Paid it off themselvesStudent loans$200,000
How Tinsley and Ben Paid Off $200K in Student Loans With a Five-Year Plan
Tinsley Crisp and her husband, Ben, owed about $200,000 in student loans after he went back to school to become a physician assistant. A five-year plan, a detailed budget, odd jobs and skipped trips got them to debt-free, and they celebrated in Greece.
Video by Good Morning AmericaPublished May 30, 2025Breakdown updated September 15, 2026
“How a couple paid off $200,000 in student loans” by Good Morning America. We didn't make this video; it loads from YouTube when you press play.
Where Tinsley and Ben started
Tinsley Crisp, a stylist and writer, and her husband, Ben, started out with about $30,000 in student loans. When Ben went back to school to become a physician assistant, the total grew to about $200,000. Tinsley says it felt like a goal she would never reach.
What Tinsley and Ben did
- 1
They met with a financial planner and laid out their income, total debt and goals.
- 2
From there they set a five-year payoff timeline and a monthly budget to match it.
- 3
They budgeted in fine detail, down to when Tinsley would need to buy shampoo and conditioner.
- 4
They picked up odd jobs such as babysitting, running errands and hosting a trivia night at a local bar.
- 5
They traveled very little for five years, skipping friends' weddings, family vacations and some holiday visits.
- 6
Once the loans were paid off, they marked it with a trip to Greece.
What you can learn from it
A finish date makes the plan concrete
Instead of an open-ended goal, the couple matched a monthly budget to a five-year timeline, with a planner's help working out the numbers.
Small, irregular costs belong in the budget
Planning for items bought every few months, like shampoo, kept those costs from pulling money away from loan payments.
Extra payments carry no penalty
The CFPB says all student loan borrowers have the right to make extra payments at any time, without any fees or penalties.
The tradeoffs were real
Tinsley says missing weddings and family trips was hard. The couple kept a reward in mind, a trip to Greece, as the reason for the sacrifices.
In their words
“It felt like I would never accomplish this goal.”
“We really wanted to account for everything and I mean like everything.”
Before you copy this path
The couple didn't share their income, and Ben's work as a physician assistant likely made large payments possible. The segment doesn't say whether their loans were federal or private, which affects the repayment options available.
Watch out: It needs a steady monthly budget, and nobody negotiates for you.
Build your own payoff planCommon questions
Is there a penalty for paying off student loans early?
No. The CFPB says all student loan borrowers have the right to make extra payments at any time, without any fees or penalties.
Source: consumerfinance.govWhy didn't an extra student loan payment lower the balance?
The CFPB says a lender sometimes credits an extra payment against a future payment instead of the loan balance, called paid ahead status. Borrowers can call the servicer and ask for the payment to go toward the balance.
Source: consumerfinance.govSources
By DebtCheckUSAEditorial Team. This is our summary of a video we didn't make, and nobody paid us to include it. It's one person's experience, not financial, tax or legal advice. Advertiser disclosure
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