financial fitness

Posts: 2,039
2/8/12 5:43 A

its been awhile since i posted here....getting a small little chip of a crack made in the student loan payoff....it will be awhile before i made a big dent in it.
such a shame we have to get ourselves into such deep debt in america in order to get an education, and for me, it was such a long time ago that i cant even really remember why i took the loan out to begin with.
i was getting financial aid.
but here it is, and i have to do what i can...which is more or less pay off the interest that has accumulated over the years.
and a little montly on the initial amount....which is like trying to dig a ditch with a teaspoon.
but one day hopefully in my lifetime it will be a balance of zero and i can smile at that one thing.

Posts: 2,039
10/19/11 9:39 A

Gosh, I havent written here in awhile, I had all but forgotten about it.
But just to update, things are going well, probably better than it is for alot of people.
Have decided to hold off on the real estate for now. And focus on paying off the existing bills, and we are very lucky, we have not had any real large debts to contend with.
The student loan still looms, but is getting whittled.

Posts: 2,039
7/7/11 7:41 A

unfortunately, i do not currently work. but perhaps in the next year or two, i will be medically able to return to work.
that is, if there are any jobs.
i am the type of person who, when others see jan 1st as the beginning of a new year and time to make resolutions, i do mine around june and july.
this, i call, vacation-itis.
its either because we havent had the money to spare for a trip.
or, we over spent.
so, each year around july, i resolve to pay up all debts and save for next year.
i will let you know how well this resolution works out.

Posts: 51,051
6/28/11 10:57 P

My son owes $38,000 on his student loan from Engineering school, so I'm paying on it each month. I tell him at least he has the school over and done and it is his. I hope u r able to work and make good money from what you went to school for. My oldest son went to work for a company where they paid his loan off after two years, which was great. He then later went to UCLA and got him MBA for 2 years & the company paid for that since he stayed working on Friday & Saturday while he was in school.

Posts: 2,039
6/28/11 8:55 P

So, I will sit down on Friday and make out a money order for my first student loan payment....well, my first in a long time, I have been on a medical deferment for awhile, but have decided to get this monkey off my back once and for all.
I had planned to pay between 8 and 12 hundred for my first payment, to get the interest down and go toward the principal.
It is looking for like 700 will be more reachable for me.
But that will make it to where I should be able to pay it off in 15 to 18 months, if nothing happens to get in the way.

Posts: 2,039
6/22/11 8:01 P

So, today is June 22, and I sat down and did the bills today....planning out my first payment on this debt.
I have to have a lense replaced in my glasses at around 73 dollars
the transmission is messing up in honey's truck, dont know the cost on that....
and got to put some aside just in case my dog has to go back to the vet, hes not doing much better.
But, I am still determined and plan to send.....On July 2nd, so I wont change my mind, my first payment of 800 that is on the low side, I had hoped to send up to 1200....but for now, to give me peace of mind about my dog and the car and my glasses, I am going on the low end.
Technically, I have a medical deferment and dont even have to pay this at all, but I have chosen to start paying this and hope to have it paid in 24 months....At the very very last.

Posts: 2,039
6/20/11 8:16 P

I was watching the show Hoaders once and this woman was a terrible hoarder and she was also very obese.
The psycologist acquainted the two, saying that her inability to part with any items in her home was very much like her inability to lose weight.
I had never associated the two. But, I do understand that now. Along with the financial debts we have trouble parting with.
But I hope to bring all this under control in my life. I am not a hoarder, but there are a good number of things in my home I could and should part with. Such as old VHS tapes I keep saying one day I am goint to convert to dvd.
And donating all my already read books.
This is another area of my life I hope to get a grip on soon.

SparkPoints: (29,428)
Fitness Minutes: (6,729)
Posts: 589
6/20/11 6:31 P

You Go!!! What an excellent decision. While talking to my son about Suzie Orman's comments on student loan he told me the plans he has been making to manage his and he just finished his freshman year of college. Made me proud to see him using his noggin:)

You are right, getting that burden off your shoulders and mind (even if you don't consciously think about it often) will help you to be able to concentrate on getting your health under control. The victory will also be an encouragement that you CAN do this.

Kudos to you:)

Posts: 2,039
6/20/11 1:00 P

The other morning, around 5am, I was awake and watching Suze Orman on tv.
A woman was discussing what she should do with an extra $8,000.00, if she should put it in a retirement account, or pay down student loans.
So, Suze Orman told her to use it to pay down student loans, since they have a higher interest rate.
It got me to thinking about my own student loan debt...which is now at $5,363.00.
It is time to repay this and be done with it.
So, I sat down and started crunching the numbers. And, it got me to thinking, this is alot like a diet.
I say to myself, I am going to lose 10 lbs by such and such a day, and I say, I am going to pay off this loan by such and such a day.
But, the loan I feel is much more reachable and who knows, maybe once I begin to lift this weight off my mind and shoulders....I can focus on my health as well.
So, beginning July, I plan to make a payment of between $800.00 and $1200.00 toward this debt.
And after that, make monthly payments of no less than 240.00 per month, I figure I should be able, not accounting for the interest, pay this off, With no unforseen circumstances getting in the way, by Feb of 2013.
So, I am going to post regulary here and keep this in the forfront of all my debts.
This burden will be lifted and I can get on with my life without always worrying about it.