I have about 16 months of payments left on my student loans. The standard with government student loans is a 10 year repayment plan. My goal was to do it in 5 years, and I just might make that goal. I think my story is pretty common, I have a number of friends with loans, and a fair number without. My loan seemed staggering at first, $20,000, but I have since come to realize that I’m very lucky relative to other loan holders. Especially the poor souls in this slideshow of student loan debtors.

Slightly related, at Maclean’s you can see how your salary compares to the national statistics. Again, I’m not going to complain. I’m in the top 30%, which I’m thankful for every day.