So What if I Am STILL a Server!?

I moved to Nashville to go to Belmont University in order to be in the music industry. I took a job right before enrolling at a downtown bar/restaurant/music venue to help support myself through school. Fast forward almost 9 years, and I am still working at this same place part-time on nights and weekends in order to help support my Belmont student loan pay-off. I am no longer in the music industry as I took a job in corporate America working 8-5 for a bigger salary in order to pay off the loans I accumulated while at Belmont.

This bar/restaurant/music venue is a tourist place for sure; we do not have ‘regulars,' and for the most part, I seldom see any friends there that reside in Nashville. However, being the music venue that we are, we sometimes have up-and-coming country bands play for a spot to be a regular house band of ours. That being said, I was working last night and there were 4 different up-and-coming bands playing. It seemed like it was going to be a normal night in tourist town except that I kept seeing people I knew. They were all there to see their friends play in the various bands. A couple of them came up to me to say hello and to tell me they were there with so and so who is currently on stage. My conversations with them were quick given it was a busy night for me, but out of the 5 people I saw and conversed with, 2 of them made it a point to insinuate the word still in conversation with my employment there. They said it in the oh so southernly sweet, ‘bless your heart’ kind of way, but the insult was heard loud and clear.

I felt embarrassed and ashamed. There they were in their cute, bright colored spring clothes with their high heeled shoes hanging out with the band; there I was in my dark barbecue covered t-shirt looking like a sweaty mess sporting an old baggy apron still working as a server. Then my pride kicked in and I thought of how great it is to be 6 months away from a debt-freedom that a few of them may never experience. I know at least one of those ladies still have college loans and there is no telling what else the rest have financed along the way.

So yes, I am still a server.

Target (The Store)

I usually refrain from shopping at this store due to the overwhelming temptation to buy everything. From the enticing smell and trendiness of Starbucks greeting you upon arrival, to every single (this is so me!) item screaming your name, it is, at the end of the day, a place I cannot afford to love. I am often price comparing groceries, and Target has never really won any store comparisons, but lately I have heard they are a little lower on a couple of items. There is a store on the way home from my normal shopping places, so I stopped in to get 4 grocery items they offered a low price on.

When checking out, my total on the screen was $8.22. The cashier said aloud, $82.20 then quickly corrected himself and apologized by saying, “Sorry, I am used to seeing large totals all day.” I chuckled and told him I completely understood. Then as I was walking out, I felt sad for a moment, and the Starbucks that so enticingly greeted me upon arrival was now mocking me upon my departure. I felt poor. Poor for only buying $8.22 worth of items in this super-store; then poor again because who wouldn’t love a delicious $5 latte, but I simply didn’t have room for that impulse buy in my budget.

Then, as it always does, pride came around and got in my passenger seat as I was pulling out of the store. I could have purchased hundreds of dollars’ worth of merchandise. I could have purchased that $5 latte. I chose not to. I chose not to because what I truly want is to be debt-free, and to keep the momentum of throwing a couple grand a month at my student loans; not to have that perfect tote bag, or to have that wonderful smelling candle on my dresser. I can have those things later down the road, but for right now, I have a way bigger goal in mind, and I would be foolish to place a bag and a candle as a roadblock in my own path. By the time I got home, I felt overjoyed about my $8.22 purchase, and more motivated than ever to keep going.

I am not saying I always walk away from tote bags and Starbucks, but for the majority I do, and in this instance, I did. And I can tell you, it feels better in the long run to walk away. For those of my peers still in debt and prowling the isles of Target, may the odds be ever in your favor. My hope for you is that you find an accountability friend. A friend you should alert when entering Target so that he/she can give you a fake emergency call about 30 minutes into your trip that ultimately saves you from the super-store’s predatory ways; just as you would want on a horrible first date. That right there sounds like my kind of friendship. Stay the path, friends! 

Financial Sweatpants

Today I paid off the first of my two federal loans! This, my readers, is what I would like to call unbuttoning and unzipping my tight business slacks. This loan was the one that was sold to the Department of Education when my other one stayed under the same Sallie Mae name. Although it was under another name, I believe Sallie Mae still had some sort of ownership over it because I was still paying on it through their website. I chose this one as my second loan to pay off because it was the lowest of the 2 federals; both started out at $4,500, but where the other one had a 0.5% higher interest rate, its total balance was higher. I will tackle that higher one sitting at a little over $4K next.

If you had told me 2 years ago that I put down almost $17K towards my student loans between March of 2013 and May of 2014, I would have a). told you to walk away, you've got the wrong person or b). figured I hit it big while gambling during the Vegas bachelorette party I knew I was about to attend. I would not have thought it was from budget discipline based around some financial dude’s theory.

It has not been the easiest, especially during changing seasons when I would rather give my hard earned cash to Macy’s over ole’ hag Sallie. However, I know that in the end I will be glad I chose the road to financial sweatpants.

2 down, 4 to go.

Going Viral!

Thanks to Robert Applebaum, founder of a grassroots student loan movement website, we have a petition that is going viral. I think that anyone who stumbles upon this blog should sign it :) Sign and find out more information on the entire movement:

Click here to sign the petition!
Click here to find out more about forgivestudentloandebt.com

Just as I Suspected

I went to Belmont today; there was NOTHING they could do for me. I spoke with a financial adviser who later on in our meeting (after many "I've already tried thats") asked his supervisor if he knew of anything in case there was something he was possibly overlooking (which I appreciated as he was nice about the situation.) Their final suggestion? Try consolidating again, here is a list of places who offer it. My reaction? Here is my pile of rejection letters from every lender on your list. So disheartening. So over it.

From Here to Anywhere...

Belmont's motto is just that, "From Here to Anywhere."

So here I am, 2 years after graduating with 'anywhere' looking more like 'nowhere.' As I have mentioned before, I am heading towards a spiraling pit of debt with every closing minute. My mother has asked me once or twice to call Belmont to see if they have any suggestions on what I should do. And, unfortunately, I tell her that I have and not only can they do nothing for me, I end up educating them on something they did not know about the refinancing process. However, it has been a little over a year since I have spoken with someone in financial aid, so I am thinking of giving it one more shot before I give up.

After talking with my roommate tonight, who is also a Belmont alum, I have decided to go there in person instead of speaking to someone over the phone. If they tell me a bunch of "We can't help yous" then maybe it will be harder for them to do in person. My roommate made a few good points tonight about alumni funds and how there could potentially be one out there to help certain 'qualified' people in this sort of situation. And, if there are no alumni funds that I qualify for, maybe Belmont could try to make a few phone calls to Sallie Mae or Wells Fargo. Even just typing it out right now seems like a long shot, but what do I have to lose?! Maybe some pride and dignity, but let's face it, they don't know who I am other than just a female graduate of the 2009 class who is still in debt like the majority of others.

So, I am not sure what day of the week I will go; maybe tomorrow, maybe later this week or next, but I will keep you posted as to what type of direction they give me. Here's to hoping they can get me anywhere but here...