— Asked by Anonymous

Hi there!

Thanks for writing and thank you for you kind words!



First thing to know is how much I make: I work 38-40 hours a week at $13 per hour. After taxes and such, my take home pay is usually around $1300 per month.

I have an interesting situation with many financial agreements right now, one that I know most people don’t have. I’m 22, and have made an agreement with my parents (who own their house) that I can live here at least while I’m paying off my loans, rent free. I also own my car, which I got used on Craigslist for $2500.



I do buy my own food (except for nights when I eat with my parents), and pay my own bills (phone, gas, etc.), but I have managed to negotiate some things, which I would strongly recommend to everyone! I have a used phone, and a great deal on a family plan, so I pay $20 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data. I know where the least expensive gas in my area is, and I make sure I go there once I hit about a quarter of a tank. After paying my bills (total of ~$150 a month), I still have $1,150 left over. Not having to pay rent or a car payment allows me to put $1000 or more per month towards my loans, depending on how often I go out to eat, go out with friends, etc.



I sat down in October and budgeted it all out very carefully. I did consider living on my own while doing this, and even if I had, I would have either found a room somewhere or rented an apartment with someone else, and would have kept the cost under $600 per month, which would have still allowed me to pay $200-$300 per month towards my loans, at minimum.

The way that I’m doing it, however, will allow me to save up some money while I pay off my loans as well, so that when I do move out, probably sometime in the next year, year and a half, I will have a few months rent stored up, and won’t have to start out living paycheck to paycheck because of rent costs.



Like I said, I know this isn’t the situation for everyone, but I’m a firm believer that with careful budgeting and management of money, everyone can pay more than they think they can towards their loans!

And I’m more than happy to assist with a budget plan, if anyone wants help!

