Student Loans: The Great Payback

If you have ever met me, or have read back any amount of posts, you will know that I am obsessed with money and my student loans.  Well I am glad to finally tell you that the day has finally arrived, my students loans are paid off.

Can we just take a minute here.  I mean really.

You can bet I ate a huge cupcake for dinner after that.  And then dinner.  And then a dairy free soy based ice cream.

So for anyone who may also be struggling under the weight of bad decisions when you were 19, here is a quick breakdown of how I paid off my student loans 6 years early.

First being a VISTA helped- tremendously.  I don't make a lot of money monthly, but at the end of my service I will be awarded an additional Education Award.  That's $5,500 towards my student loans. So technically I still have a balance of $5,500 in my Sallie Mae account, but it's been deferred with no interest on my part. Then when my service is officially over, that extra check will be mailed in my name straight to Sallie Mae.  I make less each month sure, but that money would have been going towards my student loans anyway, so it all works out in the end.

Me in my VISTA getup

Second, three years ago I opened a savings account with paying back my loans specifically in mind.  Every time I had extra cash, or thought I had extra cash (I'll get to that in a second) I put it in that savings account.  Then each month, or every couple of months I would make additional payments to my loans out of this savings account.  These payments never replaced a regularly scheduled payment, they were additional payments.   Sometimes I would wait until I had a huge chunk of change and make one big payment, but sometimes little bits would turn into bigger bits really fast and I would make as many as 6 extra payments a month if I took on odd jobs or something.

Third, I got into the habit of spending money on myself.  When I had money burning a hole in my pocket or I got the hankering to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe, I would ask myself how much I was willing to spend on that item.  Would I feel comfortable spending $200 at Target right now?  Then that meant that I had too much money in my bank account and I would transfer that money into my savings.  Sure it sucked sometimes, but reality checks like that really helped turn my head around and got me to refocus my attention.

Finally, when the going got tough, I got a little crazy.  There for a few months, before I started as a VISTA, I had a goal of putting $1,000 a month towards my debt, and I got a little crazy.  I took on odd jobs, I had two yard sales, baby sat, baked, anything I could think of.  The purging helped me really look at what I was spending my money on, and the selling really helped me reach those goals.  Sometimes you just gotta dig deep and find the motivation to keep going, and if you dig up some cool stuff while you're at it, all the better.

Was it easy?  Nope.  I am very fortunate to have a wonderful husband who took on most of our financial responsibilities while I focused on my debt, and not everyone has that chance.  But slowly, very slowly, I was able to hack away at it.  And now, 4 years and a few months after I graduated with my degree I'll probably never use, I can finally say it's all over.

And now it may be time for a second cupcake...

What I Got For Free: Wheels Edition

Marco bought himself a bike.

That's not free!  You're saying.  I know, I know, hang on, I'm getting there.

We have been window shopping for bikes for a couple of years since moving into our home along a great bike path.  We have been looking at different models and types, brands and sizes, but it just never seemed like the "right" bike for me or the right time.  There are so many options out there and I feel like my waist is too short but my legs are too long.  I've never been very good at riding a bike. What if we bought a fancy $400 bike and I hated it?  What if I never used it?  What if there was no where I actually wanted to go on a bike??  So I never pulled the trigger and I never bought one.

Well, imagine my surprise then a few months ago when I was talking to a neighbor about things that were completely unrelated- my exercise "routine" (where I basically work out while doing other stuff, planks while waiting for the kettle to boil, squats while folding laundry etc.) and how great our new neighborhood bike/mail box shelter is looking, when suddenly a different neighbor offers me a free bike that they no longer need.  I'll be honest, at first, my reaction was "What?  That sounds like work." but after a few minutes I was really getting into this idea.

You see, spending $400 (that could have gone toward my debt) is one thing, but a free bike is different.  A free bike, although not my "ideal" bike, is, well, free.

So there it sat.  For months.  Sometimes in the shed.  Sometimes in the yard.  But mostly just in the sitting position.  Until a couple of weeks ago when I realized I needed to put gas in my car and the latest heat wave had finally broken and I realized that nope- I was going to bike to work today.

Cut to two plus weeks later.  I've biked to work every day for two solid weeks now.  I've even biked to 3 meetings and one speaking engagement!  I have been logging my miles with the Runtastic Pro app, just because I hate to lose all of my other awesome data for the month (it keeps track of your distances, calories burned, time, all of it).

I gotta say, I don't hate it.  Sure I still get a little winded going up some of the hills around town.  And I cannot say that I'm faster than I was two weeks ago, but Marco promises that those things will come in time.  Right now I'm just enjoying tallying up the money I save everyday and watching my calorie counter click higher each time I reach a destination.  Free transportation, free gym membership, free fuel... Now I just need a review mirror and some awesome stickers and I'll be good to go!

*P.S. Those savings from transportation and what not are going directly into my new savings account for a new, actually my size, hybrid bike that I've been eyeing.  So while they are "savings" they are already allotted to new adventures. *

Anyone else gotten anything free lately?  Or finally bringing that old bike out of storage?  Any bike accessory suggestions?

What I Got For Free Today: Plastic Bin

When I picked up a few bins of t shirts to make a couple of quilts, the woman who dropped them off mentioned that she wanted her bins back. "No problem!" I told her. Most of my t shirt quilts start in bins, and they make the entire process so much easier, so I don't mind them temporarily taking residence in the guest room, and I don't mind all of the free space when they leave.  When I went to grab the bins however, the woman remarked that one of them was broken, so I could just throw that one away.

Throw it away?? For a small crack in the side? I asked if she would mind if I just kept the broken one. She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, if you want it." She said. Snap crackle and pop! Welcome home new worm bin! Or maybe new chicken compost bin. Or maybe new potato planter bin. Or mini greenhouse. Or hand washing station. Or tiny rain barrel...

I could go on... But what are your suggestions? What would you do with a slightly disfigured, but free plastic bin complete with lid??

What I Got for Free Today: Bulbs

I am officially addicted to two things: cleaning out my junk, and bartering with it. This is what I got today:

A shopping bag full of daffodil bulbs!

Usually I buy our bulbs (3 years in a row now) from the Garden Club President, but I could not pass up a chance to add to my collection- especially since I know this bag is full of white and cream daffodils. So anywho- when I saw a post on my favorite barter page on the Facebook, I started looking around for things to swap. The lady with the bulbs wanted to trade for other plants, and I happen to have quite a few of those.

So I snipped off some nice sized pieces from both of our rosemary plants and stuck them in water. A couple of days later new root knots had started to form and I jumped at the chance for free flowers.

Now I just need to get these babies in the ground and let'em go. They will be the perfect addition to a new flower bed we're installing in the front.

I love free stuff and bartering. What would you trade for daffodils?

Roadside Surprise!

Picked this guy up off the side of the road today. Looks like it's going to be a good day!

What have you found for free lately?