Sometimes people are surprised that we bought a house even though we have student loans. And that makes sense. Student loan debt can completely cripple your finances, including (maybe especially?) crushing your chances of buying a house. In fact, CNBC recently reported that 83% of people ages 22-35 with student loan debt who haven’t bought a […]
debt help
SHOULD I SAVE FOR RETIREMENT OR PAY OFF DEBT?
Have you ever imagined yourself as an 80 year old? I don’t think many of us sit around pondering what life will be like at 80. I am forever struck by an experience I had working as a law clerk to a judge right after law school. I was sitting in on a garnishment hearing. The […]
HOW THIS FAMILY PAID OFF $180,000 OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT
Do you ever feel totally alone when it comes to paying off debt? For me that is one of the hardest parts about our journey paying off $650k of student loan debt. Sometimes it feels like we are the only ones. But the truth is, there are plenty of people out there paying off six […]
STUDENT LOAN DEBT RESOURCES
This summer, Danny and I went to the lake for Danny’s family reunion. Danny grew up boating and I’ve been with Danny for a decade, ipso facto, we’re boaters. Who are too poor to own a boat. I’m fairly custom to boating in warm lakes and or oceans. I’ve never had to use a wet […]
SHOULD YOU HAVE A BABY IF YOU HAVE DEBT?
Want to know what it’s like having a baby if you have debt? “Imagine you are drowning, and then someone hands you a baby.” (Jim Gaffigan) We had our sweet baby M my last semester of law school. When I was pregnant and people found out that I was also in law school, I received […]
WHAT I LEARNED FROM PAYING OFF STUDENT LOANS
When I took out student loans for law school, I really had no idea how they would impact the rest of my life. Unlike my love life that all of my friends and family members seemed to have a strong opinion about, no one seemed to challenge my decision to go to law school, taking […]
HOW TO GET STARTED PAYING OFF DEBT
When I was first learning to drive an automatic car, I thought it was the most confusing thing on earth. Not only did I have to pay attention to traffic, use my blinker, and do the many things you have to do to drive a car, but I also had to worry about switching gears […]
HOW TO DEAL WITH FINANCIAL SET BACKS
Simen Hegstad Krueger, a Norwegian cross country skier, trained his whole life to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics. On the very first lap of the race, he slipped and fell face down in the snow, his Olympic dreams completely crushed. But, in an amazing turn of events, he was able to untangle his skis […]
CHEAP OR FREE MOTHER’S DAY GIFT IDEAS
Did Mother’s Day sneak up on you this year? Or is that just me? I feel like time has been FLYING by lately and have found myself a titchy unprepared for Mother’s Day. That’s not great when you are on a tight budget like me. Because shopping last minute *usually* means you’re not going to […]
THIS IS HOW MUCH DEBT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. (APRIL UPDATE 2018)
When Danny and I lived in Utah, we would frequently go snow shoeing (in fact, he proposed to me snow shoeing on a hike where we had our first kiss 😉 ) Have you ever been snow shoeing before? Its a TON of fun but it also can be a ton of work, especially if […]