Joe Mihalic got his MBA program from Harvard Business School. Before his Harvard stint, Mihalic was a manager in a Texan tech factory at Austin. Taking considerations of the finances he would later face, a six figure amount of student loans would kick his butt after earning his degree.

The loan is realized at around $90 thousand he needed to collect for the privilege. To gather his thought, he sort out options and peak into the average earnings business school graduates from Harvard gets. The numbers for debt was interpreted as doable and possible within two-year tenure in the university, Mihalic said .

He then shared through his blog that although many of MBA programs do not command such high salary, graduating from Harvard is an added factor in the job hunt. However, after getting immersed at the lifestyle of one of the most prestigious universities, fund loan payments starter biting his wallet. His dues ballooned at $64 thousand annually, almost no difference with how much he was earning back in his former tech company gig.  

Mihalic then shared, stepping in to the real world did not sink in immediately. He became too anxious about the Harvard MBA holder image and projected a really different angle of his personal lifestyle. He even bought a two cars, a motorcycle, house and furniture. He was "concerned with looking like I had a Harvard MBA," Mihalic added.

August 2011 when Mihalic decided he had to pay off his student loans and kicked off his reboot to the internet to declare the metanoia. He founded the website, No More Harvard Debt, where he documented his move to frugal living. This decision helped him get back in track, he told in his blog.

He started saving money by putting his second car on sale, accepted roommates, launched an extremely frugal budgeting and, in desperate attempt to save up, brought in flask to bars. He would also missed Christmas with family to really meet his target. One very important lesson Mihalic got here is to not care much about how  he was being perceived by others.

Seven months from then, his graduate school loans got paid. Mihalic got lucky enough to beat his dues three months earlier than the target date.