March Money

I'm hoping to motivate myself to pay off all my debt by putting it out here publicly.  One of the biggest problems with living in the middle of my family is handling the constant nickel and diming.  I have a paycheck so therefore it is assumed I always have bailout money... apparently, I have a big neon sign above my head that spells ATM.  I understand it is my responsibility to help out at home considering I live here and eat and use the water/heat/etc. but somehow I am the emergency fund for the house.  I've been more conscious of this lately (thank you Mint.com) and have done my best to restrict the cash flow to true emergencies and my responsibilities in the house.  It's hard to say no sometimes but it's the only way I'll ever be out of debt.

My debt story starts like most 30-somethings... I went to college.  Not only did I attend college but I paid for it on my own.  There was no such thing as college savings in my home as my parents were barely making it.  I got a lot of academic scholarships and was fortunate enough to have my Master's Degree completely paid for by working for a University (i.e. slavery) for 2 years.  The rest of cost I handled like every red blooded patriotic American does.  I took out loans.  And when my University got caught up in the student loan scandals of the early 2000s, so did I.  The result was about $75,000 in loans scattered between private and federal agencies.  Couple that with my low-paying, local government, public service job and there is a mixture meant for disaster.

As it stands now, 7 years after my last college class, I am in possession of 4 higher education degrees and 2 full time jobs.  I also have paid my loans down substantially and my current debt is the following:

Student Loan - Federal: $17,600
Student Loan - Private: $10,500
Credit Card Debt: $7,600
Car Loan: $7000
TOTAL = $42,700

My assets are meager since I own very little.  I have a retirement account through work as well as a Roth IRA from a previous job.  I also have a pension plan at work that I pay into and pray will still be there by my retirement. 

I am expecting a check this week from my second job which should be about $2,000 after taxes.  The checks from this job are considered a bonus in my budget since I can't predict how much work I will get from this job.  This year is shaping up to be a good one though and I expect another $3,400 check in 2 months.  Since I don't count this money in my regular budget I use these for my girls getaway annual vacation in November, and the rest is to blast my debt.

My goal for the year is to cut the above mentioned debt in half.  Right now I am focusing on it by attacking the credit card first, then the private student loan, and the federal and car loans at the bottom of the list.  $21,350 paid off is a lofty goal for one year but I'm going to do everything I can to reach that.  I'll update periodically on here and hopefully there will be some lower numbers in April.