We’ve got 99 problems but debt won’t be one. Whether you’re paying off student loans, credit cards, or one of the million other things that can accumulate interest, it might feel impossible that you’ll ever see that 0. So, we spoke to Kiera Carter (she/her), journalist, editor, and someone who paid off $111k in student loans all by herself.

“It weighed over me tremendously as I approached graduation and over the next few years,” she remembers. “I made $30k a year in my first job out of college, and my parents weren’t in a position to help me with the payments, which were nearly $1k a month. I thought about my loan balance constantly. I cried over it. And I took it very, very seriously. I knew that the only way to eliminate this stress was to eliminate the loan, so I committed to paying it off.”

Keep reading to see how she did it, and her advice for when it all feels a little too much.

What are some tips for paying off debt?
The most important things to remember are:

1. Do not let the balance grow. Many companies are announcing layoffs right now, so you might be in a position where you have no choice but to defer a loan. But if you do have a choice, I suggest doing what you can to make your minimum payments even if the math is tight (live with family or friends if possible, take on side work, etc.). Interest usually accrues when you defer, which means your balance will grow even if your payments are paused and you’re in good standing. Similarly, I looked into consolidating my loans, which people seemed to recommend, but that wouldn’t help me get the loan out of my life ASAP. My interest rates were good, and I kept the aggressive ~10-year payment plan.

2. Adjust your lifestyle (and don’t compare it to other people’s). Early in my career, I worked as a fashion editor that was entry-level and low-paying, where I was surrounded by people wearing beautiful things, whose job it was to keep up with the latest trends and go to Fashion Week shows. I had a deep understanding that I could not live like them, and if I tried to, I would get in massive amounts of credit card debt. If getting out of debt was to be my priority, I had to internally acknowledge that I couldn’t play the game of trying to keep up with other people—not my friends who didn’t have student loans, not senior editors who made twice my salary, not people on social media. It’s also worth noting: Many, many people spend above their means, so you could be trying to keep up with others who aren’t even making wise financial decisions themselves.

3. Stay motivated. A large balance can make you want to crawl into a ball and hide under the covers. I felt that. But break your plan up into chunks to stay the course. Marathon runners don’t typically think about the full distance, because it’s just too damn far. What’s the 5K version of your loan plan? Maybe that’s the plan you have at your current salary, and then you reassess in a year when it’s time to discuss a promotion with your boss. That’s all you need to think about.

What’s your advice when dealing with debt becomes overwhelming?
Just focus on the payment in front of you. Then, perhaps the year in front of you. Looking at the whole balance is a mind-f*ck, and it can be so overwhelming that you give up. So, don’t do that. Can you make your monthly payments? Great. Keep doing that. If not, what do you need to change in order to start making them?

Also keep in mind, paying off any loan is hardest in the beginning because you typically pay off the interest first, not the principal balance. It feels like you’re walking on an incline on a treadmill, sweating on a road to nowhere. But if you keep making payments month after month, eventually the payments start going to your actual balance, and it feels really, really rewarding. Focus on how good that will feel, because the day will come if you just keep going.