Writing
Thoughts on money, trade-offs, work, family, and freedom—plus the complete No More Harvard Debt archive.
New writing appears first. The complete No More Harvard Debt archive, including the original reader comments, is preserved below.
Status Update: 9-6-11
I didn't feel good about missing the call, but I figured I could call them when I got back–at 8 PM our time, they still have their entire day ahead of them. And plus, there was $400 at stake here. 2.5 game-day Saturdays of pedi-cabbing, and I'll pay off $1k of the $90k obligation.
If I Could Start Over
I remember a friend told me she was going with a group of students to Oktoberfest for the weekend. I asked her what bar she was heading to. She laughed at me and told me the bars in Germany–she was going to the actual Oktoberfest–for the weekend!
Why I'm Doing It This Way
Yawn! If I wanted to do consulting, I would've interviewed with McKinsey, BCG, or Bain for a full-time position. I work a desk job fifty hours a week–I don't want to work a desk-job on the weekend and during the nights, too.
Why I'm Doing It
Student loans are a strange animal. Unlike a payment towards a car loan or a mortgage, a student loan payment doesn't go towards something that is benefitting me in a direct way.
Loyal Steed
I had a tough time finding the proper definitions of "cheap" and "frugal" online that will help express what I want to convey, but I feel like the entire bike decision came down to a choice between being cheap or being frugal.
Social Lubricant
The consumption of alcohol at bars is basically an unspoken requirement. Seriously, try going into any of the 100+ bars in downtown Austin and being the only sober one. Not. Enjoyable. At all. You have to be at least one or two deep.
Room for Rent
Now accepting applications to be my roommate! $550/month for a fully furnished room of a 2,000 sqft 3br/2ba home, including all utilities (electricity/gas/water/wireless).
Money and Stuff Isn't Everything
Since I was no longer maniacally focused on a mission to save money, and even had a little money left over, I decided it was time to go see my first movie of the summer at the local theater.
But I couldn't find my friends.
I Think I Got a Job
I felt just the slightest bit of judgment in his tone, as if an Excel jockey and Fortune 50 inbox fighter might be out of his element riding a pedi-cab around the streets of downtown Austin, trying desperately to make a respectable earning.
Let's Get Down to Brass Tacks
Today, I'm going to make a first-pass at making a path up that mountain by determining what my new expenses and new income will have to be to make it to the top in ten months and pay off my $90k of debt.
Sizing Up the Mountain
I know where I want to go, but I have no idea how I'm going to get there. So first, I need to take stock of my liabilities, assets, expenses, and income. Once the map of the mountain is made, a trail can be planned and ultimately blazed.
The Challenge
Since graduation, I’ve made 21 monthly loan payments at $1,057 each. After paying $22k towards my $101k of loans, the balance stands at $90,717. That’s absurd. The math indicates that I’ll pay $42k in interest if I go to term (10 and 15 years) with the various loans. Thanks, but I’ll pass. Enough is enough. I’ll do everything in my power–short of lying, cheating, and stealing–to pay down this debt in the next ten months.