6 mistakes I made while paying off $81,000 of student loan debt - Business Insider

I borrowed a total of $81,000 in student loans for two degrees. Over a period of nine years,I made a lot of mistakes along the way. For one thing, I spent years paying only the minimum, even though I could have afforded to pay more.

I struggled to make my payments after grad school and wish I had gotten ahead when I could have afforded it. If you can, pay more than the minimum.Most of my career has been spent in the nonprofit sector. These jobs didn't offer any retirement matches, so I didn't contribute to a 403. I used this as an excuse to not save for retirement.

One time I fell ill and went to the ER and faced a $1,600 bill. I was so stressed out, but my saving grace was the hospital's payment policy. I was able to show that I didn't have the means to pay the bill by submitting my pay stubs and tax returns. At that time, I was making so little that the hospital forgave the amount. But it was still a scary ordeal I don't wish to repeat and I probably should have just forked over $200 per month for health insurance.

While my income went up, almost imperceptibly my expenses went up to to be able to handle my lack of time and energy.Toward the end of my debt repayment, I saw that I had a few thousand dollars left. I was so eager to be debt-free that I tapped my emergency fund to pay off my debt. It felt great! I was done! While I was cash poor, I now had a positive net worth.

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