hey all,
its been 6 months or so, and I wanted to check in.
I wish I was coming in with better news, but long story short, I have made a little bit of small progress, but still this whole thing just seems hopeless.
The good:
- eating out a lot less; preparing more meals; buying in bulk/being more frugal
- staying current on payments
- small raise at work
- put a little bit into 401k
The bad:
- had to move, rent is much more expensive.
- putting money in 401k left me with too little take-home pay, so had to reduce contributions
- shopped around for some loan refinancing options, but have not yet refinanced
- this one is more of a psychological one, but reading stories here, well they used to be inspiring, but now they are all kind of disappointing, as it seems I am worse off than many. For every story I read seeing success, i'm older, have more debt, or lower pay (in many instances, 2 if not all 3 of these are true). In general, I guess I am becoming resentful about others I work with getting basically the same pay but without schooling and the accompanying debt.
sorry to rant folks, I appreciate all of your help, the goal just seems so far away right now