Break Up with Student Loan Debt + Free Webinar

by Melanie

As most of you know, I’m climbing my way out of $81,000 in student loan debt. I’m nearing my way towards the end of my debt journey and when all is said and done, I’ll have paid closer to $100,000 due to the additional interest.

That number still makes me sick, but it’s a triumph to overcome such a large debt load on a minimal to average salary. It’s been a hard journey and not a particularly short one either.

I’ve been serious about paying off my student loans since I first started this blog in January 2013. At that time, I had $57k left.

But the six years prior, I made the mistake of paying the minimum toward my student loans when I could’ve afforded more. I also was convinced that student loans were the “good debt” so I didn’t care about paying them off that much.

My mindset has changed — I now know that the only way to overcome debt is to pay (way) more than the minimum and stop justifying it as good or bad.

One thing I wished I had more of along the way is education. I feel like there is so much misinformation out there, or just plain confusing information that it’s hard to get what you need to help you get out of student loan debt.

Luckily, I have some good news! Liberty Bank for Savings, based out of Chicago, is sponsoring a free webinar, Wipe Out Student Loan Debt to help borrowers eliminate or reduce student loan debt.

The webinar is completely free and will feature Laura La Belle, a certified financial planner and money coach. You can access the webinar via your laptop or smartphone at libertybank.com.

When: Wednesday, Oct.14 at 7pm CST

Where: From your home computer or smartphone

Registration required: libertybank.com

Cost: Free!

Laura will cover the steps you need to take to get out of student loan debt and also present various repayment options. This is an important webinar for so many people looking for tangible steps to eliminate their debt.

The webinar is one hour long, which includes time for questions and answers. So if you have a burning question about how to pay off student loan debt, you’ll be able to get the answers you need, for free. Topics on the webinar include:

  • how to apply for certain repayment options
  • how to avoid student loan default
  • how to avoid wage garnishment
  • a look at debt forgiveness programs — which are legit, which ones are a scam?

Liberty Bank for Savings — currently celebrating its 117th anniversary — is offering this free webinar as a community service to help indebted student loan borrowers.

To register online or learn about more webinars visit libertybank.com.

This blog post is in partnership with Liberty Bank for Savings. All opinions are my own.

Melanie
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20 comments

Brian @DebtDiscipline October 5, 2015 - 3:38 am

Continued success killing you debt Melanie! Always great to spread the financial literacy message.

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Melanie October 5, 2015 - 1:18 pm

Thanks, Brian!

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Natalie @ Financegirl October 5, 2015 - 4:56 am

I’m soooo excited that you are almost home free. I am living vicariously through you!! đŸ™‚

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Melanie October 5, 2015 - 1:16 pm

Hoping just a few more months!

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Tonya@Budget and the Beach October 5, 2015 - 6:40 am

That sounds awesome Melanie! I’m sure a lot of people could benefit from that. 100k interest….ouch!

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Melanie October 5, 2015 - 1:15 pm

Yeah, 100k total I’ll have paid…it’s sickening.

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Kalie @ Pretend to Be Poor October 5, 2015 - 11:34 am

You’re almost there! And helping lots of others get free, too. Congrats!

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Melanie October 5, 2015 - 1:13 pm

Thank you! Hoping to be debt-free in a few more months!

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Shannon @ Financially Blonde October 5, 2015 - 3:06 pm

Your journey is an inspiration to me and so many others. I can’t wait to celebrate your big win with you that will be here before you know it!

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Melanie October 5, 2015 - 7:25 pm

Yay! Hoping early 2016! 4-5 months before schedule!

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Jessica October 5, 2015 - 4:15 pm

Awesome progress, Melanie! It’s so important to know about options that are available for student loan repayment. It’s so tempting to always pay the minimum and ignore the debt. I know for the first year of my repayment, my payments on some loans didn’t even cover the interest so I was making no progress whatsoever and actually continuing to rack up more debt thanks to the interest.

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Melanie October 5, 2015 - 7:26 pm

Interest is the worst! Paying the minimum for so long was definitely one of my biggest mistakes.

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Prudence Debtfree October 5, 2015 - 7:11 pm

Oh my gosh. I thought you were closer to a year away from full debt repayment. This is exciting, Melanie!

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Melanie October 5, 2015 - 7:27 pm

I put 4k to debt last month! I have 17k left, so am hoping early 2016 that I’ll be debt free!

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Kate @ Cashville Skyline October 6, 2015 - 4:47 am

Way to go, Melanie! You’re so close on paying off your debt. And the webinar sounds amazing. Keep up the amazing work!

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Melanie October 7, 2015 - 10:19 am

Thank you Kate!

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Andrew October 6, 2015 - 1:32 pm

Amazing dedication you have here. We paid off our 96,500 in student loans and CC debt pretty fast, but we also had good income to help it along. The sad part is the euphoria of paying it off fades fast, and we ended up concentrating on our mortgage and our early retirement accounts :-). There will always be a $ goal to focus on I guess.

Goodluck!

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Melanie October 7, 2015 - 10:19 am

Wow, you are doing great! I’m hoping my euphoria lasts a while. It’s been a long, crazy road.

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EL @ Moneywatch101 October 8, 2015 - 11:15 am

Yeah its a travesty our government is preying on young college students with those sickening interest charges. Reform is definitely needed. Besides that its great your almost done, and this seems like a cool webinar. Good luck.

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Melanie October 8, 2015 - 10:18 pm

I totally agree. It’s really heading in a scary direction. Hopefully reform will come soon!

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