Today, I am being honest with myself. Today I say, enough is enough. Today, I sat down and calculated not only how much I owe, but the interest rates on what I owe. And today, I am horrified. This will be the first update, of what I assume will be many more, of what shall be referred as my TSD, or… Total Soul-crushing Debt.
Student Loans $51,816.00 ~ 5.6%
Car Loan $8,087.79 2.99%
CareCredit $941.39 26.99%
Credit Card $2,161.93 15.24%
Total Soulcrushing Debt: $63,007.11
… F$%#. How did that happen!? There are a few truths which came into realization after this little Excel experiment…
So what lessons have I learned? Have a plan, and don’t take any extra money than what you ACTUALLY NEED for school. Have an emergency fund before you need a major dental procedure. Look at your statements and know how much your interest rates are, and if they are changing. For example, my credit card interest rates went up 1% within the last month. I did not even realize it until I went online and looked up the number for this table.
I guess you need to know about your financial situation to accurately take control of it. So now I know, and maybe showing my partner this tonight will help put things into perspective in terms of what we NEED and what we WANT. Now, to go and cry a little... :'(
-Honey Drift
Student Loans $51,816.00 ~ 5.6%
Car Loan $8,087.79 2.99%
CareCredit $941.39 26.99%
Credit Card $2,161.93 15.24%
Total Soulcrushing Debt: $63,007.11
… F$%#. How did that happen!? There are a few truths which came into realization after this little Excel experiment…
- I am way deeper down the debt-hole than I imagined.
- I have been putting off this little exercise for far too long.
- … I have a liberal arts B.A. in Psychology, I am SURE that one will pay for itself (HA!)
- MY INTEREST RATE IS WHAT!? Student loans are the least urgent loans to get rid of.
- I should really be looking at all of these statements on a regular basis.
So what lessons have I learned? Have a plan, and don’t take any extra money than what you ACTUALLY NEED for school. Have an emergency fund before you need a major dental procedure. Look at your statements and know how much your interest rates are, and if they are changing. For example, my credit card interest rates went up 1% within the last month. I did not even realize it until I went online and looked up the number for this table.
I guess you need to know about your financial situation to accurately take control of it. So now I know, and maybe showing my partner this tonight will help put things into perspective in terms of what we NEED and what we WANT. Now, to go and cry a little... :'(
-Honey Drift