Skip to main content

Time To Refocus

Well, the unbelievable has happened; the absolute final credit card payment was sent and now I am wondering what is next. For the past several months I have been saying that we are working toward the credit card debt getting paid off but now I am looking at our other debt and it would be great to get that paid off too. So the question is, what is next?

I currently have three student loans but one of them is a very high interest rate (it might as well be a credit card; its a variable rate that currently is squatting at 8.5%) whereas one of the others has no interest and the third loan is tax deductible and I get the full benefit of that deduction every year. So, that makes the next target my student loan. I just wish the balance wasnt so much. Right now it hovers somewhere around 6500 dollars, but that seems like it will take forever to payoff.

Currently I am taking extra money that I earn on the side and throwing gobs of it at this debt, but it still seems like it will take a long time to be free of it. But in reality, when I look at others like Tricia at Blogging Away Debt, it doesn't seem like that much debt at all.


Comments

Anonymous said…
It's definitely a good move to start knocking off your debt, starting with your highest interest one first. It might be worthwhile, if you're having a hard time getting psyched up for it, to make some sort of visualization of your debt, like one of those "thermometers" that charities like to use to show the donations as they add up to a goal. I use these myself; I keep one on the refrigerator to help me keep my eye on the ball.

Popular posts from this blog

Do Better With Your Time

Recently, I've been extremely busy with some work commitments. The interesting thing for me is that this increased work activity has really helped crystallize some of my feelings with regard to time. And these ideas are a critical part about my view on personal finance. I'm curious to know if others feel similarly. Time is money. That is, Time, in some way, contains energy. Money, is also energy. In the act of working, I am able to compound and increase the amount of money that I have. I am exchanging my time and effort and thought which are components of my work, for the productivity that I produce. And this production gets me money from my employer. However, the first dollars that I make each day, week, or month are the most valuable. Then the ones that I make at the end are the most valuable. (Forget about taxes for a minute.) The reason is, the first ones help me have a place to live and food to eat. And the last ones are the ones that I can use to really improve my life lo...

Awkward Family Money Situations

I was about to write this as a comment, but its quite long and brings up a ton of issues so here goes. First, check out  <a href=" http://hereverycentcounts.blogspot.com/2007/06/money-and-etiquette-why-are-important.html ">this story at here every cent counts</a>. Now on to my response. I am just mortified by this story. I cannot even imagine that people with kids would expect someone in college to pay for their own dinner. I'm assuming that this is an aunt/uncle/great aunt/great uncle situation and that you are a young college student in late teens, early twenties with no full time job. All of my answers below are based on those assumptions. If that is the case, they should *splurge* the 20 bucks for dinner. They are an adult here and as much as I believe that you should be independent, while you are in college and struggling for money, you should be treated on an occasion like this. Big Question: How do your mom and/or dad and/or other immediate family ...

On Buying a Lifestyle...with a Fixed-Rate Mortgage

Despite all of the back and forth about sub-prime mortgages and the housing bubble, I am feeling just fine. The reason is that when purchasing, I followed some old advice: Don't expect to flip. In general, I've been told by many people that you shouldn't buy a home unless you plan to hold on to it for 7 years or longer. If the market does well and you decide to sell, fine. But if you want to be sure not to lose money, don't buy something that you only want for a year or two. I've been in my current location for more than 3 years. I like it. And I have no intention of leaving in the short or medium term. It seems to me, that real estate, like any asset class, has its ups and downs. But as a practical point, I don't look at my home as an asset per se. Rather, I consider it to be a fixed expense that I need to survive, much like food and water. Therefore, as long as the payment is reasonable and it functions to keep me warm and sheltered and comfortable, that is a...