How long did it take you to pay off your college debt?

I have a ridiculous amount of debt after graduating from college. How do I manage?

• I recently graduated from college. I went to a state university, paid in state tuition and did not live on campus. I have a total of about $45,000 in student loans. Of this amount, $28,000 is in federal loans, $8,000 from a state agency and $9,000 is a parent plus loan taken out in my mother's name. I really feel like a major idiot because I worked a lot during college. It was for minimum wage but thinking back, I really can't understand why my debt is so high. I could have paid off at least some of this money while I was in school. I really wish I had paid more attention to this. For the amount of money I owe, I could have gone to a better school with better financial aid packages and actually enjoyed being a student with no real bills instead of busting my *** at crappy jobs. Another problem is that during college I became addicted to credit cards, at one point I had 10 different credit cards in my name. The total debt was over $10,000 it is now about $5000. I just took advantage of a 0% balance transfer and I am now diligently working to get rid of credit card debt completely. I just started a decent job but it only pays about 30K. So most of my money is going to pay off debt. I am living with my mother and stepfather for now but I know can not stay there for much too long. I also need to save up for a car. I'm really upset with myself because I could have bought a car already with the money I'm paying to credit card companies. Everytime I start to think about my finances I get a headache and get depressed. I'd really appreciate some advice from people who are managing. I know I need to get a better paying job. I'm hoping to take advantage of tuition reimbursement at my new job to defer my loans and help me get better pay. So how do I manage for now until I can at least double my current salary. I'm in the accounting and finance field so I know there are good paying jobs out there.

• Answer:

  What's past is past. It's great to look back and learn from mistakes so you don't make them again, but don't beat yourself up too much because there is nothing you can do to change it. What you need to do now is make a plan, set goals and be realistic about what you can accomplish within what time frame. Most of your money is going to paying off debt - that's great! Stay at home as long as you possibly can because living on your own is expensive. If you might not have a choice in moving out, start putting money in savings now and start thinking about a roommate to split the bills. It's a great idea to have 3 month's worth of expenses (estimates for the new place) in savings before you move because there are a lot of start up costs like deposits, first month's rent, and stuff you'll need for your new place (even tiny things like toothpaste, toilet paper and saran wrap add up quickly). It is best to do some research to estimate what it's going to cost each month, but a quick and dirty calculation might be rent times 2.5. You're managing to get to work right now, so why do you need to buy a car? Sound like you've got enough debt to deal with, no need to add another loan payment on top of possibly moving out on your own. When paying down debt, the best approach is to target debt. This means you prioritize the debts, make the minimum payments on all debts except #1 on your list. Once that debt is paid off, take what you were paying toward it and put it toward #2 on the list. Some say start with highest interest rate, some say lowest balance, but the minimum monthly payment matters to. Linked below is a free excel template that lets you run scenarios to figure out what order works best for you. Of course, this just calculates the numbers. If it's important to you to pay off the loan in your mother's name first, just start there.