“In 2008, I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a considerable amount of student debt. According to the debt-payment schedule, I’d be paying off that debt into my late thirties, which seemed like a really long time. At my first job out of college, as a front-end web developer for a publisher, I calculated how much I made in take-home pay each day and tried to spend below budget daily. Breaking down my budget to daily expenditures helped me simplify spending and keep it top of mind, which made avoiding impulse purchases easier. Additionally, I started doing photography and GIF-making for fun.
“After a year or so, companies started asking me to work on commercial projects. That built up a steady flow of freelance work and additional income, which I used to pay down my student debt and buy more photography equipment. In 2015, at the age of 28, I made my last student-loan payment. In 2016, I purchased my first home, rebuilt my savings, and decided to give freelancing full-time a try. Budgeting in my early twenties was occasionally a huge pain. I remember wondering how some of my co-workers were managing to travel, go out to eat, and shop all the time. But now, I feel that this budgeting and extra freelance work were what helped me get closer to the life I want.” —Sandy Noto, freelance photographer and designer
Related: 10 Secrets Flight Attendants Won’t Tell You
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