Highlights of today’s show:

• 
  
• The “4-1-1 on” series continues with guest Jake Funnell
  
• Why student loans are such a problem for many young adults
  
• The best ways to deal with Sallie Mae
  
• How to stay focused while paying off your loans
  
• What made Jake decide to write You vs Sallie
  

Jake Funnel from DoMoneyBetter.com joins us on today’s show to give the 4-1-1 on paying off your student loan.  Jake graduated from school with around $40,000 in student loans and didn’t have any plan to pay them off. But in the past three years, he has gotten dedicated and focused and has started to knock them out. Throughout the process he has learned some tricks when dealing with the bureaucracy of  Sallie Mae and shares them in his new book You vs. Sallie: Smash Your Student Loan Faster With a Simple New Attack Plan.

When it comes to paying off your student loans, Jake suggests figuring out where you stand and re-write your own payment plan. That is because Sallie Mae makes their money by having you make the minimum payments, thus staying in debt longer. Jake believes that the reason we get into so much trouble with student loans in the first place is that we are used to having them because that is what our culture tells us to do.

Jake was inspired to write You vs. Sallie after reading Pat Flynn’s eBook The Smart Way. Jake initially thought that his $41,000 student loan debt was high, but after taking a poll of his readers, he realized that 60% of his readers had more than $35,000 in student loan debt. His goal is to pay off the remaining amount of his student loan by the end of 2013. To stay focused throughout the process of paying off your student loan, Jake suggests: 1.) Having good support either from your spouse, family, or others who are going though it at the same time. 2.) Building yourself little rewards when you reach certain goals or milestones.

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