Florida couple paid off dollar190K in student loan debt in 27 months: 'Get a budget'
Categories: US Education News
The Biden administration recently announced it will wipe away the outstanding student debt for all those who attended schools operated by Corinthian Colleges, formerly one of the largest for-profit education companies.But people who have worked hard and played by the rules in order to live debt-free have their own thoughts about the idea of student loan forgiveness.Florida resident Sherman Merricks thought his student loan debt was a burden he'd never get rid of — yet he finally did. In an interview with Fox News Digital, he spoke about his debt total of $203,000, which was mainly from student loans. He said he assumed he'd "go to college and figure it out when I [got] there. They make it fairly easy for you to take out all those student loans at 18," he added.Merricks graduated with an undergraduate degree in psychology from a private university before continuing his education and earning his master's degree in biomedical science. Merricks, a small business owner, said he was paying $300 minimum each month on his loans and expected to continue paying that for the rest of his life. On top of the nearly $190,000 student loan debt, Merricks and his family added other debt by purchasing a vehicle, though they paid that off fairly quickly, they said.Merricks said that is what made him believe that one day he might be able to pay off his loans entirely.With a paused interest rate increase for student loans amid the coronavirus pandemic, Merricks said everything went toward paying down the debt. The family came up with a tight, strict budget, saving everything they could.