Thanks for a timely and candid article about an all-too-common problem.

You are not alone, as you can see by the comments. My own story is similar, and I felt a similar mixture of shame, guilt, and anger as I realized in hindsight some of the mistakes I made in taking on these loans.

I was fortunate that I had no debt from completing my bachelor’s degree, as a non-traditional student of 35. My student debt came later, when I entered seminary. As you say, it was just too easy… and I was saddled with that debt for decades.

Mistakes I made? Reducing my payments some years, because I didn’t have the discipline to budget. Getting suckered into suspending my payments for four years when I went back to school for my PhD. Failing to be diligent about pre-paying principle, when I knew it would help. And, overall, failing to understand that the earning prospects of a parish minister were not comparable to those doctors and lawyers who also incurred debt.

I paid it doggedly for years. I came to see that constant $250 per month payment as the “tax” I had to pay for my ordination.

After years, I was able to refinance through a private company at half the interest rate. (There are a few of these companies, such as SoFi, that you might look into.) That helped and I made more progress.

But I did not completely pay off that debt until I retired. I paid it from my pension plan. Ironic, yes?

I remember once, when I was in my 20s, I confessed to my dad that I had some unsecured debt that was weighing on my mind. My dad — who was incredibly diligent about paying his bills — nevertheless surprised me by observing that if I owed OTHER people money, that was really THEIR problem, wasn’t it? :-)

Keep the faith.