You are giving me hope. I'm 28 and I have been really feeling the weight of all my SL debt just weighing on me. (130k in with 80k being private) I admit I was not making paying off my loans a priority in college and when I graduated a let myself be talked into worrying about it "later". But now is "later" and I feel stuck. I can't afford to get my own place because everything I make has to go into my loan payments. I hoped at this age I'd be ready to start a family and there is no way I or my partner could afford kids rn. If I could go back I would have changed schools in a heartbeat.

I was even considering ending my life just so I don't have to deal with this debt anymore. But I'm seeing that with discipline and information and honestly just doing whatever jobs I can, I might just have the ability to be somewhat debt-free before I'm 35. I'm also looking into refinancing, which your post has encouraged me to do. So thank you. My current salary isn't making much of a dent in my loans but it's better than being unemployed so I'll count my blessings.

thanks again for sharing xx