January 28, 2022 marked my one year anniversary of paying off my student loans . Reflecting back on choosing to pay off my student loans leaves me with several take a ways that I want to share with you! In September 2020 I decided to become debt free by utilizing the debt snowball method to pay off all my debt. Before this I had struggled to save and really understand basic financial principles. As a first-generation college student, I received a scholarship to attend undergrad for free, but the scholarship did not cover summers. During the summers I took out student loans to cover costs without paying interest rates or how much I was taking out. By the end of undergrad I had amassed a little under $17K. Fast forward to graduate school I received another scholarship that covered my education. At the time I was a teacher in a new very expensive city and I had missed the cutoff to have my paycheck last me throughout the summer. So, I decided to take out a loan for two summers to keep
It’s my favorite time of the semester you know the one
where free money is involved?! My semester started a week ago and my refund
posted shortly after. If you’ve been reading my blog or watching my YouTube channel, then you know I am a
champion for scholarships and free money. This past year my employer decided
to pay for doctoral degrees in full which greatly assisted in my debt free journey.
Figure
1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video “I Got My Summer Refund Check”
where I am sitting in my office with my hand under my chin with a smile while
looking at the camera.
Although my schooling is paid for, I still have several scholarships that provide some overage. My goal is to not only obtain my doctorate degree for free but to make money while doing it! This summer I received two scholarships for $500 each for a total of $1000! One scholarship was given to me by the university without me having to apply while the other is for my work with a local community college. With this money I was able to do some much needed car maintenance and put the rest towards the last item on my debt free journey.
Figure
2: This is a meme of one of the characters from the office that reads “Did you say extra money?”
I actually had a mix up with one of my scholarships
where I was only given half but after contacting the appropriate office, I was
able to have this fixed. This is why it is so important to check your student
account balance on a regular basis especially around the beginning of the semester.
Have you received your summer refund? How much did you get? Drop down in the
comments and let me know!
Figure 3: This is a photo that reads “Leave a Comment!!”
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