We get it. Paying off your student loans is hard—especially if you’ve been slugging away at them for a while. But other people have done it. And so can you! With the right plan (aka the debt snowball) and a good budget, you can knock out your student loans faster than you think. You just need to keep attacking your debt until it’s going . . . going . . . gone!

But let’s be real—the journey can feel like an uphill climb. Good thing we’ve got some ideas to help you stay motivated along the way!

Instead of trying to tackle a mountain of $65,000 in student loan debt, what if you broke that down into $5,000 chunks? It’s easy to get overwhelmed when looking at the big picture. But when you divide a huge goal into bite-sized pieces, you’re more likely to make progress. (That’s why the debt snowball method works so well.) And remember, the small steps add up to big results!

Speaking of small steps, having a visual reminder of your progress makes a huge difference. Maybe you have a chart that you color in every time you pay $500 toward your student loans. Maybe you hang a paper chain in your kitchen and you cut off one link of the chain every time you make a payment. Maybe you put a marble in a jar for every $100 paid toward your debt. Whatever it is, put it in a place where you’ll see it every day—that way you’ll always be thinking about how to boost your progress.

Yes, paying off your student loans requires some sacrifice. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t celebrate the milestones. You’re putting in the hard work and it’s okay to reward yourself. Maybe you budget in a dinner date or a low-cost activity (like a home movie night or a picnic at the park). You can even add your rewards to your visual tracker as more motivation!

You want to get rid of your student loans. You want that weight off your shoulders. But why? Are you wanting to start a family? Buy a house? Travel? Do you just want the freedom to work where you want and live how you want without payments holding you back? The clearer your vision for the future, the more motivated you’re going to be to pay off your student loans fast.