Can you believe it's been 10 years since I graduated high school??!! Class of 2008! I just feel like it's been 10 years and all I've really accomplished in that time was 1) graduate college 2) 2011 Camry 3) Thailand 4) and lived on my own for five years. But I didn't want the list to end there, I still have THIS year to make the last 10 years count. 1) Pay off student loans and other debts 2) buy a house 3) maybe buy another car 4) travel more 5) start my own company or whatever 6) work for a place that allows me to have a life with my other hobbies. I think that's all I really want 2018 and my 10 years to end. That way, I can transition into my 30's with family and kids. I just want to be a mother that has time for her family and not have to depend on a "job" to make ends meet. I have to find alternative income ... and living. I'm thinking tiny home!

My second goal this year is not only to be left with my 3.15% student loans if I don't pay it all off, is to also contribute to my ROTH IRA I opened in 2016. Trust me, if you don't start, you're never going to start. Just open an account, put in $10 or $100, I DON'T CARE. Just open it. Setting up is always the hardest part. I will be doing $100/month MINIMUM toward it = $1,200, max/year is $5,500. I have transferred all my small cards to my big BOA card, so it should be exciting to have those 4 smaller cards appear "paid in full" at the next credit report card. I should only have 4 major cards: SEARS, BOA 1, BOA 2, and CHASE. I don't care if people are seeing my finances, the internet is my planner.

In addition to taking down debt, my car will be paid off too! Everything will fall into place to make me qualify for a 200k home! LOL. But that's not very smart. I would buy a $40k-60k house, rent it at the price of a $150k home. I live in the $150k and rent the $40k. The 40k renters pay $800 toward my $150k home and I cover $400 of the 40k property. Real estate seems so simple.

Once I pay off all this dumb debt I've been carrying, I won't care if I make $10/hr or $50/hr :D! Money will no longer define or determine my life rules. I shall travel the world and buy a home before turning 30. I knew there was something about being 28 :D I will be working 4 days a week and spending 3 day weekends traveling. Well, hmmm a whole summer off or a year-round job with 3 day weekends = 52 places and still get 2 weeks vacation somehow. Or just become my own boss with Amazon FBA.

After all this, I can be at peace with the idea of marriage (?) and pregnancy. I won't be such a feminist and chill out with the idea of women in the kitchen. In fact, I'll stay home so I can be in the kitchen every day! I'll finally have kids at 32, 33, 34, and 35. So when my last kid is 21, I'll be 56.

I could've done this five years ago, but I just didn't really have any other goals. I cut myself short. To dream big is the best thing you can do for yourself. Don't limit yourself.

Ok, 1-year plan and min income of $2k from all my hustling

1) Pay off $4.5k student loans (02-09) (Feb, March, April)
2) Pay off 1.5k SEARS (0% apr) (May)
3) Pay off 2k BOA Balance (0% apr) (June-July)
4) Split with (4.2k) Roth  pay off (5k) student loans | and leftover for a house down payment (Aug-Sept-Oct-Nov-Dec)

Going the house option earlier
1) Pay off $4.5k student loans (02-09) (Feb, March, April)
2) House down payment (4k) (May-June-July)
3) Pay off 1.5k SEARS (0% apr) 2k BOA 1 balance (0% apr) (Aug-Sep-Oct)
4) (4.2k) Roth 
5) Pay off (5k) student loans (Nov-Dec)
6) Work toward paying off 6k BOA 2

Thanks for keeping up with my journey!

The reason you're able to get fit, buy a car, or buy an expensive makeup palette, shirt, shoe or whatever hobby it is that you have is very simple. You made it a goal. I'm here to share how I'm motivating myself to pay off 16k of student loans and maybe it'll motivate you too. If I want $90 shoes and I'm 15, I'll save $10 each time I get money until I reach $90 and then I buy it (unless your parents are balling). Or if you have a job, you simply tell yourself, "When I get pay this/next Friday, I'm going to buy those $90 shoes." It's that simple. You saw what you wanted and you made a plan.

The reason you and I have put off paying student loans forever is that we don't have a plan; we don't want to make a plan and we keep putting it off. Once I make so 50k+. Once I own a house. Once I get a car. Once I lose weight. Once I date; once I'm single. Once I stop drinking. Just all these same excuses when we were supposed to reach our other goals. Right, no looks forward to paying bills, especially for something that we can't taste, smell, see, hear or touch. Well, you have two choices. 1) Continue to pay your monthly minimum while the interests add to your balance and continuously work to pay it. or 2) pay it off, and that's what I've chosen.

We don't want to pay it because we think we have to save up to $30k and then give it all away. But we don't have to. All we have to do is break it down. Once I realized that I decided to create an excel chart of how much I should pay. Full disclosure, I don't have kids and a mortgage to pay; I actually work 30 hrs/week and pay $450+ for rent; I might do a video of my monthly bills. Your situation shouldn't interfere with paying off your student loans if that's your goal. Even if I did, I would adjust the numbers to balance family finances and paying off student loans.

These are the steps I'm doing:
1. Must pay the minimum balance, in order to apply an overpayment directly to a specific loan.
2. List loans from highest interest to lowest for snowballing or highest amount to lowest amount.
2A. PICK ONE AMOUNT TO OVERPAY until it's paid off and then you move on to the next. You have to make the effort to specify which loan you're paying, whether it's online, mailing, or over the phone. You can't just pay your minimum of $100 and think when you spend $200 it'll go toward the lowest interest; it gets applied to all the loans if it's not specified.

GIVE YOURSELF CHALLENGES
3. 52-week challenge starting at $250 and drop $5 each week, or whichever amount fits you. It can be as low as $1, then $2, then $3 each week.
2. Do an additional payment daily. I did $20/day and $100 on Friday. The reason I decided to do this on top was that I spent over $20 unconsciously 90% of the day. So I decided that I was going to be conscious paying $20 toward my student loans.

If this feels like a huge chunk of money and out of reach to pay, it can be done if you adjust the overpayment amounts accordingly to your comfort level. Maybe do $10/day = $3650, $20/day = $7300, $50/day = $18,250 more than enough. Let's say your loan is $30k and you want to pay it off in 5 years, that's (5*365) 1825 days = $16.43/day. If you just pay $16 a day, you can pay off your 30k student loan in just 5 years.

It doesn't have to be daily or weekly goals either. It can be like
- the bonus I get from work
- 10% of my paycheck
- $$ from reselling
- Money you were going to go on a trip with, but cancel it to pay your loans

I know $20 or $50 is a lot to pay daily as a single person, but if you can do $5 ($1,825) or $10 ($3650) a day, it will make a dent in your student loans. The reason why your loans aren't paid off is simply because you don't want to deal with them. The longer you ignore them, the higher your balance is only going, and there is no limit on that. How do you make that extra daily money? Side hustle; buy a $20 item from Wal Mart and resell it for $40; sell whatever you can. Shovel the snow. Mow the lawn. Grab a camera and do $50 sessions. Get another job; delivery drivers always needed. Loan your car. Rent a room.

I'll leave you with a few quote that motivated me to pay my student loans
1) It always seems impossible until it is done
2) Whether you can or you can't, you're right
3) Believe in yourself and you're halfway there

I hope this video inspired you to make a plan to pay off your student loans, whether it's in 1 year or 10 years. Student loans are not going to go away...unless you become physically disable, maybe pass your 10 year mark with on time payments, or work for the public service field for 10 years. I just feel like student loans is a financial obstacle to move on to the next step part of my life; buying a home or being able to work part time and pursue what I want. I don't want to be dependent on money and let money control what's in my life, so I've made it my goal to go from 16k to 6k or even paying all of it off this year, 2018. Comment below how you plan to pay off your student loans, or how you paid off your student loans. If this video was helpful, give it a like. If you're not subscribed, please do so :D

---just more thoughts

It can't be put off anymore. I refuse to allow myself to have other dreams and goals until this is out of the way. It just has to go. I can't let this be a part of my future family and kids. I don't want to be a mother that's miserable and my family end up with my bad attitude because I have to work at a place I don't like to keep a roof over their head. I don't want student loans to be my motivation to work. I want to work because not only will I be great at it, but I love it. I don't want to live for the weekends. Life is just so short, and even if I don't do this family thing, as an individual, I want to wake up every day knowing I have the power over the things in my life.

If you're still in school and your loans aren't due yet, I highly recommend that you do $10 or $20 toward it while the interest is on hold. You'll feel better when you graduate without debt. I feel so much more behind in my timeline of life graduating with debt than no debt without a degree. Of course, I am grateful for my education experience and the piece of paper that verified I am "above average" when it comes to jobs, but I feel so robbed and conned. It's no one's fault at all, I just wish I understood the consequences of the loans when I accepted them.

So yea, it's "2018," lets get rid of debt!