Graduated in December 2007 with just under $40k in student loan debt. Unfortunately the portion of my fathers pension that my mother drew was just enough to keep me from getting financial aide but also small enough that she couldn’t pay to put me and my twin brother through college at the same time. All of our assets growing up were mostly tied up in farm and land so I didn’t have much help financially. Of course my mom would help me out when I needed it; fix a car, bought me a jeep, etc, but all school expenses were on me.
After graduation got a job at a car dealership in Harrisonburg. Barely made enough to cover my expenses but managed to sock some money away parting out stuff during the cash-for-clunkers campaign. Worked there for about a year and a half, then got a job with a local agency back home in November of 2009. Moved back and lived with my mom making a whopping 28k/year. Met a girl (who is now my wife) who was fresh out of college making in the 30s at an entry level accounting position at a coal company and we rented a condo together in summer 2010. October of 2010 I got on with the state making mid-high 30s and my wife was advancing at about the same rate. My cars were paid for and she was making payments on her car. We didn’t really have much money to spend on extras and I think, besides rent, car payment and student loans, the only other thing we had to pay off was some furniture. We lived pretty meager for a few years.
I knew at that time I wasn’t smart enough to make a lot of money investing or really had the funds to do much more than to match my 401k and sock a little extra away on my own, but I was pretty good with my hands and figured I could buy a house that needed some work and could make my money back in the end. My wife got a $50k buyout bonus when the company she was working for got absorbed by a bigger coal company and we used what was left of that after taxes to pay off her car and some credit card debt she had from before we met, threw a bund in savings and used some to help us buy a house. Bought a all original 1976 home and completed gutted and remodeled it ourselves.
From 2010 to 2014 we pretty much lived the above. Paid our bills, had one car payment, did the lower middle class lifestyle for a while. Managed to sock away a pretty good chunk in savings, but we didn’t do a lot of extra stuff. April of 2014 I got hired on at the feds making over double what I made at the state, but I had a 120 mile daily commute. Bought a cheap Hyundai to drive back and forth, but that meant a second car payment. We managed fine though. January of 2016 Samantha got on at Deloitte making about the same money I was and from then on we’ve been doing really good. May of 2016 I got the opportunity to transfer to the office in my home town and I jumped on it. My 120 mile daily commute went down to 20 miles a day. Bought my truck and Sam a new car because her Lexus was being an asshole but we’re back to 2 car payments.
April of 2018 we sold our house in Bristol and realized some really good gains from the remodel and the housing market rebounding, and bought a house we want to stay in about 3 miles from my office. At this point (i’m 34 and she’s 33) were really at that point where we can throw a little bit of money around. We aren’t rich by any stretch, but we certainly aren’t living paycheck to paycheck or watching our pennies like we were in our mid 20s.
Lessons I’ve learned, don’t be afraid of a little controlled debt. I never carry a balance on a credit card, but if you need new furniture or something, 0% interest deals are everywhere. Besides cars and house, I’ve never financed anything that had an interest rate. Enjoy your life, even if you’re not making a fortune. We did a few things in our first few years out of school that was at the top end of what we could afford/close to being more than we could afford, but we worked hard and found a way to do it, and it was worth it. Looking back now I find myself going “how did we afford this or that” when we were making less than half what we make now, but you find a way and you get by. Do the math, don’t be scared, do what makes you happy and live the life you want to live.
After graduation got a job at a car dealership in Harrisonburg. Barely made enough to cover my expenses but managed to sock some money away parting out stuff during the cash-for-clunkers campaign. Worked there for about a year and a half, then got a job with a local agency back home in November of 2009. Moved back and lived with my mom making a whopping 28k/year. Met a girl (who is now my wife) who was fresh out of college making in the 30s at an entry level accounting position at a coal company and we rented a condo together in summer 2010. October of 2010 I got on with the state making mid-high 30s and my wife was advancing at about the same rate. My cars were paid for and she was making payments on her car. We didn’t really have much money to spend on extras and I think, besides rent, car payment and student loans, the only other thing we had to pay off was some furniture. We lived pretty meager for a few years.
I knew at that time I wasn’t smart enough to make a lot of money investing or really had the funds to do much more than to match my 401k and sock a little extra away on my own, but I was pretty good with my hands and figured I could buy a house that needed some work and could make my money back in the end. My wife got a $50k buyout bonus when the company she was working for got absorbed by a bigger coal company and we used what was left of that after taxes to pay off her car and some credit card debt she had from before we met, threw a bund in savings and used some to help us buy a house. Bought a all original 1976 home and completed gutted and remodeled it ourselves.
From 2010 to 2014 we pretty much lived the above. Paid our bills, had one car payment, did the lower middle class lifestyle for a while. Managed to sock away a pretty good chunk in savings, but we didn’t do a lot of extra stuff. April of 2014 I got hired on at the feds making over double what I made at the state, but I had a 120 mile daily commute. Bought a cheap Hyundai to drive back and forth, but that meant a second car payment. We managed fine though. January of 2016 Samantha got on at Deloitte making about the same money I was and from then on we’ve been doing really good. May of 2016 I got the opportunity to transfer to the office in my home town and I jumped on it. My 120 mile daily commute went down to 20 miles a day. Bought my truck and Sam a new car because her Lexus was being an asshole but we’re back to 2 car payments.
April of 2018 we sold our house in Bristol and realized some really good gains from the remodel and the housing market rebounding, and bought a house we want to stay in about 3 miles from my office. At this point (i’m 34 and she’s 33) were really at that point where we can throw a little bit of money around. We aren’t rich by any stretch, but we certainly aren’t living paycheck to paycheck or watching our pennies like we were in our mid 20s.
Lessons I’ve learned, don’t be afraid of a little controlled debt. I never carry a balance on a credit card, but if you need new furniture or something, 0% interest deals are everywhere. Besides cars and house, I’ve never financed anything that had an interest rate. Enjoy your life, even if you’re not making a fortune. We did a few things in our first few years out of school that was at the top end of what we could afford/close to being more than we could afford, but we worked hard and found a way to do it, and it was worth it. Looking back now I find myself going “how did we afford this or that” when we were making less than half what we make now, but you find a way and you get by. Do the math, don’t be scared, do what makes you happy and live the life you want to live.
2010 Dodge Ram 1500
2019 Ford Mustang
2019 Ford Mustang