The unexpected lesson this young professional learned from using a personal loan for debt consolidation 

Turning 18 might be the official marker of adulthood, but there are lots of unofficial milestones, too. Graduating from high school, moving out of your parents’ home, buying your first car — or in Brianna Williams’ case, dealing with your first financial challenge.

When she was 22, Williams was finishing up her undergraduate studies in industrial engineering, and realized she was $5,000 short on her tuition payment. “At the time I was still trying to build my credit, and I couldn’t get a traditional student loan by myself,” Williams said. “I didn’t want my parents to cosign for me because they’re older and they’re retired.”

Instead, she took out several small high-interest loans. After two months of trying to make payments, Williams realized she wasn’t making any headway on paying down the principal balance, so she started looking for another solution.

After doing some research, Williams realized she could qualify for a lower-interest personal loan for debt consolidation, allowing her to make one, regular payment instead of multiple payments every month. The personal loan Williams took out had a monthly payment of approximately $380 and would have taken about 30 months to pay off. At the time, she was still living with her parents and had few other bills to pay. “What I did was pay $1,000 every time I paid the balance [on my personal loan] so I could pay it off much quicker,” she said. “I ended up paying it off in four or five months.”

Williams felt a little embarrassed that she had gotten herself into such a bind — “I don’t like being in sticky situations with debt,” she said. Once she paid off her personal loan, Williams realized the experience helped her take control of her financial future. While she made payments on her personal loan, Williams also started saving additional income on the side — which allowed her to move out of her parents’ home and into her own apartment a few months later. “It was a huge transition for me,” she said.

Williams said going into debt, and then paying off that debt using a personal loan, at a young age helped positively shape her perspective on finances. “It was a valuable experience that was well worth it because it allowed me to have more insight into how important it is to manage your finances,” Williams said.

A personal loan from Discover® Personal Loans could be a valuable tool for others in similar situations. With no fees of any kind, flexible repayment terms, and loan amounts ranging from $2,500 to $40,000, a Discover® personal loan could be a useful tool to consolidate debt. You can even check your rate and monthly payment before applying with no impact to your credit score.*

Today, Williams works full-time as an engineer while earning her MBA and she is even more focused on building a brighter financial future for herself. “I also learned to never take financial independence for granted,” she said. Williams hopes to retire early in her 40s or 50s, so she is maxing out her retirement savings by contributing to both her 401(k) and a Roth IRA, in addition to setting aside funds for a future downpayment on a home in a high-yield savings account.

Using a personal loan for debt consolidation helped Williams take control of her finances and set herself up for future success. “People often feel that if you mess up a couple of times with your finances, you’ll never get out of it,” she said. “You can recover — it just takes time.”

Ready to take the first step toward managing your debt? To see how much you could save when you consolidate higher-interest debt, visit Discover® Personal Loans.

_{While real people and stories are featured in the article above, the above party did not receive a personal loan from Discover.}

_{For debt consolidation, even with a lower interest rate or lower monthly payment, paying debt over a longer period of time may result in the payment of more in interest. A Discover personal loan is intended for personal use and cannot be used to directly pay any Capital One account (including any Discover or Capital One credit card), secured loan, or post-secondary education loan or expense.}

_{*After you check your rate, if you move forward with an application for a new Discover personal loan, you will need to consent to a hard credit inquiry that will appear on your credit report.}

_{Discover makes loans without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status.}