Dear Debt, I Should Have Known Better

by Melanie

Hey everyone! We have a killer dear debt letter from Jen. Jen is an HR/Finance professional and frugal lifestyle blogger. Jen and her husband are working on a crazy goal of paying off $117,000 of student loan debt in just 3 years.  She writes about healthy eating on a budget, destroying debt, and living frugally on her blog Frugal Millennial.

Dear Debt,

I met you when I was just 18.  I thought I needed you. I knew you were bad for me, but I didn’t think I could live without you. I didn’t really understand how you would affect my life. I should have known better.

When I was 22, I decided I needed you even more and I decided to go to graduate school. I finished graduate school with $75,000 of student loan debt. I struggled to find a decent job and eventually settled for a temp job that paid half of what I had expected to earn.  

I needed a break from you, so I tried to ignore you for six months. When my grace period ended, I was forced to face you. I realized then that my monthly payments would be nearly as high as a mortgage. I became anxious and depressed. I worried about you constantly. You ruined my life.

You are the reason why my husband and I do not own a home, have not started a family, and haven’t saved any money for retirement yet. You stole my dream of living a better life than my parents had.

But you will not win. I am no longer confused by you or overwhelmed by your tactics. I know how you operate, and I know how to beat you. I will not tolerate you for the next ten years.

In three years, I will break up with you and I will never see you again.

My husband and I are living with my parents to save money, side hustling like crazy, and living an extremely frugal lifestyle.  The sacrifices we make are difficult, but it is worth it to get rid of you.

I cannot wait until the day when I will never have to see you again.

Melanie
Latest posts by Melanie (see all)

7 comments

Tonya@Budget and the Beach February 10, 2016 - 7:27 am

That’s great you can live with your husband’s parents to save money. Not only will you save money faster, but you’l also really appreciate your own place a lot when you’re done and can move out! Best of luck!

Reply
Jen @ Frugal Millennial February 11, 2016 - 5:48 pm

Thank you! We will definitely appreciate it when we finally have our own place!

Reply
Broke Millennial February 10, 2016 - 10:13 am

Living with parents as a married couple is a tough step. Props to you for going to such extreme lengths to ditch debt for good!

Reply
Jen @ Frugal Millennial February 11, 2016 - 5:49 pm

Thank you! It has its challenges, but it’ll be worth it!

Reply
James Pollard February 13, 2016 - 3:51 am

Student loan debt is a killer. You give up both time AND money to get your degree and even then it’s a risky trade-off. If you increase your value to the marketplace 10% but it takes you 10 years to pay off, is it a good deal? The more I see things like this, the more I think that student loan debt is getting wildly out of control.

Reply
Jen @ Frugal Millennial February 14, 2016 - 2:35 pm

Agreed! It definitely is getting out of control. If I could do it all over again, I would’ve just gotten my two year degree instead (and taken on less debt or none at all).

Reply
LaMesha February 17, 2016 - 6:47 am

What an ambitious goal! I have about that same amount to pay back as well. Having it hang over my head is so depressing. Going to check out her blog right now to see if she has any tips and to see how she’s doing.

Reply

Leave a Comment

* By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More