…if it weren’t for my student loan debt.

Quite frankly, this realization leaves me unsettled.  While I know that my student loan debt is relatively low considering how many degrees I’ve amassed over the years, I can’t help but feel discouraged with having SO much debt.  Not one to rant without taking action, I’ve developed a plan of attack for these loans.  Enter Operation:  Eradicate Student Loan Debt.  This is going to become my feature challenge for 2011.

Before I plow forward with this mission, I feel it’s necessary to beef up my E-fund.  While I wrestle with just how much I should have in this account (yes, I know experts tout a 6-8 month cushion), I’ve settled with the idea of slowing down contributions once I hit $20k.  Note the idea of slowing down, not stopping contributions.

Once I reach this mark, I plan to apply the Snowball Plan developed by Dave Ramsey.  In order to do this, I first need to list all of my loan totals.  This is by far the scariest part of this mission, but here goes nothing (note that the grad school loans are from my third masters degree–my first two cost less than $500 combined!):

• Undergrad Federal Loan:  $19,735.51
• Grad School Federal Loan #1:  $19,010.82
• Grad School Federal Loan #2:  $4,000
• Grad School Perkins Loan:  $2,000
• Grad School Federal Loan #3:  $1,682.98

 

Grand Total:  $46,429.31

Ouch.  Looks like my net worth should have actually decreased during February (two new loans just came through).  I hope to never have another student loan!

**Update: As of 9/1/12, I’ve paid off over $26,000 in student loans!**

Action Steps:

1. $20K into E-fund (target date:  July 2011)
2. Pay off Loan #3 completely (target date:  August 2011)
3. Pay off Perkins Loan (target date:  October 2011)
4. Pay off Loan #2 (target date:  December 2011)
5. Continue paying undergrad & Loan #1 during this time
6. Re-assess progress once Perkins & Loans #2 & #3 are paid off…