Innovative ways to pay off student loans

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When it comes to paying off student loans, desperate times call for desperate measures.

That’s the growing sentiment among cash-strapped Americans throughout the country who are taking drastic steps to eliminate college debt.

The typical U.S. college graduate now leaves school with more than $20,000 in student loan debt, and it takes an average of 15 years to pay off student loans, according to the College Board. Overall in America, roughly $730 billion in federal and private student loans are outstanding, according to FinAid.org. Of that total, only 40 percent of all student loans are being repaid; the rest of the loans are in default, or in deferment or forbearance.

Sacrificing freedom
For 29-year-old Rich Saunders (pictured) of Hartford, Conn., getting a handle on his student loans has meant swallowing his pride and sacrificing some personal freedoms.

Saunders attended Boston University and earned an English degree in 2004. After a year-long bout of unemployment in 2006, his $120,000 in student loans became unbearable. That’s when the relentless collection calls from his private lenders intensified.

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