Chicago nurse and single mother Jasmin Ford is starting the New Year with a clean financial slate, thanks to the generosity of Fifth Third Bank.

On December 12, Mike Crawford, vice president, senior manager, digital product development for the Cincinnati, Ohio-based bank, was waiting to surprise Ford, 30, with news she never expected to hear in her lifetime.

“Fifth Third is paying off all of your student loans today,” Crawford told her in a televised video recording of the moment.

“Are you serious?” Ford asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

Crawford said he was serious.

“Thank you so much!” Ford exclaimed, crying tears of joy.

For Ford and her young son, Caleb, the announcement was a life-changing moment.

Ford, a psychiatric nurse, holds two jobs, working 16-hour double shifts six days a week to make ends meet. She said that the bank’s action to pay off her student loans would change the direction and course of both her life and that of her son.

“You won’t have to go into debt to go to school,” she told Caleb, almost two. “I can save for him and make ends meet. I thought it would take a lifetime to pay off my debt, and Fifth Third made that happen in one day.”

The first in her family to go to college, Ford not only earned a nursing degree, but also a master’s degree in her field. However, self-improvement came at a steep price.

Before Fifth Third stepped in to help Ford financially, she was in debt for $185,000 owed on her student loans.

She is not alone, according to Crawford.

“Jasmin’s story exemplifies the choice many Americans face when they strive to build a better life for themselves and their families through higher education," he said.

Crawford also said that the reason the bank chose to help one of its customers out of debt was to humanize the problem.

“When we did our initial research, we found that student loans were an emotional burden on people that can be paralyzing,” he said. “We wanted someone that would inspire others to make a difference. We’re in the people business and we want to build strong communities (through example).”

Crawford led the bank’s research of millennials and their financial needs.

“Fifth Third Bank recognizes that for many people the only available path to a fulfilling career with a promising future includes being saddled with debt," he said. "This is a woman who chose to lift herself out of poverty in a career dedicated to helping others.”

In an interview with Financial Advisor, Crawford offered his recommendations for paying off student loans earlier, rather than later in life.

Crawford said that one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce student loan debt faster is to make an additional payment above the minimum amount required each month.

“That can make a difference,” he said. “If you round up, typically $25/month, you can pay it off faster.”

Fifth Third Bank not only recommends that its customers take this step to pay down their student loan faster, it promotes it through the bank’s Momentum app, launched two years ago.

The Momentum app allows customers to round up their debit card purchases so that the additional funds can be applied towards payment of their student loan.

Last July, the Momentum app hit a milestone; customers reportedly paid down $1 million in student loan debt. Six months later, Crawford said, that total is now up to $1.7 million.

To inspire customers on their path to financial freedom, the bank awards #win badges to Momentum participants.

“We want to make users feel they’re making progress,” Crawford said.

There is a metaphorical pot of gold at the end of their financial rainbows.

Fifth Third Bank estimates that customers who round up $25 a month in debit card purchases using the Momentum app could pay off a 20-year loan three years sooner and pay 8 percent less in interest that would have accumulated as a result.

Crawford said that participating in the Momentum app program would reduce student loan interest, and so would many other small, yet equally significant budgetary actions.

“Instead of buying a Starbuck’s, invest in your future financial freedom,” he said.

Even an amount as small as $5 extra saved each a week could make a difference, Crawford maintained.

Instead of spending "found" money, such as an annual bonus or tax refund, Crawford recommended applying it towards payment of a student loan. He also recommended working part-time driving an Uber route, or even switching off to eating rice and beans during the week to further economize for a better future.

“It’s the difference between paying off your student loan in your thirties, instead of your forties,” he said.

That same financial planning could be applied to saving for retirement, too, Crawford asserted.

For those paying off substantial student loan debts, such as Ford, there is a lot at stake. Crawford, who cited a May 1, 2018 report posted at https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/, said that the Class of 2017 graduated with an average student loan debt of $39,400. However, the site reported that in Q2 2017, 4.3 million borrowers defaulted on $74.9 billion in direct student loans, impacting their personal credit and household finances for years to follow.

To prevent that from happening, Crawford recommended refinancing student loans through CommonBond.

CommonBond, launched in 2013, is a New York-based marketplace lender that refinances graduate and undergraduate student loans for university graduates. CommonBond also provides in-school loans to MBA students at 20 programs throughout the United States.

Fifth Third Bank, which partners with CommonBond, is also an investor in it.

“When I refinanced my student loan through a lender, I was able to reduce it by three to four percent, enabling me to pay it off in three-to-four years, instead of 20,” said Crawford, who has a bachelor's degree in international marketing from Clemson University and an MBA in international business and applied economics from DePaul University.

If all else fails, Crawford recommended applying for the federal government’s student loan forgiveness program.

According to the federal student loan website, in certain situations, a student loan may be forgiven, canceled or discharged.

“Communities and employers have programs that may help pay down or pay off student loans, too,” Crawford said.

Fifth Third Bank is offering another option to pay down student loans; two lucky customers that download the bank's Momentum app by February 15 will qualify to have the bank pay down their student loans for an amount of up to $39,000 each.

“Its really, really exciting,” Crawford said. “We’ve never paid off anyone’s debt the size of Jasmin’s, but any amount can be life changing.”

For further information, visit www.53.com/momentum.