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Repeat after me: Money flows to me easily. 

Yes, you read that headline correctly. If you have less than six bank accounts, you are setting your family up for self-sabotage. My family and I have a total of eight bank accounts and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Let me guess. Most of you reading this probably have only 2 accounts – a checking and savings account. Some of you might have a third savings account but that’s just about it. First of all, good for you for having a savings account. And even better if you actually have money in that savings account. There are some people who can’t even say that much. However, if you only have the one savings account I think it’s safe to say you are doing money all wrong. The reality is all of life’s expenses and circumstances can’t just fit into two categories so why do we think we can fit them all neatly into just two bank accounts?

I’ve learned that budgeting gets extra tricky when all your money is dumped into the same bank account; especially when the money has different purposes. We always ended up spending money we shouldn’t have because when all the cash flowed into the same checking account it looked like we had more money than we actually had.  Continue reading

This post may contain affiliate links to some TERRIfic sites you should check out. Learn more about it here. 

Repeat after me: It’s ok to live a life others don’t understand.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I drive a 2001 Ford Focus wagon and a 2007 Altima. In fact, I’ve never had a new car or a car note. I still wear a few clothes that I bought back in high school. My husband and I rarely celebrate Valentines Day. I only eat at restaurants when I have a coupon. I only go to the movies once a year. I bought second-hand shoes for my son. I do most of my shopping online via rebate sites like Mypoints and Ebates. I hardly watch tv anymore. And despite all those things, my family and I are happy and thriving. But I bet people from the outside looking in will tell me I’m doing it all wrong. They’d wonder why I drive such an old car when I can afford a new one.  They’d say I can’t possibly be happy and I’m living a deprived life. Well, I’ve got news for you. You only think that way because society told you too.

I’ll be blunt. If you are following societal norms and refusing to be a complete weirdo, you will be in debt forever. End of Story.

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“My education cost a ton, but my resourcefulness is priceless. “

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t say, “I wish I could pay off my student loans at warp speed. This ten year ish is for the birds.” I even wrote a post about paying off debt at warp speed.

Let’s face it, no matter how valuable our education may be to us, it doesn’t change the fact that it totally sucks having to pay it off. Because dealing with a lump sum of debt is crippling, it only makes sense to do everything you can think of to pay it off. It’s no secret that I’m constantly writing posts about tips and tricks I use to whittle away my student debt little by little. They range from using cash back sites like Ebates, Mypoints and Swagbucks to selling items on Zazzle. But no matter how simple, they all require just a tad bit of effort. None of them are truly fun or an effortless way to whittle the time away.

You’ve heard about saving, selling and earning cash back points to pay off student loans. But you’ve never heard about playing it away. No gambling required!

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When I first told people my plan is to be debt free by age 30, I always get a few different reactions. People are either really impressed with my drive or they give a sarcastic smile and blatantly tell me I’m crazy because debt is just a part of life we need to accept.  Though my decision seemed crazy and limiting to some, I knew that its much better than being normal. Frankly, other than deciding on my career and marrying my husband it was one of the easiest decisions I could ever make. And I’m guessing it wouldn’t be hard for you either, if you had to deal with things that I do.

I was sick of my heart dropping every time SallieMae called and coming up with excuses to avoid them.

I was sick of seeing a majority of my paychecks being spent on debt for a school that made me miserable.

I was sick of having to take student loan payments into consideration before every financial decision I made.

I was sick of feeling like I was dealt a life sentence for getting an education.

I was sick of putting my lofty travel plans on the back burner to hundred of dollars of student loan payments each month.

I was sick of feeling ashamed that I didn’t do my research before college and therefore found myself in a hole of debt on top of debt that far exceeds my income.

I was sick of the realization that I’m unlikely to be able to ever afford a house because I my student loan balance is already almost identical to a mortgage.

I was sick of watching my credit score drop because of difficulty making payments and a burdening debt to income ratio. 

The normal thing is to do is be in debt. The crazy thing to do is get and stay out of it. Let me teach you my crazy ways.

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Few things make me happier than a good bargain. In fact, since my husband and I vowed to limit spending to necessities in order to pay off debt, a good bargain happens to be the easiest path to our shared high as of late. That means eating out is a no-no, random shopping sprees are forbidden and going to the movies is out of the question. Our quest to pay off student loans also meant that if an item wasn’t on sale, it wasn’t getting purchased. So if there’s not a coupon, or special pricing it’s not gonna happen. Hence, a lot of things get left on the shelves.

That’s why when IHOP announced it’s 57th anniversary sale of a short stack of pancakes for 57 cents, I was beyond ecstatic. In fact, I immediately called my patient husband to let him know that nothing else mattered on that day because we had a date at IHOP. For weeks, I fantasized about how the date was going to unfold. I pictured the welcoming host ushering us to a table  romantically set in the dim corner overlooking the garden outside the restaurant. I imagined my husband and I joining hands as we admired our color coordinating date night outfits. And finally, my smile grew and eyes twinkled as I fantasized about the ridiculously inexpensive check thanks to our splurge on those perfectly priced 57 cent buttermilk pancakes.

Just the thought of the cheap date made my heart smile. Who knew such a great splurge could make a bargain hunter so happy. That is until reality struck. And unfortunately that reality was that my planned date was a forbidden one. Why? Because it was a splurge. Inexpensive or not it wasn’t a necessity. Sure it was only 57 cents but it was 57 cents taken away from my student loans. My husband and I made an agreement that only necessities and career purchases would be made while focusing on a future of debt free lives. And even though an inexplicably cheap short stack at a favorite pancake eatery was good there was no way I could justify it as a necessity.

In fact no discount percentage on a splurge was worth my shifting focus away from the bigger picture of paying off those student loans. I realized that once I justified one splurge it would only be a matter of time before I justified another one. First it starts with a splurge of 57 cents on a shortstop of pancakes. Then leads to a splurge of $5.70 on some new pole dance gear. Then the next thing I know I’ll be justifying a splurge of $57 on a crazy sale at MAC cosmetics. No matter how good the sale is, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s money that should have been applied to paying off student loans. I was not about to let a 57 cent shortstack of pancakes be my gateway drug to irresponsible spending and a longer debt sentence.

So instead, I said goodbye to my dreams of cheap eats and revisited the pact we made reserving all expenses for necessities.  And with that, I sealed the deal by applying the 57 cents I would have spent on pancakes to one of my student loans. While disappointing to know that I soon wouldn’t be feasting on Ihop hotcakes I was proud of myself for standing my ground. Because if a splurge on 57 cent pancakes was the gateway drug to other inexcusable splurges, than resisting a tempting 57 cent bargain was the gateway to resisting even more unnecessary sales allowing me to get even closer to my debt free dreams. If I could say no to 57 cents, than I could say no to $5.00, $15, $150, $500 and more. With every no I say to an unbelievable sale I get even closer to being student debt free.

And to think it all started with 57 cents. It may not be a lot now, but has the potential to become much bigger than I ever imagined. 

Are you nickeling your way to a student debt free life? What methods have you taken to pay it off?

TERRIfic Quips: Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is bringing you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.

Updated: August 26

Make that, I’ve found a clever way to pay my student debt while spending as little of my own money as possible.  Call me crazy, but there’s nothing I hate more than seeing my hard earned money go towards another student loan payment. So I’ve made it my goal to pay those bad boys off using means other than my money. And that’s without resorting to sugar daddies, Kickstarter campaigns, street solicitations or lottery winnings. Is it a lofty goal? Yes –  especially when I graduated from a private school with lots and lots of student loan debt. But it’s a goal worth chasing.  Leave it to me to do the impossible. Yes, I am on my way to paying off my student loans without using my own money.

I’m doing every quirky thing I can think of to pay of all that student debt so I won’t have to wear funny shirts like this anymore:

If SallieMae asks, you never saw me! http://teespring.com/studentdebt

So how am I doing it? By doing each of the following tasks.

1.Sign up for Gradible

Gradible has been one of the most lucrative methods I’ve used for paying student loans. It’s a website that allows you to do simple online tasks in exchange for student loan payments. Here’s how it works: You create a FREE account and login to see what tasks are available to you. Tasks include things like posting to Craigslist, filling out surveys, writing reviews, and transcribing videos. Once you complete the tasks to the best of your ability, loancreds will be deposited into your Gradible account. After you’ve accrued 100 loancreds which equals $10 you can apply them to your student loans. (Don’t worry, you won’t be working for weeks before earning a measley $10.) Since signing up last August, I’ve accrued more than $1,000 that has been applied towards Sallie Mae, Chase, Citibank and My Great Lakes. I really feel like I’ve hit the holy grail with Gradible! If that isn’t a great way to pay of my student loans without spending my own money I don’t know what is.

Sign up through my referral link and you’ll automatically get $2 deposited into your account. Continue reading

Like most young adults in America, I had to take out student loan debt from several private student loans from many lenders. Unfortunately, it has proven to be a hellish experience for me every step of the way. And it doesn’t seem to count for anything that I make ridiculously high payments on time every month with no assistance or cooperation from people at the company. Yet, I still get multiple phone calls a day demanding payment even when it’s a holiday, payments are processing, or a Sunday. However, tables are about to turn because it’s finally time that Citibank Student Loan professionals got a taste of their own medicine.

The Backstory

It’s tax time and despite several requests, I have yet to receive tax information from Citibank Student Loans. I’ve already received tax information from other student loan providers. So what’s taking Citibank so long? They told me that I was supposed to fill out a W-9F form and I didn’t. As a result, I was told I was being sent an official Citibank document stating the amount of interest paid in 2011. On February 2nd, I called to find out where it was because I hadn’t received anything. They told me that it was sent in January and I should be receiving it soon. On February 7th when I hadn’t received it, I called again only to be told I was misinformed and the document was only requested on February 2nd as opposed to actually sent. The representative also told me the document was mailed earlier in the  day and I would receive the document in a few days. Again, a few days went by and I still hadn’t received it so I called them back this morning (February 15th). I was told the document was just sent this morning and I won’t receive it for another 7 to 14 days. Obviously, it frustrates me since I’ve been told that it’s been sent for the past two weeks now. I’ve constantly been misinformed by several different people.

The Plan

It was time to take drastic measures so I simply explained to the person I understand I wouldn’t be receiving my tax information until the next 7 to 14 days. But they had to understand that I would be calling them twice everyday for the next 7 to 14 days since that’s the same way I get treated by Citibank Student Loan representatives. Of course, the representative said there is no need to do that as the document is already on the way to which I said the following: “I understand that, but Citibank doesn’t seem to care when I tell them that check is being processed and they have proof of it. They tell me that they need to keep calling until the payment is processed and cleared even thought it’s out of my hands at that point. So why should I care when you tell me that it’s on the way? I’ll have to keep calling until it has “cleared and in my possession” For your sake, you better hope this letter gets her in seven days as opposed to fourteen because I don’t have a problem calling twice everyday since it’s a toll-free number.”  I apologized for having to take it there but explained that Citibank doesn’t seem to understand the concept of reasoning.

Will it work?

Now some of  you may be wondering if my actions will actually prove the point I’m trying to make since several people in the department handle the calls so I won’t always be getting the same person. I thought about it, and hope the multiple records of my phone calls in addition to all the recorded conversations will make some impact on the way Citibank handles outgoing collection calls once they review these cases. I’m also debating making these phone calls to the Vice President of the Student Loan Department. Even though the student loan department of Citibank will be shutting down by the end of the year, I truly hope my small effort makes a difference and helps them realize what its like to be on the other end. Others may call my actions petty but I’ve tried to work with the company several times, cooperated with them and explained what they are doing to no avail.  So a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. Three calls down and  24 to go. Wish me luck.

How do you deal with multiple calls from loan providers? Have you ever tried to give them a taste of their own medicine?