My EXACT Debt From College!

I owed $35,494🤮

I graduated right into the Great Recession and owed $35,494. By 26 I was debt-free with over 100K saved (earning around the median household income). I’m going to share MY exact numbers of how I turned things around. First, today I’m sharing a breakdown of my debt from college.

My debt from college was from student loans and a car loan.

Like most Americans I followed the path to success: study hard, make good grades, and get into a good college. I followed the formula to the tee. In high school I graduated top of my class, was Student Body President, Editor of the high school newspaper, and Captain of the Varsity Soccer team.

I applied to as many scholarships as POSSIBLE and went where it made the most financial sense: a state school with scholarships. Even though I received scholarships, it wasn’t a full-ride and still took out debt. I did work my way through college doing summer sales internships (working 80+ hour work weeks!) starting after my senior high school summer.

Here’s the breakdown of my EXACT debt from college.

College debt freshman year

My first semester, I earned the most scholarships, but still took out student loans for $1,312 in the fall and an additional $1,312 in the spring. This brought my total debt load to $2,624.

Sophomore year debt

Then the fall semester of my sophomore year I borrowed an additional $1,750. I came back from working a summer internship in upstate New York, only to realize I had Lyme’s disease. At the time I was not healthy, devasted, and took a semester off school. Luckily, with treatment and rest I came back for the Spring semester. I took out an additional $1,750. My total debt rose to $6,124.

Junior year debt

The fall semester I took two disbursements: one for $1,955 and another for $795. The spring semester I took two more disbursements for $795 and $1955. For some reason, I consolidated the loans from my freshman and sophomore year to one loan of $6,124. My total debt reached $11,624.

Senior year debt

This is where things took a turn for the better AND worse. After a few summers of sales internships, I ended up becoming a top sales rep and took my fall semester off to continue working. I earned more than I’d ever imagine making as a college student. Over five months of working I earned $63,000!

Instead of paying off the debt I had, I bought a luxury car. The car loan was $29,023 with payments of $560. I wasn’t enrolled for the fall semester because I worked, and didn’t take out more student loans, but some of my loans were unsubsidized (meaning interest accrued) and the balances increased to $11,820.

Bonus Senior semester debt

Since I took a semester off from Lyme’s disease and another from working, I had one more semester to complete my degree! My super senior fall semester I didn’t take out more loans and made payments on my car. My student loans accrued some interest, but I also made a couple of payments. When I graduated in December of 2008 my final student loan debt was: $12,077.74 and my car loan balance was down to $23,376.57. When I graduated my total debt was $35,494.

My student loan payment was $134.42 with a ten-year repayment and my car loan payment was $560 for a six-month term. I was on the hook for $694 a month to pay off my debt.

Looking back on my college days there are things I’m proud of and things I’d definitely do differently.

What I’d do differently:

I would:

Track my debt in college versus blindly signing FASA papers
Avoid unsubsidized loans
Not buy a brand-new car and take out a massive loan

What I’m proud of:

I did:

Apply for and receive scholarships
Go to a state school with lower tuition
Have roommates and kept my room and board low
Work to gain experience and an income as a college student
Invest for retirement in college

Even though I had debt, my ability to save 100k by 26 was because I started working and investing super YOUNG (even through SCARY economic times!).

If you’re curious what my EXACT income was to save 100k, here’s the year-by-year breakdown. As a spoiler alert, the MOST I earned to save $100k was $63k.

I did:

Apply for and receive scholarships
Go to a state school with lower tuition
Have roommates and kept my room and board low
Work to gain experience and an income as a college student
Invest for retirement in college

Even though I had debt, my ability to save 100k by 26 was because I started working and investing super YOUNG (even through SCARY economic times!). If you’re curious what my EXACT income was to save 100k, here’s the year-by-year breakdown. As a spoiler alert, the MOST I earned to save $100k was $63k.

My hope in sharing this is if you’re telling yourself:

➡️“I’ll invest when I make more.”

➡️“When the economy calms down, I’ll get serious about investing.”

Then you’ll realize right NOW with your current income and current economic times is the BEST time to get your finances in order.

Join me next Sunday, April 2nd for my FREE CLASS, “The Ultimate Guide to Manage Money: Four Steps to Gain Financial Independence (and Three Money Mistakes you Can’t Afford to Make).”

I know looking at how much debt you have is SCARY! I’ll break it down for you. This class is FREE to attend and it only happens ONCE a quarter. Save your spot here (click link). The Ultimate Guide to Managing Money is perfect if you’re looking for a financial education, community, and accountability.
❤️ Carly

Hey! I'm Carly

You don’t need to figure this money stuff out on your own. I paid off $35,000 of debt and saved $100,000 by age 26 (earning only average pay). If I can turn things around, you can too!

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