Not About the Payoff: Ms. FOGA and Her Student Loans
Hi everyone. Welcome to the first installment of my guest series about student loans. I wrote a piece on my relationship with loans, and I decided to reach out to other personal finance bloggers to see what their perspectives on the subject were. A lot of series focus on debt payoff, but I wanted a different angle. One that focused on the feelings and emotional relationships.
From One Geek to Another run by Ms. FOGA is a blog that I thought was perfect to launch the series. She and I have been friends for a while, and I love her writing. She’s also been super supportive of my own debt payoff journey and often includes me in her net worth posts because she’s awesome!
Hello Everyone! I am Ms. FOGA, and I’m here to share my journey with student loans.
Student loans are a very sensitive topic right now. Many see them as an evil thing and a painful reminder of how much they owe. I totally get that viewpoint. However my own relationship with my loans wasn’t as antagonistic (if antagonistic at all). While I never wanted them, I never regretted getting them. Thanks to those loans, I was able to do things that I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.
Still, I did my best not to have them in the first place. I worked my butt off in high school so that I could get into college. For my first two years, I did not have any issues with paying for college. Everything was covered between scholarships and financial aid.
Accruing the Loans
Things changed the summer before my junior year. I had the opportunity to study abroad in France, somewhere I have ALWAYS wanted to go. We couldn’t afford it and so I wanted to pull out, but then my mom convinced me otherwise. I was young and had access to funds, and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to actually study in France. Plus, anyone who knows me knows I love to travel. It’s a good chunk of my bucket list. So, I took out some loans and went to Paris, France for their summer program.
The experience was amazing. I got to climb the Eiffel Tower, see the Mona Lisa (it is SO small), take a boat ride on the Seine, tour Versailles, see the Statue of Liberty, attend mass at Notre Dame (understood the Latin more than the French), and go to Giverny to see Monet’s house. There was also lots of wine. I was not a wine drinker before I got there, but I was when I left. It helps when wine costs one euro and water and soda cost three to five euros per glass. No refills in France, my friends.
I also met one of my closest friends on this trip. I ended up joining her sorority (more like a club than a true sorority), and she was my big sister. We were in each other’s weddings and everything.
I wouldn’t have traded that for anything.
More Student Loan Decisions
The loans ending up growing though. Starting junior year, university fees increased and my financial aid (despite being higher) wasn’t enough to cover it. So, more loans for both semesters of my junior year. In my senior year, I realized that my car payments had a higher interest rate than my student loans. If there is one perk of growing up with a single mom who had to declare bankruptcy, it’s that you learn all about interest rates. So, for the first time, I took the maximum amount I could for both semesters and made huge payments toward my car. It was future planning that worked out.
Graduation, and Dealing with the Student Loans
I graduated from college in April 2012 and, with that, my opinion of my loans started to change. Like many others, I graduated and did not have a job lined up. Most companies felt I needed more experience before I could be hired, which I couldn’t get since no one would hire me. I ended up working at the same movie theater I did while I was in high school and on my breaks.
Except now I had a car payment due every month and student loan payments looming over the horizon. At this point, I hated all debt. While my loans and payments were not much as others, when you are not making a lot, it may as well be a million dollars. At that point, I knew I couldn’t afford to pay it back, and I felt trapped.
My First Full-Time Job
I did end up getting a full-time job in retail and quickly got promoted to a manager. That, combined with the payments I made via my student loans, led me to pay off my car in February 2014.
Lots of big stuff happened here. I moved out of my mom’s home into my own apartment. Then, I purchased a bunch of furniture using a 0% down card. Also, I amassed a good amount of credit card debt (working in retail can lead to that).
When I finally made a career shift in April 2014, I was left with the student loans, credit cards, and the 0% down card.
Career Shift, and a New Lifestyle
That career switch was a godsend since retail is hella toxic. Within a year of working in real estate, my then boyfriend and I moved in together, I consolidated my loans to get rid of the credit cards, paid off said loan, paid off the furniture, and finally all that started to tackle the student loans.
I paid off my student loans on September 21, 2015. This was three years and five months since graduating from college. It was an awesome day. With a fresh paycheck, I made it my mission to eliminate this debt. Paying off this loan was a huge weight off my shoulders. I no longer owned anything to anyone. I was debt free. We celebrated lots during this point.
Overall Thoughts on My Student Loans
Considering how I felt about my loans when I graduated (definitely a dark time for me), my opinion on my student loans has definitely changed. My student loans enabled me to have the life I have now.
Those loans enabled me to pay my car off early, which jump started my life.
They allowed me to go to France, to meet one of my best friends, and to pay off my car much earlier than planned. They also allowed me to finish college but, to me, that is ironically the least important thing.
I know this isn’t the case with everyone. But it was with me. The crazy thing is that I wouldn’t be who I am without having taken those student loans. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. ????
Hi! I’m Ms. FOGA, a 28-year-old Floridian, and my goal is to be financially independent. I started blogging in 2018 when I discovered the concept of financial independence and started FOGA to document my family’s journey towards FIRE. Since I started FOGA, we (my husband & I) have paid off all of our debt (except our mortgage) and maxed out both our IRAs for 2018 & 2019. I’ve been on this journey for a little over a year and am taking it one day at a time. Feel free to learn more about me at fromonegeektoanother.com.
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Love this post! Sounds like you’ve made your student loans work for your by paying off your car loan, so so smart! I’ve also taken out maximum student loans for 1 year before going on my study abroad experience in California (that ish is expensive). Going abroad during your studies is truly one of the best experiences I’ve had and I don’t regret it at all – plus France is amazing!
In the Netherlands the student loan structure is very different, you don’t loan money from a private institution but from the government. Maximum loan amount per month is around 1200 euro’s, which is more than enough (given that you pay 2000 euro’s per year tuition). Also, the interest rate of the loan is linked to the bond rates – meaning that the negative bond rates currently make sure we don’t have to pay any interest rate on student loans. 0%. I’m hoarding my student loan money currently and investing it, because it will make more return compared to when I will pay my student loans off
Oooh, I love hearing about different student loan structures! I started shoving money at my student loans right when I graduated, but now I’m taking a more balanced approach because I can make more in the market if I pay them back slowly. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you! France was definitely a great experience. 🙂
Sounds like the Netherlands has a much better approach to student loans. My loans were federal subsidized loans so the gov’t paid interest while I was in school and my payments were deferred until I was no longer in school. If I used all of that, then there were unsubsidized loans where you have to pay the interest while in school, but the principal is deferred. Then if you need more funds, you had to go to a private institution.
Thanks for reading!
Student loans also afforded me incredible opportunities like studying abroad, which literally changed my life and propelled me onto the path to live globally. I’m so glad Ms. FOGA also leveraged the loans responsibly to experience something amazing!
I studied abroad, too! Definitely the best thing I could have done at the time. One of the best ways to use student loans is to take advantages of the opportunities your college affords you! It was definitely fun reading about how Ms. FOGA leveraged hers!
Thanks so much! It definitely influenced a lot about what I wanted in life. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Thank you for having me!! ????
Woo! Anytime. Happy you stopped by!