I have a student loan debt balance of roughly $300,000. I accrue approximately $1,000 in interest each month. My highest interest rates are 7% and they are all through the government; the vast majority are "Grad Plus" loans and the interest that has already grown on them. Right now I make $75,000 per year in California and I love my career. I am a whole, happy, healthy, very fortunate individual but I am lost with how to move forward with this debt.
This debt was all incurred from law school. I attended one of the best law schools in the United States, one of the top ten schools. On average, students leave making 160k, and even out of my gifted peers, I knew I could rise to the top. I dreamed my entire life of being accepted at the school and when I got my admission phone call, I cried under my desk at work.
A week before law school started my boyfriend died in our apartment and I found him. I was a shell of a person. I went to ahead with school to avoid the pain and the shock. Binge drinking in law school is the norm, for me it became all consuming. I left law school with the dean's permission to go to inpatient to treat my drinking problem. I've been heavily involved in the Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous Program since that fateful date and celebrated 2.5 years of sobriety last month. However, when I went back to law school to finish my education, any chances of landing a six figure job had went out the window. My sobriety threatens my career and even my bosses aren't aware or my "extracurricular" activities.
I say this all to explain how easily my life and my well laid plans were derailed. I don't know if it justifies anything, but I get criticized frequently for going to a school I couldn't afford and taking out loans that will follow me for decades --- for making poor choices. I don't think they were poor choices at the time, and I'm proud of where I'm at today, but I need constructive advice on what to do with my paychecks and any savings.
I spend about $1,500 in rent and utilities; $300 per month in doggy day care (my dog keeps me accountable in sobriety and I accredit a lot of my happiness to her presence so getting rid of her isn't an option); $500 per month in student loans (which is half of the interest that accrues each month because of the PAYE program); $200 per month in food; $200 per month in gas; I contribute 1% of my paycheck to my matched 401k; I'm 28 years old now.
I can scrape by some savings. Since starting my job in September last year, I've saved up $6,000. I don't know what I should be saving for? Should I contribute every last penny to my student loans? Should I save up for a down payment on a house mortgage? Are there are investing options? I just don't know what to do now.... this loan won't stop growing for the next 20 years and I'm lost. I'm an adult, I'm to blame for it, and I don't know how to face it. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Submitted June 03, 2019 at 08:41PM by cleanhousetattoo http://bit.ly/2KuBgyZ
