You Can Always Do It Later

So I tried to publish this post a couple of days ago, but halfway through, my computer crashed. I was rather cranky about it, so I didn’t feel like re-typing it at the moment. I know, I know, I’m a bum of a blogger. Oops!

Usually, procrastination is a bad thing or something that is regarded as “lazy”. I could tell you all about procrastination in regards to writing essays for college or cleaning my bedroom. Or writing a new post here at Lace and Key.  (I’m sorry!) There have been lots of changes that I’ve been in the process of making lately, and in order to keep myself on track, I keep telling myself you can always do it later or you can always change your mind. 

You’re probably thinking huh?! What kind of motivation is that?

Well, along with my healthier eating, I decided to quit smoking once and for all. I’m super good at quitting, really. It’s already been three days and I’ve barely thought about it. In fact, I decided to quit after realizing I hadn’t smoked in an entire day. The problem is, I’m terrible at keeping it that way. Parties/social gatherings of any kind ALWAYS make me crack. “I’ll just be a social smoker”, I’ll say or the famous “I only smoke when I drink!” Except then I’ll turn into a “I always want to smoke after I eat” smoker and a “cigarettes and coffee go hand in hand” smoker. You get the picture. I never want to admit it, but I have fairly non-existent self-control. So, in a reverse-psychology type move, I just tell myself you can always smoke later. Of course, I don’t actually smoke later, but I think reminding myself that this is a CHOICE helps a lot.

When I first started typing this post, I was at day 4 and here I am at day 7. Weee, one whole week down!! In order to keep myself motivated, I came up with a rewards system. Yes, I am bribing myself to quit smoking. Whatever works, right?

After 1 month of not smoking: Nike’s! (Black Nike Free’s to be exact!)

2 months: Under Armour Hoodie

3 months: VS Bikini

6 months: Nike Compression Shorts (2 pairs!)

9 months: North Face Osito Jacket

1 YEAR: Professional teeth whitening 🙂

I am now 23 days away from new shoes!! Yay! It’s been pretty smooth sailing so far, but I have a party to go this evening which worries me! As we bought an “E-Cigarette” over the summer (which I used a couple of times, but mostly the boyfriend uses it) I spent some time doing research on them. As it turns out, E-Cigs can be pretty dangerous themselves- even the ones without nicotine in them! I was thinking of buying non-nicotine cartridges for if the urge strikes me when I’m in social settings, but I’m not 100% sold on it. It’s not as if this happens a lot, so “smoking” water vapor 1-2 nights a month is surely better than smoking real cigarettes multiple times a day. Still, my focus is on an overall healthy lifestyle, so cutting out any kind of smoking is the goal.

So that’s life lately! Setting goals and crushing them, one day at a time. 🙂

-A

 

Foot, Meet Mouth

I’ll never want to go back to school.

Grad school is for people who are avoiding their student loan bills.

You couldn’t pay me to go back to school.

I wouldn’t even make that much more money with my master’s.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————

Err, so this is awkward. Everything up there is something I’ve said in the past regarding going back to school for my master’s. When the weeks were dwindling down prior to graduation, I swear that’s ALL everybody talked about! Which grad school they were going to, if they got on the accelerated track, etc., etc. Meanwhile, I was in the back of the room like… isn’t my bachelor’s enough?! It took me 4 years (5 if you count my year off) to get this degree and now it doesn’t mean anything?? Well, [insert above comments here]… not me. I’m not going to grad school.

Fast forward to today, approximately a month after graduation. I have a job in my field which I enjoy, but I’m still not certain what my “dream job” within social work is. Whenever I was interning, somebody told me their reasoning for going to grad school. “You’ll start to feel really limited in what you can do. You’ll want to do more.” At the time, I thought, not me! I’ll be perfectly fine with an entry-level social work job f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Okay, so maybe not forever, but I didn’t quite understand what she meant by “feeling limited”. Of course, at that point I was an intern/waitress so I couldn’t really relate. I thought that graduation was the end all, be all of my life- and to be fair, at the time, it was. Now, though, a mere 5 weeks after graduation things are a little clearer. I’m able to concentrate on what I want for myself personally, professionally and financially. And so, foot meet mouth, I am looking at grad schools.

The craziest part? I am weirdly excited. Me! The girl who was 99.9% sure grad school would never be a consideration changed her mind barely a month after graduating. Well, I suppose I’m keeping things interesting. Now I’m in the process of requesting information from schools and looking at different programs. Surprisingly, I’m not even considering getting my MSW (Master’s in Social Work) for a couple of reasons. One, I’d like to expand my knowledge into other areas of human services, rather than simply build upon my existing knowledge in social work. Two, although money should not be the only reason to consider going back to school, it IS an extremely important factor! Too many people take on debt without really thinking it through. It’s not financially responsible to add an additional $50k onto my student loans for a profession that won’t afford me the salary to comfortably pay those loans back. In the area I live, obtaining my MSW will put me in no better of a financial situation than I’m in right now; in fact, it would likely be worse. Sure, I’d make a little bit more money per hour, but my debt-to-income ratio would be terribly high and I’d like to buy a house sometime within this century.

So, what programs am I looking at if not social work?

1. Occupational Therapy
2. Counseling

I currently work in correlation with guidance counselors and I really enjoy the school environment. However, they are also stuck with a lot of random responsibilities that aren’t necessarily in their job description. I also think it would be difficult to find a job in this field- there’s only 1 guidance counselor per school and there’s not a high turnover rate. I’m leaning towards occupational therapy; I’d love to work with kids with developmental delays. I could also work in a multitude of other areas within the field; rehabilitation, productive aging, work and industry, etc. I think that occupational therapy would compliment my degree in social work as both professions require a problem-solving approach.

I’m excited- and nervous! Getting into grad school is a whole new ballpark compared to the laid back process of doing my undergrad. I need to take the GRE, tackle some pre-req’s, get some recommendations, obtain volunteer hours, write a personal statement, hopefully land an interview and then pray I get in. Ugh! Luckily I have a friend who is just beginning the grad school process, so I’ll have a GRE study buddy! Which I need, because I haven’t taken a math class in 8 years. Oh boy. This should be an interesting journey!

So, some advice… don’t say that you’ll “never” do something. Chances are, you’re likely to change your mind. Or maybe you’re not as indecisive as me, but, at least you’re keeping your options open. 🙂

-A

Not a Destination

I honestly can’t believe how quickly things can change. It’s been just over a month since I graduated college and it’s been exactly a month since I began my “real job” as a caseworker… phew, time flies! I remember many conversations, blog posts and even journal entries about my excitement regarding graduating college and entering the “real world”. Now that it’s here… well… Hmph. I wasn’t expecting a red carpet or celebrity treatment or anything but, um, is it normal to be exhausted by 2pm? Every. Single. Day? It doesn’t matter if I get 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 hours of sleep. It doesn’t matter if I wake up feeling like the world is at my fingertips and everything is covered in rainbows; by 2, I just want to curl up in a ball under my desk. Also, why is deciding what to bring for lunch the hardest decision EVER? “Should I bring a salad? I had salad yesterday… Maybe a sandwich. Or maybe soup. Too poor to eat out. Oh shit, salad it is.” (P.S: By the time noon rolls around, I NEVER WANT THE DAMN SALAD.) Speaking of decisions, is there a way to hire someone to pick out my outfits for me every morning? Up until a month ago I lived in the lovely world of yoga pants and now it’s all business casual this and panty hose that. Don’t get me wrong, I love clothes, but I don’t love a dress code at 7:30am.

I was really stumped as to why things have just seemed so different lately, because it’s not like I’m busier. In fact, I’m far less busy without papers and other random homework assignments. Then, I realized, it’s the routine. Wake up at the same time, make coffee/breakfast, go to work, come home & clean, make dinner, clean that up, shower, veg with the boyfriend for a couple hours, go to bed. REPEAT 5x then enjoy the weekend for the .002 seconds it lasts, then back to the grind. As with most things, the life of a full-time worker is just not as glamorous as the movies make it out be! Seriously just add a toddler in the mix and BOOM, I’m living the stereotypical American dream.

Except, there’s one little thing… that’s so not my dream. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy my job. I LOVE having the stability of a set schedule. I LOVE having nights and weekends off. The girls I work with are fantastic and there are lots of little perks to the company I work for. If I could wear yoga pants on the job, I might just call it perfect. It’s not that I dislike working or that I dislike my job, I’m just not the type of person that is satisfied by the work-eat-sleep (+cleaning) grind. I’m certainly not interested in the work-eat-sleep (+cleaning) AND raising children grind, at least not any time soon. There’s still so much of the world I’ve yet to see; I’m just getting the opportunity to leave the country this summer. There’s still so much I want to do in general; my need for creativity isn’t going to be satisfied by meal planning and doing the dishes.

I’m wondering what the middle ground for me is. I honestly enjoy working. I like the feeling of having a purpose, of feeling like somehow I am making a difference in somebody’s life. I also like paying my bills on time, so there’s that. 😉 My problem isn’t that I have to work during the day, it’s what I do with my time after work and on weekends. The thought of cooking and cleaning every day for the rest of forever sounds awful to me! I need to be able to read, write, do DIY projects, paint something, whatever. I’m just not cut out to be Susie-Homemaker 100% of the time. To that I say, oh well! I think people get way too caught up in how they’re “supposed” to live their lives; there’s so much pressure to be married, have kids, buy a house, etc. at a specific time. If you don’t follow these standards? Well clearly something is wrong with you! I just don’t buy into that. Everyone’s lives and aspirations for their lives are different, how can there be a set of “standards” to apply to everyone?

 

On another note, my meal planning is going well so far! Monday’s buffalo chicken wraps were a spicy hit, and I switched the menu up a bit to make ham with pineapple, green beans and mac n cheese Tuesday! The boyfriend stepped in Wednesday because I worked late and made spaghetti, but got lazy and skipped the salad. (I worked an 11 hour day and wasn’t going to complain!) Homemade veggie soup is on the menu for today, which apparently “isn’t a meal” in my boyfriend’s opinion. I however loooove vegetable soup and am excited to eat some that doesn’t come from a can. I also have a cold, so I think soup is definitely going to hit the spot. Plus bread and butter, of course… gotta have my carbs. 🙂

I’m confident that in the weeks and months to come, I will find a healthy balance between working, daily errands and my love for DIY projects. I am reminded of the quote “happiness is not a destination, but a way of life.” If we want to be happy in all aspects of our lives, we have to make purposeful choices in order to become happy.

So far, so good. 🙂

-A

Tips for Anti-Grocery Shoppers

There are a lot of things about being an adult that are pretty great. Staying up until whenever you want, binge-watching Netflix and drinking a beer for lunch, if that’s what you really want. There are also some pretty crappy things about being an adult, like grocery shopping. I hate grocery shopping. I also don’t particularly enjoy cooking, either. So, when my fridge is bare and it’s time to head out to the grocery store, a little part of me dies inside.

This sums it up.

My grocery shopping tactic usually goes something like this: make list, forget list, walk haphazardly around the store and try to think of things to make for dinner. Then, throughout the week, we stare at the fridge and try to come up with something to make. More often than not, we’re missing an ingredient so I have to go back out and spend more money. Ugh. This time, I thought I would try something different. So, throughout the week I’ve been scouring the internet (by internet I obviously mean Pinterest) for meal ideas, grocery shopping tips and ways to save money. It took a hot minute (ya know, I’m not exactly Susie Homemaker when it comes to cooking) but I came up with 14 different meals and a coordinating shopping list. I just concentrated on dinner because I usually eat a different variation of the same thing for breakfast (oatmeal, fruit, eggs, toast, etc) and I do a salad or leftovers for lunch.

So, with list and meal ideas in hand I headed to the dreaded store. With my ingredients separated into groups (produce, dairy, etc.) it was really time efficient. (Minus when I was already in line and realized I forgot something… twice.) Also, because I absolutely hate being in the store, I didn’t really stop to browse random crap that I don’t need. I ended spending about 25 minutes shopping and $145.92. My budget was $150 so I am pretty impressed and hopefully I won’t have to go back for two weeks.

I also printed a weekly menu template and put it in a $3 frame that I found at Target, so now I have a cute dry-erase menu! With two people in our house working full-time, daily errands and all of the other random stuff that comes up, it’s just easier to have one less choice to make in the day. Now I’ll just come home, look at the menu and make dinner. Obviously, if we aren’t feeling like having whatever is on the menu for that day, I can just switch things around. It took a little bit of time to come up with 14 different things to make, but it’ll save time and the dreaded what’s for dinner? conversation.

My dinner ideas 🙂

Voila!

(Not pictured: tortillas, hamburger buns, loaf of sour dough bread and pizza dough)

Pretty awesome that I have enough food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for two whole weeks! Not so awesome that I committed myself to cooking every single day. Ugh. Where can I turn in my grown up card for a mom-makes-my-dinners-every-night card?

-A

Holy Cabin Fever

It is approximately 0 degrees where I live right now and that’s WARMER than it was last night. What the heck. Why do I live here instead of sunny California where I was born? Ugh. Anyways.

These frigid temperatures are making me have a serious case of cabin fever. I swear all I do is drive to work and drive home, with the occasional pit stop to get gas (which is torture, BTW) and go to the grocery store (equal torture). Then, once I’m home and warm and snuggled up on my couch… I stay snuggled up until I move upstairs to get nice and cozy in bed. Then, wait for it… I do the same thing the next day! UGHHH. I really can’t think of a more grown-up way to express my disdain for this awful cycle. I just sit around and daydream about how nice summer is going to be, where I’m going to go on vacation and how pretty my car will look when it’s not covered in salt. Meanwhile I’m spending like, 5 hours a day watching shows On Demand/Netflix. Seriously the only thing I’m doing in my daily routine that doesn’t resemble that of a hibernating bear is yoga. This makes absolutely no sense because I have other interests aside from Netflix, I really do. So I thought I would compile a list and maybe I would get inspired to ya know, actually do something productive sometime before winter ends. (Which, I hope I do because winter really just started.)

1. Yoga: Ok, so this is cheating because I already do this daily; but I wanted to start on a good note. 🙂 P.S: I can kind of-sort of-almost do “The Crow Pose” without sending my head spiraling towards the carpet. Whoo!
2. Scrapbooking: I love-love-love pretty paper and stamps and all other lovely scrap-related things. The problem is that I haven’t printed a physical picture since like, ’05. Luckily, websites like Snapfish, Vista Print and some other site that is escaping my mind right now have super cheap deals on prints all the time.
3. Crocheting: My Grandma taught me how when I was like 12 and though I haven’t done it in forever, it’s pretty easy to pick up on. I got 2 things (skeins? that sounds right) of yarn and hooks the other day, but they haven’t made their way out of the Joann Fabrics bag they came home in yet.
4. Writing: Other than this blog, because though I love it, it isn’t the same thing. I have no idea why I don’t have a bookshelf of my own novels yet. Oh yes, because I watched 5-6 hours of Shameless last night.
5. Organizing: So this is a really lame interest, but it’s true and it would at least be more productive than melting into the couch. Anyone who opens my cupboard of pots and pans is really at-risk for bodily injury so it probably needs organized at some point.
6. Music: I pay $10/month to stream music on my phone via Spotify, so I could probably stop listening to the same playlist over and over again.

Ok so that’s all I can think of, which is kind of pathetic in itself. I am apparently the poster child for inactivity this winter. Hopefully I can bust out of hibernation and get to being creative soon because I just may go crazy.

Guilty.

-A

Healthy Snackin’

Today, I went shopping in search of some healthy lunch and snack ideas to take to work. I tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to packing lunch and I’ll often skip eating altogether or I’ll grab something from the vending machine. Obviously neither of those are good options and eating balanced meals is a huge part of being healthy. I’m really determined to keep improving my yoga practice, so fueling my body is important. I decided to make some trail mix to snack on at work between meals. I wanted something simple, but also something with variety. It doesn’t get much easier than trail mix, right? Also making my own was incredibly cost efficient.

Sweet & Not-So-Salty Trail Mix

• Mini dark chocolate morsels
• Low-sugar craisins
• Unsalted almonds
• Unsalted sunflower seeds

Nutritional info: 21 grams of sugar, 12 grams of protein and 16 grams of fiber.

 

I made the trail mix using the suggested serving sizes on the packages to maintain portion control. Otherwise, I’d probably end up with a Tupperware container full of mostly chocolate chips. 😉 I’ve been trying to increase my protein intake and this snack is a perfect energy booster. I also grabbed a bunch of lettuce, veggies, pre-cooked shrimp, green olives, eggs (to hard-boil) and cheese to make salads. I love a good salad and a hard-boiled egg makes it super filling to hold me over throughout the day.

I’ve been scouring Pinterest & “foodie” blogs for some other (more creative) snacking ideas, too. I’m especially trying to focus on protein rich foods to keep my energy up for pre- and post-work yoga sessions.

Do you have any suggestions for at work snack ideas? Leave a comment with your ideas!

-A

2013 in Review

It’s funny how when we’re teenagers, all we want is to grow up and be out on our own. After all, being grown up is going to be the most glamorous thing ever, right? Just like an episode of Sex and The City.

I don’t think I need to explain just how wrong that conception is. Being an adult is hard work and it takes lots of practice (and patience!) to figure it out. Just when you think you have a handle on things, life throws you a curve ball and you’re back at square one. Like my car situation.. -_-. It’s ironic too, that it takes what feels like a lifetime to become an adult but once you’re there, time moves at warp speed. Someone also recently told me that post-college, time flies by even faster. Great. I have noticed that every time the month changes I’m all “it’s November already?! Wait it’s December now?”

I think this validates the fact that we all need to enjoy our lives day by day, through all of the good and bad, because life really is fleeting. (As morbid as that sounds).

It’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to 2013, but I’m thankful for all of the good that came with it. Looking back, it was a very successful year. In 2013 I….

1. Went on vacation with a great group of friends
2. Completed an internship
3. Graduated college (& had a surprise party thrown for me!)
4. Got to see my dad after 2 & a half years
5. Bought a car
6. Went to countless birthday parties for friends & family
7. Had a spontaneous engagement party for 2 good friends (at the beach!)
8. Went to Canada
9. Started (& fell in love with!) yoga
10. Began Lace & Key

So while being an adult isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, there are definitely upsides. I’m really excited to see what adventures are in store for 2014… there might be moving (and a puppy!) involved. Also, I’m looking forward to where my travels will take me this year- I’m hoping to go outside of the United States for the first time. 🙂 On the slightly more boring side, I hope 2014 brings more concrete answers regarding my digestive issues; I’ve been eating only slightly dairy-free as of lately and haven’t had many problems so I am confused yet again.

Whatever happens next year, I know that I am blessed for the life I have simply because I have a life to live.

Happy New Year!

-A

Namaste and Stuff

A few months ago, I started doing yoga via instructor Tara Stile’s Youtube Channel. I’ve been doing it (fairly casually) since then and absolutely love it, which is strange for me and my short attention span. However, it alleviates a lot of my back pain and makes me feel fantastic afterwards! I love looking up new yoga poses on Pinterest (is that weird?) and I always think, “I wish I could do that!” Well, why can’t I? With time and practice, I could become more flexible and do all kinds of awesome poses that right now look impossible. I was having a little bit of trouble finding something in the middle ground between too easy poses (the tree pose) and “I’m going to break something if I try that” poses (the forearm stand). I figured I could stop searching for beginner poses and move on to intermediate, but then my Google search prompted me to do this:

The Crow Pose

 

Seriously? This is intermediate level yoga practice? Well, back to the tree pose I go then because my little noodle arms will send my face crashing full-force into the carpet if I attempted this. (Which I have. And my face did meet the carpet… quickly).

Sigh. I’m debating if I should join a class or two for a bit of direction, or if some consistent solo practice will be sufficient. Chances are, I’ll lean towards the latter because I’m on a budget with the whole new car/student loans thing. I’m excited to see how much stronger and more flexible I can get just by making yoga a part of my daily routine. I already do it at least once every other day, so I don’t think it will be all that difficult to stick with.

As for that whole “30 day squat challenge”… pretty sure I gave up on that after day 8 or something. Whoops!

 

Does anyone have tips for increasing flexibility with either specific yoga poses, or just other general tips? I would appreciate any input! Also, is there any benefit to using products specifically geared towards yoga? Most products seem a bit silly and unnecessary, i.e.: “yoga sweat towels”- I mean, what’s wrong with the plain jane hand towel I already have? Yoga pants, on the other hand, are a beautiful invention that require no explanation.

 

Me, 3 months ago. 😉

 

 

A Merry Christmas Indeed

So I’m a little late, but, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all of my followers out there! 🙂 I hope everyone had a lovely holiday with their friends and family. I had quite the uneventful Christmas, honestly, but I spent lots of time with my boyfriend and for that I am very grateful!! We opened our presents on Christmas Eve yet AGAIN (one day we’ll wait til Christmas Day… maybe!) and I got all kinds of wine-related goodies!! I spent the evening wrapped up in the extremely cozy blanket his mom made me, my Kindle Fire (my present that I got a month early, oops!) and a glass of wine. If that’s not a good Christmas, I don’t know what is.

I actually (kind of) have a good reason for my lack of blogging lately- the end of last week was just a hot mess to say the least! I finished up the last day of my first week of work early and somebody picked up my Saturday shift at my second job for me! Things were looking good for the weekend until my car broke down less than a half mile away from my house Friday night. 😦 Remember last week when I said I was going to double my student loan payments because “there’s nothing wrong with my car” and I’m just super responsible like that?! Well, that was out the window as soon as my car wouldn’t even turn over. So I spent my weekend freaking out, pouting (sad but true) and looking up cars to see what was affordable. Unfortunately car dealerships aren’t open on Saturday nights or Sundays in my neck of the woods, so Monday morning I was still car-less (and still freaking out). Luckily, my lovely boyfriend drove to me a car dealership after work Monday evening and I was able to buy a brand new, beautifully-blue Dodge Dart (SXT Rallye Edition)!! It was so much less stressful than the first time I bought a car, too, which was nice. The monthly payment + full coverage insurance kind of makes me nauseous, but at least I have a reliable vehicle for work. The 8.4″ touchscreen doesn’t hurt, either. 😉 I wish I hadn’t wasted my weekend worrying, because as always, things worked out for the best. As they say, “worrying will never change the outcome.”

So now that the New Year is approaching, I’ve started thinking about some resolutions. I know a lot of people are anti-resolution because they’re generally broken promises to ourselves, but, I think it’s a nice way to set goals. I think the key is setting goals that are a little bit more open-ended versus something set in concrete. For instance, if you want to lose weight, I think setting a goal to “work out more/focus on health” is a good resolution vs. “I want to lose 15 lbs by summer”. The first option clarifies what you want to do and gives you loose guidelines to work with while the second is an absolute objective. For me, I think my resolutions are going to revolve around two areas in my life: my hobbies and my never-ending worrying/anxiety. So my two resolutions for 2014 are to: 1) spend more time reading & writing and 2) worry less. The first will be easy to accomplish, so long as I can avoid getting sucked into mind-numbing shows/social media (guilty pleasures) and the second will, as always, be a challenge. I’m not entirely sure why my brain is wired the way it is, but I am so prone to worry about literally anything and everything. I’ve made a lot of improvements over the years (i.e.: I’m no longer terrified of driving) but I still have a ways to go (i.e.: I’m still terrified of getting lost, even around the town I live in). I think resolutions are about making strides to improve yourself, or dedicating more time to what makes you happy- not to completely reinvent yourself. With that being said, I aim to make each year better than the last, so I am excited to see what 2014 has in store!

With only 4 days left in 2013, what are some of your goals/resolutions for the New Year?

-A

 

Oops, I did it again.

Or rather, didn’t. I didn’t blog for an entire week… again! I know that it’s annoying whenever I find a blog that I like and then they go all MIA forever, so, I am sorry for being that person. 🙂

On top of being the annoying girl who forgets to update her blog, I am also officially a college graduate! After 5 years, 4 changes in major and 3 schools, I have my bachelors in social work. I really can’t think of a better way to describe my emotions than “YAY!” so that’s what I’ve been going with. I realize this makes me sound 12, but… YAY anyways! I started my new job on Monday and I am loving it so far. It doesn’t hurt that Friday is the Christmas party and I get to wear an ugly sweater, have my office door judged in a decoration competition (which reminds me, I need to decorate my door…) and eat lots of good food. Starting before the holidays was definitely a win. 🙂

Aside from all of the exciting stuff that comes with being a new grad and freshly employed, there’s always a boat ton of completely scary things too. Health insurance, life insurance, retirement plans and the most frightening two words of all: student loans. Now, my student loans did not sneak up on me by any means. I’ve always been fairly mindful of my finances and the bigger picture of things (buying that flat screen TV might be nice now, but paying the interest on it… not so much) and my student loans have been no exception. After each semester and each subsequent new loan, I would go over my loan account and keep track of how much money I owed. At the beginning of my last semester, I started figuring out what my payment was going to be by using rough estimation and a loan repayment calculator. Today, I completed exit loan counseling and found out the actual amount, which is approximately what I paid for my car each month whenever I had a car payment. Not too bad, but, I only paid on my used car for two years; I’ll be paying on these loans for ten years. That thought kind of disgusts me, so I started playing around with the different options I have for repayment. To make a long story short, my best bet in order to pay the least amount of interest possible is to stick with the standard repayment plan of 10 years, without consolidating the loans. (If you assume that consolidation is the best bet, like I did, do some research. I would’ve ended up paying thousands of dollars more in interest). Now, where the wheels really started turning is when I began messing around with a calculator that showed how much money you save (and how much quicker you pay the loan down) by making extra payments each month. This obviously wasn’t a new concept to me, but seeing the ridiculous amount of money I would shell out for interest made me cringe! Then I started to think that if I put off buying a new car, I could afford to pay $200-300 extra a MONTH onto my payment and cut my repayment period almost in half. My student loans could be paid off before I’m 30! That of course means extra money that we could use to then turn around and do the same thing on our future mortgage. It also means that I could afford a car I really want down the line, instead of stretching myself too thin now to try and make something fit within my budget. It just makes absolutely zero sense to me to spend a decade paying off what people pay off in 6 years or LESS for a car! I want to be rid of debt as soon as I possibly can so I can save for important things… like building a walk-in closet like Big built for Carrie.

So there you have it. I am 23 years old and getting excited about things like interest rates and paying down debt. Seriously though, who am I?

To put this entire realization into perspective:

A couple of weeks ago, I played a drinking game with my friends with boxed wine.

This week, I got excited because I got a really good deal on green beans. I then spent at least 5 minutes telling my boyfriend about said deal.

Such thrilling adventures. Any other recent grads out there being excited about discounted canned goods and health insurance? (Sorry, WebMD, I’m getting a real live doctor who won’t give me a terminal diagnosis for a runny nose.)

-A