And that's a wrap on OSAP

Finally!

It's official: I am now student-debt-free. 😊

Years ago, reaching this goal seemed so far-fetched, especially with a repayment term of nine-and-a-half years that started and stopped when it took a while for me to get my first paycheck post-undergrad and when I decided to go back to school a second time. 

Now that this day has come, I feel quite elated. Paying off student debt is no easy feat. Personally, I needed a wake-up call along the way to take a look at my finances and realize that I had some serious prioritizing to do before I could reduce so hefty a debt. 

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Apart from a financially-savvy support group of family, friends, and Brian, joining Mint, tackling lines of credit, and switching from automatic deductions to self-directed payments definitely helped get things moving.

When times were good, I increased my monthly payments to keep up with floating interest rates. When times were tough, I stuck to the following order of priorities: (1) credit card payments, which often have the highest interest rates, (2) OSAP, and (3) savings. If something had to go, it was savings. I was told many a time that there was no point in having them if I had debt. And that If I ever filed for bankruptcy, whatever savings I had would have been taken away anyway. (Great pieces of advice!)

Anyway, this post marks the end of such a long and often challenging journey. I am so glad it's over, and I am thankful to everyone who helped me get the letter you are seeing today. 😊