I have been in debt for 5 years. There, I did it. I made my confession. Although, it's more like 9 years because my student loans started accruing that wonderful first day I walked onto the campus of Milligan College in August 2001! What college student has the repercussions of student loans in their head as they are venturing out to the "best 4 years of their life"!? I would venture to say less than 1%, especially of those college students fresh out of high school! Well, this black cloud that has followed me around for 9 years is now RAINING/POURING on my parade!! More specifically, it's holding me back from making the move to Nicaragua, the dream that is just slightly past my fingertips at the moment. The good thing about my student loans was that I didn't have to worry about paying it back till 6 months after I graduated college and they gave me an easy, low payment plan for the loans. The bad thing is...exactly the same as the "good thing". First, because I didn't have to pay it til after I graduated, I completely put it out of mind while in college. I didn't go find a job to save up and have a big chunk of it gone before I ever graduated. It was just a piece of paper to me at the time. It's not like it was a bill. And the easy, low payment has allowed me to very comfortably pay a small monthly amount, while still letting me enjoy all the others things I want to buy (I have been blessed with 2 exceptional jobs where they pay me well, considering I'm single, live with my parents, etc.). So this lovely payment has chiseled my debt by a whoppin' $6,000.00 in 5 years! If you are wondering, that's not good! I know I could have easily paid off the loans in 2, 3 years tops while still being able to shop and eat out and whatever luxury I wanted!
Sadly, my debt is not only from the student loans, but I've somehow ventured down the same road as most Americans...credit card debt! Did you know there are people that have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of credit card debt!?! WHAT?!?!?!?
Thankfully, I did not get far gone before I realized my slippery foot on the edge of the DEEP pool of debt. But, it is still there. And I'm embarrassed that I even have that debt at all. I promised myself I would never get a credit card. I KNEW what they did to you. I'll just say that the American Express Delta Skymiles card knew just how to reel me in. And before long I was under their spell of buy it now and pay later.
But enough talk about how I fell into debt. The real point of this blog is because I have recently found new motivation in my fight against this debt. I have snooped in on other debt blogs, I have ran figures over and over with my trusty calculator....and I've come to the decision that I can pay off my debt in ONE year...OR LESS! Maybe that's a steep climb. or maybe it's an ant hill. or perhaps it could be somewhere in between.
I'm gonna guess somewhere in between. I KNOW that if I bear down and stop the frivolous spending and become wise about my spending, I CAN do this. Will it be easy? heck no. I've already had battles of whether I can allow myself to go out to eat for lunch. Or whether I can go out to eat with girlfriends to catch up on each others' lives. And I've found it's going to be a constant battle of analyzing what things are ok to drop and others things that I still want to enjoy while on this journey to become completely DEBT FREE! Will I hang out with girlfriends over dinner at a restaurant when my Lyndsay comes in town? You betcha! Will I make it a habit of going out to eat for lunch at work? Not so much, but can't help a Chick-fil-A run every once in a while, right!!?
So sit back, grab a cup of coffee (or YOUR trusty calculator) and enjoy my journey to being debt free!! And maybe you can grab some motivation for your own personal struggle with debt too (if you do, I'd love to hear about it)!!
Oh, and before I forget. The point of this blog is mainly accountability for myself, but also motivation and encouragement for myself (and any others) to keep pushing on when the hard days that are bound to happen pop up along this bumpy road ahead. Before I can truly start this journey and reach my goal, I know I must admit to the total amount of debt I have right now, no matter how embarrassing it is.........
...Drum roll, please....
Student Loan Debt = $ 11,077.84
Amex Credit Card Debt = $ 3,076.14
