Ken Ilgunas paid off $32,000 in student loans two and a half years after graduation — starting with a $9-an-hour job.
With zero job offers in his chosen field of journalism, he instead moved from Wheatfield, New York, to Coldfoot, Alaska, a truck stop and tourist camp north of the Arctic Circle, so he could put every possible dollar toward his debt.
Every possible dollar meant virtually every dollar. His job as cook, maintenance worker and tour guide provided room and board. What Coldfoot (population 10) didn’t provide was places to spend what little he was making.
In my latest for the Associated Press, how literally moving outside of your comfort zone can help you pay off debt faster.