So here's the story...
If you know me personally, you know I love to write and blog. I welcome any excuse to set up a new blog and share my thoughts with the rest of the world. However, this is the scariest blog I have ever set up. Scary because I feel like people see me as the girl who has it together- I have served on the mission field, I have been a professional model and a pageant title-holder, and I am days away from realizing my dream of becoming a teacher. Will people's perceptions of me change when they see my financial status?
This blog is scary for me because I feel like I'm never going to succeed- the amount of debt I have, the amount I can expect to make as a teacher, and the cost of living just don't add up. I feel like this blog could turn into years of me writing about my latest excuses for why I can never get out of debt.
This blog is scary for me because I'm sure I'll make mistakes along the way, and readers who have more financial wisdom than I do will read about them. How much of a fool could I potentially make of myself??
At the same time, though, I know none of those things should matter. I ultimately want this blog to 1) Inspire others and help them find their own way out of debt and 2) hold me accountable to my own goal. I hope it will be harder to make careless purchases or let myself fall behind on bills when I know I have others following my journey.
That being said, here are some things I hope I can trust my readers on:
1) That, despite my fear, you will not judge me for the amount of debt I have. Yes, some of it came from my own carelessness and clumsiness, but most of it came from investments that I consider worthwhile (i.e. my education). Maybe you've never carried a balance on your credit card in your life. Maybe you payed cash for your college education. Maybe you struck it rich and paid off your debt within two months of graduating. Congratulations. It didn't (and won't) work that way for me, but I'm doing the best I can.
2) That those of you who know me personally will discuss concerns, questions, or suggestions you might have with ME and NOT MY PARENTS. Yes, I am single and just starting out, but I am an adult and I am financially independent of my parents. I am not hiding this blog from my parents, but I would ask that anyone who reads this blog never discuss it with my parents- this is one of the steps of adulthood that I need to deal with on my own, and, as you already know, my parents have been through enough this past year and don't need to add unnecessary worries about me to their plates.
3) That you will NOT offer donations to help me pay off my debt- one thing I will stress to my readers is to swallow your pride and accept help when it is offered, but I don't want the message of this blog to be, "Whine about your financial problems to the world wide web and hope that people donate!" Heaven knows there are already plenty of people out there begging the internet to fund their greedy ambitions or bad choices- I want this blog to show ordinary people that it is possible to get out of debt! Please know that if you do send me a donation, I will forward it to the charity of my choosing in your name.
Now...are we clear? Yeah? Good! :)
So, here goes the scary part. This is my debt situation as of right now:
Kwik Cash Loan: $266.01
Bill Me Later Loan: $322.73
Discover Card: $3383.88
Sallie Mae Student Loans: $10,956.72
Additional Student Loans: $50, 742.69
Total: $65, 672.03
Upcoming expenses:
$80.00 Parking fee
$150 summer subletting fee (could be more if the place I'm looking at subletting falls through!)
$270 to my university
$42.00 traffic ticket if I can't get the hearing officer to cooperate with me tomorrow...
Plans as of right now:
-Find at least one summer job- I'm hoping to find something that pays well (ideally, teaching summer school), but if something doesn't open up soon (like, next-week soon) I'll start applying for minimum wage jobs. Yay for possibly using my graduate degree to work at McDonalds...NOT! But I'll do what I have to do!
-Sell a ton of stuff online (using ebay and other social networking sites)- less stuff to move, anyway!!
-Pray for financial provision so I don't have to go further into debt and can start getting OUT!
Here goes nothing...
This blog is scary for me because I feel like I'm never going to succeed- the amount of debt I have, the amount I can expect to make as a teacher, and the cost of living just don't add up. I feel like this blog could turn into years of me writing about my latest excuses for why I can never get out of debt.
This blog is scary for me because I'm sure I'll make mistakes along the way, and readers who have more financial wisdom than I do will read about them. How much of a fool could I potentially make of myself??
At the same time, though, I know none of those things should matter. I ultimately want this blog to 1) Inspire others and help them find their own way out of debt and 2) hold me accountable to my own goal. I hope it will be harder to make careless purchases or let myself fall behind on bills when I know I have others following my journey.
That being said, here are some things I hope I can trust my readers on:
1) That, despite my fear, you will not judge me for the amount of debt I have. Yes, some of it came from my own carelessness and clumsiness, but most of it came from investments that I consider worthwhile (i.e. my education). Maybe you've never carried a balance on your credit card in your life. Maybe you payed cash for your college education. Maybe you struck it rich and paid off your debt within two months of graduating. Congratulations. It didn't (and won't) work that way for me, but I'm doing the best I can.
2) That those of you who know me personally will discuss concerns, questions, or suggestions you might have with ME and NOT MY PARENTS. Yes, I am single and just starting out, but I am an adult and I am financially independent of my parents. I am not hiding this blog from my parents, but I would ask that anyone who reads this blog never discuss it with my parents- this is one of the steps of adulthood that I need to deal with on my own, and, as you already know, my parents have been through enough this past year and don't need to add unnecessary worries about me to their plates.
3) That you will NOT offer donations to help me pay off my debt- one thing I will stress to my readers is to swallow your pride and accept help when it is offered, but I don't want the message of this blog to be, "Whine about your financial problems to the world wide web and hope that people donate!" Heaven knows there are already plenty of people out there begging the internet to fund their greedy ambitions or bad choices- I want this blog to show ordinary people that it is possible to get out of debt! Please know that if you do send me a donation, I will forward it to the charity of my choosing in your name.
Now...are we clear? Yeah? Good! :)
So, here goes the scary part. This is my debt situation as of right now:
Kwik Cash Loan: $266.01
Bill Me Later Loan: $322.73
Discover Card: $3383.88
Sallie Mae Student Loans: $10,956.72
Additional Student Loans: $50, 742.69
Total: $65, 672.03
Upcoming expenses:
$80.00 Parking fee
$150 summer subletting fee (could be more if the place I'm looking at subletting falls through!)
$270 to my university
$42.00 traffic ticket if I can't get the hearing officer to cooperate with me tomorrow...
Plans as of right now:
-Find at least one summer job- I'm hoping to find something that pays well (ideally, teaching summer school), but if something doesn't open up soon (like, next-week soon) I'll start applying for minimum wage jobs. Yay for possibly using my graduate degree to work at McDonalds...NOT! But I'll do what I have to do!
-Sell a ton of stuff online (using ebay and other social networking sites)- less stuff to move, anyway!!
-Pray for financial provision so I don't have to go further into debt and can start getting OUT!
Here goes nothing...
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