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! 

 

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 :)

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.

Oh so sorry I have not been blogging.

There really is no excuse for not keeping up with this, other than merely not wanting to talk about it so that maybe it would disappear ;) It is around 3 months shy of a year since I last wrote on this page and not a lot has changed. In fact, I had Ramen noodles and Kroger brand Doritos for dinner just the other night (I swear I remember graduating college 2 years ago.) Anyway, as of February, I moved out of the townhouse my college roommate and I rented right after graduating. I now live in an older house with 2 girls from my work. Adding a roommate and subtracting about a decade worth of visual appeal lowered my rent by $200 a month, so I guess operating outdated appliances and hearing every move either of us ever make is worth it. Now that we are all caught up, here is what I have been doing in regards to my private student loans....

Back in September I received the news that Sallie Mae was taking applications for their consolidation program. I jumped to the phone immediately. After finally getting through to an operator whose accent I could understand, my application process began. I told the man my annual income, how long I had been living in my townhouse, how much I paid for rent, and all of my basic information. He then pulled my credit score which told him how much I owed on my car, credit card and student loans. He commended me on a good credit score, but told me that my debt-to-income ratio was rather high. Thank you, Captain Obvious. He asked for me to be placed on hold while 'they' entered all of my information into their consolidation formula. He later came back on the line to tell me I was denied and he could not approve my loans for consolidation due to my insufficient annual income.

After Sallie Mae's consolidation attempt failed, I went on to apply for consolidation through Chase and Wells Fargo. Both came back denied due to my debt-to-income ratio.

This is the point in your student loan journey where you begin to feel truly lost. You know there are others out there like you, but you feel as if you are the only one. It is so hard not to be a complete mental disaster and feel pure bitterness in your heart towards the world. I understand you have to pay for your education and there are other ways to go about it rather than taking out private loans, but who would have ever thought the repayment system would be this unjust?

Even being a 23 year old, I know I am up a creek. I am aware of the amount I owe as well as the amount my monthly payments will skyrocket to. Yesterday, after talking with some friends who are somewhat in the same position as I am, I began to dwell on my debt well into the night. It was absolutely all I could think about. For once food, television, nor the radio helped calm my brain. I felt severe guilt and intense regret about having private student loans. The only word I think can describe the mood that night is, anxious. Even though I am aware of what it means, I looked up the actual definition in order to get some descriptive words relating to it. Oh, and the word that is in bold, underlined, and has '*' on both sides of it, would be the word I feel sums up my entire relationship with the definition. Here it goes:
Anxiety: Distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune. The root meaning of the word anxiety is to 'trouble'; in either the absence or presence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness and dread. Anxiety is a generalized mood condition that can often occur without an identifiable triggering stimulus. As such, it is distinguished from fear, which is an emotional response to a perceived threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is related to situations perceived as *uncontrollable* or unavoidable. Anxiety is considered a normal reaction to stress. 

I assure you I am not some fearful girl cooped up in her room on a bunch of different medications from all of the stress of everyday living. I am quite the opposite. I take zero medication, I am social,  I have a lot of great friends, I stay active, and I love living life. I just for once know now how anxiety feels and I know my private student loan debt is what opens the flood gates to the uncontrollable thoughts that zap in and out like lightening. It really puts a whole new meaning to the phrase brain storming. Ha sorry, I'm aware that was cheesy.

In conclusion, private loan repayment sucks. Hopefully what you have gathered from this blog entry (If you have even read this far-sorry so long) is I am merely seeking direction on what I can do now, while I am young, in order to prevent a nightmarish adulthood.