In 2012, Kimberly Hamilton, now 35, graduated from grad school with $45,000 in student loan debt. She didn’t understand how interest worked but soon learned that if she paid off her debt in 10 years as prescribed, she would pay nearly 50% extra due to interest. The whole situation was “really defeating and anxiety-producing,” she says. However, rather than let the debt defeat her, she decided to do whatever she could to turn her financial situation around.
