How I Cut My Student Loan Payment from $1,200 to $83/Month
My student loan payment is $1,200 a month. I pay $83.
That's not a typo. And it's completely legal.
I have three master's degrees, a PMP, and a career's worth of credentials. I've worked at Fortune 500 companies, managed teams, led audits, and climbed the corporate ladder the "right" way.
I also have $400,000 in student loans.
Go ahead — read that number again.
That's my education. My kids' education. Parent Plus loans I signed because that's what good parents do. Grad school I pursued because that's what ambitious professionals do. All the "right" moves, exposed for what they really are: a trap.
At $1,200/month, I wasn't paying that off. I was servicing it — like a subscription fee to a debt I'd carry to my grave.
Friends told me: "You make good money. Just pay it off."
At $400k? That's not advice. That's a joke.
So I found another way.
The Half-Time Hack
Here's what most people don't know: federal student loans can be deferred while you're enrolled in school at least half-time. Not paused. Not reduced. Deferred — as in, $0 required payment.
Half-time at a community college is usually 6 credit hours. Two classes. Two Semesters per year - Summers off.
I enrolled in an associate's degree program. Tuition runs about $1,800 per semester. My employer offers tuition reimbursement — so my actual out-of-pocket cost is around $83/month.
And I do the whole thing online. No commute. No campus. I'm a senior manager with a full-time job — I'm not sitting in a lecture hall. I log in, do the work, check the boxes.
The time commitment? Maybe 3 hours a week. Some weeks less. I finished all of Week 1 in one of my classes in under an hour.
This isn't a second job. It's a minor errand that saves me $1,117 every month.
Let that sink in:
Without enrollment: $1,200/month to Sallie Mae
With enrollment: $83/month to the college, $0 to Sallie Mae
Same degree. Same job. Same income. I just... moved a number.
The Long Game
At half-time, an associate's degree takes about 5 years to complete. That's not a bug — it's the feature.
Five years of deferment. Five years of $83/month instead of $1,200. Five years of keeping $1,117 in my pocket every single month.
That's over $67,000 I didn't send to loan servicers — just by staying enrolled.
And when the associate's is done? I'll probably roll into a bachelor's program. Another 5 years. Same math.
Ten years of deferment. A couple of degrees I didn't need but don't mind having. And six figures saved.
Some people call this "gaming the system." I call it surviving it.
Why I Won't "Just Pay It"
I've had people tell me: "You make good money. Just pay it off and be done with it."
Here's why I don't.
At $400k, there is no "paying it off." There's only paying. Forever. The balance doesn't shrink — it just sits there, compounding, while I write checks that barely cover interest.
I did the math. If I paid $1,200/month for the next 30 years, I'd hand over $432,000 — and still owe money.
That's not a loan. That's a life sentence.
The system wasn't designed for me to win. It was designed for me to keep paying. To feel guilty if I didn't. To believe that "responsible adults" just absorb the damage and move on.
No thanks.
I played by the rules for decades. I got the degrees. I got the jobs. I raised my income. And I still ended up with a balance that looks like a mortgage in a city I've never lived in.
So now I play differently. Not illegally. Not immorally. Just strategically — the same way the loan servicers play.
If the rules allow deferment while enrolled, I stay enrolled.
It's that simple.
Is This for You?
This strategy works if:
You have federal student loans (private loans have different rules)
Your employer offers tuition reimbursement (or you can absorb low community college tuition)
You can commit to half-time enrollment (usually 6 credit hours — two classes) - Summers OFF!
You're okay doing coursework online while working full-time
You're playing the long game, not looking for a quick fix
It doesn't work if:
You have private loans that don't offer in-school deferment
Your income is low enough that an income-driven repayment plan already has you at $0
You're close to forgiveness under PSLF or another program
You can't stomach the idea of "being a student" again
This isn't for everyone. But for people buried under six figures of federal debt, with stable jobs and tuition reimbursement on the table? It's worth a hard look.
The Real Point
I'm not telling you degrees don't matter. Mine changed my life. Three master's degrees opened doors I couldn't have knocked on otherwise.
I'm telling you the system around them is broken — and you need to play it smarter than I did.
If you're early in your career: be strategic. Do the math before you sign.
If you're already buried: there are moves you can make.
This is one of them.
— Scot Free