The Road to Financial Wellness

I'm 27 years old and stuck.

I'm feeling married to my student loans and credit debt. Month after month I am paying the minimum  payment on my credit card struggling to get below the credit limit.

Now I don't blame anyone but myself. I chose to college to college. I chose to move out on my own when I wasn't financial ready and of course, refused to get a roommate. I chose to trade my perfectly good care for a fancy new one on a lease. These were all choices that I made in the last 5 years that looking back on now, maybe weren't the most thought out decisions.

I can definitely say that my financial situation is a huge cause of anxiety. This recently came to the surface during couples therapy where I had a mini meltdown about feeling like a free loader.

Since that appointment, I've made some drastic changes and put myself on a two year plan to financial wellness.

One | Credit Cards

Since credit cards are the biggest, most painful thorn in my side, I decided to tackle those first. Ironically I opened up a new credit card that was running a promotion for balance transfers, offering 0% APR for 18 months. The other thing I did is apply for a personal loan to pay off the remainder of my other credit cards. The personal loan has an interest rate of just under 10% which is worlds better than the 27% APR I have on some of my credit cards.

For me, the best part of my method of paying these dang cards off is there's a light at the end of the tunnel. 18 months for one and 24 months for the other, rather than the endless minimum payments that I had been doing for the past few years.

Two | Budget

Next, I created a budget. I've done them before but they were half assed. This budget was legit, with formulas and everything! Microsoft Excel has a budget template that you can download or you can create your own. My goal was the figure out where the hell all my money was going. In a way, I sort of knew where it was going but it was a big shock to see exactly how much was going where.

Three | Savings Account

Lastly, I opened up a savings account. I used to have one but it was "accidentally" closed as part of my parents divorce. I hadn't seen a need to reopen one until I had a conversation with my boss and he said something that really stuck. You need to pay yourself first. I definitely wasn't doing that but realized the value in it.

I feel much better about where I am now. Not my debt didn't go away overnight, but feeling like there's a plan and it's manageable has put me in a much better spot.

Do you have any tips for financial wellness?

D