so im in a ton of student loan debt about $110k to be exact. Found out last week debt of edu disqualified me from the loan forgiveness program TWO years ago despite turning in all my paperwork. I never got any letter/email stating they were disqualifying me either. I just happened to stumble upon some small print after I logged in to my account last week to make a payment. Needless to say I've been extremely stressed and feel like I'm drowning. I almost made a couple mistakes while at work because I think subconsciously I'm so stressed and distracted about my loans...then that made me even more stressed thinking about how I could've potentially harmed a patient (looking at the wrong patients lab results and almost replacing potassium when it was
already elevated). Thankfully I caught myself before giving it but I feel stuck. Plus I'm a travel nurse so I feel like my license is even more on the line at times. Always wanted to move out of the country or do a mission trip overseas for 6 months, but feel like I can't even do what I've always dreamed about because of my loans.
On top of it my car broke down and my travel agency won't help me out. They said they would take the cost out of my paycheck. So I went and rented a car myself and ended up denting it on a short pole that I couldnt see when backing out of a driveway. 🤯
Any advice on loans, how you deal with stress, etc would be helpful!
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
"Rice and beans" is a Dave Ramseyism that just means to eat frugally and simply, don't eat out, etc. He doesn't literally mean eat nothing but rice and beans (or ramen) and I'm guessing most people here don't, either.
Yes I was not being literal. I bought frugally. Took a calculator with me and when I reached the limit, I was either done or made exchanges to meet the budget. I breastfed my kids til nearly 2 for many reasons, economical being only one. When the kids were toddlers, I made my own baby food from quality foods like fresh veggies and fruit. (those little jars are expen$ive). We ate well, but very, very cheaply.
But yea we did eat a lot of "beans and rice" too.
That is not sacrifice; it's necessity to cut down on extras and extravagances. It's called the real world. Sacrifice is being deployed to a war 10,000 miles from home and losing your life, forcing your family to do without you when gone (we were military and my husband deployed twice, but thankfully, came home, They cut our food budget while he was away d/t his being fed while in the tent in the Middle East). I have a very different notion of "sacrifice" I guess, on that context. The "sacrifices" made for my family were really things any parent does for their kids, that's all.
For some it may help to get off social media where it seems everyone's life is so good, so rich and so easy. That, I find is a problem today too. We all want what our neighbor has, but few want to put in the work to get it. Don't compare yourself to anyone; doing your personal best is the only way to go.
Yes I was not being literal. I bought frugally. Took a calculator with me and when I reached the limit, I was either done or made exchanges to meet the budget. I made my own baby food for my kids from quality foods like fresh veggies and fruit. We ate well, but very, very cheaply.
But yea we did eat a lot of "beans and rice" too.
That is not sacrifice; it's necessity to cut down on extras and extravagances. It's called the real world.
Get off social media where it seems everyone's life is so good, so rich and so easy. That, I find is a problem today too. We all want what our neighbor has, but few want to put in the work to get it. Don't compare yourself to anyone; doing your personal best is the only way to go.
I remember growing up eating a lot of hamburger and tuna helper.
Good point, and that would be a great thread here or in the student section. "Nurses cooking beautiful meals on a budget"!
I'd love to know how you did that on $50 bucks a week. And I always love a good, creative recipe, budget conscious or not.
Not that hard: I spend about $50 on essentials such as eggs, oil, brown rice, onions, meat or fish on sale, frozen veggies, oatmeals and I always make sure it's in large quantity. I also prefer shopping at Aldi or korean store (good price on seafood). Once I have my big essentials, I go to store once every couple weeks and spend anywhere from 50-70 bucks and meal plan for 2 weeks on that. My SO and I do not eat out that much. I just get creative every time I cook for us. I made stir fried beef, veggies and quinoa last night. tomorrow will quick make baked sweet potato with omelette on the side. Still have healthy things in fridge such as salads, greek yogurts, sausage and more. We also don't mind eating same thing for lunch and dinner or twice a week. I guess this is based on preferences and the # of people in your family as well.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
And if you DO go out to eat; that is no sin. But do what I do; divide your food into 3 or more portions on the plate. (they serve WAY too much food in American restaurants). Then, bring the leftovers home and you have 2 or 3 more meals. I do this all the time.
As alot of other people have said.... It will take hard work anf determination to pay off that debt.
I highly reccomend looking up Dave Ramsey. We followed his advice to pay off our debt several years ago.
Every single dollar should be put towards the loan. That means no cable, no going to bars/resturants, no movie theaters, wear clothes until they dissintigrate. Ask yourself if you REALLY NEED IT before you buy ANYTHING. Can you make do without it? Then its a want and not need.
Specializes in Adult and Pediatric Vascular Access, Paramedic.
I also want to add, and maybe I am wrong, but I feel like the Dave Rampsey stuff is geared more towards people or couples who make well over 100K a year or those that live in an area with a reasonable cost of living.
I live in the northeast and you cannot touch a 3 bed 2 bath house that is move in ready in this area for under 290K, and the prices continue to rise. I bought my house a year and a half ago and paid 270 and have very high taxes, as we do not have a sales or income tax. My mortgage is just over 1800 a month including PMI, taxes, and insurance ( Please don't tell me I should be renting, because a small two bedroom single level apartment in my area, that isn't in the ghetto city and that isn't a dump costs about 1500- 2000 a month, and that isn't in the city that is in a town), (thankfully I was able to get a mortgage at 3.5% interest because I bought when it was at a record low rate). I work overtime which equates to about 66 hours a week give or take and make 92K a year before taxes, retirement, and benefits. Generally I take home about 900 (no overtime) - 1500 (with my overtime) a week. Generally speaking if you factor in a car payment, groceries, clothing/shoes (and I only buy clothing /shoes when I absolutely need to ) , home repairs/maintenance, and other bills like utilities and phone, plus my mortgage. ( I use a credit card, but pay it of every month), that leave just enough to have some fun and to put in the bank into a savings account so I can maintain a reasonable amount just in case.
I don't think it is reasonable for a single person in this area, even working overtime, to pay off their house, car etc and still be able to afford to live happily with an emergency fund as well. Do the math! I am educated and make a decent wage, I don't have any credit card debt or student loan debt, but yet I still can not pay off the vehicle and house any sooner then scheduled. My opinion is also it is ever more important to have a good emergency fund, as well as solid short term and long term disability coverage if you are a single income household, which of courses takes away more money from the pay check. If I had a significant other with a decent income, absolutely could pay them off a lot quicker, but I haven't found the right guy yet. My point being I think his thoughts are great and may work for some (mostly couples and upper class people, and again people who live in an area with a more reasonable cost of living), but it isn't a one size fits all.
I would never buy a 7 year old car, or whatever he suggests because I don't have another vehicle if that one breaks down, which would mean missing work or worse being stranded on the side of the road late at night after a shift alone as a female, which would be anxiety provoking to say the least. I don't have a significant other to come pick me up, yes I have friends and family, but I would not burden them with my car troubles I think people mistakenly think buying a used care equates to lower payments and less money a month, but what they fail to do is factor in the repair and maintenance costs over the next five years, if the car even lasts that long. I guess this would work if you or someone you are close to can fix the car at a minimal cost to you. I will use my vehicle as an example of why I buy new. I bought a brand new truck (which by the way holds its resale value by 80% at the 5 year mark, more then any other vehicle I believe). Two years of free maintenance and road side assistance included, one less thing to worry about. My truck had a sticker price of 38K, I payed right around 33,500 for it maybe even 34K. I had the same truck previously which I bought brand new as well, which I paid around 28K for brand new with a sticker of around 32 or 33K. I traded that truck in which by the way had a bit over 10K in equity even though I didn't put a dime of my own money down on it (I am very good at playing car sales poeople and winning at their own game!), so I financed about 23,500 maybe 24K. My payments are manageable with a 5 year loan at 1.9% and I have a reliable vehicle for the next 5 years, which will need some maintenance of course, but I have little to worry about when it comes to breaking down and high repair costs. In addition at 5 years lets say i decide to trade the vehicle in, I will now have about 20-25K in equity to put towards my next vehicle, which if it is the same truck and same price will mean I will only finance right around 10K-14K which I can easily pay off in about 3-4 years I would say depending on the payments and interest rate. Now lets say I keep this vehicle for another 5 years and have no car payment for that time. Well the problem with that is that if I am not banking that money for my next vehicle, what is the point since I will have an even higher car payment when I trade it in at the ten year mark since there will be less equity. The point of this long babbling is to say I would rather have anew vehicle with a higher car payment, and know what it will cost each month, and more importantly that I won't have to miss 12 or 24 hours of work because I have no ride, then an old beater that requires constant repair work and I that am not sure it will make it to where ever I am going. If you look at the more reliable vehicles like Toyota and Honda a newer used version (1-2 years old with low miles) will only save you about a 1,000 if that, and generally speaking they hold some trade in value versus American cars that loose value a lot quicker. So I disagree, buy a new car, and skip the used section unless you have a family mechanic!!! Can you get a new reliable used vehicle, sure you can, but will it go 5 years without issues more than likely not and how do you know the last person actually maintained and took care of it?!
I think the Ramsey thing works for some people, but again it is limited to what I said above. Look at the country and my area and you will realize the days of working one job for a single person, and sometimes even for married couples are over. Welcome to a world of ridiculous inflation, where wages have not yet caught up, and the life of the home owning (or renting) working person includes more work and less play!!!
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I also want to add, and maybe I am wrong, but I feel like the Dave Rampsey stuff is geared more towards people or couples who make well over 100K a year or those that live in an area with a reasonable cost of living.
I live in the northeast and you cannot touch a 3 bed 2 bath house that is move in ready in this area for under 290K, and the prices continue to rise. I bought my house a year and a half ago and paid 270 and have very high taxes, as we do not have a sales or income tax. My mortgage is just over 1800 a month including PMI, taxes, and insurance ( Please don't tell me I should be renting, because a small two bedroom single level apartment in my area, that isn't in the ghetto city and that isn't a dump costs about 1500- 2000 a month, and that isn't in the city that is in a town), (thankfully I was able to get a mortgage at 3.5% interest because I bought when it was at a record low rate). I work overtime which equates to about 66 hours a week give or take and make 92K a year before taxes, retirement, and benefits. Generally I take home about 900 (no overtime) - 1500 (with my overtime) a week. Generally speaking if you factor in a car payment, groceries, clothing/shoes (and I only buy clothing /shoes when I absolutely need to ) , home repairs/maintenance, and other bills like utilities and phone, plus my mortgage. ( I use a credit card, but pay it of every month), that leave just enough to have some fun and to put in the bank into a savings account so I can maintain a reasonable amount just in case.
I don't think it is reasonable for a single person in this area, even working overtime, to pay off their house, car etc and still be able to afford to live happily with an emergency fund as well. Do the math! I am educated and make a decent wage, I don't have any credit card debt or student loan debt, but yet I still can not pay off the vehicle and house any sooner then scheduled. My opinion is also it is ever more important to have a good emergency fund, as well as solid short term and long term disability coverage if you are a single income household, which of courses takes away more money from the pay check. If I had a significant other with a decent income, absolutely could pay them off a lot quicker, but I haven't found the right guy yet. My point being I think his thoughts are great and may work for some (mostly couples and upper class people, and again people who live in an area with a more reasonable cost of living), but it isn't a one size fits all.
I would never buy a 7 year old car, or whatever he suggests because I don't have another vehicle if that one breaks down, which would mean missing work or worse being stranded on the side of the road late at night after a shift alone as a female, which would be anxiety provoking to say the least. I don't have a significant other to come pick me up, yes I have friends and family, but I would not burden them with my car troubles I think people mistakenly think buying a used care equates to lower payments and less money a month, but what they fail to do is factor in the repair and maintenance costs over the next five years, if the car even lasts that long. I guess this would work if you or someone you are close to can fix the car at a minimal cost to you. I will use my vehicle as an example of why I buy new. I bought a brand new truck (which by the way holds its resale value by 80% at the 5 year mark, more then any other vehicle I believe). Two years of free maintenance and road side assistance included, one less thing to worry about. My truck had a sticker price of 38K, I payed right around 33,500 for it maybe even 34K. I had the same truck previously which I bought brand new as well, which I paid around 28K for brand new with a sticker of around 32 or 33K. I traded that truck in which by the way had a bit over 10K in equity even though I didn't put a dime of my own money down on it (I am very good at playing car sales poeople and winning at their own game!), so I financed about 23,500 maybe 24K. My payments are manageable with a 5 year loan at 1.9% and I have a reliable vehicle for the next 5 years, which will need some maintenance of course, but I have little to worry about when it comes to breaking down and high repair costs. In addition at 5 years lets say i decide to trade the vehicle in, I will now have about 20-25K in equity to put towards my next vehicle, which if it is the same truck and same price will mean I will only finance right around 10K-14K which I can easily pay off in about 3-4 years I would say depending on the payments and interest rate. Now lets say I keep this vehicle for another 5 years and have no car payment for that time. Well the problem with that is that if I am not banking that money for my next vehicle, what is the point since I will have an even higher car payment when I trade it in at the ten year mark since there will be less equity. The point of this long babbling is to say I would rather have anew vehicle with a higher car payment, and know what it will cost each month, and more importantly that I won't have to miss 12 or 24 hours of work because I have no ride, then an old beater that requires constant repair work and I that am not sure it will make it to where ever I am going. If you look at the more reliable vehicles like Toyota and Honda a newer used version (1-2 years old with low miles) will only save you about a 1,000 if that, and generally speaking they hold some trade in value versus American cars that loose value a lot quicker. So I disagree, buy a new car, and skip the used section unless you have a family mechanic!!! Can you get a new reliable used vehicle, sure you can, but will it go 5 years without issues more than likely not and how do you know the last person actually maintained and took care of it?!
I think the Ramsey thing works for some people, but again it is limited to what I said above. Look at the country and my area and you will realize the days of working one job for a single person, and sometimes even for married couples are over. Welcome to a world of ridiculous inflation, where wages have not yet caught up, and the life of the home owning (or renting) working person includes more work and less play!!!
Annie
Or you could buy a brand new car for less than $20,000. How often do most people need a truck anyway? If all you need is basic transportation, buy a basic car. Save that extra $10-20k and put it toward your loans.
Specializes in Adult and Pediatric Vascular Access, Paramedic.
I need a truck as I own a house and use it weekly to take the trash to the transfer station, not something I would want to do with a car or SUV. I also live in the northeast and we get lots of snow and I don't get snow days. My driveway is a hill and getting up it with a two wheel drive vehicle would probably be difficult iwhen we have bigger snow storms. I also don't have the luxury of a husband so when I get off my 24 hour shift I am it as far as getting the drive way snow blowed, and with the truck I can get right through the snow and put it in the garage out of the way and then do the driveway when I can, usually after a nap! I feel much safer with 4x4. I actually use the back quite a bit for house stuff like landscaping stuff and larger stuff for the inside, as well as buying any furniture type things.
I would never buy a car because I do not want to have to bother someone every time I have a larger item I need to get home. An SUV quite honestly is pretty close in price to my truck, maybe a few thousand less, but not nearly as able to hold the value of a truck by any means when it comes time to trade it in! Also my truck gets 24 MPG which is good for a truck and not much less then most SUVs. Quite honestly I hate cars and haven't owned one in about 10 years at least. I am used to working in an ambulance and being higher up, so when I am in a car I feel like I am sitting on the ground. I also do not like them in the snow and it's not worth the anxiety, and no I won't spend loads of money for snow tires, and then even more to have them put on and taken off once a year. To much of a pain!! Also as I said, no real room for larger items and I don't want to spend hours cleaning the trunk etc when I have outside stuff and garbage to get around.
Also I don't know where you are shopping for cars, but you cannot even get a new decent midsize sedan for under 20K, and thats including a low end model
I also want to add, and maybe I am wrong, but I feel like the Dave Rampsey stuff is geared more towards people or couples who make well over 100K a year or those that live in an area with a reasonable cost of living.
I live in the northeast and you cannot touch a 3 bed 2 bath house that is move in ready in this area for under 290K, and the prices continue to rise. I bought my house a year and a half ago and paid 270 and have very high taxes, as we do not have a sales or income tax. My mortgage is just over 1800 a month including PMI, taxes, and insurance ( Please don't tell me I should be renting, because a small two bedroom single level apartment in my area, that isn't in the ghetto city and that isn't a dump costs about 1500- 2000 a month, and that isn't in the city that is in a town), (thankfully I was able to get a mortgage at 3.5% interest because I bought when it was at a record low rate). I work overtime which equates to about 66 hours a week give or take and make 92K a year before taxes, retirement, and benefits. Generally I take home about 900 (no overtime) - 1500 (with my overtime) a week. Generally speaking if you factor in a car payment, groceries, clothing/shoes (and I only buy clothing /shoes when I absolutely need to ) , home repairs/maintenance, and other bills like utilities and phone, plus my mortgage. ( I use a credit card, but pay it of every month), that leave just enough to have some fun and to put in the bank into a savings account so I can maintain a reasonable amount just in case.
I don't think it is reasonable for a single person in this area, even working overtime, to pay off their house, car etc and still be able to afford to live happily with an emergency fund as well. Do the math! I am educated and make a decent wage, I don't have any credit card debt or student loan debt, but yet I still can not pay off the vehicle and house any sooner then scheduled. My opinion is also it is ever more important to have a good emergency fund, as well as solid short term and long term disability coverage if you are a single income household, which of courses takes away more money from the pay check. If I had a significant other with a decent income, absolutely could pay them off a lot quicker, but I haven't found the right guy yet. My point being I think his thoughts are great and may work for some (mostly couples and upper class people, and again people who live in an area with a more reasonable cost of living), but it isn't a one size fits all.
I would never buy a 7 year old car, or whatever he suggests because I don't have another vehicle if that one breaks down, which would mean missing work or worse being stranded on the side of the road late at night after a shift alone as a female, which would be anxiety provoking to say the least. I don't have a significant other to come pick me up, yes I have friends and family, but I would not burden them with my car troubles I think people mistakenly think buying a used care equates to lower payments and less money a month, but what they fail to do is factor in the repair and maintenance costs over the next five years, if the car even lasts that long. I guess this would work if you or someone you are close to can fix the car at a minimal cost to you. I will use my vehicle as an example of why I buy new. I bought a brand new truck (which by the way holds its resale value by 80% at the 5 year mark, more then any other vehicle I believe). Two years of free maintenance and road side assistance included, one less thing to worry about. My truck had a sticker price of 38K, I payed right around 33,500 for it maybe even 34K. I had the same truck previously which I bought brand new as well, which I paid around 28K for brand new with a sticker of around 32 or 33K. I traded that truck in which by the way had a bit over 10K in equity even though I didn't put a dime of my own money down on it (I am very good at playing car sales poeople and winning at their own game!), so I financed about 23,500 maybe 24K. My payments are manageable with a 5 year loan at 1.9% and I have a reliable vehicle for the next 5 years, which will need some maintenance of course, but I have little to worry about when it comes to breaking down and high repair costs. In addition at 5 years lets say i decide to trade the vehicle in, I will now have about 20-25K in equity to put towards my next vehicle, which if it is the same truck and same price will mean I will only finance right around 10K-14K which I can easily pay off in about 3-4 years I would say depending on the payments and interest rate. Now lets say I keep this vehicle for another 5 years and have no car payment for that time. Well the problem with that is that if I am not banking that money for my next vehicle, what is the point since I will have an even higher car payment when I trade it in at the ten year mark since there will be less equity. The point of this long babbling is to say I would rather have anew vehicle with a higher car payment, and know what it will cost each month, and more importantly that I won't have to miss 12 or 24 hours of work because I have no ride, then an old beater that requires constant repair work and I that am not sure it will make it to where ever I am going. If you look at the more reliable vehicles like Toyota and Honda a newer used version (1-2 years old with low miles) will only save you about a 1,000 if that, and generally speaking they hold some trade in value versus American cars that loose value a lot quicker. So I disagree, buy a new car, and skip the used section unless you have a family mechanic!!! Can you get a new reliable used vehicle, sure you can, but will it go 5 years without issues more than likely not and how do you know the last person actually maintained and took care of it?!
I think the Ramsey thing works for some people, but again it is limited to what I said above. Look at the country and my area and you will realize the days of working one job for a single person, and sometimes even for married couples are over. Welcome to a world of ridiculous inflation, where wages have not yet caught up, and the life of the home owning (or renting) working person includes more work and less play!!!
Annie
Wow I am very surprised by how many hours you are able to work per week. I am still a student but usually hear nurses say after 3 12's they are so dead tired it's impossible to work extra. You are doing almost twice that. Also its frown upon because of safety issues and making mistakes. I am interested in how you manage it.
If you look at the more reliable vehicles like Toyota and Honda a newer used version (1-2 years old with low miles) will only save you about a 1,000 if that, and generally speaking they hold some trade in value versus American cars that loose value a lot quicker. So I disagree, buy a new car, and skip the used section unless you have a family mechanic!!! Can you get a new reliable used vehicle, sure you can, but will it go 5 years without issues more than likely not and how do you know the last person actually maintained and took care of it?!
I think the Ramsey thing works for some people, but again it is limited to what I said above. Look at the country and my area and you will realize the days of working one job for a single person, and sometimes even for married couples are over. Welcome to a world of ridiculous inflation, where wages have not yet caught up, and the life of the home owning (or renting) working person includes more work and less play!!!
Annie
I know you've convinced yourself that no used car is worthwhile, and what I'm going to say won't convince you otherwise. However there ARE a number of used cars that are very reliable. We bought a 4 year old Honda van with about 90k miles for less than 50% of a new one. That was 7 years ago. It's now an 11 year old van with about 225k miles. You want to know how much 'work' we've put into it? Oil changes, tires, breaks, and the 120k service (which was a big one) and we replaced tie end rods once. So yeah, maybe MAYBE 1,000 every year that we've owned it. Which, when you add it all up, is still 8k less than a new one.
Dave Ramsey isn't for everyone. But that's less about income and more about choices. It's your CHOICE to live where you live. It's your CHOICE to drive a new-ish truck. It's your CHOICE to stay in debt and just chalk it up to 'it's normal and how it's done'.
I know you've convinced yourself that no used car is worthwhile, and what I'm going to say won't convince you otherwise. However there ARE a number of used cars that are very reliable. We bought a 4 year old Honda van with about 90k miles for less than 50% of a new one. That was 7 years ago. It's now an 11 year old van with about 225k miles. You want to know how much 'work' we've put into it? Oil changes, tires, breaks, and the 120k service (which was a big one) and we replaced tie end rods once. So yeah, maybe MAYBE 1,000 every year that we've owned it. Which, when you add it all up, is still 8k less than a new one.
Dave Ramsey isn't for everyone. But that's less about income and more about choices. It's your CHOICE to live where you live. It's your CHOICE to drive a new-ish truck. It's your CHOICE to stay in debt and just chalk it up to 'it's normal and how it's done'.
You took the words right out of my mouth. All I know is I followed his plan and I'm 100% debt free and I have a very well funded emergency fund. I have also started my roth IRA and my 401. I travel and I really enjoy my financial independence. Dave Ramsey has helped immensely with how I interact with money. Just remember... normal is broke, be WEIRD!
You took the words right out of my mouth. All I know is I followed his plan and I'm 100% debt free and I have a very well funded emergency fund. I have also started my roth IRA and my 401. I travel and I really enjoy my financial independence. Dave Ramsey has helped immensely with how I interact with money. Just remember... normal is broke, be WEIRD!
Same here! And even though we WERE a 2 income family, we're NOW a single income family making under 100k in a Medium COL area. It's crazy how it ends up working out ...
SmilingBluEyes
20,964 Posts
Yes I was not being literal. I bought frugally. Took a calculator with me and when I reached the limit, I was either done or made exchanges to meet the budget. I breastfed my kids til nearly 2 for many reasons, economical being only one. When the kids were toddlers, I made my own baby food from quality foods like fresh veggies and fruit. (those little jars are expen$ive). We ate well, but very, very cheaply.
But yea we did eat a lot of "beans and rice" too.
That is not sacrifice; it's necessity to cut down on extras and extravagances. It's called the real world. Sacrifice is being deployed to a war 10,000 miles from home and losing your life, forcing your family to do without you when gone (we were military and my husband deployed twice, but thankfully, came home, They cut our food budget while he was away d/t his being fed while in the tent in the Middle East). I have a very different notion of "sacrifice" I guess, on that context. The "sacrifices" made for my family were really things any parent does for their kids, that's all.
For some it may help to get off social media where it seems everyone's life is so good, so rich and so easy. That, I find is a problem today too. We all want what our neighbor has, but few want to put in the work to get it. Don't compare yourself to anyone; doing your personal best is the only way to go.