Most of my adult life I've had oppressive student loan debt and my approach was usually to be avoidant it. Being underemployed compounded the situation.
Now I make $75,500K, which is pretty good.
I'm never married and I don't have kids. I can't even think about starting a family, buying a home or sacking away lots of dough for retirement. It's kind of depressing. 18 months ago, when I was unemployed, I seriously considered leaving the country indefinitely and teaching English, because I thought I'd never pay my loans. Now I'm in a job in a major metropolitan U.S. city. The job is OK, but the alternate universe me that is teaching English in Asia while learning Chinese may live a more enriching life. Though he has pretty depressing retirement outlook (mine isn't much better).
Here's where I stand right now:
Student Loans
| Amount | percentage |
|---|---|
| $20,230 | 2.625% |
| $6,495 | 4.75% |
| $45,780 | 5.125% |
Financials
| Amount | Type |
|---|---|
| $8,423 | 401K (currently 7% of income contribution. In lieu of employer matching there is some profit sharing that I'm not eligible for yet) |
| $6,990 | Schwab Intelligent portfolio |
Costs
| Amount | item |
|---|---|
| $1200 | rent (includes internet and water) |
| $27 | electric |
| $150 | transportation |
| $175 | business and education stuff (I'm always learning and working on business possibilities. Would like to work for myself overseas) |
| $725 | paying off a settled cc debt ($3,630 to go, and it has to be paid in full by 9/30/17) |
| $50 | Phone |
| $???? | Food and entertainment (I spend too much on food, but I'm ready to make changes) |
I recently wiped out a student loan balance of $3,900 (not listed above cause it's now zero), so I don't have much of anything in savings, though my Schwab Intelligent Portfolio is pretty safe and accessible.
My next goal was going to be to wipe out the $6,495 loan, even though it's not the highest percent, partly because I then will have two lenders instead of three (I hate having to login to three different student loans sites).
How would you approach this? What strategies would you use?Should I forgo traveling, dating, etc., and just live a spartan lifestyle? How much should I dedicate to savings/investments?
Submitted April 28, 2017 at 09:06PM by chamillai http://ift.tt/2oHrVKe
