Student Loans Suck (but they are a necessary evil)!

Hello, I am excited because this is my first post. Has anyone struggled with paying back student loans? Feel like you will never get ahead? If you answered yes to these questions, you have a friend in me. I've been paying down my massive student loan debts for 5 years now. I have learned the ins and outs of the student loan industry, with terms like cancellation, deferment, forbearance, and default. Ugh!

I have been pretty good so far with budgeting my money, and as a result, I have paid down and cancelled approximately $43,000 so far. Only $140,000 left! Don't worry if you're in the same boat. I always read stories of people in $20,000 of student debt, and I think, why are you complaining? I'm sure you may be asking, how in the heck did you get yourself into this? I am here to say that if you want a top-tier education from the top-25 rated colleges in the country, and you need to pay the education by using student loans, be prepared to pay over $100,000 of loans back when you graduate!

I started with 9 separate loans to pay down, and now I have 6. Yes, I have paid off 3 of my loans completely, and I can't tell you how nice it is to read "Loan Closed" when I login! My loans are both governmental and private in nature, with interest rates both fixed and variable. Some have been as high as 7.75% and some as low as 3.275% (thank goodness for this rate, which accounts for about $47,000 of my existing debt)! In addition, I have all different amounts of time to pay off the loans, from 10 to 15 to 25 years. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

It's not that I want to complain, but I think education today is slightly outragous. My parents said their debts after college were about $7,000. Plus, life doesn't just revolve around paying down student loans. I have a mortgage and car payment, in addition to all other monthly expenses. Did I mention that I do actually like to go out and have fun sometimes??? Paying for the occasional night out requires planning. You're probably thinking, this girl is a lunatic taking on all this debt. I guess I am, and I am so lucky to still be able to save for retirement (in a 403b, of course). I can't say I have much of an emergency fund in my savings account. Lucky for me I work in the healthcare field, which historically is recession-proof.

Speaking of recession, I am originally from Detroit, and my poor hometown is bearing a big brunt of the recession. I feel for everyone who is suffering and I am praying for you. I look forward to hearing from everyone!