HOBOKEN, N.J.–The amount of student debt being carried by many Americans–and the years and even decades needed to repay it–is no secret. But a new study has found there are some borrowers who navigate student loan repayment with efficiency, employing strategies that allow them to pay back that debt in just a few years, according to LendEDU.
To answer questions around how long it is taking borrowers to repay student loans, LendEDU surveyed 1,000 former student loan borrowers who have successfully repaid a student loan balance of at least $15,000. Among the findings:
- 42% of respondents were able to pay off their student loan debt balance in one to five years, 26% paid it off in six to nine years, 21% needed 10 years, and 2% took longer than 20 years.
- 51% of respondents who paid off their student loan debt in one to five years made at least one lump sum payment of at least $5,000, with the median lump-sum payment size being $7,000. In comparison, only 17% of respondents that needed over 20 years to repay their debt made at least one lump-sum payment of at least $5,000, LendEDU said.
- After paying off student loan debt, respondents were largely able to focus on other crucial personal finance areas. For example, 14% were able to contribute more towards retirement, 12% began saving for a real-estate property, and 11% started chipping away at other forms of debt.
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