The 4 steps I took towards achieving financial independence

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Before I chose where I was going to college, my parents — for whom I was grateful that they helped pay for the bulk of my university education — told me that choosing to attend university came with one responsibility: I needed to ‘have some skin in the game.’ In other words, I had to take out small, federal loans in my name, each year, which I would start to pay off after graduating college.

Fast forwarding to my senior year of college, with almost all of my schooling paid for in full and a few, small federal loans covering the costs each academic year, an unexpected financial circumstance popped up, requiring me to take out a private loan for my last semester. Not fazed by the situation, I swiftly researched student loans that didn’t require a co-signer. While I could not take out a federal loan for various reasons, I found a private one with an okay interest rate, and secured a loan for my final semester.

Once I graduated, I had accumulated just under 1 full year of student debt in total (equivalent in 2016–2017 terms for a private university). While I was excited to begin working as a salaried employee, I knew I was going to incur additional expenses, on top of those tied to paying off my loans. From commuting to having to buying nicer clothes for work, and putting some money aside for social activities, I established the following financial goals to help ensure that I could take care of what I needed to on a daily basis and pay off my student debt in a timely manner:

1. Pay off my private loan in less than 18 months.

2. Pay off my federal loans in the following 12 months.

To hit those aforementioned goals with the objective of being debt-free, I did the following:

1. I evaluated all my debt based on accumulated interest and interest rates; then, I decided which debt I wanted to tackle first. Debt comes in many forms. My debt is primarily comprised of student loans. A very small amount was on credit cards from additional expenses incurred towards the end of my time in college.

2. Next, I analyzed my student loans and came up with a way to pay these off. Once I aggressively paid off my credit cards after about two months, I then turned my attention to my student loans. I took out four federal student loans, one during academic year, as well as one private loan that I used to help pay for my final semester, in full. Of my student loans, it was most logical for me to start paying off the private student loan, of the five I had, because it had the highest interest rate.

Based on my friend’s article, I fall into situation #3; I want to take advantage of paying off my loans more quickly, especially because I am taking advantage of living at home for the time being, where I don’t have to pay rent. (A big thanks to the ‘rents on that! Get the pun?)

In addition, with my knowledge about refinancing based on people whom I know have been able to refinance mortgages and others loans in the past, I decided to look into this for my student loans. Upon research, I came across a company that made refinancing both fun and more importantly, valuable: SoFi.

Whether it be refinancing student loans, getting a personal loan for a home renovation project, saving for retirement, or something else, their product offerings in tandem with their customer service is incredible; however, what I find most valuable from SoFi are the incredible benefits.

In my opinion, SoFi provides a first-class experience for the products they offer and their customer service. Customers who have SoFi’s products are automatically eligible for complimentary career services and financial advisors, unemployment protection, discounts on additional loans, community events (many of which are free) and so much more. After learning about all that SoFi could offer me…

4. I refinanced my student loans through SoFi. I fell in love the brand so much that I also applied to become a SoFi ambassador once I was a SoFi member, and was selected!

I love SoFi because they are more than a company focused on its bottom line; they care about their members and want to see them succeed and not get bogged down with accumulating interest and more debt. If you have questions about my experience with SoFi thus far, feel free to send me a message on LinkedIn. As an ambassador, I want to emulate the positivity that SoFi spreads and empower others to take control of their financial situations: good, bad or ugly.

Enjoy reading this post? Like, comment, and share it! Follow me on LinkedIn and/or drop an email with any comments or questions: brandonericschwartz@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Reading this article does not guarantee future outcomes, as I am not a certified financial advisor.

#studentloans #personalfinance #refinancing #millennials #SoFi #WhyISoFi

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