2015, my starting balance was $9,326. My required monthly payment was $108 and change and that was to have it paid off in ten years. I figured that was reasonable and if I got ahead early, I could just make minimum payments for a while and that would be good enough. But I didn't know much about interest. That $9,326 was a lot more.

Let me break down what I did, because as I wrote this it's baffling to me. In my first 12 months, from June 2015-June 2016, I paid back $2,600, about 30 percent of the principal. But I guess I got complacent. Because then I started to slack off. I didn't stop making payments, but my intensity was gone. Over the next 24 months, I paid $802.

It wasn't until the fall of 2018 when I started budgeting my money and realized what a choke hold that debt can have that I decided I should push myself. I had always tried to be smart with money but I never really knew exactly what was coming in, because I never used a budget. And if I could get out of debt quickly in order that I could actually build wealth. I began to make more regular payments starting in July 2018. Between then and December, I paid just under $700. So by the end of 2018, my balance was down to $5,276.

Then I realized that I could get crazy and get out of the debt way quicker. I resolved to pay at least $500 a month. Plus any additional money I had at the end of the month would go towards the balance. So whereas in the past, I would make a payment every other month, now I was making two payments per month.

In the first 3 months of 2019, I have paid $2,800. My balance is now $2,473 and I fully expect to have this debt paid off by my birthday at the end of July. Upon which time, I will be 100% debt free. Keep in mind, I'm not making much more money than I've made in the past. I'm working three gigs to make what I have now. But I have faith the work will pay off for me. Literally.

Just to recap:

After 3 years, I had paid $3,400.
After 3.5 years, I had paid $4,050.
After 3.75 years (today), I have paid $6,853.

I have $2,473.16 left to go. Praise the Lord for his gifts and wisdom.