The numbers updated after my last payment to get the interest down on the GP loan- 1,110 paid, of which $2.70 went to principle. Wooo! Go ahead and laugh, but this is the first payment that decreased the principle owed- actual progress! I'll take it. Of course interest will keep accruing, but from here out it should be a lot easier to get that the principle when making payments.
New numbers:
Total: 12588.15
Pri nciple: 12582.88
Interest: 5.27 (yes, this keeps adding up!)
This loan is now considered significantly "paid ahead," so even though the automatic payments will continue monthly, my next payment is "due" in 2021. That's pretty horrifying if you stop to think about it- the government clearly predicts I will be in debt to them forever, mindlessly paying the minimum to cover interest for decades.
In other news, I'm off today (work random shifts instead of a traditional weekend/workweek schedule). Shouldn't be too spendy- I plan to spend most of the day at home cleaning and organizing, which will have the double benefit of making me less nuts when I can't find things that are still boxed up somewhere, and saving some money in the long run by not replacing things I just can't find.
I've been reading more of the archives from that Mr. Money Moustache blog I mentioned last time, and I really enjoy his point of view. Representative quote:
"It is ALL ridiculous. Your life and my life, and the lives of all of the normal people around us.
If you've ever bought a garment, vehicle or dwelling with "style" as even a remote consideration, or prepared a multi-course meal with "taste" as one of the factors, then congratulations - you live a big, wonderful, ridiculous life. If you have any means of transportation besides walking, congratulations again, because you've hit the big time. You have so many options open to you - so much flexibility to change your lifestyle, empower yourself, spend less, earn more, and move to new places as you see fit."
(link http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/03/12/when-ridiculousness-is-ubiquitious/ )
This is so true! I can never get over how easy, safe, clean, and comfortable American life generally is compared to all of human history, even on low incomes. We have magical shots that you can get one time as a baby to prevent you from getting illnesses that routinely killed half of everybody's children for most of history...and we're so accustomed to this magical quality of modern life that we have people who TURN THIS DOWN. There is so much extra money flying around our society that people will give routinely give unemployed 18 year olds (or in my case, 22 year olds) HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS of loans with no collateral. Most of the time they don't even ask what specifically you plan on studying with this cash! That may not always work out, but what an incredible amount of working capital this country must have! And don't even get me started on all the insane things you can buy at the grocery store- wars have been fought over the trading routes to reach spices that somebody in small-town Nebraska can pick up for $2 without a thought.
What a wonderful and interesting time to be alive!
Progress
May 29th, 2015 at 01:42 pm
May 29th, 2015 at 01:56 pm 1432907784
I worked my regular job, then took on as much freelance/extra work as I could handle during that time. Every cent I made in extra money and freelance was added onto my normal monthly payment as an extra payment. Some months it was $1000 extra! It really helped me pay it off fast.
May 29th, 2015 at 01:56 pm 1432907815
Good post! My thinking shifted once a friend of mine went to Nepal on a humanitarian mission to bring solar lights and aid. The pictures are heart-stopping, eye-opening, and heart-searching.
May 29th, 2015 at 02:08 pm 1432908498
May 29th, 2015 at 04:18 pm 1432916322
The slightest change in perspective can change everything. This is why gratitude is such a huge key to happiness. It means not always pining over that which you don't have. & truly realizing how good we have it.
May 29th, 2015 at 10:14 pm 1432937654
May 30th, 2015 at 02:04 am 1432951467