Taking out student loans was a necessity for me to attend college. My family otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford my attendance at a state school a few hours away from home. At first, my goal was to get rid of that debt as quickly as possible; I would consistently make monthly payments above my required minimum amount in an effort to reach that goal.
In fact, I had become so aggressive about becoming debt-free that a financial planner I spoke to actually told me that I didn’t need to race to pay down the balance so quickly. As she put it, my interest rate was low so it was fine to prioritize other things.
At the time, though, I was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of carrying debt and I couldn’t wait for the day when I would make my final student loan payment and close the account. Her words didn’t carry much weight with me — I still thought I’d feel more financially secure by paying off my debt quickly.
