Browsing Tag

Twenty-something and debt

I Told Myself That By 30, I’d Pay Off All My Debt. And That’s What I Did.

Yesterday, I paid off the last of my debt.

I made a plan to have my debt paid off by the age of 30, and seven months in, I did just that.

I’ve written about twenty-something finances and debt before and had had some incredible conversations with friends and readers about it.

I used to be embarrassed that I had debt. I felt like a fool, and the shame I felt often felt like a suffocating blanket over my life. On top of embarrassment, I felt anxiety. I would wake up in the night in a cold sweat, feeling like my life was essentially over because my debt became unmanageable (note: I actually didn’t have a lot of debt, but it multiplied exponentially when I fell behind and my APR skyrocketed).

Then, one day, I was no longer embarrassed- I’ll share that day with you shortly– and that is when I began talking freely about my debt on my blog. I have no special insight into the world, but if I walk away from this blog one day, I’ll be most proud of the (more…)

February 4, 2014 by hipstercrite

20-Something, Hipstercrite Life

How to Handle Debt: A Personal Story

The other day, I posted on Hipstercrite’s Facebook page that I had just finished paying off my car, and in a several months, my credit cards too.

I’ve written about debt before; like many twenty-somethings, I’ve been strapped with school loans, credit card and car payments for most of my third decade.

When you’re facing debt, it’s often difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, many mornings you wake up in a cold sweat, suffocating from the heavy blanket of your finances.

I was raised by a fiscally conservative mother who always paid her bills on time. When she pushed me forth into the world that was the only advice she gave me. Fresh out of college, I landed a salaried position in Los Angeles and thought I was set. Boy, was I dumb!

My debt was established in several steps: 1.) I often used my credit card to go out to eat (I was very sad and lonely in LA and didn’t want to be at home) 2.) I foolishly put the down payment of my new car on a credit card and (more…)

April 3, 2013 by hipstercrite

20-Something, Hipstercrite Life

The Twenty-Something and Debt

my $1000 LA studio bedroom…in a closet.

There was a time when I had money.

There was a time when I thought I had money.

There was a time when I thought I had money and acted as such.

There was a time when I thought I had money and acted as such because it was my only option. This is why I have no money. When I moved to Los Angeles at twenty years of age, I had minimal education on how to manage my finances. Home & Careers class in high school definitely didn’t teach me much. I mostly learned how to peel a potato and make soup from a $.55 french onion soup pack. Maybe the class was preparing me for a life of processed food poverty? My father lived every day as if it were his last, often randomly jumping on his motorcycle and scooting across the US or indulging in fly-by hobbies such a recumbent bicycling or job quitting, so he wasn’t a great teacher either. My mother was the most solid role model in that she informed me I should only put on my credit (more…)

May 2, 2011 by hipstercrite