<prompt> Human: DAYUM GURL, y u gotta pay off dat loan so quickly. We only got 928.54 of interest out of you when it should have been 6555.14!Im 100k in student loan debt. 48k in my name I include my car loan in this since debt is debt, 84k in a ParentPlus loan I pay 210mo to. In March of 2014 I got a job in my field making 40,000yr and decided in August that I was going to crack down on my student loan debt so I could achieve my dream of buildingbuying a house also marriage, kids, and travel. Since August, I have successfully paid off: 1. 3,500 student loan 6 in October 20142. 9,000 car loan 4 in January 20153. 13,000 student loan 6 AS OF TODAYONE YEAR. IN ONE YEAR I have paid off 25,500 of debt on a 40-41kyr salary for 11 out of the 12 months. I also worked THREE other jobs in addition to my full-time job that pulled in about an extra 15k this year overnight pet sitting, Etsy shop, freelance. Im more than halfway to debt free in my name. Keep in mind this is before taxes, health insurance, and 401k contribution so the total is probably 45k.Aside from working my ass off at three other jobs and having no life, which allowed me to toss 100 of those incomes to my loans, I made some serious changes to my spending habits and cut down where I could. I live with my boyfriend, so we split all expenses 5050. We rent a house from his grandparents in MA for 800mo GREAT price, so aside from my student loans my largest bill was my 400mo rent. In addition to that, here are a few significant things I did I thought were beneficial:- Switched my phone bill to Ting. I was paying 70mo with Verizon - since switching to Ting, my bill is now 25mo 28 after taxes. However, because of referrals dont worry mods, no code here, I havent paid a single bill since I switched. I recruited friends, family, coworkers, and Redditors and saved myself a year of a cell phone bill. I was able to apply that 50mo savings to my loans.- I dont buy coffee in the morning or ever, dont buy lunches, and dont ever go out to eat. I make my lunch at home and bring tea and snacks to store in my desk at work.- Literally stopped buying myself video games, toys, anything. I would ask for these things as gifts during birthdaysholidays instead. The one thing I allowed myself to spend money on was new clothes because its my weakness and fashion boosts my confidence, but it wasnt without budgeting for it and using the income from my pet sitting job to do so. - Frequently called FiOS to make sure we were on the best promo and price for what we had. This paid off a couple of times. My boyfriend cannot live without football and refuses to watch the big name shows GoT, TWD, etc at a later time, so we have to have cable - and not just basic, but all the damn special channels. We also have to have 5050mps internet because League of Legends ಠ_ಠ. If I had it my way, I would have also cut down in these areas, but we pay 94mo for it currently, which I can live with. - We have two indoor cats that are on Advantage flea protection, yes, even if they are indoors - I learned my lesson. A box of 4 costs like 58, which would cover our cats for two months. I took to Ebay and found the Advantage 4 pack for 28 instead its sealed, not a knock off. So now we pay 28 every two months instead of almost 60. This isnt significant savings, but every little bit helps.- I used the snowball method instead of avalanche. Because the debts were small, it allowed me to pay them off faster, which then allowed me to apply their minimum payments to my next loan. By the time I got to the 13k loan, I was putting 350mo down on it instead of 110mo. Now Ill be able to put 650mo on the last loan and pay it off in one year with extra money from my other jobs and new income. If I had started with the 20k loan, I would still be here...making the minimum payments on all my loans except whatever I could throw at the 20k loan.The main contributor to such a fast pay-off of those loans was absolutely working like a dog, but I still consider it a feat with many sacrifices made. There was no inheritance, no trust fund, no sudden windfall of money or a duel income of 1000,000yr, just hard fucking work. I wish I could say I had some big secret, but I dont. You just have to work at it. I just started my new job on August 17th in the same field, web designer, making 78,000yr. I can do this. I have one, 20,000 student loan left 6 that I will be able to completely wreck within the next year.For those who will probably wonder: I do have a smallish emergency fund and I have been contributing to a 401k this entire time. I wasnt maxing it out, since my debt was my priority, but with my new job maxing it wont be an issue. I wish I could say I was debt free, but I was too excited not to share my halfway pointone year mark so I hope you guys dont mind. I have this sub to thank for almost all of this, as I started coming here right when I started to tackle my loans. Ive learned so much. THREE DOWN, ONE TO GO!Edit: For those questioning the 84k loan. This is a ParentPlus loan that is no obligation to me, nor is it in my name or considered as part of my debt if were being technical; I still include it in my total education cost. Its optional for me to pay, but I do because I want to help my parents.For those questioning my deal on rent: the house can only rent for 1100mo, so its really not that much more below. The town its located in is one of the worst in the state, plus an hour outside of the city.You cant expect people to not live with someone and only pay astronomical rent in order to be deserving of a good job, you did well. THAT is unrealistic, and not fair to those who are trying had to pay off their debts. Assistant: Awesome work! Your boyfriend does not need that cableTV package, but 100mo for a specialized bundle is great. I wish I had more competitive rates in my area. I had to go through retention to go from 103 to 305 for 50mo.If hes flexible, you could try bumping down to 15mbps or waching NFL games either over-the-air or via the stations official livestream.Human: Everyone I know pays 120 with Comcast, so Im happy with our 94mo. I, too, enjoy the extra channels and faster internet were both gamers, so if it makes him happy I definitely dont mind the small extra splurge on cable There is also a lot hes doing for me in terms of our future, plus he takes me out on datesout to eat and pays the bill :  <response>: Bay area checking in. Have comcast, but only pay for internet, no cable. Currently pay 45mo for 50mbs down, 8mbs up, and I own my own modem saves me 5 a month. 