I'm going to show them this map. Or make my hands into a diamond shape and tell them there's a cut out part. I think I can be forgiven for saying "I'm from DC" when you look at such a map.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Personal Finance Friday
Hey everyone, happy Friday!
Recently I entered the new world of student loan debt, a place that I, nor anyone in their right mind, actually wants to be. I borrowed 18k from the government, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I chose an in-state school and got in and out within four years, nothing too expensive. Around the internet this week I've seen some ridiculous things. First I saw an image on reddit that shows the ridiculous debt of the person the poster was marrying. Almost 100k with some loans over 10% interest? UGH, HOW AWFUL. I'm sorry for showing you this.
THEN I found out that a person can be even MORE in debt. Consider a four year private college and then four years of 70k per year medical school. Jesus Christ. Can you imagine such a thing? Again, I am SO LUCKY that I got in and out of James Madison before they doubled the interest rates on student loans. I just barely made it out alive.
So how am I handling my new "debt crisis?" Well, I paid my first bill off okay. I'm not earning much every month here being an Au Pair in Austria, but I don't spend much either. I intend on paying off my loans as smartly as possible, "snowballing" (as the pros say) is my main goal. That means paying off the smallest loans with the biggest interest rates as fast as possible. I've got my eye on one of those loans right now, and it's going down in less than two years if I have anything to say about it.
In addition, I'm using this website called Tuition.io, reviewed here by one of my favorite websites, Lifehacker. It doesn't really DO much, but it provides clear visuals to explain the reduction of my debt. I had another option ready, Student Loan Hero, but that dumb thing costs $5 per month. Who the hell do they think their market IS? We're poor!
I hope you like it, if you're into that kind of thing. I'm also looking at some other miscellaneous websites about personal finance...Here's a bunch 'o' links!
Recently I entered the new world of student loan debt, a place that I, nor anyone in their right mind, actually wants to be. I borrowed 18k from the government, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I chose an in-state school and got in and out within four years, nothing too expensive. Around the internet this week I've seen some ridiculous things. First I saw an image on reddit that shows the ridiculous debt of the person the poster was marrying. Almost 100k with some loans over 10% interest? UGH, HOW AWFUL. I'm sorry for showing you this.
THEN I found out that a person can be even MORE in debt. Consider a four year private college and then four years of 70k per year medical school. Jesus Christ. Can you imagine such a thing? Again, I am SO LUCKY that I got in and out of James Madison before they doubled the interest rates on student loans. I just barely made it out alive.
So how am I handling my new "debt crisis?" Well, I paid my first bill off okay. I'm not earning much every month here being an Au Pair in Austria, but I don't spend much either. I intend on paying off my loans as smartly as possible, "snowballing" (as the pros say) is my main goal. That means paying off the smallest loans with the biggest interest rates as fast as possible. I've got my eye on one of those loans right now, and it's going down in less than two years if I have anything to say about it.
In addition, I'm using this website called Tuition.io, reviewed here by one of my favorite websites, Lifehacker. It doesn't really DO much, but it provides clear visuals to explain the reduction of my debt. I had another option ready, Student Loan Hero, but that dumb thing costs $5 per month. Who the hell do they think their market IS? We're poor!
 |
| Not my loan |
I hope you like it, if you're into that kind of thing. I'm also looking at some other miscellaneous websites about personal finance...Here's a bunch 'o' links!
- Credit Card Churning - People apply for a ton of credit cards and use all their perks and then cancel them right before the annual fee kicks in. I don't recommend this for the lighthearted, I don't even think I could do it myself unless I had real grown-up money.
- Wall Street Survivor - This is a game to help you learn how to invest and learn about finance... I really want to play it, but I think I'd need a free weekend to spare. Seems cool, regardless.
- Mr. Money Mustache - Ok I know nothing about this website, I just saw it linked on the personal finance subreddit and bookmarked it immediately. Apparently it has sound advice and good podcasts. We'll see!
- The Motley Fool - I had weird deja vu when I followed the link to this site for the first time. Oh right, the headquarters are located in my hometown! How cool! This is another learning website that has a good podcast...rest assured I'll be looking into this one as well.
That's all I've got for you today, FINANCE LOVERS. I hope this has has been educational or mildly entertaining!
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