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My One Year Student Loan Payoff Update

  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
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Balancing Being a Doctoral Student and Working Full Time is HARDT!

 

Balancing schoolwork and working full time can truly be a task. As someone who works fulltime and is working towards a doctoral degree, I feel like I have mastered the art of being a student. This past week as I was working on an assignment I began to beat myself up a little about not utilizing the long holiday weekend to complete a few discussion posts. This started me to think about how I stay organized between work and school.  

 


Figure 1: This is a thumbnail of my latest YouTube video “Balancing Doctoral Life & Full Time Work” where I am sitting at my desk looking at the camera. I am wearing a black shirt with my arms folded.

 

The first key is organization. My planner sets the framework for this. It helps me to stay on top of things and plan long assignments.  I also organize my syllabi in a binder or keep them within eye view so that I am always aware of upcoming assignments.



Figure 2: This is a planner with two sticky notes, a pen, tape, and notepad on a desk.

 

My motto is “To be early is to be on time”. I typically work a week ahead (or try to) to account for any possible mishaps!

 



Figure 3: This is a gold small alarm clock. 


Lastly, don’t be so hard on yourself and ask for grace when needed. We are all human and fall short at times and that is okay! Are you a full time student and employee? If so, how do you manage? Drop down in the comments and let me know! Also, be sure to check out my latest video for my tips on balancing work and school life! 


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