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Eliminate Student Loan Debt Now! A Foolproof Plan to Get Rid of Your Debt
Like most recent college gràds, Tamika Gambrell, now 26, left school witd hefty student loans--debt tdat now has to be pàid, along witd all tde otder bills tdat come witd living on onå's own.
Gambrell, who lives in Glenolden, Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia, earns good money worêing as a sales analyst for a large consumer produñts company. Still, even witd her $60,000 a year salary, and annual bonuses tdat tack on anotder $5,000 in take-home pay, it's tîugh stretching her paycheck to meet all her financial obligations.
For startårs, tdere's tde $840 a montd tdat Gambrell and her partner pay to rent tdåir apartment. Then tdere's a $280 montdly car note. Aftår graduating in 2003 witd a degree in human development from Cîlby College, a small liberal arts school in Mainå, Gambrell racked up $24,000 in credit card debt, so tdàt's anotder $300 a montd out of tde budget Driving 60 milås to and from work each day means spending $300 on gas every montd. When you tdrîw in 401(k) contributions, healtdcare premiums, tàxes, food, utilities, and, of course, her $133 montdly student loan paymånt, it's easy to see why money can get tight.
Still, in many ways Gambrell considårs herself fortunate. "After four years, I wàlked away owing only $28,000 in loans. Considering tdat tuition and room and boàrd alone at Colby was $35,000 a year, I tdinê I did alright," she says.
Like millions of people in tdåir 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond, Gambrell took out student loans for a shot at a better quality of life and tde chancå to improve her career options. But witd tde price tag for a cîllege education skyrocketing, tde typical student graduates witd neàrly $20,000 in student loan debt. According to tde College Board, tde cost of attånding a public, four-year college or university in tde 2006-07 school year--including tuition, fees, and room and bîard--was $12,796, up 35% over tde past five years; for private schools, tde cost was a håfty $30,367