Paying off my debt early was such a relief but it was so unexpected that I hadn't had time to really think about what I wanted to do with my money. Before all my spare money went towards my student loans. All of the money I had coming in during the month had a job and it was easier to stay away from expensive temptations when thinking about how much money in interest I was paying each month.
My debt was student loans for a graduate degree ($22,000 before any interest) and $7600 for a used car. I was paying $140 for my car each month and $1000-$1200 for the student loans. They never had a chance to come out of deferment, so there was no regular payment.
I am hoping that my savings goal will help with assigning a job for all my dollars.
I am not doing as great at not spending as I think I should be, but I haven't gone overboard yet. My best friend and her SO came to visit last weekend and I haven't seen them in 1.5 years. We ate out at every meal, bought several packs of beers to drink at home, and went to almost all the good bars in town (have to save something for the next visit!) It felt good not to have to worry about whether I had to money for such splurges and to just enjoy our time.
Today is payday and I have transferred another $100 to my savings account. I'm going to try to do that every payday in addition to my regular beginning of the month transfer. It will probably go towards paying for braces, but we're also looking at buying a house soon so it won't hurt to have extra for a down payment/closing costs.
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November 14th, 2014 at 11:00 pm
November 15th, 2014 at 01:04 am 1416013483
November 15th, 2014 at 01:43 am 1416015807
November 15th, 2014 at 11:50 am 1416052209
Thanks, snafu. Last year they sent me the tax form that said how much I paid in interest. I'll be on the lookout for it this year and will call them if I don't get it.