My Story...

I am a 20-something (almost 30-something) woman who graduated from undergrad almost 6 years ago with just $4,000 in credit card debt and no student loans. I know people are probably wondering -- How in the heck is your net worth almost -$70,000?

It’s simple…I am a spendaholic and I made some very poor decisions.

Following graduation, I moved home to live with Mom and Dad. My mom offered to take rent from me and place it into a savings account for my future downpayment but I refused. I was after all, a financial analyst. Yeah right! I basically lived it up beyond belief…vacations to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cancun. I won’t even mention my frequent stops to Ann Taylor. Since I never traveled before, I couldn’t get enough of it, and my credit card got a serious workout.

2 years later, I bought a new car and by the time I went to purchase my Condo 3 years later, I amassed approximately $10,000 in credit debt, $26,000 in car loan debt, and had minimal savings for the downpayment. On top of that, I was beginning law school a month later. Wowsa!!!

In the end, I bought a condo in the Chicagoland area which turned out to be way more than my measly salary could afford. I ended up doing an 80/20 so the only cash I had to come up with was really closing costs. I can’t say the condo purchase was a bad decision since it has appreciated about $20,000. The problem came when my monthly take home pay only covered my monthly bills and then I turned to my student loans to not only pay for tuition but also any and all personal expenses.

Today, after my bills are paid, I have $200 left. I plan to pay off my car loan this month with my savings so that I can free up an additional $500/month and therefore have no future need to amass unnecessary debt. I am working on a budget now and I hope that good things are to come.