I’m a mom who has paid off $72,000 in student loan and credit card debt – here’s how I did it

A MOTHER just finished paying off more than $70,000 worth of debt– and she unveiled some of the ways that she did it.

This is Amanda Courtney, who is a 36-year-old San Diego, California resident. 

At first, Amanda struggled to pay to keep up with her mounting balance because she wasn’t well prepared. 

In just her freshman year, Amanda took out $15,000 in student loans and then got into credit card debt. 

"I think I just had this false sense of security that I'm working and I'm going to get a degree and then I'm going to have a job that can pay off the debt so it won't be a big problem,” she told Good Morning America.

"Then reality hits and you realize that's not how any of this works and my $15,000 in loans very quickly becomes $30,000.”

She also noted that she had to manage a loan through a private company because federal loans and grants did not cover her entire tuition. 

As a result, she was given an “insane interest rate.”

And unfortunately, things started to worsen for Amanda.

When she graduated from college in 2008, she couldn’t find a job because of a financial crisis.

Without a job, Amanda couldn’t make the minimum payments. So, she had to remain enrolled in classes to continue deferring payments.

But luckily, Amanda landed a job in education and was able to start making the minimum payments each month.

It took Amanda around eight years to be free from her $72,000 debt burden – with her final student loan payment occurring in September 2021.

Currently, Amanda works as an administrative assistant at a San Diego high school.

Amanda has laid out her best tips for managing and paying off debt.

• Create a budget – look at credit card and student loan statements and see what other expenses you have. You’ll then want to view your paycheck and decide on the best way to manage them.
• Consolidate loans – Amanda consolidated her loans into one payment to make management easier. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Education offers this without charge, but keep in mind you are likely to make more payments and have a higher interest rate.
• Focus on smallest balances first – Amanda put most of her attention on credit cards because that’s where she owed the lowest debt. As a result, she paid that off first and felt accomplished. 
• Plan ahead – While Amanda wasn’t originally prepared on how to budget, she learned how to plan ahead for major big spending events including birthdays, vacations, and holidays. She saved money for them instead of racking up more credit card debt.

But Amanda isn’t the only one who has struggled with student loan debt.

Currently, there are 43.2million Americans in student debt with each borrower owing an average of $39,351, according to the latest figures from the Education Data Initiative.

President Joe Biden recently paused student loan repayments until May due to the emerging Omicron variant.

We break down retailers that will pay your college tuition.

Meanwhile, those with student loans can trim their taxes by up to $550 per year.