One year post-rehab

[LindysMom]

It is one year to the DAY that I am post Federal student loan rehab.  My loans have been with their new servicer since December 2017 and I have never once been late.  I am fortunate that I am in a place where I can make the full extra payment per month.  I won't lie, at the time it was frightening to me to take on the extra payment, but the reality of the situation is that there is no better feeling than seeing good, clean reporting on your credit report.  

I think my end goal of good credit & buying a house is what made me stick with it.  There really, truly are not ANY other programs that will allow you to "rehab" debt.  And, while I understand not everyone is fortunate enough to get the same end result of "clearing" the old TLs, the fact of the matter is that a fresh repayment slate is priceless.  Even if the old TLs aren't removed, they age off & over time the impact lessens.

I think I took an atypical approach:

(1) I really look at my credit as a debt management approach.  I am proactive in monitoring all accounts.  Yes, sometimes it meant waking up early in the morning & reviewing everything over a cup of coffee.

I get paid bi-weekly, so I took the following approach:

If I was getting paid on a Friday, the week prior on Wednesday I would wake up & review everything that needed paid the next week.  I would look at the amounts, the minimum balances, the due dates, etc.  I would plug in the amounts into my budget spreadsheet so that I knew what needed paid the next week.  It was during this exercise that I would decide what would get an extra payment, or zeroed out.  

The following Wednesday, two days before I got paid, I would schedule out all of my payments to be taken on my account for that Friday.

I remember putting in the full student loan rehab payment & watching my "end balance" going WAY down on the spreadsheet.  I remember the fear/anxiety of the reality setting in.  The truth is, I don't miss the money.  Myself, I do not live a life that includes a lot of purchases.  I actually got into the situation as a result of job loss, not as a result of maturity/ignorance/etc. 

Please stick with it.  If you are in the situation because there is a spending problem, I would encourage you to assess each of your purchases & understand WHY you are making purchases.  If you are in the siutation because of job loss or health, please keep in mind that you are stronger & more capable than you think.  This isn't permenant.  This is your circumstance and it WILL change.  The student loans are just "your reality"