Resurrecting this long-lost thread for an update. :)
Unfortunately, my bonus check got spent on an emergency visit to take care of some stuff down South for my aging father. I felt like a drain opened up at the bottom of my bank account. Between the flight, the hotel, legal expenses, and cleaning expenses, I was down $1000 before I left.
And I also adopted his 14-year-old cat (which I foisted upon him and my mom 14 years ago as a kitten) because he can't really care for it anymore. I had to get him checked out by a vet to travel with him, and I paid for a senior blood panel while I was there because I wanted to be sure he didn't have really costly hidden health problems (diabetes, cancer, thyroid issues, etc). It was a lot cheaper in Louisiana than it would have been in New England, and as it turned out, he was in glowing health. Kind of amazing, given the randomness of the care he'd been receiving from my dad and brothers. With all of that, plus a carrier the airline would accept, plus the cost of no-kill sheltering my dad's other cat (far too old and unhealthy to bring with me), that was another $500 gone.
That was a pretty crazy December. Still dealing with family issues - what I should take on, what I shouldn't, what my dad will *let* me do, etc. But at least for now, I'm in a lull.
The big news is about my car! So, I started in this thread completely unwilling to consider selling it. But the pressure of logic (and reading all the many responses to advice requests that start with "First, sell yoour car) finally got to me. I had my car appraised at Carmax weekend, and they offered me about $500 less than what I currently owe on it. So - I sold it to my room mate, who offered what I owe plus two free months of rent, which will make me a very happy non-renter in Feb and March! The total comes to around 13K.
I might have made more money on a private sale to a stranger, but my room mate wanted to keep this car "in the family," and I wanted to not spend a lot of time meeting strangers. So I think it's all worked out pretty well, even if some of the benefits are in non-financial spheres. And I'll still get to drive my ex-car now and then, so that's a plus. (Though I've also enrolled in Zip car to avoid straining the relationship by always "borrowing" what she's just bought from me.)
Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that your advice was heard and heeded - I'm now in $11.5k less debt than I was when I started this thread, and two rent-free months will allow me to make significant inroads in the remaining debt by spring. Plus, without car payments, insurance payments, and gas costs, I'll be throwing around $1600 at my student loan debt every month.
Unbury.me tells me I could be debt-free by 2017. THAT is extremely exciting. :)