[Spoom]

How much are you spending per month? Surely there are things you could cut.

I recommend setting up a Mint.com account and taking a look at your monthly expenses. You might be surprised at how much you're spending on, say, restaurants or fast food per month.

In general, I would also recommend reading http://mrmoneymustache.com/ for good ideas on ways to lower your expenses. Here's the uber-post containing the most basic (and most effective) ideas: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-...

Any savings can be paid right toward the loan as additional principal. (Note that your loan may have a prepayment penalty; you'll want to check before you begin sending in more than the expected payment.)

Edit: According to https://commonbond.co/blog/the-truth-behind-student-loan-pre... , no federal student loans have prepayment penalties, and it is illegal for private student loans to charge them as well as of 2008.