About Me

The number one reason for I'm starting a blog is that my friends are pretty tired of hearing about money, debt, 401ks, interest rates and overtime. However, this is my life. I need an outlet to keep myself on track to freedom from my debt.

I am 24 years old and live in New York City. I graduated from a local private university with approximately $68,000 in student loan debt. Even worse, I graduated with a Political Science bachelor's degree. Worst still, I was not interested in teaching or publishing books.

I had found choosing a major to be a difficult task. I searched online for personality quizzes, asked friends, acquaintances and strangers; I read books and articles...and the main theme I heard was "What would you do if you didn't have to worry about money?" Ummmmm, well...no idea. I didn't really want to "do" any one thing. I just wanted to read about it. So I did the next best thing. I chose something I liked to read about and discuss. For some reason, I thought Political Science far more practical than Sociology, Anthropology or Urban Studies. I laughed when thinking about what jobs Sociology Majors could possibly obtain after graduation. Social work! Ha!

In addition, I didn't have to worry about money at that point. I had work study! I had paid internships! I had a band scholarship! These jobs generated $250 a month for food, entertainment and miscellaneous. Money was no object! So I majored in political science without a care in the world towards my financial future.

While I was in school, I paid little notice to my growing student loan balances. I am thankful my mother kept all my loan information straight and filed away. Otherwise, I would have had to do major research to find out what I owed and to where.

In hindsight, I should have gone to a less expensive school, but if you know New York, you know that "upstate" consists of freezing, barren lands full of hippies, hicks and a SUNY school called Stone-eonta. I couldn't bear to go up there. I figured my private NYC college costs would be made up in great internships, job contacts and knowledge of the real estate and layout of the city I would most likely live in upon graduation. In truth, I do not regret it. I did get good internships and have a huge network of college friends who still live in and around the city. I have a 1-thousand dollar-a-month one-bedroom sublet on the Upper West Side. These things take some effort, people.

After I graduated in 2004, my mother and I looked over my loan information and realized with dread that I would owe $570 a month in payments.

$17,000 in federal loans ($160/month)
$5,500 in Sallie Mae private loans ($52/month) at 7% interest
$45,500 in another private student loan ($357/month) at 7.5% interest

At that point, we consolidated the federal loans for 30 years at 2.75% interest. The federal payment went down to $82 dollars a month. Still, I felt sick at the thought of huge payments over my head for 30 years.

I then made a decision to pay them off as fast as possible. I had to take the highest-paying job I could find. I was nervous about finding any job, let alone one that would allow me to make large student loan payments. I ended up taking a job as a secretary at a firm where overtime was not only allowed, but encouraged. My starting salary was $35,000, more than any of my friends'. Overtime was allowed after a probation period. My best friend who worked there and I signed up for overtime every night.

I found an apartment with a roommate in an outer borough paying $750 a month each. Utilities were also minimal. It was a nice neighborhood with a nice landlord. I had a boyfriend who lived in Manhattan so I could spend a good deal of time enjoying that part of the city as well.

That first year, I made mistakes and probably spent too much building up my business wardrobe and going out with friends. However, I did work a lot and was able to pay rent, student loans and save money too.

In the next post, I will talk about getting into paying off my student loans and dealing with the struggles of my job.