How different people pay off their student loans—and what you can learn from them

By Corey Buhay | Published on October 21, 2025

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Some people take out their first student loans¹ with confidence, spreadsheet at hand, knowing exactly what kind of loan term and repayment strategy they want. But those people aren’t necessarily the majority. Many folks feel like they have no idea what they’re doing—and that’s completely okay. You don’t need to be a financial expert—or even have a firm career plan—when you take out your first loans. You only need to understand that student debt is a long-term commitment, and to trust yourself to make a living and pay off that debt on time. You can figure out the rest of the details at your own pace. Everyone’s student loan journey is unique, and there’s one “correct” strategy. To illustrate, we’ll show you how three different types of borrowers tackle repayment—plus give you some tips to build your own plan.

Note: The borrowers below are representative composites, not actual people. However, their strategies and mindsets are grounded in real borrower behavior observed by Earnest.

How 3 different types of borrowers pay off their student loans

Everyone’s financial path is unique—but strategies are shareable. Here are three different ways to approach student loan repayment.

Profile 1: The Aggressive Debt-Tackler

Kate is a 28-year-old data analyst from South Carolina. She landed a few scholarships to get her degree at Georgia Tech, but she still needed to take out $40,000 in student loans to fill in the gaps. Kate couldn’t wait to buy her own home—and knew she didn’t want to juggle student loans and a mortgage at the same time. She also knew she wanted to minimize the amount of money she paid in interest to maximize the cash she’d have on hand for a down payment.

So, Kate decided to buckle down and pay off her loans as fast as possible. First, she took a high-paying corporate job over some lower-paying non-profit offers, then refinanced her loans from her 10-year standard repayment plan to a 5-year term². Kate lived with her parents for a few years to minimize her expenses. Kate stuck to her budget religiously, and also worked a side gig bartending on the weekends to make extra cash.

Kate made some serious sacrifices during those five years, but she saved a ton of money and learned a lot about her own spending behavior in the process. In the end, she crushed her debt in record time—and is now the proud owner of a three-bedroom split-level in a neighborhood she loves.

Profile 2: The Monthly Optimizer

James is a 30-year-old journalist at a travel magazine. He loves his work—even though it means he doesn’t have the highest salary on the planet. He took out $20,000 to cover his in-state journalism degree at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and chose a 15-year loan term since he knew he wasn’t going to be making big money. And he’s glad he did.

James’s goal was to maximize his flexibility and stability at the start of his career. His low monthly payment allowed him to focus on his writing, find a publication he liked working for, and whittle down his debt at a leisurely pace. James hopes to land a senior editor role in the next few years. If he does, he’ll be able to afford a higher monthly payment. He might then refinance to a 10-year term².

In the meantime, James is just focused on making his minimum payment each month. He even signed up for automatic payments—a set-it-and-forget-it strategy that also helped him earn a 0.25% interest rate discount. When he’s able to do freelance work on the side, he puts that income toward his principal in the form of an extra payment. Since Earnest doesn’t charge prepayment penalties, that’s been an easy way to chip away at his debt on his own schedule.

Profile 3: The Career-Aligned Planner

Rachel is a 25-year-old account coordinator at a small PR firm. She has big ambitions to run her own firm someday, and she expects her small salary to increase significantly as she works her way up. For now, though, she has her $10,000 student loan set to a 10-year term². For her, that’s a happy medium. The moderate monthly payment means she can both maintain her busy social schedule and keep her loan cost from ballooning over time.

Right now, Rachel’s priority is to focus on work and enjoy time with her friends. She might want to have a family in the future, but she’s not sure—and she’s prepared to shift her budgeting strategy if that changes. In the meantime, she plans to refinance a couple of times over the life of her loan—pretty much every time she gets a promotion. This will let her continuously increase her payment amount without heavily restricting her lifestyle.

Rachel is open to refinancing sooner if she meets the right person and wants to save for a wedding or buy a home. But for now, she’s enjoying her modest monthly payment. Rachel wants to enjoy her life and doesn’t feel like she has to have all the answers. That said, she’s prepared to be flexible as her salary or goals change, and switch things up as needed.

How to choose a student loan plan

You don’t have to be a certified financial planner to take control of your student loans. You just know your values and priorities. Here are a few tips for building your own repayment plan.

• Consider your income and priorities: If you’re in the early stages of your career, a low monthly payment might provide more short-term cash flow and financial flexibility. For some borrowers, that’s worth the higher long-term cost. Plus, a low monthly payment can make you less likely to default on your payments, which can drop your credit score³.

• Think about your long-term financial goals: If your priority is to get out of debt fast, buy a home, or make other big financial moves, a shorter term could help you save more money over the long run. Getting out of debt can also reduce your debt-to-income ratio, which can have a positive effect on your credit score.

• Remember that nothing is set in stone. Keep in mind that your term isn’t necessarily permanent; you can always apply to refinance⁴ if your goals change. There’s no limit to the number of times you can refinance⁵.

• Use a student loan calculator to test out options: Want to see what some of these student loan repayment strategies might look like for you? Use Earnest’s student loan calculator to compare different terms and payment amounts.

How to pay off student loans faster

It’s true that not all of these borrowers have paid off their debts, but each one has a solid student loan repayment strategy that works with their lifestyle. That’s what matters most. There’s no right or wrong way to manage your loans—just smarter tools for your specific needs.

Earnest supports a range of approaches with flexible tools, from AutoPay discounts, to our Skip-A-Payment program, to affordable refinancing. Student loan refinancing gives you the opportunity to change your loan term and even apply for a new interest rate. If you secure a lower rate, it could help you save money and get out of debt faster—without sacrificing your financial flexibility. Ready to build your own strategy? Try Earnest’s repayment calculator and explore flexible options made for borrowers like you.