by Matt Fildes
I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Here’s quick look at my May 2015 month in review:
- Mother’s Day came and went (here). I visited my mother in Buffalo with some fresh cut flowers and a hand written note expressing our gratitude towards her. We celebrated at home with a little goody bag, a dinner of my making and a relaxing night in, watching our favorite show.
- I paid off another student loan (here)! This one had an original balance of $6,096 when I graduated college.
- I shared my feelings about the importance of support groups (here)
- Memorial Day came and went (here). I used my fun fund ($50) to buy all that we needed for a family picnic. We also had a fantastic day at the local amusement park. The fun fund was a great idea that I’m going to continue using until the debt payoff is complete.
- We planted a (small) garden in our backyard (here)! Kudus to my GF as she did 99% of the work- I was mostly there for moral support. We planted a variety of the vegetables we use most- tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and hot peppers. Update- the plants are doing great and we’re starting to see our first peppers!
- I discussed what will be the hardest part of journey- paying of the large loans (here). Update- I’m using July as both a physical vacation (I’m going to Walt Disney World for 7 days) and a financial vacation before I hit the large loans hard. I’m going to pay off my minimums, but the rest of my money will be put towards both vacation and other things I’ve put off.
From a financial standpoint, I’ve hit a big milestone:
- I’m under $50,000 in student loan debt!!
- I paid off Sallie Mae 05!
- And overall, I paid off $2,603.04 in debt. It was a big month for debt payoff.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Awesome month! I think it’s important to pause and take a look at accomplishments to envigorate yourself for the next stretch. Hopefully June and July are just as wonderful!
Thanks Judi!! I have a feeling June will be, but July will be some “time off” from the debt paydown. I want to hit it hard in August until I make that final payment.
You are doing so well! I think you deserve a break. You’ve accomplished so much and you’re visibly not someone who who feels they deserve a big break every month.
Your post made me go back to see what those 3 highest debts are now … yes 2 of them are high, but the third is not bad (about 7K)!
I’d enjoy your vacation and the fruit of your accomplishments, and then hit that smallest balance / highest interest hard, with renewed energy.
Thanks Debthaven! You’re right- the 3rd isn’t that bad, it’s the other two that are going to be the challenge. I think a little down time will reinvigorate me towards hitting and ridding myself of the remaining debt.
I recently read an article on the New York Times of someone explaining why he defaulted on his student loans a few decades ago and why he’s not trying to pay them back. It was hard for me to finish reading it because I paid off my student loans, and others like you are trying to do the same. We have owned up to our decisions, and have or are making an effort to pay them back. You are awesome for being responsible and not complaining about your student loan situation. That is true ownership.
I had to comment on this because I read the same article too! The hardest part for me was actually the end where he talked about if everyone stopped paying their student loans there would be a revolution. But really All I could think of are the future generations that would be impacted by this. If people stopped paying their loans back they would be seen as a poor investment and it would be more difficult (read higher interest rate) for the future students. It really got to me because I could not have afforded to pay for college without scholarships and loans, and my college education is what got me the job and life I love. My family comes from a country where there are no student loans and so only the rich that can pay out of pocket can go to college. I would hate a future like that for us where we already feel the income disparity in our country! Also if anyone else wants to read here is the article: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/opinion/sunday/why-i-defaulted-on-my-student-loans.html?referrer=
Thanks for posting the link. I completely agree with you, to a certain extent. I still don’t believe a degree should cost as much as it does (especially degrees that don’t have the earning potential), but in the meantime we have to educate children to make the wisest possible choices since it will affect their whole future. If there was more education like this in high school, maybe we wouldn’t have stories like this.
Thanks, May. I consider myself very lucky in the sense that I make quite a bit (60K/year, which is, at least, more than average) at age 28, no less. But even when I was making considerably less (40k/year) out of college, it was never an option to default. The future definitely looked bleak, at times, and I had to make A TON of sacrifices, but at the end of the day, I’m proud that I’ve paid (almost) my dues and surmounted a nearly insurmountable obstacle.
That being said, I couldn’t imagine having the student loans I started with and making 1/2 of what I did. I’d like to sit here and say I’d do whatever it took to pay off what I owe, but thankfully, I wasn’t in that position. Those are the situations which lead me to believe the “system” needs to be overhauled.
Congrats on being below $50,000 in student loan debt! That must be a GREAT feeling, and certainly worthy of a bit of a celebration. I like your plan of taking some time off from paying beyond the minimums to enjoy the next month or so.
My husband and I are having to do the same this month, but not for fun, unfortunately. (He has a large business expense, so we are using our above-and-beyond money to defray that cost this month. Sigh!)
Great work!