Read How a Teacher Erased $40,000 in Student Loans in 18 Months

A recent article from CNBC shared tips from a teacher who paid off $40,000 in student debt loans in just 18 months. Here are a few of the highlights on exactly how he did it.

• Bobby Hoyt began his career as a high-school band director after graduating from The University of Texas at San Antonio with a $40,000 student loan tab.

Hoyt said, “It’s OK to be poor a little bit. A lot of people do not realize that; they want to start living the good life immediately. But, especially when you’re young, it’s OK to struggle a bit and not have personal space.”

• It was only after talking with a successful business man and longtime friend of his wife’s family that Hoyt began to get serious about tackling his debt. “He told me to pay off my loans as fast as I could, so I started making the biggest possible payments that I could,” said Hoyt.

He devoted 75% of his paycheck to his loans and then figure out how to live on the rest.

• Cutting back on his living expenses included renting a room from his in-laws. “It totally sucks renting a room from your in-laws but living costs are one of the biggest inhibitors of being able to pay off your loans quickly,” said Hoyt.

If living with your parents isn’t an option, Hoyt suggests other possibilities, like renting an apartment with multiple roommates or, if you already own a house, renting out any spare rooms you have.

• Looking for ways to make short-term sacrifices, Hoyt shunned cable TV in his home, didn’t buy new clothes or shoes, and even forwent vacations.

“Cutting back on eating out or not doing all the fun things that your friends are doing is uncomfortable, but you have to realize that it’s all temporary,” added Hoyt.

Want Help With Your Crippling Debt? Call The Oswalt Law Group

We applaud Bobby Hoyt for being aggressive rather than passive in taking on his debt in order to wipe it out. While doing the things he did may be uncomfortable to many of us, it’s important to remember that there’s really no comfortable way to get out of debt. If you’re tired from dealing with crippling debt, get in touch with us here at The Oswalt Law Group. We’d be happy to treat you to a free consultation about your individual situation. Call us at (602) 225-2222.