The Beginning of the End

Go to college, they said. Fill out a FAFSA and apply for student loans, they said. 

70% of college students graduate with an average of 37,000 in loans. 

Now, like most other post grads, I am in the midst of a personal financial crisis. Or was. No, I am not debt free. Yes, I am still paying back my student loans. But, I am doing so much more wisely and I can finally see a light at the end of the endless tunnel that is student loans. 

          When making the choice to begin blogging about my financial woes, I realized that I would have to be painfully honest. I would have to publish my income, budget, loan amounts, etc. in order to help others with their student loans. 

So here goes nothing. 

       I am 28 years old and I am a special education teacher in a low-income school district. Making the big bucks, not quite. Backing up, I started by going to a local community college for two years and then transferred to a local (overpriced) private Christian college. My community college was paid for by my parents. The rest was up to me. Hence, taking out student loans. I commuted to school each day so I did not have to take out extra money for room and board. I took out enough in student loans to cover classes and textbook costs. At the time I had no understanding of borrowing money. 
It felt free. SIGH
Interest rates and lender terms meant little to nothing, and I just signed on the dotted line. 

I did not intend to attend the private college for four years. Some community college classes did not transfer, and some medical issues held me there longer than planned. At the point of graduation, my loans had amounted to 60 some thousand dollars. Add interest and some regretted deferments (I'll explain more in future posts) and at the age of 25, I was up to a grand total of $90,000!

      I landed a teaching job not much longer after graduating. I was set to make $39,000 a year. That's when reality sank in. Even if I were to pay my entire salary to my loans for two straight years, I still would not amount to the loan total. Panic ensued, and the financially uneducated version of myself decided to pay as little of my loans as possible.  I did not research, and I saved my money instead. (Saving to start was not such a bad idea, I will also explain that later). 

        
 I am now in my 4th year of teaching. I am employed at the same school I started with, and I am now making $42,000 a year. My loans are currently at $70,000. Side note: many of you will have higher paying jobs. I went into teaching because it's a passion, not for the money. So I plan to stay a teacher regardless of my salary. I am proof you can make it work on any salary.

         You're thinking, you only paid down $20,000?! Why should I follow your blog or listen to anything you have to say? Well, I did not start paying down my loans successfully and in an educated manner until about a year and a half ago. In a year and a half, I have researched loans like crazy, and I have made some excellent moves. I will be debt free in 4 years max, 3 years hopefully.  At the end of this summer I plan to have my loans down to $55k. $15,000 paid in 6 months is the goal, and writing about it will hold me accountable. 

      I plan to share the mistakes I made with paying (and not paying) my student loans. If you do not already know I will give you insight into different types of student loans, and how to manage them differently. I will give frugal living advice, budget plans, refinance options, and so much more. I do not claim to be an expert or professional, but I have become obsessed and quite informed. I am actually living through this loan problem. I am not debt free and out of touch with current student loans. I am real, and honest, and transparent. I have learned that I am not "a-loan" and you shouldn't be either.