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!

Happy Last Month of 2015!

Hello out there. I figured it was time to check-in and provide an update or two on where I am these days J

 

I have a new job. Still corporate America, still a cubical, and still 8-5. BUT I like it a lot better than the previous one that I was at for the past 4 years. Although it was a lateral move, salary wise, there are budget saving aspects about it that will make it feel as if I got a pay increase for jumping ship:

 

-         It is 4 minutes from my house. That shaves off approximately 40 minutes each way every day and saves a ton of gas. Also, no more interstates every single day; thank you, Jesus!

-          They have a parking lot. It is free. No more having to give $65 a month to a crappy downtown parking garage to be able to park while at work. (Side note here, their parking spots are just a few steps away from the door which means no more elevators, escalators, stairs, and having to walk 1/3 of a mile outside just to get to your office. HUGE quality of life improvement!)

-         They do not have any restaurants, grocery stores, and cafes in walking distance like the previous job. So no more breakfast, lunch and snack buying temptations; I eat what I bought to eat from the grocery store that week. Sadly, that means no more Starbucks either, so there’s $25 a month alone.

 

So, where am I at on my loans? I last updated y’all on my balance in mid-June; it was at $36k then. I am happy to report that now, approximately 5 and a half months later, my loan balance is at $26k. So 10 grand down from my last update J

 

I am still aiming to be debt-free by late next near. 

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!