Paid off 240K of debt 20 weeks after finishing residency

[link2swim06]

Paid off my med school debt at 29 years old within 20 weeks of finishing residency.

I just wanted to share my story of how I paid off all my loans and debts within 20 weeks of finishing residency and four months before my 30th birthday.

I started my 3rd year of residency with the following debts:
205K in Mohela (DRB) refinanced loans (refinanced during the 2nd year of residency where you only pay $100/mo while in residency)
21K in refinanced private loans with citizens bank
5K debt to Honda financial for my Honda Accord
8K in debt Visa/chase bank
---> Total Debt: ~$239,000


I began listening to Dave Ramsey on YouTube about a year ago and decided I wanted to be debt free. If you are not familiar with Dave Ramsey he advocates for aggressive debt repayment and avoiding taking on new debts.

From Jan-May I did moonlighting in a nearby ER. I did a couple shifts a month and this allowed me to pay off both my Visa card and my Honda by the end of residency. I also had plenty of fun and did trips to Australia, Jamaica, helicopter rides, etc. on that extra moonlighting money.

At the end of residency I took two jobs. Both of which were in emergency medicine in sen-rural/undesirable areas. I only worked nights and at the highest paying sites that were available (average hourly rate was >$300/hr for both and each had a signing bonus). I ended up picking up extra shifts and working approximately 20-22 12 hour shifts per month. I've been doing this from July till now. On November 15, I will make my last student loan payment and have a positive net worth.

I was able to pay off all my loans because I took the Dave Ramsey approach. I have probably only spent about $2500 for fun apart from my living costs since finishing residency. All my earning went towards the debts. At this point I will cut back the shifts I do dramatically and probably only work 12 shifts a month (144 hours instead of 250 hours). I would get burnt out if I did the above schedule for much longer.

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[Geraltofrivia]

Any specific Dave Ramsey videos you recommend?

 

[link2swim06]

Any specific Dave Ramsey videos you recommend?

I'd just subscribe to his Youtube channel and watch those occasionally.

He gets pretty extreme and I don't follow all of his advice. I still go vacation, I still have credit cards. But listening to him shifted by goals from buying stuff I don't need to focusing on debt reduction.

 

[PistolPete]

Paid off my med school debt at 29 years old within 20 weeks of finishing residency.

I just wanted to share my story of how I paid off all my loans and debts within 20 weeks of finishing residency and four months before my 30th birthday.

I started my 3rd year of residency with the following debts:
205K in Mohela (DRB) refinanced loans (refinanced during the 2nd year of residency where you only pay $100/mo while in residency)
21K in refinanced private loans with citizens bank
5K debt to Honda financial for my Honda Accord
8K in debt Visa/chase bank
---> Total Debt: ~$239,000


I began listening to Dave Ramsey on YouTube about a year ago and decided I wanted to be debt free. If you are not familiar with Dave Ramsey he advocates for aggressive debt repayment and avoiding taking on new debts.

From Jan-May I did moonlighting in a nearby ER. I did a couple shifts a month and this allowed me to pay off both my Visa card and my Honda by the end of residency. I also had plenty of fun and did trips to Australia, Jamaica, helicopter rides, etc. on that extra moonlighting money.

At the end of residency I took two jobs. Both of which were in emergency medicine in sen-rural/undesirable areas. I only worked nights and at the highest paying sites that were available (average hourly rate was >$300/hr for both and each had a signing bonus). I ended up picking up extra shifts and working approximately 20-22 12 hour shifts per month. I've been doing this from July till now. On November 15, I will make my last student loan payment and have a positive net worth.

I was able to pay off all my loans because I took the Dave Ramsey approach. I have probably only spent about $2500 for fun apart from my living costs since finishing residency. All my earning went towards the debts. At this point I will cut back the shifts I do dramatically and probably only work 12 shifts a month (144 hours instead of 250 hours). I would get burnt out if I did the above schedule for much longer.

That's amazing, congrats! Can't believe you paid off $240k in 5 months. Looks like EM is a really sweet gig if you can stomach it.

 

[step 2 CK tutor]

This is amazing! Good work! Dave R can be a bit extreme but his tips are great for paying off debt.

 

[pezdispenser]

Congrats! That's amazing. Dave Ramsey is great for teaching people to really focus on something 100%, and to keep you motivated to get the job done (even with unorthodox methods). This is of course a skill that you will keep and can apply to anything, not just paying off debt. Because all too often people just procrastinate, make excuses and never get things done, especially with debt.

 

[Dre8]

I don't want to be a downer here, because what you did was amazing. However, you need to see what your expected tax burden will be, and I suggest you not spend another unavoidable cent until April 15.

 

[link2swim06]

I don't want to be a downer here, because what you did was amazing. However, you need to see what your expected tax burden will be, and I suggest you not spend another unavoidable cent until April 15.

I pre-calculated it all, already got about all the tax money saved up too. You can figure it out all with calculators online pretty easy.

I only owe about $120-130,000 to the feds. And no state income tax in Texas.