Below 50k!

Good morning debt destroyers! I had a different post in mind today, mostly about how I feel so behind in my financial life, but then considered that I didn’t want to start off the day with feelings of inadequacy. What if I am right where I am supposed to be in this moment? So I thought I’d have a positive, celebratory post stating that I am below the 50k mark!

Current Debt: $49,331.13

Graduate loans: $40, 780.39

Undergrad loans: $8, 550.74

Paid off in 2013: $9,030

I am so excited!  I thought I was falling behind, but I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Even though I’ve had a severe case of debt fatigue, and some lifestyle inflation since I got my job, it’s nice to know that I’m still not doing that bad. It’s inspiring to know that I could do even more!

For those paying off debt, I can’t stress enough how much of this process is mental. I’ve accumulated a total of 81k in student loan debt getting all smartified. The first four years of debt payment, I was just going through the motions, never paying more than the minimum. Then after I graduated with my M.A. my debt total skyrocketed and I knew I had to focus, try harder and obliterate this financial deathtrap. I didn’t see any significant progress until I mentally committed to overcoming my debt. Over the past two years, I’ve paid off nearly 20k, and as you can see 9k of that was in the past 7 months. For the first 5 months of this year, I made 12/hr. BEFORE TAXES. So if you think you have to make a lot of money to do this, think again. I admit that I have cheap rent, low cost of living and don’t have kids, so I can make this happen.

The math seems impossible, but I know that the reason I’ve been able to make it happen is mostly because of my side-hustles, living a pretty minimal life and having a cushion in savings.  I’m hoping my next payment can get my graduate loans under 40k. To see that number in the 30’s would feel so good! Somehow 30k seems a lot less threatening than 40-50k.

I am not doing the debt snowball method, which would dictate that I get rid of my undergrad loans first. Those are sitting pretty at 2.5% interest, while my massive graduate loans have an interest of 7.9% (daily interest is $6.25!). So far it’s working for me.

How is everyone else doing? How do you stay motivated in a long stretch of debt repayment (years)?

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Melanie

Melanie Lockert is the founder of the blog and author of the book, Dear Debt. Through her blog, she chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. She is also the co-founder of the Lola Retreat, which helps bold women face their fears, own their dreams and figure out a plan to be in control of their finances. She is passionate about empowering women, helping others get out of debt, and focuses on the intersection of debt and mental health. Every September she organizes a Suicide Prevention Awareness Blog Tour, to help share resources for those struggling with debt and suicide. In addition to her love of personal finance, art and music, she is also a karaoke master and a cat mom to Miles and Thelonious.

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