Debt (November Check-in)

In the interest of my sanity and well-being, I think I'll skip the student loans since they're horrific. Instead, here's where we're at on our other debt.

$2,490 (Credit Card)
$6,560 (C Car Loan)
$7,793 (J Car Loan)
$879 (J Previous Car Loan on a Lemon- so no car, but still got the payment)
$1,050 (J Personal Loan)
$2,697(J Gov't Loan)



TOTAL: (roughly) $21,469

Result: Decreased debt by $1,312 this month.

Woo-hoo! Honestly, any decrease is good. I'm aiming to pay down $2000 per month against our debt. This month I focused in on J's previous car loan because it drives me insane to pay on a vehicle that is no good to us. It only lasted a few months before it fell apart and we're still left with a payment. (Note for the future: Never buy anything from a family member; it muddies the waters.)

I'm hopeful that by the end of the summer we'll have the pretty much all of this paid off so we can decrease our monthly bills. I am always worried about our financial future and want to wittle down this number so if either of us lost our jobs we would be a little less screwed.

Speaking of jobs, J recently got a new job! He made some great connections through his school and was pulled into a meeting of the institute board and offered a position from a major company. I'm so proud of him! Now he goes to school from 6:30am - 12:30pm, drives straight to work, and doesn't clock out until 9pm or so. He has a tough schedule and is exhausted, but he will graduate this summer and has a very promising career at the company.

ALSO, I was offered a full-time teaching job! I just gave my notice at my current school and at my babysitting job. I am SO happy to be going back into a classroom! It's so competitive to get a job in education in this area and the school seems like such a perfect fit for me. I can't wait!

So, all in all, things are going really well. The problem for me is that, ever since returning to my hometown, I have put immense pressure on myself to finally get my act together. Before, I always felt like I was still adventuring and living a temporary life. On top of that, we never made any kind of money that would allow us to save or make plans; we lived paycheck-to-paycheck. Now that we're starting to "settle down" I'm crazy about getting out from under this debt, specifically my student loans. I feel guilty and can feel them constantly weighing me down. I'm like these guys:

(Marley Brothers from The Muppets' Christmas Carol- one of my holiday favorites!)

 

If and when J and I ever have children, and if and when those children decide to go to college, I'm packing them off to Canada to become residents and get college for free/cheap.