078 | Travis Hornsby, founder of StudentLoanPlanner.com, talks early retirement, traveling Europe, and developing a passion for helping people crawl out of student loan debt. What you'll hear on today's show: Why did Travis attempt retirement at 25? If you’re unhappy before reaching FI, will you be happy afterward? Where did Travis’ frugal tendencies come from? How did Travis get paid to go to college? Do many universities offer full scholarships, and where should students find that information? Does attending an Ivy League university make a difference? Travis retired with $230,000 saved, with a plan to spend just 20k a year. Did Travis have a long-term plan for his retirement? Living expenses in the United States are high relative to many other places in the world if you’re an adventurous person. Why did Travis’ job performance improve after he decided to quit his job? If you’re on the path to FI but haven’t made it yet: develop a product or service that you’re passionate about and give yourself a year or two of buffer during which you don’t depend on income from your venture. How did Travis commit himself to helping people with student loan debt, having never been in debt himself? How much research did Travis have to do in order to ensure his student loan spreadsheets were accurate? Why didn’t Travis’ father-in-law give his initial blessing to Travis marrying his daughter? How did the Student Loan business grow? If you have less than 100k of student debt, your best option is likely to refinance for the lowest possible interest rate and pay it back as quickly as possible? If you owe less than double your salary and you’re not working at a not-for-profit or for the government, you should probably refinance. If owe more than twice your income with federal loans, there are loan forgiveness options, depending on your type of work. Is loan forgiveness guaranteed, and who can qualify? Adjustment to loan forgiveness policies will impact students taking loans beginning in July 2019. How do Travis’ suggestions change if someone has private loans? Federal loans provide the most flexibility for repayment or forgiveness. Two recommended choices: Pay back loans as aggressively as possible Pay minimums, maximize forgiveness Resources mentioned: Student Loan Planner Travis@studentloanplanner.com Physician on Fire Mr. Money Mustache: From Zero to Hero For more information, visit the show notes at http://ChooseFI.com/078