A writer who had $60,000 in student loans says it took him 5 years to make the mental shift he needed to pay them off before turning 30

Courtesy of Credit Karma

• Personal finance writer Tim Devaney graduated college with more than $60,000 in student loan debt. 
• Devaney contributed more than $600 a month towards his student loans for five years before he refinanced and consolidated them.
• Then Devaney's girlfriend created a spreadsheet to identify where he could cut back, which helped him double his monthly payments. 
• He was hesitant to give up spending money to socialize, but realized it wouldn't affect his most solid friendships.

In his 20s, Tim Devaney was a self-proclaimed spender, ate out twice a day, and would purchase Groupons he never used.

The first five years after graduating college in 2010, Devaney considered movies, drinks, and dining out essential to life, he told Business Insider. But he needed to be frugal, he had $60,000 in debt looming over his head.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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• To compete for top students, colleges have borrowed a tactic retailers have been using for years

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