I just got back from a delightful weekend camping on the coast! Well, it was more like glamping. We did stay in a yurt. We went hiking, made a bonfire on the beach, took a nap on the beach, had s’mores and just relaxed. It was the first time in recent memory that I did not use my computer for 48 hours. Now that I seem to spend many of my waking hours in front of the glare of a screen (not complaining, it’s just straining at times) it was nice to detox a bit. I had very limited cell reception too, so I didn’t really think of email that much.

It was so nice to just reconnect with nature and friends and be in a new environment — on a pretty frugal budget, too.

Here are some photos from this weekend.

And the best part of rejuvenating after 2 days? I’m excited and eager to get back to work! I’m realizing that FinCon is next week! I fly out on Tuesday for camp. That is so soon. I must admit my grasp of time/days/date is now completely off now that I’m freelance. I never seem to know what time or day it is.

So I’m going to be hustling this week to make sure I can get some projects done before FinCon. Does anyone else work while they are there? I figure not?

I’m also feeling more legit. I got my business cards. My title? Wordsmith & Idea Maker. I think it works quite well.

So, let’s get back to the whole reason that I started this blog.

TO OBLITERATE MY DEBT

As I mentioned in my freelance update, I am getting used to the different pay schedule. As such, my student loan payments are off.

If I were to evaluate my numbers based purely on last month, I would have to say I put a pathetic $300 to debt. But then a few days later, after my PayPal payments went through, I threw another $400 to my debt.

So I’ve paid off $700 in a week and hope to do more, but I want to get my emergency fund up to $5,000. It is currently at $3,600 after I put another $300 towards it last month.

I also put $100 to retirement, $20 to travel fund, and I put 30% of income to taxes (ouch!).

So when you look at the complete picture, it’s not too shabby. I’m still getting used to it, though. I’m so used to paying off insane amounts of debt at the expense of everything else. I was doing the same thing with my time, too. Working myself too hard at all hours. I am not used to this balance stuff, but I’m getting better.

The Numbers

The number on top is my undergrad loan, the one on the bottom is my grad loan. So close to getting that pesky grad loan under $30k!

And the total is:

Le sigh. And I just keep plugging away. If you are new here, I’ve accumulated a total of $81,000 in debt (58k grad loans, 23k undergrad) and I started this blog when I had roughly 58k. It feels so slow and drawn out. In my fantasy, I will triple my income and pay off this nasty beast sooner rather than later. But these things take time and effort. Baby steps. One foot in front of the other.

Paying off debt is like learning how to walk all over again.

In other news, I was interviewed by Schools.com last month. It was quite hilarious, because I often get easily excited and can talk really fast and say stupid things — so my comment likening paying off debt to having a mental breakdown was pretty funny.

Oh yes, I guess I did say that.

Also, here’s a roundup of work around the web:

How I Quit My Job and Became an Accidental Entrepreneur at Careful Cents

Beware of Credit Card Creep at FeeX

The King Moves Abroad at Retire By 40

Lastly, a million hugs to people who took my survey and to those who voted for me for Best Debt Blog! I will be taking your feedback into consideration as I grow this site and you guys gave me the warm and fuzzies!

How was your weekend?

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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.

Latest posts by Melanie (see all)

• Talking About Money and Mental Health - September 12, 2022
• Dear Debt, We’re Better Apart - June 27, 2022
• Announcing The Mental Health and Wealth Summit - May 4, 2021