My Story
I graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 2006.
Began living in Boston, working an entry level job,
with roughly $25,000 in student loans.
So, like many others, I started making my payments.
However, half of those monthly payments were just paying the interest.
So I searched for student loan calculators to see what I could do.
But I quickly noticed that all the tools were either
too complicated or hard to follow,
could not handle my loan since I already started paying it off, and
did not provide any useful additional payment scenarios.
So being a math major, I thought I could create something on my own.
I wanted to create that easy to use tool so I could see my options.
And ultimately make informed decisions about my payment plan.
Which is why I developed this calculator.
My Calculator
I wanted to focus on the things that mattered most.
Create a tool that is easy to use: fewer words but more substance.
And be able to help those with either a new or old loan.
Offer options: Not everyone can just double their monthly payment.
Many have tight budgets so providing options was a must.
Because understanding each option helps make the right decision.
Summarize savings potential clearly.
No fancy graphs or page-long summaries.
A few numbers and a brief description of your savings.
My Progress
It took me a little while but I finally paid off my student loans in 5 years.
No gimmicks or schemes you hear about these days ("Pay off your loan in 1 year," they say)
I used the same scenarios I included in this tool.
And if my budget changed, I used this tool to make informed changes to my loan.
Once I eliminated that debt, it really was freeing.
Not only that, but having extra spending money was nice.
More importantly, it allowed me to start saving for a down payment on a home.
I know I won't be able to repay this in 5 years but this calculator will be a huge help.
Final Note
This is not a "set it and forget it" type of thing. Life changes and so do your responsibilities.
My student loan was $25,000; yours could be twice that.
I now have two kids, so extra spending money is hard to find. You may not have kids.
So what this tool will give you is the ability to change things when life changes.
So take control of your loans because it will save you money in the long term.