Murphy's Law showed up big time over the last couple weeks. First, my car terrified me by shaking when I drove home from work. Upon taking it to the mechanic, it was discovered to have a total of FOUR serious issues. And basically fixing only the immediate problems would result in a repeat of the scary driving in the near future. The estimate I was given to remedy these issues was $2600.00, more than my car is actually worth. As a result, I am purchasing another car this week. Which, needless to say, will put a serious dent in my student loan debt a-tackling. While I had been putting aside money for such and eventuality (the car has over 350K miles on it), I was not anticipating a bust this soon. But such is life. However I feel blessed to have had the foresight to save the money instead of placing it all towards the loans, which will prevent me from needing to borrow any more money than necessary. If I had only saved a minimum 'emergency fund' as many advocate of $1000 until debt is paid off, I would have had to take out a good sized auto loan to afford a car that can give me more than a few years of life.Secondly, I was apparently 'robbed' at work Sunday. When I went to turn in my server report, I was substantially short on my turn-in, not to mention any tips I had earned during the shift. Which means the money was somehow taken/found and kept. Such a large amount of money was clearly not a tip, but actual restaurant revenue, which makes keeping it even more deplorable, but this is unfortunately the world we live in, one saturated by greed and deceit.

On that note, I would like to clarify that this journey to aggressively save and attack my debt is not one motivated by greed, but on the desire for freedom and rational security. I appreciate the need for money and the opportunities it provides (trust me), however I hope I never become so obsessed with obtaining it that I fail to turn in money I know belongs to someone else. Or sacrifice more important parts of my life in a quest to obtain it.

And here's looking to a better next two weeks!

So it's time to get back on board with cutting unnecessary spending. This week I went back over my accounts and calculated how much of my "debits" were not technically needs. The total is rather shocking and I am discouraged about how much the money could have better put to use. While none of it was spent on any evil thing, it still could have served a much better purpose. And taxes. Being single and childless is really killing me there. As did my academic scholarship, which pretty much negated any claim to student deductions. Which seems unfair as being a student still by and large cuts into time available during which to earn money. But this government is not always fair to its charges, especially those trying to bring themselves up. As I'm sure I've previously mentioned, it is easier to catch a break from being a shopaholic with crazy credit card or gambling debts than it is to get one on education loans. But enough of that soapbox.
Starting today, I am eliminating unnecessary spending. Unfortunately it is an odd numbered day, but I feel that is insufficient reason to delay and risk further relapses. Now, keep in mind, what we deem necessary varies among individuals. For instance, I need makeup and a certain amount of soda. Makeup makes me ready to face the day, and soda helps me keep up my calorie energy during my restaurant shifts. Soda also inexplicably seems to help with morale, if not my overall physical health.

So here are ways I will cut back, some of which I have already begun.

• Make better use of crockpot to prevent ordering takeout when too tired to cook and/or pack lunch. (takeout per time may not be too costly but adds up over 2 months).
• Started making my own salad dressing from discounted oil, spices and vinegar (yum!)
• Just say no to Smoothie King
• Refuse to tempt myself by entering stores not falling under the pharmacy/grocery category (this will do wonders here...retail therapy..cough cough).

This over a period of 3 months will save a considerable amount of my income, and do wonders for my education loan payments. 

Challenge proposed. Challenge accepted. And Go!

Happy Singles' Awareness Month!

Due to Holiday strain, I have not written for awhile. Said Holiday period also created shall we say a hiccup in my budgeting and payment activities. I.e., I paid more than the minimum, but nowhere near what I had been paying during previous months. While this is regrettable, it is not the end of the world, and personally I believe debt is stressful enough without punishing myself for having a fun holiday time. Also, for those who know me well, neither is my setback surprising since I LOVE giving gifts and also pretty things in general. This being said, I have committed to working extra hours within the limits of my health to mitigate any damage my "retail party" may have done to my plan. For anyone who doesn't know, I set myself the challenge of paying off the entirety of my student loans within a year of becoming gainfully employed post-grad school. I seem to still be on track with monthly allocations, but there is definitely room to grow in discipline. I hope that tax season will treat me well, as this will be the last time I can use the 'student deduction'. I do plan to use all money received from taxes towards my loans, and help speed up the process, so fingers crossed for beneficial tax process! I hope others in debt were more successful budgeting during the holiday season, and remember that fallbacks or no it is more important to get back up and fight on!

Also, I have had some curious conversations recently. Mostly with guests/friends at the restaurant where I serve to generate extra income. Basically they find out about my degree and "career job", and are all..."so why are you working here". At which point I explain about wanting to be debt free ASAP. Some can groove with it, and some make comments about how it's not a big deal just to gradually pay off. Many say the hours I'm putting in are too extreme and "don't I miss my evenings"? And in some way, each of them are right. For some, just making regular monthly payments is fine for many years. But for me, who has autopay on everything possible to I don't forget to pay it, I do not need something else to remember to do, or remember to even write down to do. Also, the extra interest I would end up owing just paying the minimum is unacceptable to me, and would buy a used car ( which I could use!). Not cool.

So to answer these questions:
     Do I miss my evenings? - Yes, sometimes I do. But not as much as I'd miss the money, and most evenings I'd just be watching Netflix or something unproductive anyways.
     Don't I get exhausted working 70 hour weeks? - Often. But I give up shifts when it's necessary and have at least one night off a week to rest.
     What about a social life? - Well, my boyfriend works alot at night as well, so that scratches that. And in many ways, serving is a very social job, and I get plenty of 'socialization' both with guests and coworkers/managers.

The biggest regret I have is when I get over-tired, and my remaining energy makes the chances of my exercising very very small. I do miss working out regularly, but to do substantial  cardio, I would cut into my sleep, which for multiple reasons I need much more than cardio. Besides, I get exercise on the job, believe you me ;) .

Here's toasting a successful spring!

So now for some bragging! While I deplore some choices that necessitated student loans, I am a firm believer in accepting the past and moving forward. As it stands, I have paid off over 6,000 of my student loans in the past three months, which is ahead of my budgeted payments of 1800/mo. My original goal was to pay off by September 2015. I am passing these goals by practicing practical finance and occasional minimalism. These are often tough choices. I am daily forcing myself to live like I am still a broke college student in order to save maximum income (I'm talking serious beans and rice/ spaghetti action) . I also have retained my part-time college position as a server to generate student-debt income. This means I work roughly 70 hours a week. The plus side of this is that being nearly always at work, I have very little time to buy shoes or clothes I frequently crave. Also, I have less time to consume extra snacks, saving groceries. A shout out to BudgetsAreSexy.com and Dave Ramsey's gazelle program for assisting in my goal-setting and planning. For those looking to pay off debts or just save money, here are a few of my keys to success. Enjoy!

1. Grocery Sales: I pretty much only buy BoGo items, which is usually cheaper than Wally World. I also occasionally coupon when I have time/energy. I save nearly 100 a month doing this. When items I eat/think I need are not on sale, I simply have very...creative...meals.
2. Alcohol: While it may seem tempting to live the night life with restaurant companions, having witnessed firsthand how much they are spending on recreational beverages is crazy. Make it a habit to just say no.
3. Technology Sacrifices: I do not have cable or a nice phone. I also have switched to straight talk to save money on my phone plan. Netflix helps alleviate the entertainment sacrifice and is only $10/mo.

Hello again! After a lengthy hiatus, I have returned to my beginner blog. My blog topics will largely including posts concerning student loans, personal finance, and graduate realism. I hope many of my posts and article references will prove useful to the thousands in similar situations. Feedback is very welcome!

Hello There!
My name is Charis and I'm a graduate with my second? Big Girl Job and my fair share of student loans...aka evil incarnate. I love reading about and sharing ways to save and be intentional with money. I made a commitment to myself when I was in grad school that I would do everything I could to pay off the ENTIRETY of my student debt within a year of commencing post-grad employment (SEP 2015). This blog is a method of shall we say public accountability and a hope that I can partner with others who are inspired to save and to be free of debt. So let's Get "Er Done!