<prompt> Human: I apologize if this is not helpful enough and too much of a brag post to warrant its own discussion but I figured Id share anyway. nbsp; Graduated in May of 2014 from a private engineering college with a B.S. in Computer and Systems Engineering and about 40,000 in mixed private and federal loans. I had a job lined up for after I graduated and started that June. nbsp; Thanks to philosophy of rpersonalfinance and Mr. Money Mustache, I made it my mission to pay down this debt as fast as possible. It became almost like a game, several times a month I would look at my Mint trends tab and see the debt balance graph getting lower and lower. It was exciting to me whenever I got more money than I expected for the month and put it right to my loans. My drive to get rid of my debt even got my girlfriend on board with this debt blasting attitude that we hope to continue for the long run. nbsp; I started post-college as a Systems Engineer at 59k salary moving to about 62k and eventually raising to 71.2k a couple of months ago due to a promotion. I contributed 6 into a 401k set up by my work which matched 75 of that contribution. nbsp; During that time I lived in two apartments a year for each with a roommate with my share of the rent being 575 a month and 375 a month. This helped contribute to a relatively low housing expense as a percentage of my take-home pay about 16th. The second apartment 375month was not in the best area but saving that extra 200 a month really helped put more toward my loans. Other than buying a nice TV after I graduated, any extra money I got including things like tax refunds, went directly to my loans. I was dumping about 1500-2000 a month in them. Starting with the highest loan amount and interest rate. nbsp; Another thing that helped contribute to lowering my expenses were that I was covered under my parents health insurance. They also payed for my portion of my cell phone and auto insurance I would give them about 200 a month to cover some of the expenses. Safe to say they helped me out as well. nbsp; Here is what my efforts boil down to that I am really proud of: Those two months where the debt spiked was the result of me having to front money for my grad school program before my work would reimburse me. nbsp; Some random advice I have to save money and pay debt down faster this might apply a little more for new college grads: Avoid the debt to begin with. This only applies for people who have not incurred student debt yet I was fortunate enough to live near a community college that had an excellent engineering program. I was able to attend for two years and earn an A.S. in Engineering Science all while incurring next to no debt. The program was well-known and accepted enough that I was able to transfer to my 4 year college with full Junior status. Doing this allowed me to avoid the private student loan debt for my first two years and get merit aid scholarships which helped put a dent into how much I would eventually owe. Live with a roommate wherever possible. in as cheap a place that you can stand for me it was a place that had electricity, heat, and quiet place to sleep, anything extra was a bonus. The costs associated with living by yourself greatly affect the amount you can put toward the loans. Do not buy a new newer car. It may be tempting to plunk down money for or lease a new car as an I deserve it reward for graduating, but that shouldnt be a priority when you have debt hanging over your head. There will be plenty of time for a nicer car sooner than you think. I found my car on craigslist 06 Elantra, paid cash for it 4800 and have been driving it for 4 years. I personally would have continued to purchase used cars like the one I have going forward but I have another passion which is Tesla and I dropped 1k to reserve my Model 3 as an ultimate gift to myself for paying off my debt :. Credit Cards. Take advantage of the benefits that credit cards have to offer, if you use them the right way. I used to think they were terrible things to have, but the extra cashback miles are wonderful and the ability to separate your money from companies and entities you pay for goods and services is a great thing to have and has helped me in a number of occasions. Going back to what I said before about credit cards, you need to use them the right way. Never spend more in a statement period than you can pay off before it is due. For me, I never spend money just because. I usually have my set expenses for needs and then if I want to make a larger purchase, I always sit on it and think about it for a couple days before making the purchase. This naturally allows me to be responsible with a credit card and I think use it in a safe way. Live close to work and avoid buying individual meals. Depending on the cost of living in your area, live as close to work as possible. Unless you are working in a major city or other area where rent is expensive, the savings on commute time add up to extra cash in your pocket and less frustration in dealing with traffic. Secondly, I got into the habit though im guilty of not doing this on occasion of preparing my breakfast and lunches for the work week on sundays and eating them throughout the week. The savings really add up when you dont have to purchase breakfast and lunch everyday. Take advantage of your advantages. One last thing that I think applies differently to different people are the random advantages that happen to be available in your life. For me it was living within an hour of my parents and girlfriends parents house and being able to see them a fairly frequently. This had several small advantages like free haircuts from Mom and being able to do laundry for free. I was also lucky enough to know that I could move back in with them if I ever lost my job or needed a decent amount of cash for an emergency. This allowed me to be a little fast and loose with my emergency fund which was essentially nothing and be more aggressive toward my loans.Another big advantage I was lucky to have is related to the company I work for other than free coffee haha. I was able to get a full tuition reimbursement to continue my education and get a Masters degree online while working. This helps further my career prospects and it doesnt add to my debt. Coupled with this is me getting the opportunity to go on work travel to several locations in the U.S. where I generally am paid more than normal and get per diem. I get to see different parts of the country for free and add more money to my savings all while doing a job that I enjoy :. Anyway, that is my story for now, id appreciate any feedback or any questionsclarifications you may have. Thanks for reading! TL;DR: Paid off student debt as fast as I could, learned some things along the way.  <response>: I like that you are conscious of your advantages. A lot of people are not so lucky. My parents threw me off their insurance when I was 18 and havent given me money for anything since I was old enough to work 14. Want clothes? Get a job. Want food? Pay for it. The community college advice is solid I did that and saved a bunch of money. Im not sure why more people dont. You can transfer to a 4 year school and get the same bachelors degree but pay less along the way.Congrats! 