How Much Extra Should I Be Paying on My Student Loans?

This is a fun question because when I start digging deeper into your finances as a coach and I tell you how much you can afford on paper - the jaws drop! We have been trained to think that if we are making our minimum payments we deserve a pat on the back - because we did it! Right? We didn't have an adjusted payment, we aren't in forbearance, we made the payment. Well, sorry, but no. 

That minimum payment will cost you tens of THOUSANDS of dollars in interest that frankly, you can't afford. Nobody can! In most situations you should be able to pay double (at least!) on your loan to get rid of it! There are a lot of financial calculators online, I like Unbury.me, that help you play around with various extra payment amounts to find out just how long it will take you to pay off your debt. 

Give it a shot, it's really motivating to see if you pay just a little extra each month, the number of years you can knock off the term of your loan!