Okay, so I am in deeper than I thought. So going to a private school sounds all fine and dandy until the bill comes in the mail. Since my parents are not independently wealthy that bill comes by way of student loans. I look at this MASSIVE loan and think how am I going to get through this thing. Well ready or not here I come. The grace period recently ended and have now made some payments. The payments feel pretty huge. Something that adds the fact that I have some hefty loans is that I have 3 kids and one on the way. In other words I am not just a bachelor who wants to waste money on personal gratification, I gotta put food on the table. Something I have going for me is this, I budget religiously. My wife and I have set up a plan that will help us pay our loans, cover our bills, and even save for a rainy day.
While in physical therapy school my wife and I purchased the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University (FPU). We went through the DVDs and worked on the work book and we got into a good budget groove. The FPU gave us a great starting place for our budget and getting on the same page in regards to our budget. I would listen to some of the Dave Ramsey radio shows and I often walked a way discouraged. I always felt like the people calling in often had consumer debt. So they would sell their overpriced boat, RV, and cars and next thing you know most of their debt was paid down. I still felt inspired to stick to our budget understanding this would not be an overnight fix.
I thought if I started reading student loan pay off success stories I would feel better about getting the money paid down. I soon found my situation was somewhat unique to most of the stories I read. I have a family of 5 which is soon to be a family of 6. This is not common place for a recent grad trying to pay down loans. I realized my story is unique to me. This has made me want to share my journey not because I think anyone should feel inspired to do it the way I am but to feel empowered to find a way that is going to work for you.
So as I ask myself the question about my student loan: what now? Be responsible and pay it off.
In posts to come I will lay out how my wife and I plan to chip away at the student loan, pay our bills, and tuck a little away. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please write them below.
