Thank you for sharing your experience Julian, and I’m sorry to hear of that struggle. Being in debt is no fun at all.

I wonder why you feel this isn’t good debt, since many would argue that student loans that provide you with a lucrative career, and where interest isn’t too high, are indeed “good debt.”

More importantly, as I point out in this article: https://themakingofamillionaire.com/6-instructive-debt-types-which-are-you-carrying-now-2782f21e54c0, the critical question isn’t if one calls the debt “good” or “bad.” It’s how the inflation-adjusted (i.e., “real”) interest rate compares with historic real returns from stocks and bonds.

In your case, if we assume the very-long-term-average inflation rate of 3.8%, your real interest is likely to be negative over the long haul, so it’s more financially savvy to invest extra dollars instead of diverting them to accelerate the debt payoff.

I understand the emotional challenge of that, but if you indeed save and invest those dollars (e.g., in a taxable portfolio of ETFs or mutual funds), you can always take out the money and pay off the debt if and when you need to. Even better, over time, the value of the dollars you owe will decline due to inflation, while your invested money will grow, so paying off the debt becomes easier.

Just sayin’…