2 Part Feature In Forbes (WHAT?!)

Meet the 29-Year-Old Who Paid
Off $113,000 In Student Loans

Well here I am, single on Valentine’s Day for the umpteenth year in a row... However, I am featured in FORBES again today, so I think I’ll be just fine ;)

All joking aside, I wanted to let you all know that I accept these interview requests and post these stories not to toot my own horn, but to help folks. Every time an article comes out in a major publication, I get an influx of emails from you guys. Finances are a very private matter for most, but I am grateful for those of you that have the courage to ask for help. Some of y'all send me emails longer than I know what to do with and some merely ask one simple question; I love both kinds. Some of you I can help, some of you I can’t. It might take a few weeks, but I try and reply to everyone because I know exactly how you feel.

If you would’ve told me in high school that I’d have a 2 part feature in FORBES at the age of 29, I for sure would’ve thought the subject would be around music, not finances. So believe me, I've had my share of humble pie along this journey of mine, but if I can help just one person, it’s worth it. Is this the story I would have written for myself? Uh, no. But I didn’t write it, He did; and for that I choose to be grateful and agree to share my experience with anyone who genuinely wants to know.

Shout-out to Zack Friedman at Forbes for publishing this interview as well as letting me be a part of his podcast on Make Lemonade (coming soon)!

Click here to read Part 1 of my interview with Forbes
Click here to read Part 2 of my interview with Forbes

Click here to read the same Part 1 article on Make Lemonade
Click here to read the same Part 2 article on Make Lemonade

Budget Featured in Business Insider Again (Woot!)

Here's the budget of a 29-year-old who finished
paying over $100,000 of student loans

Two updates as to where I am since paying off my loans a few months ago was written up by Libby Kane and published in Business Insider. Their audience is not hesitant at all to write to me and tell me all about their own debt journeys while asking for a quick piece of advice on an area they may be struggling with. I love connecting with them! I have SO MUCH to learn in this big world of finances, but the things I have learned so far, I am always willing to share.

I love the folks that realize I am a 29 year old woman who assessed her situation and did what she thought was best for her. And that’s all I did. I am not cramming advice down throats, I am not saying it is my way or the highway. I do me. You do you. If you look at my journey and you want yours to resemble mine, awesome! Let me know if I can help. If you look at my journey and want nothing to do with it, also awesome! I hope we all win with money in this life no matter the approach we take to get there. I simply happened to start blogging about my journey on that faithful August 1st Sunday back in 2010; the day I was struggling the hardest and decided to find an (anonymous) outlet for my student loan battle.

For those just reading about my story from the latest Business Insider article wanting more detailed information on my budget, click here to read where I elaborated on the first BI article surrounding my budget.

Also, between us, I spelled 'restaurant' wrong in my now public budget (Ha!)

Click here to read the latest main Business Insider article: "Here's the budget of a 29-year-old who finished paying off over $100,000 of student loans"

Click here to read that same article in Yahoo Finance

Find the latest spin-off Business Insider article, "A 29-year-old who paid off over $100,000 of student loans gives her 3 best pieces of debt-repayment advice" by clicking here.

MY STUDENT LOANS ARE PAID OFF!

Can you believe it?! I did it!! It feels surreal. It feels great.

Total borrowed: $68,545.
Total paid back: $113,019.24

I started repayment December of 2009. I made my last payment November of 2016.

Thank you, sweet sweet baby Jesus that I am FINALLY DEBT FREE!

I Spoke at My Alma Mater!

One of my close friends has been such a great cheerleader for me during my debt pay-off process. She encourages me and lets me pick her brain a little bit on how her and her husband run some of their household budget. She works at a well known bank and was appointed to take charge in their ‘Women in Wealth’ initiative. She felt a great starting place to get the message out would be at the college level. SO, since we were both Phi Mus at Belmont University (she was our chapter’s president), she decided to start there by speaking to the current Phi Mu Theta chapter, and invited me to speak alongside of her.

 

It was great to be back on campus talking about all things finance and student loan related to those who are quite literally in the exact same place I was a cool 7 years ago. I hope my story resonated with them, and if anything, I can be a resource to someone who might feel a bit like she is starting to drown here in a couple of months after graduation. I know from memory, and from reading back on this very blog, that I was completely lost and had no one to turn to for guidance. It might have taken me 7 years to get back to these girls, but at least I am here now and can be a lighthouse for this wave of Belmont graduates to find their way back to shore.

 

I snapped this photo of the renovated music business building entrance as I'd like to think I AT LEAST paid for the gold that now lines the stair railings OR the glitter that now covers every inch of the floor :)

From Triple to Single Digit Debt: I Am So Grateful

Even though I never saw my debt have a balance in the triple digits, I have indeed paid triple digits. I am only $9k away from being finished. It feels so good to not have any number in front of or behind that 9. It feels surreal. I am so thankful for my journey. I am grateful God has blessed me with the ability to work and be in good health. There is no doubt, even in this less than ideal situation of mine, I have been blessed.

There are a lot of things a person can do to stay on track; there is an accountability that is hard to explain. However, a person could be on track and taking all of the appropriate steps, but for some reason keep getting knocked down: medical bills, car wreck, death in the family, etc. So many things are out of our control, and although we can plan for these things, we can’t see them coming. If these unfortunate events happen while we are in the beginning stages of planning and getting our feet wet with debt pay-off, it can really knock and keep a person down.

Looking back, it is very difficult to not see God’s protecting hand over my life. I have been paying off my student loans aggressively for the last 3 to 4 years; thankfully, nothing catastrophic happened to me in that time which allowed me to finally start winning with my debt snowball. Back when I was first starting, it would have only taken a gust of afternoon wind to knock me back into my same spending habits; now that I have some successful years under my belt, I am intentionally building up my financial life so that hopefully not even a hurricane can destroy it. I have not done this alone, God has been beside me every step of the way. I am beyond grateful for what I have been given and for the opportunity to learn from my twenties and build in my thirties. 

Thank you Jesus for the single number I am seeing on my balance today!

I Was Featured on CNN Money!

"4 Steps to Paying off Your Student Loans,
from Someone Who Crushed $100,000"

"4 Steps to Paying off Your Student Loans,
from Someone Who Crushed $100,000"
After connecting on Twitter, a CNN Money reporter reached out to me via email and asked for an interview. At first I thought the email must have been spam. It wasn't. So of course I said yes.

The phone conversations and emails that transpired woke me up to just how much I have paid off. Not that it didn't sink in before, but saying my financial story aloud from the very beginning to present day was quite the humbling experience.

I started this blog in 2010 and was so... ashamed isn't the correct word... sad. Sad about the amount of debt I had and therefor did not want anyone to know my feelings about it. After all, many of my friends had the same situation going on, but for whatever reason, no one spoke up about it other than the occasional griping over hefty monthly payments. I needed an outlet. So I created this blog. I had no idea that 6 years later it would land me on the front page of the personal finance section of CNN Money. But I am glad it did. Now that I am out of the woods, I am okay with everyone knowing this blog, and all of these words, are mine. The encouragement I received after the article published was simply unexpected and overwhelming.

I do not have a business set up where I charge people for financial advice. The article does not lead you to a website where a company I created can help you. It leads you here, to this blog; it is simply my story. And Katie Lobosco, the reporter, broke all of my ramblings into 4 simple steps. Those simple steps are what got me to where I am, and I hope others can follow suit from that. I have spent several hours with several different friends in the last 2-3 years quietly helping them create their budgets and debt pay-off plans. I have no idea what the future holds for me, career wise. It could be staying in corporate sales, singing/songwriting, music business, or it could be becoming a CFP and starting my own company; I just don't know yet. All of that to say, right now I am simply focused on the next 5 months of getting these loans out of my present day life.

If you would like to give it a read, you can find the article here.

I Went Bananas!

My student loans weighed most heavily on me when I started this blog in 2010. I found the snowball approach in March of 2013. In 3 short years, I am 6 months away from being completely debt free.

 

In those 3 short years, I have paid a little over $77K.

In 6 months that will climb to a total of $91k.

 

That makes a total of $113k in payments since graduation in 2009.

Almost exactly 7 years to the day of payments.

 

Boy am I glad my student loan journey will be done in 7 years versus 25 to 30! What a burden it would be to carry this around for more than triple the amount of time I did. I understand, not everyone went as bananas as I did. Not everyone threw every penny they had at their loans.

 

I will be 100% honest, while I was busy concentrating on paying off my loans, I was worried about what my peers were getting to do with their extra money since they were just paying their monthly minimum. Here are a list of things I thought my peers would get to have that I do not because of my decision to pay off my debt:

 

-       Roth IRA

-       Fully stocked emergency fund

-       Up-to-date wardrobe

-       New car with all the modern features

-       A house that they own

 

That’s a pretty adult looking list seeing as I, as well as my friends, are all 25-30 years old. But you know what reality is for them? It is not quite the set life I thought they were getting to live while I was slaving away. The majority of them do not have a Roth IRA, a fully stocked emergency fund, or house that they own. They do however have a semi up-to-date wardrobe, and for the most part, the majority of them have new cars. But you know what is a reality about that statement? They already want new clothes as well as a new car! They simply got to have little pleasures here and there that I didn’t, and I am 100% okay with that because it paid off for me in a massive way.

 

I say this not to knock my friends AT ALL. I say this because I was so concerned with what I thought I was missing out on that I let the envy drive me a little crazy at times, and I don’t want that same thinking to happen to you! Do I wish I would have started a Roth IRA at 16 years old? Hell yes. But I will be so grateful looking back when I am 50 that I started my Roth at 29 years old. Better a little late than never.

 

Yes, there are sacrifices in this debt-payoff game, but I cannot tell you how proud I am of myself for sticking to it and getting it all paid-off. It is a route no one around me was taking. Now I am 6 months out and am truly happy with the decision I made back in 2013. I am so glad I did this. Those 4 years of concentrated payments will change the next 20 to 25 years of my life.

 

If you’re reading this, and you too are on a debt-free journey, I hope you will learn from me not to be too hard on yourself; because before you know it, your journey will come to a close, and it will all have been worth it. Keep your head up, your thoughts fixed on your own finances, and the big picture in mind. Go bananas. Get it gone!

Be Vocal About Your Debt-Freedom Journey!

My debt pay-off plans come out of my mouth before I even realize it does in many conversations with my peers. Sometimes I get blank stares because people either don’t realize the gravity of $113K in student loans or they simply don’t care. But it occurred to me that I seldom tell those who are older than me what I am doing. I don’t know if that is because they are somewhat out of the equation when it comes to people I speak with on a daily basis, or if I am concerned about how they will judge me for living my youth. After all, the norm these days is ‘YOLO,’ ‘Can’t take it with you,’ and ‘Live it up while you’re young!’

Whatever the reason, last night at my night job, I told two older managers of mine (that I have known for many years) that I hoped to be able to quit serving tables at that job in a couple of months. They asked where I was going and I told them nowhere, it is just that I will be debt-free at that point. I told them I have kept this night job while working a day job for so many years because I made it a goal to have all of my student loans paid off as fast as I possibly could. They were floored when I told them I have paid off over a hundred thousand dollars thus far. They genuinely celebrated with me and said so many kind words. That typically doesn’t happen. Typically I will get, “Wow cool, pay off mine next.” with a chuckle and a fast exit. I was floored they didn’t know that about me, but they indeed had no clue; they had no idea I had a reason for being a server other than to make some fun, side money.

So what did I learn from this? Tell everyone what you are going through, not just your peers! People you least expect could encourage you and celebrate your accomplishments. I didn’t feel that I needed any praise, but let me tell you, now that morning has come, I feel a smidge prouder of myself than I did yesterday. Praise helps. Praise should be welcomed. I am doing something many do not. I do stand out. It felt good to be noticed for that even if I was standing there covered in barbecue sauce while wearing a worn out apron. 

The First Real Mistake I Ever Made

The sky was the limit and the world was my oyster. I was going to be a star. A country star. And country stars belong in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

However, I was not going to be one that signed a horrible record contract I would spend my adult years trying to get out of. I was going to be smart by getting my education at Belmont University. No one will be able to take advantage of me because I will 100% know better. Music business here I come.

 

I didn’t let things like an 8-9% interest rate on a loan stop me because “you can always refinance after you graduate.” I learned the hard way that was indeed not true. I had made my first mistake before ever even stepping foot into the alluring spotlight of the music business. I made my first faulty steps by entering into a life altering contract with Sallie Mae. The worst part about it was I didn’t realize I had made this grave mistake until about a year or two after I graduated.  Who knew my ‘be an educated artist’ plan would get derailed from a school loan long before a record contact was even visible? They did. Sallie Mae sees people like me coming every day. They capitalize on those people. And I don’t blame them. It was a bad decision on my part. Period.

 

Fast forward approximately 10 years and I am almost done paying that demon off. But you know what I lost in the meantime? That hypothetical record contract I so longed for as a young adult. I am still young, technically; I am 29. I was so screwed over by my first mistake with college loans I could not concentrate on how not to make another mistake in the music industry. All I could think about after graduation and the years to follow was how in the world I was going to right this financial wrong of mine. So in essence, that first business mistake robbed me of my chance at not making the mistake I was trying to avoid by learning the business side of the industry. Pretty ironic if you ask me. Maybe saying student loans are the reason I didn’t get a record contract is an excuse. There are so many country artists and songwriters who have ‘made it’ by doing whatever it takes. And whatever it takes most times means getting your car repossessed, defaulting on loans, and borrowing money from your family. I just couldn’t do that. I could not make that sacrifice. When advised that I should choose between my dream and my credit score, I picked the latter. I picked not defaulting on my loans, keeping my car, and leaving my parents and relatives out of my financial mess. I chose the safe road.

 

So here I am, 6 months away from closing my student loan chapter and about 7 years late on opening my music business chapter. There are outliers, but for the most part, music professionals will tell you your window of record contract opportunity becomes exponentially smaller once you surpass the age of 25. And about 10 times harder if you are a female.

 

So that’s great news given I am a 29 year old female.

 

I am very aware these loans were my decision. A decision that haunts and taunts me daily. I got a brief taste of the industry I so love right after college and then before I knew it, I was ripped out to work in boring corporate America with my business degree so that I could afford my new ‘welcome to adulthood’ loan payments. I have hustled by working 2 jobs and budgeted unlike anyone I know. Did I have to pay off my loans 15 years early? No. But I was so incredibly infuriated by them that I needed them gone.

 

I have many friends who are still in the music industry, and for the most part, they love what they do every day. I don’t know many success stories of singers who have ‘made it’ quite just yet, but the majority of my college friends stuck with music. However, they are also all still stuck with their loans and very much so living paycheck to paycheck. Perhaps there was a better path for us to have taken back then that didn’t include college. Perhaps there is a better path now we could be taking. Who knows, but what I have learned from all of this is that there is indeed such a thing as not being able to afford it. And although college is something that has been programmed into us as a necessity, there are other routes to explore that may not have college in it.

 

I do not regret my decision. I learned and experienced things at Belmont that will stick with me forever. However, to all who are reading this, I urge you to look for any and all possible paths before signing your freedom away to attend the college you think you “just have to go to.” I promise, there will be people around you who are successful that don’t have a minute of their time or a dime invested in a university; and there will be successful people around you who seem to be in a perpetual state of higher education. If you think you have the drive, determination, and the entrepreneurship to at least attempt your dream without the textbooks and professors, by all means, you owe it to yourself to try and blaze that trail. If the security of a degree is something you know you will need in order to stay sane, do it. But take it from me, (Ivy leagues aside) there is no real difference in having your degree come from an expensive private Christian university versus an affordable public university.

 

If you are just finishing high school and determining where you want to continue your education, please consider your choices very carefully, and don’t listen to the lenders and school advisers who will tell you and your parents how easy the repayment will be upon graduation; they cannot guarantee a thing. I made a mistake, and it took me a while to come to terms with that. How did I get to a place of acceptance and forgiveness? I learned from it. I learned to do the best I could in my situation, and try my very hardest to not have regret. The past could not be changed so I figured out how to make lemonade from my lemons. My hope is that if you are in a similar situation, you will try to find the positive, too. Fix the mistake with intention and grow from it.

Drinking From the Same Lemonade Stand

I keep my expenses low and pay off debt.

 

Some don’t.

 

Does that make me better than them? No. Lately I have been trying to not judge others too harshly on their personal decisions because they are just that, their personal decisions. I can try and explain to my friends and peers the benefits of my financial lifestyle, but at the end of the day, I need to be okay with them choosing their own way. And I also need to be okay with them judging me for my ways as well.

 

I get aggravated when I watch friends who I know are in student loan and credit card debt go on shopping sprees, finance cars that are way beyond what they can afford, drink all that Starbucks has to offer, eat out every night, and vacation like it’s their job. All of these friends are in their 20s. The decisions they are making now will follow them into the remainder of their adult lives. It is not my place to say my method is better than theirs, but I get aggravated when they casually ask for financial advice, I provide them with such, and they eventually veer off until they are in the complete opposite direction of what we discussed.

 

Many think a hyper-focused method of paying off debt is nothing more than an unhealthy obsession; brainwashing via various financial experts if you will. However, I disagree. Is it different? Weird? Extreme? You bet. Does that make it brainwashing? No. And unfortunately being debt-free seems all three of those aforementioned things because so many Americans have turned their back on their own finances. Paying off debt is merely a personal discipline in order to better your future.

 

Debt pay-off takes WORK, FOCUS, DEDICATION and SACRIFICE, and since those are not normal actions for most people, they wrap the idea of it up as a package labeled CrAzY in their minds. But ask any millionaire how they got where they are, and I bet the answer will have nothing to do with them staying in debt.

 

For those of us in debt: we were all handed the same sour lemons. As life tells us to do, we make lemonade out of them. Some of us are paying 25 cents to drink it from paper cups and some of us are paying $1 to drink it out of crystal glasses. The ones momentarily sacrificing the finer things in life by drinking from the 25 cent paper cups will be able to afford their pitcher faster and move on to a non-lemon beverage. Those drinking from the $1 crystal will be stuck in their lemon situation for longer than they need to be before they can move on to something better. Either way, it is the same lemonade that we are all drinking, but ultimately, it’s the decision of how we handle it while it is in our hands that counts. Ditch the crystal, drink from paper for a while. You’ll thank yourself later.

9 Months Away From Debt Freedom!

I borrowed 68k in August of 2007, started repayment in December of 2009, and will make my final payment in December of 2016. How much will I have paid in those approximate 7 years you ask? $113k. Yep. That’s 45k more than I borrowed. The scary part is, so many graduates are in the same boat I am, but they do not do the math to figure out the numbers of how upside down they are. They simply pay their minimums each month for years on end without actually seeing just how much they are paying the lender. I know 45k is bad, but trust me, there are friends in my circle alone who are already at that total with 15+ years to go. 

I am at peace with my numbers. I will never do something like that EVER again, but I am finally at peace with it. If you have followed me from the start of this blog in 2010, you know that peace was not something I had; I had hate, envy, bitterness, and deep regret.

I am okay with the fact that I attended Belmont University. I do not have any hate towards them or myself any longer for the debt that I got into. I have forgiven myself for the mistake I made. I am done overthinking the past because there is nothing I can do about it. There is no time machine, just the breath that God has chosen to give you each morning, and for that you must be thankful and move forward with your life.  

I am truly grateful that I found out about Dave Ramsey when I did in 2013. I honestly can’t remember how I stumbled upon his teachings, but I for sure know I will be forever thankful that I did. 

This is not me signing off, but merely keeping you all updated. I hope you are all doing well on your paths, and as always, feel free to email me if you need any advice or want to know more about my debt payoff process. I am 100% happy to help.

ohthesestudentloans@gmail.com

Another Grand Bites the Dust

I put down $1,000 today towards my student loans and it got me thinking that I haven’t updated you fine folks on the numbers in a couple of months. Here is where I am at:

 

As I stated back in March, I was able to get a consolidation (praise!) and my new outstanding loan total that I financed was 43K. As of today, my total balance is around 36K. I have paid off approximately 7K since the beginning of April.

 

 

For those of you following me since my first “holy smokes I am in some deep water and am about to drown” realization back in 2010 (73k in the hole), then to my “okay, I am pissed about this debt and I am about to tackle it” phase in 2013 (79K in the hole):

 

I HAVE PUT DOWN 54 THOUSAND DOLLARS 

IN A MATTER OF 28 MONTHS.

(About 43K being principal, the other 11K being ridiculous interest)

 

I say this not to brag. I say this to motivate you. I say this to say that If I can, you can. Get mad. Get motivated. Get started!

You don’t have to have a consolidation to win with this. You can tackle this on your own without a consolidation; yes, it may cost you a bit more if your interest is high like mine was, but if that is the case, keep trying to consolidate in the background, but move! move! move! at all times on extra payments. Paying down that smallest debt first needs to be your priority.

 

All that motivation aside, allow me to get real with you for a moment. There is great joy found in paying down a debt you owe, but there are also the ever present Smith’s, and their besties, the Jones’ – aka, the modern day wants:

 

My current pain point: I want a new car like bad.

 

I still have a positive outlook overall on my debt management, especially in comparison to where I was a couple of years ago; however, here lately, it has been really hard to keep driving my Honda. And when I say 'I want a new car like bad', I do indeed mean somewhat used. I have had the same Honda since I was 16, so after driving it for 12 years, I am REAL ready for something different. It has relatively low miles (150K) so I know this thing will last me another year or two, but I just want to trade her in like pronto.

 

On the contrary, I read a chapter out of 'Total Money Makeover' the other night and there was a line in there that struck a chord. It said something to the effect of how Dave Ramsey passionately believes he and his wife were able to win with money due to their willingness to drive old beater cars in the beginning of their makeover. I know this is true because I am projecting to be completely debt free in about 18 or 19 months; again, completely debt free!! However, if I cave and get a new car now, I will most definitely be looking at 30+ months before I would be debt free. That’s 10 or more months of having to stay in the same job that I am not super fond of, that’s 10 more months of ‘edge living’ by delaying the start of a fully funded emergency fund, and the list goes on...

 

Help reassure this wordy birdy that I can indeed put on my mature pants and WAIT a while before I go purchasing something I know I cannot afford yet. I need not to finance another thing, even if the payments would be completely doable and relatively low. Amen? Amen! 

 

Adjusting the Sails (Living with Intention)

Moving forward, I am going to aim at an overall tone of positivity for this blog as well as its accompanying Twitter account. Instead of pointing my finger at ole’ Aunt Sallie, I will try and point my finger towards meaningful things that bring hope and have a chance at making an impact in the lives of those who read this blog.

 

Make no mistake, I am not agreeing that the repayment system is no longer unfair and stepping down from the fight; that is not the case. However, now that I myself am out of the deep waters and can begin to see land, I will lock in my line of sight straight towards home. Straight towards home INTENTIONALLY and with a POSITIVE attitude by my side. Looking back to where I was, I think I found great comfort in searching for and joining the online team of ‘Sallie Mae haters’; there was a common level of understanding within that community. I think what I really needed to know, aside from the fact that there were other people aboard, was that intentional living and positive motivation on a constant basis would be the extra power that would steer my boat safely towards shore.

 

It is easy to have hate in your heart. It is easy to point the blame. It is easy to get overwhelmed. You have to decide to make the switch into beast mode and challenge the peanut butter and ramen noodles out of yourself. And beast mode is indeed what it takes. Thankfully, I have found both Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey to be very relatable, and that is the reason I have stuck with it; you may not find any hope or inspiration in their words, and if that is the case, I encourage you to seek out other financial advisers/approaches until you find one that motivates you.

 

My hope is that this blog can now serve a community of people who have chosen to live an intentional life of positivity all for the purpose of getting their boat to shore. I for one know that I was completely fed up with sitting out in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of other motionless boats just waiting in anticipation for the next storm. Something clicked and I realized I had to be the captain of my own boat and do something DIFFERENT if I had any chance of getting to shore. My love for those still remaining motionless out in the ocean runs deep; to them I send out this blog as an SOS received in hopes that they too can implement the necessary steps to have their compasses point them home.

 

I don't plan to delete any of my previous postings as it helps for me to read about my darkest days so that I have a reminder of just how far I have come. I know this struggle has made me a stronger and much wiser person. Believe me when I say I am not to shore yet, (I still need about 40K more to get me there) but the fact that I can see land is something I will never take for granted. Since intentionally staying focused and trying my best to think in a positive manner has gotten me this far, I am going to stick with it. My hope is that you do as well; because when you do, that also helps me to do the same. Together we can get to shore; besides, what fun is it going to be if I get to shore and am the only survivor?

 

Stay positive. WE GOT THIS.

"It's not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities."
― Kristin Armstrong
“Impact is never about knowing all the steps ahead, but about taking one intentional step after the other.” 
― Bidemi Mark-Mordi

“Empowerment is the intentional absence of negativity.” 
― Stephanie Lennox 

The 'Why Me' Heebie Jeebies

I went to a friend’s condo recently, and her place reminded me of my other friend’s condo, which is similar in the luxury department.

Both girls are my age.

Both girls do not have roommates.

Both girls have a nice car.

Both girls do not have any student loans.

Both girls have ‘normal’ jobs.

Both girls seem to think they are just great with money, but what both girls don’t realize is that…

both girls have fairly well off parents that are able to help them out :) Not trying to dish out any insults to those whose folks are blessed and willing to help them, i'm just saying. 

Everyone starts out somewhere, right?! At least I’ll be a stronger/wiser person after all of this repayment - or so they tell me.

This here, readers, is what I would like to call envy. And I’ve made up a new move in the face of said envy. Ready for it?

It’s called, ‘The Breathe & Pray.’ You take a deep breath, you say a quick prayer of thanks for what you do have, and you move your self-pity party on down the road in your Honda :)

Comparison is the thief of joy, folks!

Snowball (since it’s winter and all)

Unfortunately, as this is my ‘I’m all grown up now’ blog, I am not talking about a literal snowball, but rather Dave Ramsey’s theory on paying off debt. And let me tell you, it works. It is a realistic, hands-on approach with a surprisingly fast turn-around time in regards to results. A positive attitude can take you far, and for a while that is all I (somewhat) had, but there comes a point when you realize all of your rainbows and butterflies are about to get repossessed.

It is around this point of realization that you begin to accept the fact that a change needs to be made. Making the minimum payment amount each month on an enormous pile of loans, especially when the minimum payment is being applied to interest only, will get you nowhere fast. Excuse me, it will get you somewhere – into more debt. I now understand why Sallie Mae welcomes ‘Interest only’ payment plans with open arms to new graduates as it significantly increases their revenue. Allow me to demonstrate:

I borrowed (in 2007-2008) = $68,545.00
I owe (as of March 2013) = $78,950.18

For those of you without a calculator handy, that’s a $10,405.18 INCREASE of debt in a matter of approximately 5 years.
I have PAID out of pocket (starting in December of 2009 – March of 2013) = $22,510.32
Amount of $22,510.32 that went towards my private loan principal = $0
Amount of $22,501.32 that went to my federal loan principal = $875.85

In summary (5 years):
Sallie Mae gets = $32,039.65
Jessica gets = $875.85

Nauseating.

This seemingly unethical situation is indeed legal and is WAY too common than I care to realize. It looks as if my rainbows and butterflies will not have any friends to play with here soon if people in my similar situation do not make the proper financial adjustments. I created this blog not only as an outlet for myself, but as a publicly visible flashing bright neon warning sign to all parents/students out there to read before entering down the same road I did. Why travel for 20 to 25 years down a bumpy gravel road when you have the option of a shorter ride?

I could write pages upon pages on how much I detest the above situation and how many hours of hard work it took and how much I had to sacrifice in order to be able to pay Sallie Mae the bare minimum each month. And I have pretty much done just that in my prior posts, but as I stated in the beginning, maintaining a positive attitude surrounding a situation you loathe can only get you so far. In reality, it is little ole’ you against a beast that gains size and momentum at a daily rate. You shrink smaller and smaller as its monstrous shadow alone expands over you until you eventually shrivel up and freeze to death. Like literally, your mind fast forwards and you visualize yourself as an educated homeless person freezing under an overpass, huddled up in your cardboard box waving a ripped white T-shirt as your surrender flag. Okay, I know that was a tad dramatic, but I would be lying if I said my mind never went there for a split second. I mean, cardboard box/parent’s house, potato/potato :) Only joking mom & dad, but once you calm the hate in your heart and decide you want to survive and fight for the lifestyle you went to school for, what once seemed like an impossible solution, starts to seem possible. A sort of survival instinct kicks in when you take your blinders off and stare your debt in the face.


My baby snowball:
My total monthly expenses: $1,625.00
My total currently in savings: $5,000.00

I should have approximately $600 to put into my savings account every month. In a year, I can save $7,200. This does not include the money I will get from work bonuses or tax returns. Also, my income is somewhat variable as my second job is waitressing so I have more of an earning potential than just the minimum I factor into my monthly income number. That in combination with time and a half for overtime at my day job, I can again increase my monthly income. If I really stay focused and put every dollar I can into savings, I can start to make a dent or two. On the flip side, I will have things happen that will increase my monthly expenses such as doctor appointments, dentist appointments, car trouble, ect.

My rules:

-          I will not let unexpected expenses get me off track as it is not failure on my part for not contributing the entire $600 each month; I can make up for what I lost by saving more than $600 some months.

-          I will never let my savings account fall below $1,000.

-          I will not use my credit cards without paying off the entire balance each month. 

 

My car and credit cards are paid off, and I rent my house so I aimed at the lowest dollar amount private loan (debt) to tackle first - $12,400.00. In order to get my monthly payment on that loan down a little, and to avoid having what is a mountain of money (to me) just sitting in my savings account, I plan to put money down on the loan in increments of $4,000. It will be a tight rope, but little by little I should be able to get my debt down to somewhat level with my income. I made this plan in March.

It is now December 30^th and I am happy to report I have paid off my $12,400.00 loan in a shorter time span than expected! I did have dentist, doctor and car bills pop up, but I picked up extra shifts at work and stayed late some nights at my day job in order to get overtime pay. My best friend moved out of state in May so that helped cut out dinner, movie & going out expenses. It took 9 months, and was very painful to watch chucks of 4 grand be handed over to Sallie Mae; but I knew if I didn't start this now, it would hurt much more in the long run.

1 down, 5 to go.

Numbers Don't Lie

The dawn is closing in on what was a beautiful sunny Nashville, Tennessee Saturday so why not take this time to dwell on my private student loans?!

Ha, all joking aside, it really has been a good Saturday (I worked until 3pm) so I won't tear down the whole day with this post, but I wanted to give y'all an update of where I stand. Strictly speaking in numbers.

The total amount of loans that I borrowed for school (in 2007 & 2008) is $68,545.00.
As of TODAY I have paid Sallie Mae a total of $22.510.32 (of which, $875.85 went to my principal).
As of TODAY I still owe $78,950.18.

Is that ringing as loud for you as it is for me?! I only borrowed sixty eight thousand, have paid over twenty two thousand and yet I still owe almost seventy nine thousand dollars. This is where I would insert 2 or 3 demeaning punch words to show how utterly sick it makes me to look at these facts, but I just don't have the words. I can not mentally wrap my mind around the FACT that a company can get away with this. Punch word followed by another punch word ending in a horrific hashtag.

So much for optimism

My load consolidation attempt was once again rejected. I need to at least have an income higher than the 80K I have in debt before credit, etc. is even taken into account.

Such a nightmare.

I guess it has been a while...

Hi there! I realize it has been a little over a year since my last post and although my words are not on here in blog format, believe me, it is still on my mind daily! A girl named Stacy emailed me last week for an update and got me thinking about how I need to contribute more to this thing so here I go! I really have missed hearing from you guys.

So in this last past year (like a month after my last blog), I got a new job. I work from 8-5 at a big building in the heart of downtown for an inside sales company. I know what you're thinking, SALES?! BUT, really, it is not at all a bad job! I am rarely on the phones, I do not meet with any clients face to face, and I do not have to sell anything to anyone since I deal with already established customers; we just renew the maintenance on whatever product they have. For the most part, I love everyone I work with, and we have all grown to become good friends who actually hang out after 5pm. My salary isn't very impressive, but I have a matching 401k plan, discounted stock options, as well as great health insurance. Also, overtime is unrestricted and open whenever; since January I've made $1500 in overtime alone. Some of you will probably laugh at the unimpressive salary statement knowing it likely pales in comparison with the cost of my education. I will say though that I am blessed to have this job since it comes with a steady income which is something I didn't have for quite some time being a server. Speaking of serving, I still do that on the side maybe 1, 2 or 3 times a week.

All this to say, I am officially skipping out on the industry that I am in debt for, but I really do think that in the long run, this decision will pay off. The music industry was not giving me the paycheck I needed to support the debt I was in to be there. I will continue to be a server, and jump into the world of sales because simply put, I need to chase the dollars, and this is the direction they are running in right now.

As you can tell, I am by no means knocking down my student loans 1 paycheck at a time, BUT I think this is a step in the right direction in order to get my income up and my little debt down so that when I re-apply for consolidation, I have a better chance of having an acceptable debt to income ratio. So far with this job, I have been able to pay off my car and credit cards as well as put about $4K in savings. I also am up to about $1200 in my E*Trade account.

I feel like I somewhat have my ducks in a straighter row, but I am still oh so fearful of their decision after having waited a year and done my best to get things in order. No matter how good things seem to me now, it will take a 5 minute phone call to prove me wrong. Knowing that last statement, I chose to make my financial planning my #1 priority, but to also remember that it is okay to spend a little of my hard earned money and go out and on trips with my friends every once in a while (I mean, I am 25). Because, believe me, at the end of the phone call, having $500 more in your savings account will not sway their decision to accept or reject you.

Anyway, as of now, I am planning to make the consolidation phone call (likely to Wells Fargo) in approximately a month. Wish me luck! I want nothing more than to come back on here, tell you a success story and then tell you exactly how I did it so that you all could follow suit :)

D-E-F-A-U-L-T

Smart thing to do? Too many consequences? Giving in? Totally ruining my credit? The only way?

All of these questions and many more float around in my head when thinking about the word default. So many say it is the only way to let the lenders really know you can't pay them. Others say it is merely giving in and ultimately hurting yourself. Which is it? I DO NOT know.

Thinking about it from a rational standpoint, surely defaulting on my loans will ruin my credit and plunge me into a 'financially unstable' branded person to all that inquire. However, thinking about it from a desperate standpoint, what if defaulting just means I lose 100+ points on my credit score and possibly have a wage that gets garnished? If Sallie Mae started to garnish my wages, surely they will not be able to get $600 a month in garnishments like they are getting from my on-time payments now. Will my absence of payment get it through their heads that I cannot pay them this amount any longer? Will I eventually have to go to court over this? Will the judge order that I continue my $600 per month interest only payments or else? I feel as if I am well educated about what is going on with my loans, but I am SO uneducated about the repercussions of what happens if I don't continue my current payments. Who in the world would have thought that it would come to this just a mere 2 years after graduating college? I can only imagine what I will be going through in 2 more years after my interest only pay option is up.

All of these default thoughts are deriving from the fact that I was denied, yet again, for consolidation last week. Wells Fargo denied me for the 3rd time. I added a co-signer and even that did not work. After that, I called local Nashville debt counselors to try and get any kind of advice I could and nothing came out of that. No one could help or even talk about debt relief when it came to private student loans. As soon as you say the words, "private student loans" to them they act as if you have just royally offended them. They start talking fast and basically hang up on you. One place actually did hang up on me, but whatever.

Anyway, on a somewhat lighter note, I watch out for student loan twitter accounts, web sites and videos like it is my second job. Here are a couple that are pretty informative and cool to see:

Default Movie

Forgive Student Loan Debt

Sallie Mae Scam Part 1

Sallie Mae Scam Part 2

Sallie Mae Scam Part 3

Sallie Mae Scam Part 4

ABC's 20/20 - College Scam

The Lost Generation

CBN News - Dave Ramsey - Escaping College Debt

Twitter - Sallie Mae Hell

Oh yeah, on a positive note, I signed up for my 401k this week. Yay!

And, my iTunes shuffle just started playing, "We Don't Need No Education" by Pink Floyd. Just thought you should find some ironic humor in that as well ;)

*As always, opinions are always appreciated! Comment on this post and let me know your thoughts :)*

Winning!

Today I played a small role in someone's decision making when choosing where to receive a graduate degree. My friend and I have talked briefly about my student loan situation. I don't talk about it too much, but I occasionally make some sort of negative comment about it from time to time and she just happened to remember me saying something. She had the choice to go to Austin Peay or Belmont University. Once grants and other financial help was considered, she would graduate Austin Peay with less than $10k in loans and graduate from Belmont with almost $40k. She would add this to an undergrad loan of about $40k. She fully understood the cost difference, but was unsure about the name recognition. She wants the best education so she wonders if the $30k difference is worth the name drop? NO WAY. I talked to her about basically everything I have said here in my blog, but just in a nutshell. After telling her that Belmont's name has done nothing for me, and a little bit of advice from others at work who have the same bills piling on their counters, she decided to choose Austin Peay.

I felt a victory dance coming on, but restrained myself once I realized there was one less person to share my boat with. Is that a bad or good thing? Good for my friend not to jump in the sinking boat with me, but bad for the rest of us who have one less person on our ship to send out non responsive distress calls from the middle of the ocean to alert whoever will listen that we are slowly sinking and will surely drown soon. Maybe there are power in numbers, maybe not in this case, I don't know. But today I feel like my mistakes have helped someone I care about not do the same thing. And that, my friends, is winning!