FINANCIAL FRESHMAN #001
TL;DR → My wife and I paid off a ton of student loan debt, and we picked up a number of good financial habits along the way. I’ll publish finance content here every Sunday, to help prepare college students for their financial future.
I’m glad you’re here.
My name is Dylan, and I’ve been a student of personal finance content for many years now.
When my wife and I got married in 2020, we had almost $180,000 of student loan debt outstanding between the two of us. Prospects of home ownership, lavish vacations, and a comfortable retirement seemed impossibly hidden behind this mountain of high-interest debt. We had both chosen career paths with decently high earning potential, but it still proved incredibly demoralizing to make payment after payment to Sallie Mae, Navient, Aidvantage, or Fedloan Servicing. Yes, we had accounts with all four.
One payment at a time, we chipped away at our debt. In July of 2023, we made our final student loan payment, and a 177-thousand-dollar-burden was officially behind us.
In a weird way, I think my wife and I enjoyed this process. Mostly out of necessity, we picked up several good financial habits along the way. I’ve read hundreds of finance books, listened to dozens of finance podcasts, and watched every YouTube creator putting out personal finance content. For many years now, I’ve longed to create my own, specifically for college students across the country.
Earlier in 2024, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of college students about personal finance fundamentals. When racking my brain about how to best spend this hour with these students, I kept harping on one particular theme.
The financial habits you form when you first begin your full-time career will set the stage for your financial future.
I created Financial Freshman as an outlet to spread this message, and to position college students to begin their careers on solid financial footing. I’ll publish content every Sunday.
Thank you in advance for reading.
