Starting the Dig Towards Being Debt Free
Last week Colton and I made the conscious decision to pay off our student loan debt as fast as possible.
For the next two years we will be making major sacrifices, but we are going to take it one step at a time. We had big plans to start a family this year, but we also want to buy a house and have me stay-at-home to raise our kids. It's a huge blow to our dreams to hit pause on our lives, but nothing we want will be feasible with the amount of debt we are in. We had no idea what we were doing when we were 18 years old and headed to college; we just signed away on the promissory notes without thinking twice! Now, looking back at those days, we realize how young and stupid we were. But, what's done is done and it's an emergency now. $73,587.43 in student loan debt is not a joke, and we have decided to pause our life to get this debt off our plate and out of our minds for good.
The journey is going to be tough and painful at times as we have to deny invites to go out to eat and have fun, but in the end we will look back and it will have been the best thing we have ever done. Our payoff goal is at least $2,500 a month, but we are going to try to earn more and spend less and hopefully far surpass that number each month. Current payoff timeline is March 2020 and we will have paid $4,642.82 in interest by that time, saving us an extra $16,875.17 in interest that we would have paid if we continue paying minimum payments for the next 10 years. That is money in our pockets! We are using the avalanche method and chipping off at the highest interest rates first. Shout out to Vertex42's debt reduction calculator to easily see how fast we are able to pay these loans off -- we highly recommend it!
The journey is going to be slow and boring, but feel free follow us on this roller coaster as we go through the ups and downs of life while we pay off this crazy debt. We will be posting updates as the months go on.
Student loan debt in order of payment (as of July 28, 2017):
Nelnet Group D $1,995.72 @ 6.55%
Nelnet Group B $4,599.80 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 1 $8,105.05 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 2 $9,029.85 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 3 $9,902.66 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 5 $129.08 @ 5.06%
Great Lakes 6 $3,135.30 @ 5.06%
ECSI Perkins $9,750.40 @ 5.00%
Nelnet Group A $3,209.92 @ 4.5%
Nelnet Group F $1,887.06 @ 3.61%
Nelnet Group E $5,086.28 @ 3.61%
Great Lakes 4 $8,572.17 @ 3.61%
Nelnet Group C $8,184.14 @ 3.15%
Combined monthly take-home income:
$6,700/month minimum
Current monthly budget:
Fixed costs:
1B Apartment Rent: $1065/month
Water bill: $30-40/month
Electricity bill: $70-$150/month depending on season
Phone bill: $166/month
Home internet: $69.99/month
Online TV subscription: $30/month
Life insurance: $36.92/month
Life insurance: $30.42/month
Auto insurance: $209.80/month
Renters Insurance: $19/month
Auto loan: $513.07/month (balance of $30,690.64 @ 1.95% as of 7/28/17)
Variable:
Auto maintenance/gas: $500/month
Groceries: $700/month
Restaurants: $200/month
Work Lunches 2x month: $50/month
Household Supplies: $60/month
Coffee: $100/month
Pet Food: $75/month
Minimum student loan payments: $648.55/month
Leftover money before student loan payments: $2,684.73/month + whatever else we can make/save throughout the month
-Emily
For the next two years we will be making major sacrifices, but we are going to take it one step at a time. We had big plans to start a family this year, but we also want to buy a house and have me stay-at-home to raise our kids. It's a huge blow to our dreams to hit pause on our lives, but nothing we want will be feasible with the amount of debt we are in. We had no idea what we were doing when we were 18 years old and headed to college; we just signed away on the promissory notes without thinking twice! Now, looking back at those days, we realize how young and stupid we were. But, what's done is done and it's an emergency now. $73,587.43 in student loan debt is not a joke, and we have decided to pause our life to get this debt off our plate and out of our minds for good.
The journey is going to be tough and painful at times as we have to deny invites to go out to eat and have fun, but in the end we will look back and it will have been the best thing we have ever done. Our payoff goal is at least $2,500 a month, but we are going to try to earn more and spend less and hopefully far surpass that number each month. Current payoff timeline is March 2020 and we will have paid $4,642.82 in interest by that time, saving us an extra $16,875.17 in interest that we would have paid if we continue paying minimum payments for the next 10 years. That is money in our pockets! We are using the avalanche method and chipping off at the highest interest rates first. Shout out to Vertex42's debt reduction calculator to easily see how fast we are able to pay these loans off -- we highly recommend it!
The journey is going to be slow and boring, but feel free follow us on this roller coaster as we go through the ups and downs of life while we pay off this crazy debt. We will be posting updates as the months go on.
Student loan debt in order of payment (as of July 28, 2017):
Nelnet Group D $1,995.72 @ 6.55%
Nelnet Group B $4,599.80 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 1 $8,105.05 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 2 $9,029.85 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 3 $9,902.66 @ 6.55%
Great Lakes 5 $129.08 @ 5.06%
Great Lakes 6 $3,135.30 @ 5.06%
ECSI Perkins $9,750.40 @ 5.00%
Nelnet Group A $3,209.92 @ 4.5%
Nelnet Group F $1,887.06 @ 3.61%
Nelnet Group E $5,086.28 @ 3.61%
Great Lakes 4 $8,572.17 @ 3.61%
Nelnet Group C $8,184.14 @ 3.15%
Combined monthly take-home income:
$6,700/month minimum
Current monthly budget:
Fixed costs:
1B Apartment Rent: $1065/month
Water bill: $30-40/month
Electricity bill: $70-$150/month depending on season
Phone bill: $166/month
Home internet: $69.99/month
Online TV subscription: $30/month
Life insurance: $36.92/month
Life insurance: $30.42/month
Auto insurance: $209.80/month
Renters Insurance: $19/month
Auto loan: $513.07/month (balance of $30,690.64 @ 1.95% as of 7/28/17)
Variable:
Auto maintenance/gas: $500/month
Groceries: $700/month
Restaurants: $200/month
Work Lunches 2x month: $50/month
Household Supplies: $60/month
Coffee: $100/month
Pet Food: $75/month
Minimum student loan payments: $648.55/month
Leftover money before student loan payments: $2,684.73/month + whatever else we can make/save throughout the month
-Emily
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