It’s all about commitment.

In October 2011, I had a radical thought:

What if I could pay off all $45,000 of my student loan debt in 1 year?

It would be hard. It would require sacrifice. Most of all, it would mean making significant changes to my lifestyle. But the reward was worth it: financial freedom.

Over the past two years, I’d slowly come to the realization that I was only working to pay off my student loans. There were things I wanted to do–amazing things!–but I could never rationalize doing them with 45K in debt over my head. At first I put myself on a 10-year payment plan, but then I thought 10 YEARS? Not soon enough. Then I started making extra  payments to have the loan completely paid in 4 years. But even that wasn’t fast enough. I wanted the freedom to pursue my dreams without worrying about making a $600 loan payment every month.  It was clear: I had to do this.

So I started. During October and November, I made the necessary preparations to begin this wild journey. On December 5, I officially began my year-long adventure! Debt Beatdown is a series in which I share my experiences in becoming completely debt-free.

How Will I Do It?

There are a few ways I plan to make enough money to pay off 45K in student loans in one year:

• Reduce my annual expenses
• Write and sell eBooks
• Take freelance writing gigs
• Offer consulting services
• Whatever else I can think of!

One thing I won’t do is sell ads on this blog. Instead, I plan to offer valuable products and services and evolve from being a consumer to a producer.

How Can You Get Involved?