When I worked in surveys, I was once told that Americans would rather discuss their sex lives than how much they make. From conversations with friends, I'm starting to believe it's true. Nobody will ever admit to how much they make, except for a select few people that I consider close friends. Now, I'm not sure if they tell me because they also consider me a close friend or if I'm more likely to be friends with people who like to discuss money, but whatever.
*** This would be a good time to go off on a tangent and whine about how I don't really understand the bonds of friendship and how I'd like my friends to like me more, but it's hard to make someone like you more if they won't tell you how much they like you now and why is it so difficult to quantify liking because I do it all the time... Friends have levels: people you don't have to schedule anything with because whatever will be good, even if it ends up being lying on a couch talking about music, dates, or terrorizing a Walmart after midnight; people you know well enough to wear minimal clothing and be yourself around; people who are friendly enough that you wouldn't mind spending 4-5 hours around; people who need a set activity; brunch friends, etc. Yes. I think about this a lot. Oddly enough, most people I've dated don't fall super high on this spectrum. I don't think I've ever dated someone that I felt comfortable enough to not have scheduled activities or just be myself around. Maybe that tells me something about my process for choosing romantic interests versus friends. I'm WAY pickier about friends. ANYWAY. Not going off on that tangent. Clearly. But seriously, people. LIKE ME. Not everyone. Just the people I consider to be friends. Which is not super useful because I don't think anyone reads this blog, so....
***
So, where was I? Definitely not on a tangent that is completely irrelevant to everything to do with money. Fine. Money and relationships. Those are my things. Not necessarily romantic relationships. I'm an Aquarius after all.
Okay, so I went to law school. And though I had scholarships and stuff through my undergrad and graduate careers, my parents were essentially completely broke when I was in college, so I didn't actually get anything from them. I'd also never had a job and spent most of my time pursuing d***holes jerks, so it's not terribly surprising that I graduated from school with a lot of student loans. I've had some trouble finding a job that pays anything close to what I'd need to pay off my loans (according to the federal government), so I've been in Income Based Repayment since I graduated. I have a tendency to not be great with money, because I spend when I'm sad. Which is frequently (especially when I'm in a relationship... Hum, I'm starting to see a correlation between things). I also had a lot of debts to pay off from my first relationship (let's not talk about it), so a few years ago, I started to get serious about my life and decided to change my financial picture around.
When I first graduated, I had a 23% car loan, among other ridiculous obligations and a very vague understanding of how student loans actually worked. I'm pretty sure I was under the impression that they were free money. Here's a tidbit for anyone who's still confused. They aren't. They actually expect you to pay that back. No matter how long you spend in school, they will still be looming over you eventually.
So, one day... I actually remember it really clearly because I was stressed out of my mind while eating the hotel's free breakfast, I saw something about a guy who had paid off his Harvard debt in just a few years and was clearly, in all ways, better than me. Now, I hate admitting that people are better than me, so the first thing I did was look him up so I could emulate his lifestyle and beat his record, then taunting him in my head. Spoiler alert... Did not happen that way.
But anyway, as part of my reading about his debt repayment plan, I found one of my favorite websites EVER! Mr. Money Mustache (especially his early stuff). So, I've embarked on a journey to be better. And pay off my debt so I can be free to do whatever jobs I want and pursue my other passions. Somehow... Relationships are probably improved by money, right? And vice versa.
So, summary. Here's my financial picture, courtesy of Mint.com.
Student Loans: $70,893.55
Credit card (0% - I use it for springy debt purposes and rewards. Can you say free trip to visit friends?): $2,267.00
Investments: $16,361.00. I'm not sure if I can count this because it's not like I can access it at all. It's all in accounts that I can't touch until I'm old. I'm not as daring as the NMHD guy. I like having retirement accounts.
So, my goal is to pay off this crapton of debt, using my current salary of about $35,000 - $45,000 a year and any raises, new jobs, what-nots I may get.
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