Forever in Teacher Debt ~ What To Do Wednesday

Dear Lesson Plan Toolbox,

I am a first year teacher with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt and I truly don't think it will ever go away. I am loving my job even on the hard days, but I never in a million years dreamed I would be making so little money and working so much. How do teachers do it? 

My goal is to save up money so I can move out of my parents' house, but with student loans looking at $35,000+ this doesn't seem like a financially responsible decision. I know that if I want it enough I need sacrifice and figure out a way to make this work. That being said, I also want to be social with my friends, well as much as we can be right now, and hang out. I don't want to live a life depriving myself of good times and that is what this feels like. 

Aside from my student loans, I also have my car payment and insurance and credit card debt. I know! I know! How could I let this happen? The truth is, is that I didn't even realize all of this debt was accumulating until I sat down to figure out my finances for buying a house. Please tell me at some point does this get any better?

Forever In Teacher Debt

Dear Forever In Teacher Debt,

Take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Unfortunately the situation you are facing financially is not only common in the education field, but for most college graduates no matter what their field of interest. Being that it sounds like you have taken a solid look at your financial situation why don't we see if can come up with a plan to generate more income.

One of the biggest plus sides to working in education is that there are so many options for side jobs. You can find clients to tutor or nanny for on websites such as care.com. Parents love teachers watching their children because teachers know how to handle children and usually bring creative activities to do while the parents are away. Best of all, you can almost always pick and choose when you want to work so you can still have a social life!

Our next step to helping you become debt free is to use CASH. The generation of students coming out of college have a love of tapping or swiping credit cards that rarely do you see someone under the age of 30 use anything but their card. Yes, your bank card counts as credit card too in this situation. When you use cash you actually see the money disappear. It's not like using a chip reader and assuming money just grows in that account. If you don't have enough cash to buy something, then you don't buy it. No credit cards!

The last suggestion we have for you in regards to your financial freedom is to payoff your credit card debt first, then work towards your next biggest source of debt. Why? Well, credit cards usually have higher interest rates which means you are going to be paying way more than you actually owe if you only pay a minimum balance. Student loans and car loans don't have quite as much as a negative impact on your credit as credit card debt. You might even consider getting rid of all of your credit cards except maybe one for emergencies. Remember, you are using cash now so you really don't need more than one card.

You are a brave young adult to be this open and honest with your finances. You are also showing great responsibility by realizing what you can and can't do right now. With discipline and the use of cash you will more than likely see that debt roll away faster than you think and you will really be able to hang out with friends. As always, please feel free to reach out to us if you have any more questions or need some more ideas. We love serving teachers!

Be sure to click here to grab your 7 Habits to Prevent Teacher Burnout.

Teach~Relax~Repeat

Lesson Plan Toolbox