Almost Debt Free

Four years ago, when I started this blog, I was obsessed about homeownership. It was all I thought about. I was in contract to purchase my first home and I also recently graduated from a master’s degree program. Needless to say, I was cocky and confident. I was optimistic. I thought that everything was falling into place. But then the coop board denied my application and the job that I thought would materialize did not.  I was sad and angry for a long time. I stopped blogging and became even more depressed as I couldn’t find a home in my preferred neighborhood or my price range. I knew someone who had contacts on the coop board and I asked them to enquired about my application and why I was denied.  He was informed that I the coop board was concerned that I did not have enough cash and they wanted a cash buyer. They were also concerned about my student loan debt. As I had just recently graduated from school, I hadn’t yet started repayment. I left graduate school owing Sallie Mae approximately $44,000. Still this amount of debt never hindered my ability to secure a mortgage. Why should it? Not only did I receive a mortgage I also received a first-time home buyer grant through Wells Fargo for $30,000.  I also had 10% of the purchase price as down payment. I had excellent credit. I had been in my job at a large government agency for 5 years. I carried no credit card debt.  I was the perfect candidate for home ownership. I was ready.  And then came the disappointment.

Those two major setbacks (job, no first home) in 2013 really knocked my confidence. That $44,000 in student loan debt acted like a noose, a constant barrier to me accomplishing my dreams. I began to regret my master’s degree.  Then in 2016, with my 20 plus year old car on its last legs, I purchase a new used vehicle, taking on even more debt. $12,000 to be exact.  For a total of $56,000 owed. It was then that the debt started to bother me.  How can I be expected to pay it all off? I was angry.

Over time I realized that being angry did not work for me. It did not get me my first home.  It did not get me a new job. It did not help me to pay down my debt.  The job market here in New York is competitive and I was not willing to take a job with more salary but half the benefits.  I was not willing to compromise. There were times that I felt discouraged but I continued my search for a home and a new job.

Then in 2016, I was offered a job, a supervisory position, that paid me more money and I was able to maintain my benefits.  I quickly accepted. I soon learned about a part time or side hustle that I could do on the weekends that did not impact my 9 to 5.  I lived off my 9 to 5 salary while using my side hustle income to pay down debt. I have been doing both jobs now for a year.  I work six days per week. I used to work seven days per week, but I had to set boundaries about my time and self-care.  I have had to balance my work commitments with personal life and have had to turn down certain offers because I couldn’t do both. Working six days is not ideal. But right now, my priority has been paying down debt.

These two jobs have allowed me to make significant strides to debt freedom.  For the last 12 months, I have been extremely diligent about putting extra payments toward my debt. I have made sacrifices where it’s been necessary (such as instead of my twice per year vacation, I only took one vacation this year and though I was on a budget, I still had a good time.  I eat out a lot less. I save money by bringing lunch to work. I try to stop impulse buying). I am proud to say that I have paid off $45,000 in loans. As of the writing of this post I owe Sallie Mae $10,772.24. This is my only debt. In 12 months I have completely paid off my car loan.

In the past year, my views of money have also changed. It has become most important to me to be debt free. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to buy a home. And Ideally, I would like to do it in 2018. However, I don’t want to be stressed, burdened and worried about how I will pay bills. I like the sense of freedom that comes with paying off $45,000 in debt. I feel free.  As I approach the end of 2017, I will continue to make the minimum payments on my student loan. That’s about $197.00 per month.  However, In the New Year I will begin again making extra payments each month on the remainder of my loan. 

I will continue to blog, but sometimes I will write about my financial journey not just home buying process. I will try to be as honest as possible about any challenges to either of these journeys. Going into the New Year I will be documenting my journey to debt freedom in addition to attending more open houses and looking for my first home.