payoff series

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In: Debt Repayment

Last week, I told y’all about a 6-part series I’m doing on personal loans, credit card debt, and refinancing – the Payoff Series. Welcome to Part I! It’s no secret that America is in a debt crisis – student loan debt is in the trillions, the government itself is battling its own debt, and regular consumers are adding mortgages and credit cards to the mix. The average American household has $15,000 in credit card debt, and the average interest rate on those credit cards remains above 13%. Debt Stress is No Joke And how are people handling all that debt? Not well. One in five people considerRead More →

painless

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In: Debt Repayment

Paying down debt with regular, automatic payments is great. Paying down debt faster with extra payments is better, especially if it’s painless. As you guys know, I currently have three kinds of debt: federal student loans, a private student loan, and credit card debt. Based off this, my debt repayment plan is to pay off my the consumer debt first, private student loan second, and then tackle the federal loans last (i.e. going for highest interest rate first). My Plan for Paying It Off Faster With all of my payments automated, my current credit card debt payoff date is May 2018; however, I’ve decided toRead More →

fire

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In: Debt Repayment, Personal Finance 101, Saving Money

  If you’re a pro at FIRE, then welcome. If your new to hearing this word in a non-burning context, also welcome…welcome to the wide world of nontraditional living. From minimalism to passive income to early retirement, there are multiple paths to whichever ending you’d prefer, and FIRE is one of them. Today, I’m talking about why I’m rejecting one of these more popular goals in the personal finance world – FIRE specifically. Let’s get lit! (Sorry, I had to) FIRE – It’s an Acronym! FIRE is a term that refers to Financial Independence and Retiring Early. While these two might seem awfully similar, they areRead More →

This is Your Life on Debt

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In: Debt Repayment, Personal Finance 101

Remember all of those “This is your brain on drugs” PSAs that ran in the ’90s? Well, consider this your debt wake-up call. Debt is bad, and it’s bad for your finances. To understand just how bad debt is, think of it like you would a smoking habit – costly, definitely not “cool”, and seriously expensive.   The average U.S. household with debt carries $15,762 in credit card debt and $130,922 in total debt. (Courtesy of Nerd Wallet) While some of this may be related to poor spending decisions or eating out too much, not all of this debt is from reckless spending. More Americans than ever areRead More →