It has me thinking…

Today, on the way to work, I was listening to a report on my local public radio station and it caught my attention when I heard that,

“In the coming years, a lot of people will still be paying off their student loans when it’s time for their kids to go to college,” said Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, who has compiled the estimates of student debt, including federal and private loans.

The article from the NYT/msnbc.com talks about how Student Loan Debt is now outpacing Credit Card Debt in the US economy. I can attest to this, as we currently have more SLD than we do consumer debt.

And after working for non-profits for the last 9 years, with no plans to move back into the private sector, I know that it will be a long road toward paying my loans off, even as I continue to take my classes in the evenings.

But I’m starting to think that we should be move vocal about disputing the idea that SLD is “good” debt…I think if we are honest, we can admit that it is a form of indentured servitude that keeps us striving for better paying jobs (let’s ignore the fact that adjusting for inflation there have been no increase of earnings for the lower 90% of US earners in the last 30 years) instead of working for organizations and companies that may contribute more to society and the development of culture. Sure, they say that degree earners make more money than those without, but they don’t say that they are happier and that doesn’t mean that every field that requires advanced degrees will pay more.

I’m sure there is MUCH more to say about this, but I’m still just mulling it over at the moment, so I’ll end it here…

But I’d love to hear what YOU think.

February 2011 :: Report

Debt Reduction

Our goals for February were:

Credit Card Debt      ::  $ 20,472.35
Taxes Owed            ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                 ::  $ 15,690.11
Personal Loans       ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 36,162.46

And here is where we were after 2.28.2011:

Credit Card Debt     ::  $20,467.93
Taxes Owed         ::   $       00.00
Car Loan              ::   $ 15,689.60
Personal Loans   ::   $       00.00

Total Debt*             :: $36,157.53

*does not include school loans

Budget

Since I moved over to Quicken, I’m still trying to figure out the budget reporting – it isn’t working the same way as I was used to with MSMoney. But, from what I could tell, things went really well – we will see!

Savings

Savings Goals for February:

Regular Savings  :: $     120
Family Leave       :: $    600
Emergency           :: $    717

Total Savings      :: $ 1,437

Where we landed at the end of February:

Regular Savings  :: $    26
Family Leave       :: $  520
Emergency           :: $  702

Total Savings      :: $ 1,248

Not as much as we wanted, but, still, we’ll continue to work on it.

April 2011 :: Goals

Our goal for April is to pay $2,099 toward our debt. Taking into account the interest that will be charged ($164) , the net will be $1,935.

So our totals at the end of  April should be:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 17,208.20
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 15,177.88
Personal Loans       ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 32,386.08

*does not include school loans

And now for the Savings Goals – at the end of  April, we aim to have:

Regular Savings  :: $    100
Family Leave       :: $    600
Emergency           :: $ 1,107

Total Savings      :: $ 1,807

According to Quicken, our debt-free date is :: March 24, 2013.

March 2011 :: Report

Debt Reduction

Our goals for March were:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 18,889.20
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 15,432.19
Personal Loans       ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 34,321.39

And here is where we were after 3.31.2011:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 18,889.20
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 15,432.19
Personal Loans       ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 34,321.39

*does not include school loans

Look at that! We hit our target! And, we are getting closer and closer to our goal!

Budget

I’m sad to report that I still don’t have a great handle on how I should be tracking the budget with Quicken (some things aren’t recording correctly, which is very frustrating), so I’m going to take some more time before I start to report on this section.

Savings

Savings Goals for March:

Regular Savings  :: $      35
Family Leave       :: $    520
Emergency           :: $    730

Total Savings      :: $ 1,285

Where we landed at the end of March:

Regular Savings  :: $     86
Family Leave       :: $  520
Emergency           :: $ 1,102

Total Savings      :: $ 1,708

We got a good chunk into our Emergency Savings (yay!), so we’ll be able to use that instead of credit cards when we do have emergencies!

March 2011 :: Goals

Our goal for March is to pay $2,000 toward our debt. Taking into account the interest that will be charged ($164) , the net will be $1,836.

So our totals at the end of  March should be:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 18,889.20
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 15,432.19
Personal Loans       ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 34,321.39

*does not include school loans

And now for the Savings Goals – at the end of  March, we aim to have:

Regular Savings  :: $      35
Family Leave       :: $    520
Emergency           :: $    730

Total Savings      :: $ 1,285

According to Quicken, our debt-free date is :: March 24, 2013.

February 2011 :: Goals

Our goal for February is to pay $1,600 toward our debt. Taking into account the interest that will be charged ($180) , the net will be $1,420.

So our totals at the end of  February should be:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 20,472.35
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 15,690.11
Personal Loans       ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 36,162.46

*does not include school loans

And now for the Savings Goals – at the end of  February, we aim to have:

Regular Savings  :: $     120
Family Leave       :: $    600
Emergency           :: $    717

Total Savings      :: $ 1,437

According to MSN Money, our debt-free date is :: March 24, 2013.

January 2011 :: Report

Debt Reduction

Our goals for January were:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 21,645.18
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 15,939.99
Personal Loans       ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 37,585.17

And here is where we were after 1.31.2011:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $21,642.04
Taxes Owed           ::   $       00.00
Car Loan                  ::   $ 15,940.42
Personal Loans   ::   $       00.00

Total Debt*             :: $37,582.46

*does not include school loans

Budget

Since I moved over to Quicken, I’m still trying to figure out the budget reporting – it isn’t working the same way as I was used to with MSMoney. But, from what I could tell, things went really well – we will see!

Savings

Savings Goals for January:

Regular Savings  :: $       50
Family Leave       :: $    640
Emergency           :: $    773

Total Savings      :: $ 1,463

 

Where we landed at the end of January:

Regular Savings  :: $  104
Family Leave       :: $  539
Emergency           :: $  700

Total Savings      :: $ 1,343

Not as much as we wanted, but, still, we’ll continue to work on it.

It’s a diet…

I love that our WW people say that “it’s not a diet, it is a lifestyle.”

Yes. And, no.

They say that diets don’t work and that you have to make behavioral changes in order to have long-lasting health.

I agree, to a point. But when you say that it is a lifestyle, you are sugar-coating that there has to be some deprivation and sacrifice to make it work. And as I eat a pear at my desk instead of the candy bar in the candy dish 5 feet from me, I can tell you that it isn’t a lifestyle change for me to pick the pear instead of the candy bar. I want the candy bar. A lot. It is cold outside and I’m having a weird PMS-like day. But I’m making a choice to eat the pear instead. And then drink some water if I still want said candy bar.

To me, the lifestyle change would be that I would not even consider the candy bar, but would instead think of it as beneath me to eat it. Instead, I’m much more aware of the choice that I am making. And that, is a diet.

What does this have to do with a personal finance blog?

Well, I a lot, I think. I think that when we are on a budget to reduce debt, it is like trying to lose weight. In both cases, we are paying off the debt we incurred when we consumed something on the spot and promised ourselves that we would pay it off later…in both cases, we didn’t. So, our waistlines and debt grew and then we were faced with a choice – continue or change.

Obviously, in the last almost-two years, our decision to go on a money diet has been chronicled here, but a year ago (to this weekend), I started applying the same principles to my body and have been on Weight Watchers.

You saw our year-end results with money, but I wanted to post my year-end results with WW as well…so here is the loss for the year…

31.6!

I won’t post the percentage, but let’s just say, there is a recommended percentage to lose to be healthier, and I’ve hit that and a little more.

So here is to the next 32 and I hope that if you are on one or both journeys that you, too, can look back and see some progress over the last year.

December 2010 :: Goals

Our goal for December is to pay $991 toward our debt. Taking into account the interest that will be charged ($185) , the net will be $806.

So our totals at the end of  December should be:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 22,216.18
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 16,190.30
Personal Loans        ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 38,406.48

*does not include school loans

And now for the Savings Goals – at the end of  December, we aim to have:

Regular Savings  :: $       50
Family Leave       :: $    539
Emergency           :: $    696

Total Savings      :: $ 1,285

 

According to MSN Money, our debt-free date is :: January 24, 2013. I have to admit, adding a year to our debt-free date was really hard for me, but it is a real life, not a spreadsheet, so I will be thankful that it is only another year…

November 2010 :: Report

Debt Reduction

Our goals for November were:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 22,673.22
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 16,450.44
Personal Loans        ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 39,123.66

And here is where we were after 11.30.2010:

Credit Card Debt    ::  $ 22,771.01
Taxes Owed              ::  $          00.00
Car Loan                     ::  $ 16,441.23
Personal Loans        ::  $          00.00

Total Debt*              ::  $ 39,212.24

*does not include school loans

Budget

Doing well…mostly….

Savings

Savings Goals for November:

Regular Savings  :: $       50
Family Leave       :: $    500
Emergency           :: $    741

Total Savings      :: $ 1,291

Where we landed at the end of November:

Regular Savings  :: $       30
Family Leave       :: $    539
Emergency           :: $    696

Total Savings      :: $ 1,265

 

Alright!