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‘I started paying off while in college’: IIM grad used side hustles to bring loan EMI down to ₹30,000
Sneha Baidya, in a conversation with Hindustantimes.com, shared how she paid off the majority of her loan.
Managing an MBA expense of nearly ₹28 lakh, Kolkata native Sneha Baidya managed to reduce her education loan to under ₹5 lakh while completing her 2023–25 batch at IIM. In a candid conversation with Hindustantimes.com, the corporate professional revealed how utilising distinct income streams helped her. Now managing a monthly EMI of around ₹30,000, she aims to be completely debt-free within the next six months.
Baidya started freelancing while still studying at IIM. She graduated from the prestigious institution in 2025. While talking about her current EMI, she shared, “Around ₹30K post MBA. There were various factors like- The repayment tenure, amount withdrawn, and interest rate.”
The corporate employee added that the present loan amount is less than ₹5 lakh. “Currently below 5 Lakhs. I want to pay it off as soon as possible. I aspire to do many things in my life, so I want to be debt-free first.” She added that she plans to be debt-free in the next 6 months.
How did she pay off the majority of her loan?
She shared, “I started paying off while I was in college itself. On my Instagram page (@sneha.said.what), I talked about having 4 sources of income while being in IIM. My summer internship, freelancing and live project helped me support myself in the second year. My parents were generous enough to help me as well. Hence, I had a lesser loan amount as compared to my batch mates.”
In a social media post, she gave a detailed breakdown:
Term fees: ₹3.25 Lakhs
Mess fees: ₹24 K ( per term)
Miscellaneous (like admission fees): ₹3 lakhs
Daily expenses (personal expenses for commute, trips eating out, and especially the expenses during summer internship, which is almost always in some other state/city): ₹3 Lakh
So approx fees - (3.25 x 6) + (0.24 x 6) + (3) + (3)= ₹28 Lakhs (approx)
Her income sources:
Baidya explained that her parents paid her ₹4 lakh over two years, which she used to repay her loan. Additionally, freelancing played a crucial role in her loan repayment journey. She also did various side hustles to earn money.
Recalling how she managed to save money to reduce her loan amount, she explained that she saved everything she could and spent very carefully.
“Spend cautiously. Every rupee you borrow, comes back with interest. For example- Our mess and canteen fees were tied to a loan account. So each time I had to buy small value items, I bought it from nearby grocery shops. Paid my mess fees from my side income. These smart choices would help you in the long run.”
