Totally Debt Free

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On April 24 I paid off my Dodge Dart. I got the Dart back in January 2017 out of necessity. Someone rear-ended my 2003 Black Dodge Neon and it was totaled. The loan from US Bank was around $9,882 and I put 2K down on the car. So the Dart came out to be $11,882.

$32,200 Student Loans
$11,882 Car Loan
________________________
$44,082 Paid off

Its pretty crazy to owe $44K as a 22-year old. I think everyone should take debt seriously and pay it off ASAP. It hinders your financial power when you have to worry about a $500 payment here, a $180 payment there... What would happen if you had that money every month? What happens if you get sick, laid off, a recession hits, etc.

May 5, 2018 is when I graduated from Baldwin Wallace University with a software engineering degree. Did it pay off? I'd say so. Having a degree lets you work at places that require one. My last place of employment required a degree, no exceptions. Without that experience, I wouldn't have landed my BEST job. College pays off if you pick a field like technology to major in. Or something high in demand. Getting a degree is only half the battle, the rest is up to you. You need to take imitative to learn new things, participate in outside activities, work at internships, work on software projects. A degree won't lead you to success, it just opens locked doors.

I liked watching Dave Ramsey videos and shared in his DISGUST over LOANS. The guy gives advice for common folk. In my current situation I'll have to find out how to invest, retirement, what the heck is trading/stocks, etc. Dave Ramsey is good if your in a debt stage in your life. I'll probably pick up a few books about finance.

Closing out this stage of life

I've been living like an intern since my first internship job. I went through my first full-time software development job living like an intern. Isn't that sad? I couldn't really enjoy my money. But hey now I can! Now I can hang up my BW degree. Its still in the white envelope. I'll wait to hang it up when I'm in Chicago.

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