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train · 300k rows

conversation stringlengths 56 26.4k
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Be as frugal as possible and it shouldn't be very hard. Learn to cook your meals, avoid going out to eat, buy clothes second hand, if you have a car shop around for car insurance to make sure you have a fair rate, don't buy a fancy new car stick to a used car that you buy outright, no cable or internet(go to the library or coffee shop), get the free cell phone or a cheap one and get the cheapest plan, if living on your own get roommates to keep cost low. It also depends on your income level. If you only make min wage saving 20k in 2 years will be hard(unless you live with your parents and have no bills). If you make 30k+ it will be a lot easier. Personally my husband and I paid off 50k in student loans, saved for a wedding(10k), and paid off 14k car loan in 2 years. So it can be done but we also both worked 2 full time jobs and had no life for those 2 years and made sure our living expenses were below 1.5k a month(our rent was only $550 a month on a very small place in a horrible area). We made around 6k a month after taxes though between our 4 jobs leaving us with 4.5k to put towards loans and savings per month(sometimes lower is we had a emergency)." User (GEDKID): "im definitely in for a couple nervous breakdowns for the next two years haha, but im sure it'll be worth it for a better life.\n\nThank you this is extremely helpful :)" mickeyperry (mickeyperry): "Chiming in to second no internet/cable. I use my phone or the library's wifi for everything. I'm in graduate school and use the library's wifi to download articles to my iPad or laptop then read them at home. I never use redbox and check out dvds from the library (there are so many!). I also only fill up my gas tank once per month and take the bus everywhere. My monthly overhead with a $200 emergency buffer is $1800. (I live alone and rent is $950). I make 48000 a year and manage to put nearly $1000 towards savings and school debt every month. I still have a life but just choose to spend less on going out than other people. It's totally possible but you have to make lifestyle changes/choices to do it! Good luck!! "
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Don't move to the most expensive cities in the US, or if you do be sure you have a job paying north of 100K" User (GEDKID): "nah" cj6464 (cj6464): "You may shrug it off but living in those bigger cities will seriously be tough if you can't get a job that pays at least $50k a year. Rent in NYC for a one bedroom apartment can hit $2-3k per month. You will scrape by if you make $50k, but have no savings and no expendable income. " User (GEDKID): "I currently have no job and make about 20k a year just by flipping sneakers and over hyped clothes and that takes up none of my time its very lucrative and ive been doing it for 3 years and dont plan on stopping if i got a job id make even more, if i got a better job after my degree it'd be even more. Im not 100% stressing that situation i just wanted budgeting/savings tips" cj6464 (cj6464): "So hypothetically, you have $20k a year from flipping clothes and then an entry level position that pays around $30-40k a year. That's still only $50k of income and you'll be working one full time job and one really low effort part time. $20k is an emergency fund in that situation and it won't last long if something goes wrong. My best budgeting advice would be to stay somewhere with a low cost of living for a bit longer than two years and gain job experience and increase your savings to maybe $50k or so before moving to a city. Then you can actually compete in the job market. The only way you should waive this advice is if you're a software developer in which case go to the city because that's where the jobs are. Otherwise, entry level positions aren't going to pay enough imo.\n\n\nEdit: I'm not trying to be harsh, but with such low savings in such expensive cities it's relatively quick and easy to become homeless and I don't want anyone to go through that. :("
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "What job are you getting in LA or NY with just an Associate's degree that won't require 3+ roommates?" User (GEDKID): "Fine with 3+ Roomates" modernelove (modernelove): "Keep in mind that even with 3+ roomates you will be paying easily a grand a month for rent in NYC. 20k is a good amount but it would not last more than a year. "
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Don't move to the most expensive cities in the US, or if you do be sure you have a job paying north of 100K" User (GEDKID): "nah" cj6464 (cj6464): "You may shrug it off but living in those bigger cities will seriously be tough if you can't get a job that pays at least $50k a year. Rent in NYC for a one bedroom apartment can hit $2-3k per month. You will scrape by if you make $50k, but have no savings and no expendable income. " kyyy (kyyy): "$2k is on the low end. When I was shopping around NYC job market, living rooms rentals were $1,700 a month in the financial district. Living rooms. " cj6464 (cj6464): "I'm so glad I live in a small town where I pay $750 a month for a 3 bedroom with all utilities included except for electric and internet. Plus my roommate pays half the expenses so I pay about $500 a month for a place to live and be comfortable in. I plan on moving to a city to pursue my dream career (motion design) and I honestly plan on living out of a van for a year or two to accumulate savings. Fuck $3k a month for rent. I'm spoiled." kyyy (kyyy): "Haha same! I live with my gf for $300 a month. I save 80% of my income. The NYC lifestyle never lasts. "
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Earn $13k more than you spend per year and save the difference."
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Your target savings rate is $825 a month or about $28 a day. You'll can attack this in ways both big (more roommates, look to see if you really need the car, part time job) and small (don't buy coffee, bring your lunch). \n\nThere's no magic to this and it all boils down to spending less and/or increasing your income. In order to do that you should make a detailed budget so you understand where your money is going and what you can do trim the expenses. " User (GEDKID): "Thank you very much im going to establish a detailed budget like you said and cut down expenses. Appreciate your advice." quirkymonster (quirkymonster): "I found the [Budgeting 101](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/40q7jb/budgeting_101_the_simplest_way_to_start_budgeting/) spreadsheet to be incredibly helpful to motivate saving more. It might be a little more difficult with your career because it's not as predictable as other careers."
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Don't move to the most expensive cities in the US, or if you do be sure you have a job paying north of 100K" User (GEDKID): "nah" BlackDeath3 (BlackDeath3): "Hey man, you asked for advice and you got it."
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Moving to one of the three most expensive markets in the US with an AA degree is a terrible idea. "
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "Hey OP, I'm going to go against what some people said here. Get your associates and move to LA, SF, or NY. Just save up and go. Once you get there, live like you are poor (you'll have to anyway) and try to make it. However, if you are running low on cash, you have to know when to cut your losses and move back home. \n\nI live in SF. Don't listen to the people who tell you that you have to make $100k+ and spend 3k on rent. That's just not reality.You can get a room in a house for less than 1k in the right neighborhoods. Most people here make lots of money, yes but, it's not required. You can make 40-50k and live a perfectly normal life if you know how to budget and yes, you can get a job here with an AA perfectly fine. You just have to know how to open doors and take advantage of any little opportunity that comes up. \n\nSo, throw yourself in and try to learn to swim but, know when to give up so you don't drown. You are only young once. Do it, see if it works out, and live your life. " budae_jjigae (budae_jjigae): "That last paragraph is very motivational!\n"
User (GEDKID): "Hi, im currently in the process of getting my GED and going to community college for two years i plan on saving up at least 20k while i get my AA then i plan to move to either NY, LA, or SF when i have the 20k and a job lined up. Any steps or precautions i can think about or take to help meet my goals?" Self: "I've found using online budgeting / tracking websites really helps. For the last three years I've been using mint.com, and tracking where every dollar goes is extremely useful. It makes me consider if my money is really going towards my goals, and therefore the things I value.\n\nTracking brings awareness, and that changes your actions."
User (Elliemonstr): "I'm in the process of finding a used car from a local dealer. I may have made a mistake by laying what I need my monthly payments to be out on the table. \n\nWhat is the best way to negotiate for the most value on a vehicle when buying used from a dealer?\n\nDetails: My trade in is worth roughly $700. My credit was decent last I checked, in 700s if memory serves. Trying to find a Nissan Altima or equivalent in Honda or Toyota. Looking at 2013/2014 less than $15k and less than 30k miles. Can afford up to $250 a month but trying to stay below $225 and prefer that payment with a 5 year loan. Am in Florida. " Self: "Look up cars on kbb.com to get an idea of what their values are in your area. Most people do this now so the days of having to haggle about the price is over. Everyone knows what a car's cost is now. You'll probably have a harder time negotiating the value of your trade."
User (Elliemonstr): "I'm in the process of finding a used car from a local dealer. I may have made a mistake by laying what I need my monthly payments to be out on the table. \n\nWhat is the best way to negotiate for the most value on a vehicle when buying used from a dealer?\n\nDetails: My trade in is worth roughly $700. My credit was decent last I checked, in 700s if memory serves. Trying to find a Nissan Altima or equivalent in Honda or Toyota. Looking at 2013/2014 less than $15k and less than 30k miles. Can afford up to $250 a month but trying to stay below $225 and prefer that payment with a 5 year loan. Am in Florida. " Self: "I'd advise you to look at carcomplaints.com\n\nThere's nothing wrong with paying for lower mileage. You get piece of mind. You can find camrys in your price range that are certified pre-owned. \n\nIt's tough to negotiate on used cars. The dealerships build in prices to keep their doors open and to keep people working there. You can almost always find better deals from private sellers. If you do want to go to a dealership, then be prepared to walk away from the deal if they won't come down to where you want to be. \n\nDo all your shopping online before you go to the dealer. Don't let them sell you the car they want you in. Go buy the car you want. Compare prices on cars.com of similarly equipped cars with similar mileage. The market is becoming pretty transparent nowadays. If you buy something that new, I would suggest avoiding the "dealership extended gold warranty" or whatever B.S. they try to sell you. If you get a certified pre-owned, it will come with the remainder of the factory warranty, and usually an extension of the original warranty. "
User (Elliemonstr): "I'm in the process of finding a used car from a local dealer. I may have made a mistake by laying what I need my monthly payments to be out on the table. \n\nWhat is the best way to negotiate for the most value on a vehicle when buying used from a dealer?\n\nDetails: My trade in is worth roughly $700. My credit was decent last I checked, in 700s if memory serves. Trying to find a Nissan Altima or equivalent in Honda or Toyota. Looking at 2013/2014 less than $15k and less than 30k miles. Can afford up to $250 a month but trying to stay below $225 and prefer that payment with a 5 year loan. Am in Florida. " Self: "You're paying extra for low mileage, when that probably doesn't do that much for you. \n\nThe best way to get a good deal is to not care what car you get. If you decide only one car will work for you, you'll get stuck paying how much they want to charge. So find a few that will work, and play the dealers against each other. \n\nThe purchase price is the most important thing. You can always get lower payments with a longer loan, but it will cost you more over time." User (Elliemonstr): "I calculated $13,500 as my sweet spot and that's out the door to include gap and extended warranty. If I find something listed for that price on their website - and the car checks out - is it reasonable for me to stand my ground that they should adjust their numbers for me to leave with that car with gap and warranty at the listed price? Or is that a fruitless endeavor? I guess I just don't know where that line is where they literally can't negotiate any lower. \n\n*side note - I really hate when they say "we don't negotiate anymore on cars" :/" Self: "Buying extended warranty is not usually a smart financial decision, just FYI. They make money from you, especially on newer cars. \n\nDealers don't have to negotiate. Most do, but that's their choice. What would you do if your employer came to you each year and asked if you didn't have some latitude to sweeten the deal on employing you?"
User (Elliemonstr): "I'm in the process of finding a used car from a local dealer. I may have made a mistake by laying what I need my monthly payments to be out on the table. \n\nWhat is the best way to negotiate for the most value on a vehicle when buying used from a dealer?\n\nDetails: My trade in is worth roughly $700. My credit was decent last I checked, in 700s if memory serves. Trying to find a Nissan Altima or equivalent in Honda or Toyota. Looking at 2013/2014 less than $15k and less than 30k miles. Can afford up to $250 a month but trying to stay below $225 and prefer that payment with a 5 year loan. Am in Florida. " Self: "With that particular dealer, you can only stick to your guns and not pay one penny more for anything.. Your best option is to go elsewhere and not disclose anything other than the type of car you want and have them make offers to you on the price of the car in cash. THEN figure out the monthly payment. Good luck with your search. "
User (Elliemonstr): "I'm in the process of finding a used car from a local dealer. I may have made a mistake by laying what I need my monthly payments to be out on the table. \n\nWhat is the best way to negotiate for the most value on a vehicle when buying used from a dealer?\n\nDetails: My trade in is worth roughly $700. My credit was decent last I checked, in 700s if memory serves. Trying to find a Nissan Altima or equivalent in Honda or Toyota. Looking at 2013/2014 less than $15k and less than 30k miles. Can afford up to $250 a month but trying to stay below $225 and prefer that payment with a 5 year loan. Am in Florida. " Self: "If you don't like their price, walk away. 10/10 times, they will call or email you offering you a lower price. Go to a different dealership and see if they have a price you can leverage.\n\nAbove all, the power to say "no" is the best asset you have in a negotiation. It may feel unpleasant the first time you do it. We are conditioned our whole lives to do everything possible to avoid offending or disappointing someone else, especially when they're as nice to us as a car salesman probably will be to you." itsANearthquakeRUN (itsANearthquakeRUN): "Did this on my first car accidently. I had decided to go for another car and told the dealer no, next thing i get an email with the price reduced by around 10% and additional features. Learnt something from that very quickly."
User (Elliemonstr): "I'm in the process of finding a used car from a local dealer. I may have made a mistake by laying what I need my monthly payments to be out on the table. \n\nWhat is the best way to negotiate for the most value on a vehicle when buying used from a dealer?\n\nDetails: My trade in is worth roughly $700. My credit was decent last I checked, in 700s if memory serves. Trying to find a Nissan Altima or equivalent in Honda or Toyota. Looking at 2013/2014 less than $15k and less than 30k miles. Can afford up to $250 a month but trying to stay below $225 and prefer that payment with a 5 year loan. Am in Florida. " Self: "You're paying extra for low mileage, when that probably doesn't do that much for you. \n\nThe best way to get a good deal is to not care what car you get. If you decide only one car will work for you, you'll get stuck paying how much they want to charge. So find a few that will work, and play the dealers against each other. \n\nThe purchase price is the most important thing. You can always get lower payments with a longer loan, but it will cost you more over time." User (Elliemonstr): "I calculated $13,500 as my sweet spot and that's out the door to include gap and extended warranty. If I find something listed for that price on their website - and the car checks out - is it reasonable for me to stand my ground that they should adjust their numbers for me to leave with that car with gap and warranty at the listed price? Or is that a fruitless endeavor? I guess I just don't know where that line is where they literally can't negotiate any lower. \n\n*side note - I really hate when they say "we don't negotiate anymore on cars" :/" agjios (agjios): "Why are you buying gap and extended warranty? Let's say you want to buy a 2012-2014 Altima. I'm seeing 2014 Altimas with about 30,000 miles going for ~ $14,000 in my area at the Nissan dealership. Find one that you think is reasonably priced, they have it listed for $14,000, and go into the dealership. Bonus if you're buying a Nissan at a non-Nissan dealer. Let them know that you're serious about buying the car, let them run your credit to prove it, and show them 3-4 others in the area that are similarly priced. Undercut their internet price by 15-20%, and negotiate from there. If they aren't willing to work with you, be COURTEOUS, RESPECTFUL, and leave your number. Thank the salesman for his time, and tell him you're going home to research a little more and think it over. Being unafraid to walk away is the greatest power that you have. Either they will bring their manager out with you to work with you and get you in a car, or they let you walk, and you go to one of the other 75 dealerships within 20 miles.\n\nIf you get a $14,000 Altima for $13,200 or less, and you have an interest rate under 4%, then you don't need gap insurance because you'll be paying it off faster than it depreciates. If an Altima depreciates from $26,000 to $14,000 in 3 years, it isn't going to depreciate down another $12,000. It's going to depreciate another $4,000-$5,000 which you will be paying faster than it drops. I'd also argue that you almost never need the extended warranty. If you want a 2014 Altima with 30,000 miles for example, instead of buying a $2,000 extended warranty, why not just use that $2,000 to buy an Altima that is that much newer and has lower miles, not needing the warranty?!\n\nAlso, some places REALLY don't negotiate any more. With the internet giving us Edmunds, TrueCar, NADA, KBB, various owner forums telling each other what they paid, etc. then car haggling is much more of a science than it used to be. Some dealers really just set the internet price, and let people find them on cars.com and Autotrader by finding the car that they want at the price that they like, instead of luring people with free toaster ovens and commercials. Still, some places that say that they don't haggle still might. I used the technique above when I was car shopping, and the local dealership dropped the price for me." User (Elliemonstr): "I've recently pinpointed that I have a lot of separation anxiety going on about getting rid of my old car. Im trying really hard not to let that get the best of me! I purchased a car through Carmax and surprisingly, they give you 3 days to make changes to the financing, gap and warranty. They gave me a 5.99% loan for 6 years with GAP and warranty. I got a 2013 Nissan Sentra with 29,500 miles on it in really good shape. I made the most out of those 3 days and went to my bank. They provided me a 3.99% interest rate on a 5 year loan (based on a credit score of 744). Got a policy similar to GAP through auto insurance provider for $10 a year that pays 125% of actual cash value of the vehicle. This also triggered changing insurance companies where I'm saving about $20 a month on my premium. Also took the car to a mechanic and discovered I have a tire from 2012 with dry rot. Went to the Carmax today and signed all the paperwork to put the new financing in place and had them look at the tires, which they're going to replace the two old ones once they come in (had to be ordered). SO - I currently don't have the extended warranty and I'm on the fence about getting it. I also still need to sell my old car which Carmax offered to buy for $750 or I can try to sell it myself at a KBB value of about $1200. Any further advice is most welcome!\n\nSide note: final value for the car plus fees (including them doing new registration which i could have/should have just done myself) was just shy of $13,500"
User (Elliemonstr): "I'm in the process of finding a used car from a local dealer. I may have made a mistake by laying what I need my monthly payments to be out on the table. \n\nWhat is the best way to negotiate for the most value on a vehicle when buying used from a dealer?\n\nDetails: My trade in is worth roughly $700. My credit was decent last I checked, in 700s if memory serves. Trying to find a Nissan Altima or equivalent in Honda or Toyota. Looking at 2013/2014 less than $15k and less than 30k miles. Can afford up to $250 a month but trying to stay below $225 and prefer that payment with a 5 year loan. Am in Florida. " Self: "You're paying extra for low mileage, when that probably doesn't do that much for you. \n\nThe best way to get a good deal is to not care what car you get. If you decide only one car will work for you, you'll get stuck paying how much they want to charge. So find a few that will work, and play the dealers against each other. \n\nThe purchase price is the most important thing. You can always get lower payments with a longer loan, but it will cost you more over time." User (Elliemonstr): "I calculated $13,500 as my sweet spot and that's out the door to include gap and extended warranty. If I find something listed for that price on their website - and the car checks out - is it reasonable for me to stand my ground that they should adjust their numbers for me to leave with that car with gap and warranty at the listed price? Or is that a fruitless endeavor? I guess I just don't know where that line is where they literally can't negotiate any lower. \n\n*side note - I really hate when they say "we don't negotiate anymore on cars" :/" kylejack (kylejack): "> side note - I really hate when they say "we don't negotiate anymore on cars"\n\nWho, Carmax or something? Most local dealerships should be willing negotiate. The ones like Carmax and Autonation don't.\n\nIf you're planning to finance, get a preapproval for a loan from a local bank or credit union before walking in to the dealership." User (Elliemonstr): "I ended up at Carmax but no, a salesman at a Honda dealer said this to me. "
User (firealienfire): "I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit, however I can not think of why it would be, and am unsure if I'm even remembering the post correctly. I have had the card for approximately 2 months and have paid off the balances in full thus far and just want to ensure I'm doing what's best for my financial future, any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you to all who contribute!" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit)\n- [Credit Cards](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/creditcards) \n- [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico)\n- [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (firealienfire): "I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit, however I can not think of why it would be, and am unsure if I'm even remembering the post correctly. I have had the card for approximately 2 months and have paid off the balances in full thus far and just want to ensure I'm doing what's best for my financial future, any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you to all who contribute!" Self: "> I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit\n\nNot here. \n\nThat would be mistake #3 here, actually: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4zcto8/youre_doing_it_wrong_personal_finance_pitfalls_to/\n" User (firealienfire): "The idea didn't make much sense to me with the financial knowledge I do have, but I just couldn't shake the thought for some reason! I had to at least ask somewhere, thanks for your reply!"
User (firealienfire): "I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit, however I can not think of why it would be, and am unsure if I'm even remembering the post correctly. I have had the card for approximately 2 months and have paid off the balances in full thus far and just want to ensure I'm doing what's best for my financial future, any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you to all who contribute!" Self: "My husband got his first credit card at 18. He's never ever carried a balance and pays the thing off every. single. month. His credit score is 820." Bathbodyworks (Bathbodyworks): "This is basically the only answer to OPs question."
User (firealienfire): "I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit, however I can not think of why it would be, and am unsure if I'm even remembering the post correctly. I have had the card for approximately 2 months and have paid off the balances in full thus far and just want to ensure I'm doing what's best for my financial future, any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you to all who contribute!" Self: "Credit score is a tool used by creditors to determine your value to them as a borrower. While it is a huge plus to prove that you pay your bills religiously, I have found that making regular payments without paying in full boosts credit score faster. When you are doing it this way, you are proving that you pay your bills, but not before the creditor has a chance to make some money off you in interest charges. This would be their perfect borrower. Of course, this costs you more than paying in full. But with that said, Job One is never missing a payment." User (firealienfire): "This was along the lines of what I had recalled seeing, I do have 6 months interest free as a student so for right now they would not be making money off me. By not paying in full, would you recommend the minimum or a figure closer to the full statement so I reduce the amount of money gaining interest (when the time comes)?" yes_its_him (yes_its_him): "Do not do this. It will not help you.\n\n"Here’s why: The FICO model, which is used to produce the most widely used credit score in the United States, doesn’t tack extra points onto your score for failing to pay off a balance in full at the end of the month."" User (firealienfire): "You've been extremely helpful, thank you kind stranger!!!"
User (firealienfire): "I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit, however I can not think of why it would be, and am unsure if I'm even remembering the post correctly. I have had the card for approximately 2 months and have paid off the balances in full thus far and just want to ensure I'm doing what's best for my financial future, any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you to all who contribute!" Self: "Credit score is a tool used by creditors to determine your value to them as a borrower. While it is a huge plus to prove that you pay your bills religiously, I have found that making regular payments without paying in full boosts credit score faster. When you are doing it this way, you are proving that you pay your bills, but not before the creditor has a chance to make some money off you in interest charges. This would be their perfect borrower. Of course, this costs you more than paying in full. But with that said, Job One is never missing a payment." yes_its_him (yes_its_him): "This is a tall tale. You're reporting anecdotal data, not a valid comparison of alternatives. " Self: "True, this is anecdotal data. I'm not an expert, just sharing my experience. Thanks for clarifying."
User (firealienfire): "I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit, however I can not think of why it would be, and am unsure if I'm even remembering the post correctly. I have had the card for approximately 2 months and have paid off the balances in full thus far and just want to ensure I'm doing what's best for my financial future, any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you to all who contribute!" Self: "Not sure if this is an option but if you have parents with good credit habits, and are willing to add you as an authorized user - even if you don't actually get / use the card - that could help. My parents added me on some of their cards and on my report it says I have credit lines as old as me and large credit limits. \nI'm not sure if all credit cards show up the same way - but thought I'd share as something to consider!\n\n\nOtherwise, like others have mentioned, DO pay your balance in full."
User (firealienfire): "I feel like I have seen a post about how paying off your full balance every month is not the best way to build your credit, however I can not think of why it would be, and am unsure if I'm even remembering the post correctly. I have had the card for approximately 2 months and have paid off the balances in full thus far and just want to ensure I'm doing what's best for my financial future, any advice is greatly appreciated and thank you to all who contribute!" Self: "My husband got his first credit card at 18. He's never ever carried a balance and pays the thing off every. single. month. His credit score is 820." Nudetypist (Nudetypist): "I got mine at 19 and did the same thing, my score is 807."
User (Trisunflower): "Hi all,\n\nLong time reader, first time writer :)\n\nI have a tidy little sum saved for my girls' college and a tidy little sum saved for an emergency fund. I was going to take the bulk of both saving accounts and invest them in something low risk, just so I can have it make some money. I work for the Federal gov't, so my job has historically been pretty stable. My spouse works as a computer programmer, and so far his skills have always been in demand. \n\nI plan on withdrawing the college money in about ten years (they also have a healthy 529, this is just cash we've been saving for them).\n\nI may also immigrate to Canada in the near future, but that will depend on several factors. \n\nAnyway, a lot of you are more savvy investors than I am. What do you think? I'm worried that the market isn't going to do well over the next few year, but I don't know.\n\nThanks!\n\nEdit: a word" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n- [Investing wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (Trisunflower): "Hi all,\n\nLong time reader, first time writer :)\n\nI have a tidy little sum saved for my girls' college and a tidy little sum saved for an emergency fund. I was going to take the bulk of both saving accounts and invest them in something low risk, just so I can have it make some money. I work for the Federal gov't, so my job has historically been pretty stable. My spouse works as a computer programmer, and so far his skills have always been in demand. \n\nI plan on withdrawing the college money in about ten years (they also have a healthy 529, this is just cash we've been saving for them).\n\nI may also immigrate to Canada in the near future, but that will depend on several factors. \n\nAnyway, a lot of you are more savvy investors than I am. What do you think? I'm worried that the market isn't going to do well over the next few year, but I don't know.\n\nThanks!\n\nEdit: a word" Self: "Consider undeveloped real estate. Lower taxes then developed real estate and historically stable so long as you're careful selecting the area you purchase in.\nPlan on putting it on the market at least two years before you need to sell. However, even if you can't sell it when you need to you can always borrow against it if need be.\nBe sure to do your homework first though. Some areas require that the owner develops the area in a certain time frame.\nGood luck! " Baconality (Baconality): "This is not good advice for someone who doesn't want to make a second job/hobby of it. "
User (Trisunflower): "Hi all,\n\nLong time reader, first time writer :)\n\nI have a tidy little sum saved for my girls' college and a tidy little sum saved for an emergency fund. I was going to take the bulk of both saving accounts and invest them in something low risk, just so I can have it make some money. I work for the Federal gov't, so my job has historically been pretty stable. My spouse works as a computer programmer, and so far his skills have always been in demand. \n\nI plan on withdrawing the college money in about ten years (they also have a healthy 529, this is just cash we've been saving for them).\n\nI may also immigrate to Canada in the near future, but that will depend on several factors. \n\nAnyway, a lot of you are more savvy investors than I am. What do you think? I'm worried that the market isn't going to do well over the next few year, but I don't know.\n\nThanks!\n\nEdit: a word" Self: "Consider undeveloped real estate. Lower taxes then developed real estate and historically stable so long as you're careful selecting the area you purchase in.\nPlan on putting it on the market at least two years before you need to sell. However, even if you can't sell it when you need to you can always borrow against it if need be.\nBe sure to do your homework first though. Some areas require that the owner develops the area in a certain time frame.\nGood luck! " merlyn64 (merlyn64): "I'm a real estate agent with 31 years experience in selling both residential and developable vacant land. I'm not sure if I would recommend investing in real estate either. It can very difficult (if not impossible) to mortgage undeveloped real estate and the costs to get in (Land Transfer Tax, legal fees) and get out (real estate fees, legal fees) can quickly erase any short-medium term profits." deathlesgaming (deathlesgaming): "wait you mean HGTV is joke but but but...................................."
User (Trisunflower): "Hi all,\n\nLong time reader, first time writer :)\n\nI have a tidy little sum saved for my girls' college and a tidy little sum saved for an emergency fund. I was going to take the bulk of both saving accounts and invest them in something low risk, just so I can have it make some money. I work for the Federal gov't, so my job has historically been pretty stable. My spouse works as a computer programmer, and so far his skills have always been in demand. \n\nI plan on withdrawing the college money in about ten years (they also have a healthy 529, this is just cash we've been saving for them).\n\nI may also immigrate to Canada in the near future, but that will depend on several factors. \n\nAnyway, a lot of you are more savvy investors than I am. What do you think? I'm worried that the market isn't going to do well over the next few year, but I don't know.\n\nThanks!\n\nEdit: a word" Self: "Consider undeveloped real estate. Lower taxes then developed real estate and historically stable so long as you're careful selecting the area you purchase in.\nPlan on putting it on the market at least two years before you need to sell. However, even if you can't sell it when you need to you can always borrow against it if need be.\nBe sure to do your homework first though. Some areas require that the owner develops the area in a certain time frame.\nGood luck! " User (Trisunflower): "The money sat in my savings account for 8 years. I'm hesitant enough about low-risk market. I certainly don't have the temperament for dabbling in real estate! :)\n\nEdit: a word"
User (Trisunflower): "Hi all,\n\nLong time reader, first time writer :)\n\nI have a tidy little sum saved for my girls' college and a tidy little sum saved for an emergency fund. I was going to take the bulk of both saving accounts and invest them in something low risk, just so I can have it make some money. I work for the Federal gov't, so my job has historically been pretty stable. My spouse works as a computer programmer, and so far his skills have always been in demand. \n\nI plan on withdrawing the college money in about ten years (they also have a healthy 529, this is just cash we've been saving for them).\n\nI may also immigrate to Canada in the near future, but that will depend on several factors. \n\nAnyway, a lot of you are more savvy investors than I am. What do you think? I'm worried that the market isn't going to do well over the next few year, but I don't know.\n\nThanks!\n\nEdit: a word" Self: "> but I don't know.\n\nWe don't know, either. Nobody knows. I can show you articles from every year that the market is going to crash in that year.\n\nIf you invest in something low-risk, you won't make much money, of course. \n\nIf you may be relocating countries, then you probably want to keep your finances simpler rather than more complicated. \n\n\n\n" User (Trisunflower): "Fair enough.\n\nGood point about it not making much money. From my perspective, I'd rather not make much money than to be riskier and lose it. It'll be a tidy little sum on its own, so I'd rather keep that bulk of it.\n\nI'm just worried that the current political climate won't be good for the stock market. I remember meeting with my accountant in '08 to go over taxes, and she being devastated that her son's college fund was a fraction of what she expected."
User (Trisunflower): "Hi all,\n\nLong time reader, first time writer :)\n\nI have a tidy little sum saved for my girls' college and a tidy little sum saved for an emergency fund. I was going to take the bulk of both saving accounts and invest them in something low risk, just so I can have it make some money. I work for the Federal gov't, so my job has historically been pretty stable. My spouse works as a computer programmer, and so far his skills have always been in demand. \n\nI plan on withdrawing the college money in about ten years (they also have a healthy 529, this is just cash we've been saving for them).\n\nI may also immigrate to Canada in the near future, but that will depend on several factors. \n\nAnyway, a lot of you are more savvy investors than I am. What do you think? I'm worried that the market isn't going to do well over the next few year, but I don't know.\n\nThanks!\n\nEdit: a word" Self: "You didn't mention retirement funds" User (Trisunflower): "Good question. I have a pension (assuming I stay in Federal service for the next 16-26 years) and am putting about 18% of my salary into my TSP. My husband is doing a 401K match. We are in our mid-late 30's and have about 200K in our retirement fund. So, not the best but not the worst.\n\nI asked my husband to increase his 401K contribution at his next raise." Self: "you should probably max out all those tax deferred accounts before considering investing outside of them." User (Trisunflower): "Hm ... that's a good thought.\n\nMy approach was that we are already saving fairly well for retirement. But I also want to have a healthy emergency fund, and cash for my daughters when it's time for college. It's those two things that I was thinking of investing. \n\nI don't think we're going to decrease our monthly contributions to the emergency fund/college account. \n\nI am almost at the max for the TSP. Though, I could do IRAs as well, I realize. I will take our next raises and put them to retirement savings.\n\nAnd, yes, I do realize that we could, and probably should, be saving more given our high salaries. That's part of the reason I like to read the PF threads every day. Definitely inspires me. This month we'll be paying off our car loan (two years early!), and money is going to be going to more monthly savings and to pay down our mortgage (working to get PMI off)."
User (Trisunflower): "Hi all,\n\nLong time reader, first time writer :)\n\nI have a tidy little sum saved for my girls' college and a tidy little sum saved for an emergency fund. I was going to take the bulk of both saving accounts and invest them in something low risk, just so I can have it make some money. I work for the Federal gov't, so my job has historically been pretty stable. My spouse works as a computer programmer, and so far his skills have always been in demand. \n\nI plan on withdrawing the college money in about ten years (they also have a healthy 529, this is just cash we've been saving for them).\n\nI may also immigrate to Canada in the near future, but that will depend on several factors. \n\nAnyway, a lot of you are more savvy investors than I am. What do you think? I'm worried that the market isn't going to do well over the next few year, but I don't know.\n\nThanks!\n\nEdit: a word" Self: "Here's how I do it (I'm Canadian so there are analogs in the US to what I am talking about).\n\nI keep a pool of money, my emergency fund, relatively close at hand. I keep about a third of it in a savings account with my bank (it only pays 0.55% interest) and the other two-thirds in a higher interest savings account with an online credit union (at 2% interest). I do this because this is money that I want to have on hand if something comes up. I keep some of it close with my bank because I can get that money right away and some of it with the credit union for a better rate but with a delay of around a week if I actually need the money. And I invest none of it because if the market swings down when I need the money, I've lost out.\n\nAfter this emergency blanket I make occasional contributions to my RRSP or TFSA (Canadian tax-sheltered accounts). i put aside money for these long term investments until I reach around $1500 and then I buy new investments (I have to pay a trading fee of $10, so the more money I put in at once the less is eaten by my trade). I also have a visa card that earns me points with my bank that I use to pay for trades. Because I'm saving for the long term about 70% of my investments go into equity ETFs or stocks (mostly ETFs but I dabble a bit with individual stocks out of interest) and 30% goes into bond ETFs (more stable, slower growing).\n\nNow as for advice, if you want the most hands off approach put your money into a tax-sheltered account and invest in some ETFs. Find an S&P500 etf, a total market ETF, a foreign market ETF, and a bond ETF. 4 ETFs in a portfolio is lots of diversification without having to put in a lot of effort. With something like your daughter's college fund, you will want to be more conservative with that investment. That means you should put more weight on bonds than stocks. Maybe go 50-50 stocks-bonds right now with 10 years left but slow start selling your stocks and moving more money into bond investments and guaranteed investments (savings accounts, etc) as you get closer to when you need the money handy." User (Trisunflower): "I had to Google some of what you said :)\n\nThis is really good advice. Thank you.\n\nDo you know if there are American equivalent of the RRSP/TFSA?\n\nI really like the advice. So, you would take the money out of the savings account and put in those relatively low risk ETFs? It sure does seem diversified. \n\nPerhaps I should find a high yield savings account at another bank. \n\nIn terms of the college fund, the bulk of their savings is in a 529 and we contribute monthly to it. We contribute a small amount monthly to a savings account, which could be a car or laptop or something like that when it's time for college. It's that small savings account (I estimate it'll be 10K for each of them when it's time for college) that I was thinking of investing. I estimate that each daughter's 529 will be about 25K when it's time for college. Not sure if you're familiar with the 529 - it seems like it's a lot like those diversified ETFs you're talking about, it's just more hands off. Tax advantaged, etc." Self: "An RRSP is a retirement savings plan, so I think the American equivalent is a 401k. A TFSA is kind of like a reverse RRSP. In an RRSP you can deduct contributions from your taxable income, but when you take money out it counts as taxable income. And in a TFSA you can't deduct contributions but when you take money out, you pay no additional taxes. I'm not sure if there is an American TFSA vehicle.\n\nYea, that's what I do. I put away a few hundred dollars into my bank's savings account and then when it is large enough, I move $1500 or so dollars into my TFSA and invest it in ETFs.\n\nAnd picking your distribution is a comfort level thing. A good savings account will make 1-2%/yr with no risk of losing any money. A bond ETF will usually pay 3-4%/yr as dividends and the price of the ETF will stay relatively stable. They grow a bit every year on average, but they can also go down a bit too. An equity ETF averages 5-8%/yr but they can really fluctuate. I have some investments that are sitting at -6% right now. In the long run they will probably turn around but I don't want to touch them now."
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Retirement Accounts](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement_accounts) (articles on 401(k) plans, IRAs, and more)\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "You'd do a Roth at that income level. You are not being taxed that much now anyway, so there's less incentive to go traditional, and you enjoy some unique advantages with a Roth vs. traditional." User (joshtako): "any insight on the advantages of a roth? or places to look at to see them?" Self: "The big one is you can withdraw contributions at any time in the future without paying any taxes or penalties.\n\nThe others are pretty much what you'd expect: tax-free accumulation, tax-free distribution after retirement, no required minimum distributions.\n\nYou can tap 10K of gains tax-free one-time to buy a house after you've had the account for five years.\n\nStuff like that."
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "You'd do a Roth at that income level. You are not being taxed that much now anyway, so there's less incentive to go traditional, and you enjoy some unique advantages with a Roth vs. traditional." CryptoEra (CryptoEra): "Not to hi-jack this thread, but lets say you are older, in your 40's, would your advice be the same?" Self: "Roth vs. traditional is mostly based on marginal tax rate, so, yes, it would be the same if the only difference was age. "
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "What state do you live in? I am an associate for a wealth management firm that does a lot of retirement account stuff. We could probably help you, although most of our clientele are older."
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "Don't forget state taxes. In ny today want to?retire in florida no roth fou you"
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "Roth makes sense for the 15% tax bracket. You're probably not going to get much better tax rate than that in retirement, and the advantage of being able to withdraw your principal is huge.\n\nI'm in the 25% tax bracket now so I use traditional IRA, but I wish I had been using Roth back when I was making 40k. A healthy Roth balance would be very useful to supplement my tax deferred savings in retirement." Diggy696 (Diggy696): "Question - So if I'm in the 25% tax bracket now, should I stop putting 5500 a year into my Roth and instead put more back into my 401k?" neeet (neeet): "If you are maxing out your IRA, you should also consider the fact that you can effectively put more of your pre-tax income in Roth IRA. Since you're in 25% tax bracket, your $5500 after tax income is $7,333.33 before taxes. While you're only allowed to put upto $5500 of your pre tax income in your traditional IRA, you can effective put upto $7,333.33 of your pre tax income in ROTH IRA.\n\n\nThis doesn't take into account the state tax. The number is even higher if you take state tax into consideration. However, if you plan on moving to a tax friendly jurisdiction after retirement, a traditional IRA is probably going to be more beneficial for you.\n\n\n "
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "Roth makes sense for the 15% tax bracket. You're probably not going to get much better tax rate than that in retirement, and the advantage of being able to withdraw your principal is huge.\n\nI'm in the 25% tax bracket now so I use traditional IRA, but I wish I had been using Roth back when I was making 40k. A healthy Roth balance would be very useful to supplement my tax deferred savings in retirement." Diggy696 (Diggy696): "Question - So if I'm in the 25% tax bracket now, should I stop putting 5500 a year into my Roth and instead put more back into my 401k?" erichiro (erichiro): "well you need to think about what bracket you expect to be in when you retire and compare it to your current bracket.\n\nIf the retirement bracket is the same or higher, go with roth, if the retirement bracket is lower you might be better off with 401k." Diggy696 (Diggy696): "What's the might be? " erichiro (erichiro): "Money you put into an account is called contributions. Income you earn from the investments in your account are called earnings.\n\nThe 401k will tax contributions and earnings at a lower rate. The Roth IRA will tax contributions at a higher rate but the earnings are tax free. So you would have to run the numbers to see which one makes more money after taxes." RIvereast (RIvereast): "Exactly the same?amount of?money in your pocket either way if tax rates sre the same "
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "Roth makes sense for the 15% tax bracket. You're probably not going to get much better tax rate than that in retirement, and the advantage of being able to withdraw your principal is huge.\n\nI'm in the 25% tax bracket now so I use traditional IRA, but I wish I had been using Roth back when I was making 40k. A healthy Roth balance would be very useful to supplement my tax deferred savings in retirement." Diggy696 (Diggy696): "Question - So if I'm in the 25% tax bracket now, should I stop putting 5500 a year into my Roth and instead put more back into my 401k?" SixSpeedDriver (SixSpeedDriver): "In my opinion, yes. I think most people make less in retirement then during their salaried years. If the opposite ends up true, well then that's a good problem to have.\n\nUltimately, its a crap shoot. Congress could change tax laws that make it more expensive later to draw down 401ks/traditional ROTHs. \n\nThe real name of the game is ideally tax diversification. Do both if you can. But if only one, at 25%, I'm deferring taxes until retirement." Rickles360 (Rickles360): "I'm no professional but the way I see it, the ability to take the money out of a Roth and invest in a house or education offers me security and flexibility. \n\nHere's a nice little calculator for OP.\n\nhttp://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roth-traditional-ira-calculator.aspx" SixSpeedDriver (SixSpeedDriver): "You shouldn't use your retirement savings for either of those things. You need to afford those things while saving for retirement." Rickles360 (Rickles360): "Point taken. My father retired on pension, so I'm pretty fresh at all this as I start my first job. I can imagine there are situations where It may make sense for certain people though right? Say the education might lead to a great increase in income, or considering that the house is salable to live more modestly in retirement (downsizing). It might not be the most sensible financially, but different people have different goals and risk tolerances." SixSpeedDriver (SixSpeedDriver): "In a world where pensions have gone by the wayside and there are concerns about social securities solvency (not to mention fickle politicians), I'd be concerned about not having a big nest egg.\n\nPersonally, I'm okay borrowing from retirement, as I am doing right now to get the last 1/3rd of my down payment, but its just a loan. But im continuing to fully fund my retirement plan at the same time as paying it back (which most people don't do). I'm also keeping my first house as a rental so I dont have to tap that equity.\n\nEducation and housing are both not guaranteed to make you money, but are good debts to have (vs crap lifestyle spending on credit). I'd try to find any other way to fund them first. "
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "Roth makes sense for the 15% tax bracket. You're probably not going to get much better tax rate than that in retirement, and the advantage of being able to withdraw your principal is huge.\n\nI'm in the 25% tax bracket now so I use traditional IRA, but I wish I had been using Roth back when I was making 40k. A healthy Roth balance would be very useful to supplement my tax deferred savings in retirement." Diggy696 (Diggy696): "Question - So if I'm in the 25% tax bracket now, should I stop putting 5500 a year into my Roth and instead put more back into my 401k?" Self: "Depends on your goals and where you're at. My retirement goal is save around $1 million in traditional and hopefully a couple hundred thousand in Roth. That way I can withdraw around $40k from traditional for living expenses, pay fairly low tax, but still have plenty of Roth savings for emergencies or if I want to splurge. Right now I live easily on $25k, and I don't anticipate being able to save $2 million or more where I would feel safe spending $100k+ per year. "
User (joshtako): "basic details. \n* 25 male, 40k a year, single, no kids \n* monthly expenses ~1200 \n* monthly income ~2200 \n* debt, 21k of student loans @4%, 235/month minimums \n* 401k through work, 5%, with working adding 5% as well (i've put in approx 1000 so far this year, and need almost 2 years before i vest in the work funds) \n* have 8500 in the bank for an efund \n\ncurrently as much excess income as possible goes towards my student loans. but my loans are also at a low enough interest where I'd like to get the ball rolling a bit more on retirement savings. I'm thinking my goal, would be to contribute to an IRA at the same rate as my 401k, so 5%, totaling 10%. this would come out to about $150 a month\n\nso I'm not sure how the calculations/recommendations work out for someone who isnt maxing out an IRA (only about 2k for the year) for roth/traditional. any advice on that would be much appreciated, as would any advice on where or with who to start one" Self: "You are right that investing for your retirement should be a priority, especially when you are young. That gives you more time to save and let your money work for you.\n\nI would put the most you can in your 401(k) up to the point of the match. I don't like to pass up free money, and the money that the company is givng you through a match is free money. Especially if they are matching 1:1 which it sounds like they are.\n\nNext, I would make sure I had 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund. Sure, it's not going to make anything, but especially when you have nobody else providing income, you need a safety net.\n\nLastly, I would double down on those Student Loans. While 4% is not bad for an interest rate, 0% is even better. Freeing up that $470/month would be a great amount to start putting away in a Roth IRA without changing your lifestyle. Additionally, when you reduce your monthly expenses, you need less of an emergency fund." User (joshtako): "work matches 50% up to 2% (so 1%) but also has an automatic 4% flat rate. \n8500 e fund is about 7 months of expenses (1200*7=8400) \nthe student loans are only 235 a month between them. \nand i said i'm throwing as much at the loans as i can, already down from 31k to start the year, and have put an extra 2800 towards them in the last two months" Self: "I guess I don't understand how your 401(k) match works. I thought you said you put in 5% and they match 5%, but maybe I read that wrong.\n\nRegardless, you are doing very well for yourself. Your emergency fund is great and way ahead of other people your age.\n\nIf you are already contributing to your 401(k) up to the match, then there is not much point in putting more in. \n\nThere is a theory called "Tax Diversification". Basically, it means don't tie up all your money in the same type of vehicle. For example, you don't want all your money tied up in a 401(k)/IRA because the tax laws may change when you go to take the money out. In that case, it would be nice to have some money in a Roth or even a Taxable account.\n\nAnother thing is 401(k)/IRAs have penalties for early withdrawal (as well as tax consequences). So it's better to have another pot to draw from in case you need to.\n\nSo my advice stands:\n1. contribute into your 401(k) up to the match, but no more.\n2. pay down student loans with any and all free cash\n3. when student loans are paid off, take that money and split between a Roth IRA and a taxable account. Invest regularly (ie. monthly, semi-monthly, weekly) with a reputable company that keeps your costs low (Vanguard/Fidelity)."
User (LukeSwanek): "I have a personal line of credit that I've had for 5 years and haven't needed or used for the last year or so.\n\nI know that having access to credit is helping my credit score, but I'm wondering if an unused account ($0 balance) might hurt it.\n\nI have a strong credit score and no debt beyond student. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!\n\nThanks!\n\nedit: I don't need this line of credit anymore, should I remove it? What's the best thing that I can do for my credit score?" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit)\n- [Credit Reports](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_reports) \n- [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico)\n- [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (LukeSwanek): "I have a personal line of credit that I've had for 5 years and haven't needed or used for the last year or so.\n\nI know that having access to credit is helping my credit score, but I'm wondering if an unused account ($0 balance) might hurt it.\n\nI have a strong credit score and no debt beyond student. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!\n\nThanks!\n\nedit: I don't need this line of credit anymore, should I remove it? What's the best thing that I can do for my credit score?" Self: "Keep it until you can get a secured line of credit. Never know when you may need access "
User (LukeSwanek): "I have a personal line of credit that I've had for 5 years and haven't needed or used for the last year or so.\n\nI know that having access to credit is helping my credit score, but I'm wondering if an unused account ($0 balance) might hurt it.\n\nI have a strong credit score and no debt beyond student. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!\n\nThanks!\n\nedit: I don't need this line of credit anymore, should I remove it? What's the best thing that I can do for my credit score?" Self: "Just leave it.\n\nGrab some cash out of it and pay it back the same day once every 6 months or so to keep it active."
User (fascinating123): "My brother is going through the process of doing a first time home buyer's program right now, looking to qualify and buy sometime in the late spring/early summer. My parents and another friend of mine also bought using the same program. My feelings on it are that (depending on the state/locality) they are sometimes good and sometimes bad but overall I don't really like them.\n\nAt least where I live, these programs are only good if you plan on living in the same area for 20+ years and plan on using your home as only a place to live. If you're looking to one day rent it out, leverage equity or sell it and move somewhere else, it's likely not worth it. \n\nIn my situation, my wife and I aren't sure we want to spend the rest of our lives in this area (NoVa/Washington DC) and the cost of living is quite high. So I'm pretty sure such a program (while nice in theory) isn't for us. Thoughts?" Self: "I'm no expert, but I found [this website](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0) to be helpful to determine if buying or renting is a better option. You might also check out the sidebar in the [25-35 category for housing.](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/early_career)" User (fascinating123): "Those are handy tools, but I'm referring specifically to programs designed for first time home buyers, usually sponsored by county or state governments that have rules on things like purchase price, down payment requirements, reselling or refinancing. \n\nFor example you can't rent out the home or any rooms while on the program. There's a limit on how much you can resell the home for (usually capped at a certain amount due to the fact that it has to be resold to someone else on the program) which can impact any kind of equity you build up. \n\nYou get a lower purchase price and usually the down payment and interest is much lower, but the downside is you lose a lot of the flexibility."
User (fascinating123): "My brother is going through the process of doing a first time home buyer's program right now, looking to qualify and buy sometime in the late spring/early summer. My parents and another friend of mine also bought using the same program. My feelings on it are that (depending on the state/locality) they are sometimes good and sometimes bad but overall I don't really like them.\n\nAt least where I live, these programs are only good if you plan on living in the same area for 20+ years and plan on using your home as only a place to live. If you're looking to one day rent it out, leverage equity or sell it and move somewhere else, it's likely not worth it. \n\nIn my situation, my wife and I aren't sure we want to spend the rest of our lives in this area (NoVa/Washington DC) and the cost of living is quite high. So I'm pretty sure such a program (while nice in theory) isn't for us. Thoughts?" Self: "Former real estate agent here:\n\nIt sounds like you've got a good grasp on the potential pros and cons. Depending on what program is available to them in their area and what their plans are will really help make a decision. These can be very attractive options for the right type of buyers.\n\nIn my experience, generally it's a down payment that can be the most daunting for first time buyers. It might be worth looking into an FHA loan, which allows for a much smaller down payment than a traditional loan (there are definitely some trade offs for the lower down payment, do your homework!). There are also some restrictions that come along with these loans, but generally less than some of the first time buyer programs.\n\nGood luck!"
User (Togafo): "A mother and a son lives together in a house with 8000kr total rent, they have agreed that the son pays 3500kr. Then they move to a house with 6000kr rent and they still agreed that the son pays 3500kr.\n\nNow after one year the landlord says that the rent will retroactively be raised 600kr each month, so it's now 6600kr.\n\nShould the son help pay for the lump sum from the retroactive increase in rent, and if so, how much?" Self: "That's up to the mother and son to decide."
User (Togafo): "A mother and a son lives together in a house with 8000kr total rent, they have agreed that the son pays 3500kr. Then they move to a house with 6000kr rent and they still agreed that the son pays 3500kr.\n\nNow after one year the landlord says that the rent will retroactively be raised 600kr each month, so it's now 6600kr.\n\nShould the son help pay for the lump sum from the retroactive increase in rent, and if so, how much?" Self: "No. Also, retroactive rent is a thing? If my landlord said that to me, I'd tell him to piss off." User (Togafo): "The landlord is a management company, they didn't manage to come to an agreement with the tenants' association for this years rent increase so the matter has gone to the rent tribunal. So when they decide the rent will be taken retroactively from the tenants."
User (Paradise5551): "I have a question in regards to investing. I am a student that due to what happened with some money have about 5200 dollars in my Tax free savings account. I want to know what investments I can do for less then a year before my student loan is due (NOV 1st 2017) to help with paying it off. I live in Canada." Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n- [Investing wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (Paradise5551): "I have a question in regards to investing. I am a student that due to what happened with some money have about 5200 dollars in my Tax free savings account. I want to know what investments I can do for less then a year before my student loan is due (NOV 1st 2017) to help with paying it off. I live in Canada." Self: "You can't really invest in anything that guarantees you don't lose anything. I keep my emergency fund in an online high interest savings account? Pretty much any online bank should be able to get you over 1% since they have less overhead than a brick and mortar bank."
User (TheVermonster): "We received a collections notice sent to our address, but it has no name on it. It is a delinquent utility bill from July of 2011. We have only lived here since November of 2015 (we didn't even live in this state in July of 2011). The account numbers don't match up to any of mine, plus I have record of our bill being paid by AHC every month. \n\nI still want to dispute the collection because I am afraid they will still try and pin it on me. I am sending them a letter stating that I have no responsibility for the debt. But is there anything else I should do, or be aware of?\n\nEdit: This is an electric/Gas bill and we are renters. " Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [What's the best way to pay down my debt?](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/debt#wiki_what.27s_the_best_way_to_pay_down_my_debt.3F)\n- [Dealing with collections](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections)\n- [Credit Repair](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building#wiki_i_have_bad_credit.2C_and_i_am_looking_to_repair_it.)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (TheVermonster): "We received a collections notice sent to our address, but it has no name on it. It is a delinquent utility bill from July of 2011. We have only lived here since November of 2015 (we didn't even live in this state in July of 2011). The account numbers don't match up to any of mine, plus I have record of our bill being paid by AHC every month. \n\nI still want to dispute the collection because I am afraid they will still try and pin it on me. I am sending them a letter stating that I have no responsibility for the debt. But is there anything else I should do, or be aware of?\n\nEdit: This is an electric/Gas bill and we are renters. " Self: "Different states have different rules and you don't say if you own or rent.\n\nIn Minnesota, the only utility bill that stays with the property is water/sewer. Other than that, you would have no responsibility for the bill. If you owned the property and it was an old water bill then it's a little more of an issue but one that a title company was supposed to handle at the time of sale." User (TheVermonster): "I'll have to look into the state laws here then. This is an electric and gas bill, and we are renting. I'm sure there isn't much they can do to me without a name on the account, but I'd hate to see what they'll try to get away with. " lukeyj_gtfc (lukeyj_gtfc): "In England, we just contact supplier. Explain it's rented and that you have only lived there since x date. They accept it is an error. The debt sits on property and therefore the owner, not renter. You can prove you didn't live there them, it's their problem. Until they know, they'll chase and they could go to court to gain entry and bailiffs. Just contact, don't run. "
User (TheVermonster): "We received a collections notice sent to our address, but it has no name on it. It is a delinquent utility bill from July of 2011. We have only lived here since November of 2015 (we didn't even live in this state in July of 2011). The account numbers don't match up to any of mine, plus I have record of our bill being paid by AHC every month. \n\nI still want to dispute the collection because I am afraid they will still try and pin it on me. I am sending them a letter stating that I have no responsibility for the debt. But is there anything else I should do, or be aware of?\n\nEdit: This is an electric/Gas bill and we are renters. " Self: "No, you are not liable as a renter for any bill run up years previous by other owners or renters. Call the provider using their phone number that you independently find yourself (don't use the number on the bill to protect against phishing scams) and you should be able to straighten this out in one call."
User (StuckOnOldGen): "I'm trying to find an app that can help me keep track of my spending and that actually store money away. Like most people I cannot live without my phone. An app suggestion that helps save money would be appreciated. An app called Stash comes to mind but want to here your guys' review." Self: "Mint.com"
User (StuckOnOldGen): "I'm trying to find an app that can help me keep track of my spending and that actually store money away. Like most people I cannot live without my phone. An app suggestion that helps save money would be appreciated. An app called Stash comes to mind but want to here your guys' review." Self: "Definitely [Mint.](https://www.mint.com/) Also, you might choose to split up your income into several categories to save as suggested [in this post titled Budgeting 101.](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/40q7jb/budgeting_101_the_simplest_way_to_start_budgeting/)\n\nI use both of these to keep track of money. I use Budgeting 101 to prioritize my spending, and mint to keep track of monthly trends in what I'm spending and to help me follow my net worth.\n\nI hope this helps!\n " User (StuckOnOldGen): "Thanks will be sure to check it out!"
User (StuckOnOldGen): "I'm trying to find an app that can help me keep track of my spending and that actually store money away. Like most people I cannot live without my phone. An app suggestion that helps save money would be appreciated. An app called Stash comes to mind but want to here your guys' review." Self: "I'm also trying to find out user's experiences with Stash. It is an investment app and one only needs $5 to start." User (StuckOnOldGen): "I know I feel like the community should review the app. I can't trust the reviews on the Apple Store."
User (StuckOnOldGen): "I'm trying to find an app that can help me keep track of my spending and that actually store money away. Like most people I cannot live without my phone. An app suggestion that helps save money would be appreciated. An app called Stash comes to mind but want to here your guys' review." Self: "YouNeedaBudget (YNAB) is a great tool for sorting out and tracking spending. It's a budgeting tool, and you'll need to set it up and do some work on a computer, but they also have a mobile app for entering transactions. The neat thing is that one of the principle ideas is "Give Every Dollar a Job." Which means you are encouraged to be putting money aside for savings goals, both short and long-term. I think there are a lot of folks on this sub who would endorse YNAB.\n\nhttps://www.youneedabudget.com/"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Would it be better to slowly pay it off to build credit? Asking as someone who just graduated and is making enough money to do this but not sure if I should." guitarworms (guitarworms): "You build credit only to go into more debt. My credit score went from 0 to 750 within 3 months of getting one credit card. Only reason for getting the card was to take out a mortgage. My insurance rates have not changed because of my increase of credit. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I'm struggling to understand how you found the time.\n\nYour new job likely required 40 hours per week. Your security jobs could then require another 40 hours, plus two to three hours driving for Uber, and then you took care of 50 dogs. Not including travel and care for the dogs, that works out to roughly 101 working hours every seven days. If each dog only required 15 minutes of care - again, I'm not including travel time to each animal - that would require another 12.5 hours per week.\n\nThis means you would have been working up to 113.5 hours per week for the better part of a year since you only occasionally took a weekend off. That would leave a little more than seven hours a day to do everything like showering, eating, shopping for weekly necessities like food, or sleeping each day of the week. How is this possible?\n\nExpanded the math in the edit." Kushim (Kushim): "Your math is off. there are 168 hours in a week." Self: "Thank you. I meant to focus on the work week, but I was unclear."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "No offense but if you don't have the money to pay for taxes, you haven't paid off your loans. You've just swapped them for IRS liabilities. You have further complicated your financial situation by moving your debt to an obligation which isn't designed to be paid over time.\n\nRabid obsession with a single goal is not a good financial decision. \n\nI would strongly consider earning enough to pay the IRS and then stepping back. You can slow down, improve performance at your day job, use that to finish off some high profile projects, and parley that into a raise or better job somewhere else." FIREmillenial (FIREmillenial): "It seems OP rolled over the pension into a traditional IRA instead of taking the money now. Which would help their NW be higher. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I'm struggling to understand how you found the time.\n\nYour new job likely required 40 hours per week. Your security jobs could then require another 40 hours, plus two to three hours driving for Uber, and then you took care of 50 dogs. Not including travel and care for the dogs, that works out to roughly 101 working hours every seven days. If each dog only required 15 minutes of care - again, I'm not including travel time to each animal - that would require another 12.5 hours per week.\n\nThis means you would have been working up to 113.5 hours per week for the better part of a year since you only occasionally took a weekend off. That would leave a little more than seven hours a day to do everything like showering, eating, shopping for weekly necessities like food, or sleeping each day of the week. How is this possible?\n\nExpanded the math in the edit." whadidup (whadidup): "Security job is almost certainly contract work, not 40/wk" its-not-that-bad (its-not-that-bad): "It's contract work but it's usually higher paying for gigs. I have friends who along with their dads and brothers work Hollywood events. Hollywood is about image. Look badass? They will hire you for security and pay you for your image. \n\nGot 20-years standing in front of a community credit union? You may not look the part..."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Wow that is incredible! Good job man. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Would it be better to slowly pay it off to build credit? Asking as someone who just graduated and is making enough money to do this but not sure if I should." Jzig_g (Jzig_g): "Credit isn't that hard to build. It isn't worth thousands in interest to maintain unsecured debt just to build credit. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Life on the other side of debt is amazing! Great job! You crushed it!!" 2QB1 (2QB1): "How true! All your money is your 's not the banks or governments!!"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "That's crazy fast--congrats! Also maybe crossed paths at PAX East :P"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I'm just under 10k in debt for my Bachelor's degree. Should finish paying that off late next year. Just recently started my Master's program, and will be in debt for that soon, but should be able to pay that of soon after graduating. I cannot wait for that day where I'm done paying off student loans."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" IThinkIThinkThings (IThinkIThinkThings): "I have around 60k. It's multiple loans, some as low as 2.5%, some above 6%. All are relatively low, but I pay 2x as much on the higher ones. Hoping to see that drop to zero pretty quickly. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "You are doing it backwards, pay your bills off smallest to largest! ( debt snowball) When the little bill is paid, move to the next and so on! You will be amazed how fast you can be out of debt! " venounan (venounan): "Isn't this the wrong advice? I think traditionally you want to pay off the highest interest rate ones faster - the long term benefits of paying off a higher debt with larger interest rate will far outweigh knocking out a few smaller debts with lower interest rates." beepbloopbloop (beepbloopbloop): "Yes it is wrong financially. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Inspiring stuff, thanks for postin"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" IThinkIThinkThings (IThinkIThinkThings): "I have around 60k. It's multiple loans, some as low as 2.5%, some above 6%. All are relatively low, but I pay 2x as much on the higher ones. Hoping to see that drop to zero pretty quickly. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "You are doing it backwards, pay your bills off smallest to largest! ( debt snowball) When the little bill is paid, move to the next and so on! You will be amazed how fast you can be out of debt! " venounan (venounan): "Isn't this the wrong advice? I think traditionally you want to pay off the highest interest rate ones faster - the long term benefits of paying off a higher debt with larger interest rate will far outweigh knocking out a few smaller debts with lower interest rates." Selpheric (Selpheric): "I agree with this, snowballing gives a psychological benefit of feeling progress. Which is beneficial in the short term, but will cost slightly more in the long run."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "You could have waited for four years and got it written off."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" fingernailclippings (fingernailclippings): "If you don't mind me asking, what lenders are you guys using for sub-3% interest rates?\n\nEdit: Thanks for all the replies, looks like I missed the boat for great rates. " poo-poo (poo-poo): "Originally my student loans were 3.75 and then half of them jumped to 7"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: ""My friend, moneys not hard to come by if money's all you're after.""
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Great job. You used the same game plan I'm planning to use. Except my city no longer has Uber. Seeing you do it makes me feel good my planning foundation is sound. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Congrats, I am also about 50k in debt but have no plan whatsoever to pay it all off within a year. I am also married, which certainly complicates spending, although increases income. But I agree with some of these posts that warn others here reading this. It's 100% better to spread that hardcore payback plan over 3-4 years. Aside from taxes and interest and everything, you will just work significantly less, and enjoy those years, while paying off your debt fast. What OP did is pay off his loans with money that he now owes the IRS in April. Sure it won't gain a couple bucks in interest over the quarter, but the IRS will be after him with fines greater than the interest JUST because he wanted to be debt free asap. All you need to achieve, to pay off your debt, is a positive cash flow that supports the life you want and amortize it to a time period that supports that cash flow. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "That sir...is the exact definition of "Hussle."\nI looked up the word Hussle on Wikipedia and saw this post as a reference. \n\nYou didn't just learn how to get out of debt. You learned how to get rich, how to not be poor, how to put your boots on and do what it takes to get the job done. Even though you net worth may be low now, it's in the positive and mark my word...come back in 5-years and tell us what your net worth is then. It will be very very high. \n\nYou will win at life. " User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you!"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I'm struggling to understand how you found the time.\n\nYour new job likely required 40 hours per week. Your security jobs could then require another 40 hours, plus two to three hours driving for Uber, and then you took care of 50 dogs. Not including travel and care for the dogs, that works out to roughly 101 working hours every seven days. If each dog only required 15 minutes of care - again, I'm not including travel time to each animal - that would require another 12.5 hours per week.\n\nThis means you would have been working up to 113.5 hours per week for the better part of a year since you only occasionally took a weekend off. That would leave a little more than seven hours a day to do everything like showering, eating, shopping for weekly necessities like food, or sleeping each day of the week. How is this possible?\n\nExpanded the math in the edit." whadidup (whadidup): "Security job is almost certainly contract work, not 40/wk" Self: "OP specified working an additional 10 to 40 hours weekly." random19 (random19): "Ok, so 10-40 hours a week is not nearly the same as 40 hours a week"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "That is my ultimate goal for the next couple of years. Great job OP!"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Would it be better to slowly pay it off to build credit? Asking as someone who just graduated and is making enough money to do this but not sure if I should." qasdf12 (qasdf12): "you can "build credit" by buying $50 of goods/services per month on a credit card and paying it off in full each billing cycle. not missing payments and keeping a low balance (specifically a low ratio of balance / available credit). no need to maintain outstanding debt, which costs you money (paying interest on said debt). the above $50/month example could even be with a credit card with some terrible 24.99% APR; as long as you pay off the full amount each month, you will not incur interest charges."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I just bought a car in September got an 18k loan (5yr 3.75%), I make a decent amount of money for a 21 yr old. ~ 41k a year before OT after my recent raise. Should I think about trying to pay this off in a year or two kinda like this guy did? " Aqsx1 (Aqsx1): "The general consensus is that it would be a good idea. What do you think are the pros and cons of paying it off asap as opposed to taking it slower?"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Great job and thank you for the insight! I just want to point one thing. Be careful about paying your student loan off completely if you don't have any other installment loan on your credit profile. Doing so will cause a big hit to your credit score. Creditors want to see at least one active installment loan. Of course if you are not looking to buy a house or a car anytime soon, this is not that big a deal, but a 30 point drop can be huge depending on your situation.\n\nHowever, if you do pay your student debt and need that installment loan to help with your credit mix, just get a $500 secured credit line at a credit union, pay 70% of it off and then just keep a $10 payment schedule. You will gain back all the points that you have lost" harlottesometimes (harlottesometimes): "ARGH! I hate credit scores. I look forward to the day when I no longer have to do business with anyone who mistakes a high credit score with financial responsibility."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I just bought a car in September got an 18k loan (5yr 3.75%), I make a decent amount of money for a 21 yr old. ~ 41k a year before OT after my recent raise. Should I think about trying to pay this off in a year or two kinda like this guy did? " harlottesometimes (harlottesometimes): "That depends on how much you'd like to pay for your car. In four years, will you be happy still paying off a $10k loan for a $5k asset?"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" IThinkIThinkThings (IThinkIThinkThings): "I have around 60k. It's multiple loans, some as low as 2.5%, some above 6%. All are relatively low, but I pay 2x as much on the higher ones. Hoping to see that drop to zero pretty quickly. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "You are doing it backwards, pay your bills off smallest to largest! ( debt snowball) When the little bill is paid, move to the next and so on! You will be amazed how fast you can be out of debt! " Zero_feniX (Zero_feniX): "You're getting downvoted for telling him he's wrong because he's doing the more fiscally optimized approach to debt reduction rather than your preferred psychological optimization. Neither is wrong, there's more than one way to skin a cat."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" fingernailclippings (fingernailclippings): "If you don't mind me asking, what lenders are you guys using for sub-3% interest rates?\n\nEdit: Thanks for all the replies, looks like I missed the boat for great rates. " Zero_feniX (Zero_feniX): "Federal subsidized student loans through FAFSA"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" IThinkIThinkThings (IThinkIThinkThings): "I have around 60k. It's multiple loans, some as low as 2.5%, some above 6%. All are relatively low, but I pay 2x as much on the higher ones. Hoping to see that drop to zero pretty quickly. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "You are doing it backwards, pay your bills off smallest to largest! ( debt snowball) When the little bill is paid, move to the next and so on! You will be amazed how fast you can be out of debt! " venounan (venounan): "Isn't this the wrong advice? I think traditionally you want to pay off the highest interest rate ones faster - the long term benefits of paying off a higher debt with larger interest rate will far outweigh knocking out a few smaller debts with lower interest rates." ihatebloopers (ihatebloopers): "Definitely better to pay off higher interest loans but some people get more satisfaction/motivation from knocking off loans. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "Read the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and you will understand better! it's an amazing read . " beepbloopbloop (beepbloopbloop): "Or you could try to think objectively and save yourself the most money in the long run, because this is a personal finance subreddit. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" IThinkIThinkThings (IThinkIThinkThings): "I have around 60k. It's multiple loans, some as low as 2.5%, some above 6%. All are relatively low, but I pay 2x as much on the higher ones. Hoping to see that drop to zero pretty quickly. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "You are doing it backwards, pay your bills off smallest to largest! ( debt snowball) When the little bill is paid, move to the next and so on! You will be amazed how fast you can be out of debt! " venounan (venounan): "Isn't this the wrong advice? I think traditionally you want to pay off the highest interest rate ones faster - the long term benefits of paying off a higher debt with larger interest rate will far outweigh knocking out a few smaller debts with lower interest rates." ihatebloopers (ihatebloopers): "Definitely better to pay off higher interest loans but some people get more satisfaction/motivation from knocking off loans. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "Read the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and you will understand better! it's an amazing read . " ihatebloopers (ihatebloopers): "His methods definitely work for some but you shouldn't say people are doing it wrong just because they don't follow his methodology. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" IThinkIThinkThings (IThinkIThinkThings): "I have around 60k. It's multiple loans, some as low as 2.5%, some above 6%. All are relatively low, but I pay 2x as much on the higher ones. Hoping to see that drop to zero pretty quickly. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "You are doing it backwards, pay your bills off smallest to largest! ( debt snowball) When the little bill is paid, move to the next and so on! You will be amazed how fast you can be out of debt! " venounan (venounan): "Isn't this the wrong advice? I think traditionally you want to pay off the highest interest rate ones faster - the long term benefits of paying off a higher debt with larger interest rate will far outweigh knocking out a few smaller debts with lower interest rates." How2999 (How2999): "To me snowballing is listing debts by APR. Then paying the highest rate first.\n\nIt reduces your interest in the long run.\n\nPaying off smallest debt first regardless of interest rate is psychologically beneficial, I guess, but not financially efficient. \n\nI wonder if snowballing in the US refers to the latter whilst in the UK it's very much the former." revengeofthebits (revengeofthebits): "The method you call snowball, we call avalanche."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" emlombardo (emlombardo): "I had about half that amount at a similar rate. It would have made more sense to pay down my mortgage but I went ahead and paid off the student loan. Feels great and it's one less monthly payment. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "No offense but if you don't have the money to pay for taxes, you haven't paid off your loans. You've just swapped them for IRS liabilities. You have further complicated your financial situation by moving your debt to an obligation which isn't designed to be paid over time.\n\nRabid obsession with a single goal is not a good financial decision. \n\nI would strongly consider earning enough to pay the IRS and then stepping back. You can slow down, improve performance at your day job, use that to finish off some high profile projects, and parley that into a raise or better job somewhere else." howtoaddict (howtoaddict): "To me this does look like advertisement for General Assembly... it's new account and story seems quite unlikely once you look into details.\n\nEdit: Thanks for upvotes, yo. I do want to believe story is real... hope that General Assembly is not evil to be misguiding people like this ;(. Will see if OP responds." User (RagnarNoDebt): "Meh, believe what you want, I was just desperate to leave my old job and every higher up position wanted experience in digital marketing so I took the course. It was good, but I wouldn't recommend GA if you can get the skills without paying for them. Also, I found the company to over promise and under deliver, a few classes got cancelled and didn't get made up which was bs and also we were promised new industry leaders to speak to the clasd every week and got about 3 through out the course. Had free beer in the break room which was cool." MangoMeats (MangoMeats): "So all in all, how much did you end up earning this year? "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I'm less than a year out from paying off 20k of debt. Your post and energy is certainly inspiring!!! Way to grind!!! " User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "well done yo. inspiring as hell." User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Just want to commend you on the worth ethic. Very inspiring. Whether you paid down your loans or piss it away, that work ethic is refreshing. " User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "This is the kind of post I actually enjoy reading. This sub is usually "I paid off X amount of debt in X time, and all it took was free housing and a modest 130k / year salary" and then the circle-jerk begins. But it looks like OP genuinely busted his/her ass." User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Dude, that is awesome. Your level of dedication is inspiring. Maybe once my loans come due in May, I'll have that dedication. But there's that nagging thought in the back of my mind that says, "if you stick with not for profit organizations like you're working for now, the loans will be forgiven in 10 years".... Decisions, decisions.... Anyway, congrats!! " User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Congrats. I admire your tenacity.\n\nEnjoy those Jordans, you sure as hell deserve them." User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Life on the other side of debt is amazing! Great job! You crushed it!!" User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "i have 100k @ 3%. financially it'd be dumb of me to pay that off quickly given the low rate (as compared to my mortgage), but I kinda want it off my chest... ugh" IThinkIThinkThings (IThinkIThinkThings): "I have around 60k. It's multiple loans, some as low as 2.5%, some above 6%. All are relatively low, but I pay 2x as much on the higher ones. Hoping to see that drop to zero pretty quickly. " 2QB1 (2QB1): "You are doing it backwards, pay your bills off smallest to largest! ( debt snowball) When the little bill is paid, move to the next and so on! You will be amazed how fast you can be out of debt! " GeeMunz11 (GeeMunz11): "You're getting down voted but I don't think people see your point. \n\nTo clarify, yes you would reduce your tax burden by hitting the higher rated debt first, but the psychological effect of reducing the small loans can be a motivating factor to encourage future savings and debt reduction." Preskool_dropout (Preskool_dropout): "He has a point, but if we are talking about the best financial advice, you always pay off the highest interest rate loan. Always. Unless of course there are some other variables coming into play. That's why he is getting downvoted. " GeeMunz11 (GeeMunz11): "Totally. I think OP was wrong to suggest he's going about it the wrong way, but the method suggested does have merits. \n\nAs humans we aren't all rational actors unfortunately.. End of the day, its the results we are trying to achieve that matters. " Preskool_dropout (Preskool_dropout): "That's is very, very true. Some people do need those little "pats on the back" to succeed while others don't. "
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "Would it be better to slowly pay it off to build credit? Asking as someone who just graduated and is making enough money to do this but not sure if I should." Olue (Olue): "Credit is never worth more than interest unless you plan on applying for a mortgage in the next 12 months."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: ">I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront.\n\nI would've been tempted to grab that and get rid of my debt, you definitely are not going to regret this in the longrun" User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you"
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "I too live in Boston. I might be interested in some side gigs. Would you mind making some suggestions? " User (RagnarNoDebt): "Nah no problem. First off, worst side hustle I had for years is bouncing at Boston Bars. Crappy pay and can be very boring. I would recommend Lyft & uber if you can do it, air bnb, part time waiter gig..my buddy had one at top of the hub, made bank. MSA if your going to do security. Rover if you like dogs. Also, if your very creative and good at marketing try selling on teespring."
User (RagnarNoDebt): "Hi everyone,\n\nLong time lurker and was 48k in student debt last December. Made a commitment last year to get out of debt. First, off I went the opposite direction and took a $3,500 digital marketing course. That allowed me though to land a higher paying job as a marketing manager for a professional services firm. \n\nI already had an emergency fund of 5k and my new job didn't let us get in the 401k plan until a year in (since has been changed). I put everything I made into my loans, besides rent & utility, cheap food and didn't buy anything like new clothes or luxury items. I then got a gig doing private security at events like Pax East, Comic Con, Apple and at hospitals that paid any where from $20-30hr. Would do these sporadically for anywhere from 10-40 extra hrs a week and huck it am my loans. I also signed up for Rover.com and took care of about 40 different types of dogs. \n\nThe final push is when I started driving Uber. I work in Boston right next to a college so after work it would often be surging and I'd drive for hours after work. I got addicted and would try to bring in an extra $500-800 week driving. Lots of caffeine and not going out on weekends. Kept track of mileage, driving expenses and expected taxes. I also made and extra $1600 referring four drivers\n\nI was making quick headway, but was getting really burnt out. I would occasionally take a weekend off to recharge and then get back at it I would fantasize about hitting a scratch ticket for the last 10k or a gift from a long lost relative. Then fate intervened. At my old job we had a pension program I never paid attention to because they said it was going away. Well one day I get a call from my old CFO the plan was frozen and I was being paid out a little over 10k. I could either take it as cash and pay 3k in taxes & fines, or roll it over. I was extremely tempted to take it and run, but after talking to my CPA coworkers, decided to suck it up and roll it over into an IRA at Wealthfront. \n\nI drove a shit ton of uber the last two months, put my whole work bonus and all my Rover funds towards the last 10k. I was down to 3k last night and used 3gs from my emergency fund to finish it off. It was a very long process, but I'm glad I'm done. Now have to replenish the emergency fund and save up for taxes (saved a bunch, but got greedy towards the end putting it all at the loan). \n\nI'm done and am looking forward to having more free time for fun, learning more skills to get a better job and getting back into fitness. I also made my first post loans splurge purchase..new Retro Jordan 9's..don't know why I wanted them, but I did. 😎\n\nEdit: thank you to everyone for their kind words. I'm done replying for a while, please search the thread if you have questions, I think I answered most of them somewhere. Have a great day and let's go Pats!" Self: "That's an awesome accomplishment! Congrats. Back in 1999 I did the same. As soon as my student loans were paid off I kept saving at a somewhat slower pace for a house. You may want to consider doing the same. It's amazing how much $50k extra in your down payment can sure up your future. My wife and I will be debtfree by age 52 with the kids college paid for and hope to realistically retire at 57. This is attainable if you are disciplined at a young age like we were. Let your friends by the cars with leather and double moon-roofs. Your time will come for that..." User (RagnarNoDebt): "Thank you! Def plan to still save, hope to have a future like yours"

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