Student Loan Debt

I don't know about you, but I made a lot of mistakes when I was a young adult.  That would include thinking that while I was in college, I needed to take out the maximum student loan every year.  I played college softball, so time did not allow for a part time job.  I am regretting taking out so many loans. After being a college for almost 10 years, and no I am not a doctor, I have accumulated close to $60,000 in student debt.  Some of you may think, that isn't that much, but when you are a teacher in the state of Iowa.  That is quite a bit.

Things I wish I would have done:

1. Took out the minimum amount of student loans to pay for classes, room, and board.
2. Found time to have a part-time job.  Though I played softball, a couple of hours a day would not have killed me.
3. Lived in the dorms for 5 years.
4. Completed college in 4 years instead of 5. I had one year left of eligibility to play softball and I wanted to use it.
5. Ate the cafeteria food.  Where I lived in the dorms or not, I still should have eaten the cafeteria food.  I was a lot cheaper, I didn't have to cook, and there were actual meals beside Spaghettios.
6. I wish I would have saved money to put toward my future.

Some mistakes we don't learn until we are paying them back.  I could have been close to paying them back if I would have done the things above.  But now, my husband and I are working on paying back close to $70,000 in credit card and student loan debt.