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You’re 24. Shouldn’t be worrying about that.
Op said she feels like she’s living a broke college life paycheck to paycheck. You figure graduated at 21/22-grad school another two years later. Most likely if you’re from a middle class family without much privilege-there won’t be a lot in the bank starting out.
Just read something saying that millennials make up a quarter of the population but own 3% of the wealth. Boomers, at the same point in their lives, were 25% of the population and 21% of the wealth. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You are young, you are a human, you’re trying your best. We live in a completely different world than the one we were taught about. Easier said than done, but you are not a fraud and you do not deserve to carry this burden.
“We live in a completely different world than the one we were taught about” is so true and something we should all think about more
Chief
You’re not alone. Unfortunately most people are living paycheck to paycheck. Whatever you do, DO NOT use those “debt consolidation” agencies. They’re highly predatory.
♥️
It’s great that you’re even recognizing that you want to handle money in a different way and that you want to clean up decisions you made. Know that your previous decisions don’t define you. We’ve all made money mistakes but the great thing is that you can change and do this things differently. And anyone who would judge you for that isn’t worth it.
Check out Dave Ramsey on YouTube. He has free videos on how to budget and pay off debt. He’s how I cleaned up my student loans.
That’s amazing! Congratulations on clearing out all that debt! I love finding other Dave Ramsey fishies on here.
I cried reading some of these responses. Thank you all so much
When I was 24 I was making $35k and living like a college student...and, frankly, thought I was killing it lol. I’m now 40 and make almost 6x that and still don’t feel like I make enough with kids and a mortgage etc...when I compare myself to people around me. It’s all about perspective. Don’t beat yourself up and start by not comparing yourself to others.
Thank you, perspective really does warp things! And I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful either 😊 This is a great reminder
I was in my 30s before I cleared my debt. Making your salary at your age — don’t sweat this too hard. Debt is part of life, and if you’re doing what you can to manage and pay it down, awesome. (Fwiw I also made some “dumb decisions” living beyond my means for a year or two and I do not regret it — I met some crucial people and built a network living a bit large... my whole life is built around those connections now & I’m long out of debt. Cost benefit was worth it)
The one thing I wish I had done differently was contribute to 401k earlier, even when I felt like my debt was heinous... bc once you start crawling out of debt esp at a relatively high salary level, it can be pretty fast. I wish even a few bucks here and there had been chugging away in my retirement fund during the “omg debt” years
You also don’t have to give a partner a full look under the hood at your finances — just manage expectations about your spending habits so that you don’t feel like you’re not “measuring up”
I saved this. Thank you so much. Makes me feel a million times better that someone successful has made it through this and all is ok. And great point about the partner thing.
I felt this same way when my boyfriend and I started dating. Truth is, I don’t even know how much he makes or what his finances look like, so I stopped letting myself be insecure about it and projecting that on him. Do your best, be honest about what you can spend on dates, etc. and where you can chip in and stay within your means, but if he gives you any grief about prioritizing your budget and finances then boy bye 👋🏻
That is, precisely how I feel. I’ve been picking up small stuff and I don’t think he would ask me to get anything big (he is quite a bit older) but as I get close to needing that next paycheck it’s like 😬😂 Thank you for saying this, you made me feel much better
I was like that at 80k and I’m still like that now with over 100k at 25 and loans. Cut yourself some slack. Pay off your loans, and make a budget for yourself. I’ve given myself a budget with all my expenses, sensible spending, and a percentage saved each paycheck. You’ll get there. Esp if you live in NYC or a big city, it’s hard not to be paycheck to paycheck. Just don’t skimp on your retirement fund (do both 401k and Roth)
I’ve got 2 payments left on my student loans and I, cannot emphasize this enough, can’t fucking wait.
Lol yep, one Friday night out and you’re done for
Hiya! Just saying again you’re not alone - I got a credit card for the first time at 23 and could have done much better with how I used it. I’m 25 and now working on paying down debt. What’s important is now you’re course correcting, no one is perfect and that’s all you can do!
Thank you so much. 😊 You’re doing great too!
Rising Star
I felt that way until my early 30s, despite making a decent agency salary.
Living/working in NYC is so expensive and *seemingly* so many people around you seem somehow wealthy. It messes with your perspective.
So very true!
Read “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi. It will help you get your finances on track and you’ll be fine in no time. Also, great job on making that salary at 24!
I will check that out! And thank you so much ♥️
Conversation Starter
Don’t beat yourself up over it. At 24, and already want to “fix” it, you are way beyond a bunch of other folks in your same position. When I was 24, I was way in debt, definitely wasn’t making close to $80k, and a complete miss. Get yourself on a budget, stick to it, 5 years from now this will be a distant memory.
Really appreciate this response. Thank you! 🥰
Where do you work?)