Every time I look back on the time that was spent paying off my student loans, I’m always in complete awe of how things came together in the ways that did. Especially when I think about how, in the beginning, I calculated out a 5 year plan to steadily pay off my debt and to have paid it all off in 2 years and 3 months.
WOW!
I honestly did not think I could pay off $45,000 of debt in just over 2 years and instead was hoping for 4 years or something like that. I can tell you all that did to earn some extra money to have made this possible, but every bit of it was a miracle in my mind.
There are some notable things that I feel made a really big difference in how I was able to make so much progress in a short amount of time:
Not Getting Sick So I Could Donate Plasma Was A Miracle
You might donate plasma yourself, of you’ve talked with someone who does and I’ll bet that you’ve heard some pretty unsettling stories that make you cringe. You might also know that there isn’t a lot of toleration for illness, dehydration, eating fatty foods and not enough protein. Meaning, not drinking enough water or a quick trip through the McDonalds drive through before your donation will disqualify you. All of these little things become a big deal when you start relying on this extra money. I was earning $200 a month doing this. That required me to go twice a week, every week. And I did it for 2 years. That puts me in the neighborhood of $4,500 for that time and that was the easy money.
The miracle here was that I never got sick or have something come up that would prevent from donating every week. I’ve met several people who could never maintain that cadence, making me feel even more grateful that I was able to.
Steady Stream of New Clients Needing Photos Was A Miracle
It was no secret to my family and friends that I was a photographer, and was good at what I did. After I lost my first job, I shifted my focus and started putting myself out there more for client work. Before I knew it, I was taking all kinds of engagement photos and photographing weddings to bring in some extra cash.
The miracle here was that people came to me for their photos, rather than me chasing down the work. Doing this kind of work on the side takes a lot of time and if you’re not constantly filling your pipeline, it runs dry. That wasn’t the case while I was diligently working to pay off my loans as fast as possible.
Becoming A WordPress Designer Was A Miracle
I had some decent experience working with WordPress and building websites that I opened myself up to some gigs building websites for a few people. I wasn’t too sure how much I wanted to go down this path because I was really enjoying the photography I was doing, but, I had a goal and I’m not above any job.
The miracle here was that people came to me asking if I could help build their website. I never advertised my website building skills, but everyone seemed just know that I was a designer too and I had my own website. Little did I know at the time, but these types of gigs have led me to building WordPress sites full-time… for a company that I own.
Praying and Paying Tithing I Think Brought The Miracles
I tried really hard to not falter on the spiritual side of things. Not only for balance in my personal life, but because I firmly believed that I needed divine help if I was going to make it up this mountain of debt. I prayed for things I felt I needed and for the people that I loved. I payed my tithing because I’ve met people in worse shape then me that could benefit from the generosity of my church. More importantly, this helped me grow a lot as an individual and closer to my God.
The miracle here would be all of the unanswered prayers and the blessings the came in the most unexpected of ways. How humbling it is realize that everything was an answer to some prayer. That everything came together in ways I couldn’t have even imagined and better than I was even hoping for.
Getting out of debt was truly a miracle.
