Happy New Year! Today’s post is all about taking down your student loan debt in 2018 by setting a realistic goal.

Estimated read time ~ 2 min.

2017 is over and the closing of the year often drives us to reflect. Most of us make a final check in with the goals we set in 2017 to see how we measured up.

There are the goals we didn’t meet and we’ll say “Meh, oh well.” because the goal didn’t mean much to us in the first place. Then there are the goals that we crushed because they connected with the very fabric of who we want to become.

How does a person go about setting the kind of goal you crush? The kind that is realistic enough you’ll follow through but challenging enough to bring you one step closer to your envisioned self.

My strategy involves setting specific goals across five categories that matter to me and create a life I want to live. My categories are: Philanthropy, Health, Relationships, Career, and Finance.

Interestingly, this year I nailed my philanthropy and relationship goals 100% and completed 75% of my health and career goals. But you know what I struck out on completely? My financial goals!

Yep, the girl who spends her free time tackling student loan debt struck out on her student loan repayment goal to have less than $50,000 (I currently have $64,744), I missed my savings goal by about $420, and I didn’t even come close to my additional monthly income goal.

Why did I strike out on these goals? The savings goal was a failure of planning. The other two goals were really massive and required me to have major income growth to achieve, and while I did experience growth I didn’t experience massive growth.

So am I a total failure? Nah, I had an amazing 2017. Unmet goals give me fodder for 2018 goals and ideas for making them more attainable.

I want to help you set a realistic student loan repayment goal for 2018 and take you all the way to actually getting started on that goal. That’s what the Repayable New Year’s Resolution Student Loan Challenge is all about.

At the end of the five day challenge you’ll have a unique student loan repayment goal that you’ve actually made progress on. I’ll be going through the challenge with you every day so you’ll have a real life example of goal setting. Each day you’ll get an email from me listing the day’s challenge.

Do you want to be one step closer to your debt free dream? Sign up here or follow me on Instagram @therepayable. Challenge starts today!

Cheer’s to an awesome 2018!