I have approximately $20,000 in student loan debt. I also had a $1,500 private loan that I borrowed for one course of summer school and I paid that off with my first few paychecks from my first full-time job. It felt good. It felt great.
However the 20,000 loan hasn't been waivering much. It is a heavy sack on my shoulders. It was originally at $22,000 and I only managed to pay off 2,000 over the past two years. I know I could pay more than the minimum each month, and I have been sporadically doing so (with any extra paychecks or bonuses), but at the same time I'm trying to aggressively save so that I can live on a part-time job. The sole reason is that so I can get into a medical program and further advance my career. Since I don't think having student loans is as bad as having credit card debt (I fortunately have not accrued any), I am for now just paying the minimum on the loan. I know I'm setting it as a lesser priority, and med school as my number one priority. but still! Seeing the number stay about the same from month to month is disheartening.
Hopefully by blogging I will be able to see where my pitfalls in spending are and I will be able to save more. Plus, it's nice to look back and see what I did on a certain day. I've always loved the Money Diaries on Ramit Sethi's site and I wish they'd bring it back! 'Til then I'll just make do with my own money diary :)
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