Journey to Debt - Part 2 - Post Graduation

(You can catch up here -> Part 1 - Student Live)

I graduated with a mere $1,000 of credit card debt and about $12,000 in student loans. All in all, I did pretty well. I had landed an internship my senior year that turned into a well paying full time position upon graduation. I moved in with BF and we split some bills but he took the brunt of them while I was "paying off my loans."

This takes us to right before things got COMPLETELY out of hand. I look back at the years above and just want to go back and scream at myself! Throughout those years I felt pinched for cash. I allowed myself every luxury (by college student standards) but when it came to bills, books, rent, gas - I was always at a loss. That should have sent off sirens, alarms, bells; I should have WOKEN UP. But, I didn't.

Three months after I graduated with a BS in Accounting (yes, I know, kinda ironic) BF received a career breaking job offer in California. It was a dream! So we moved and realized that dreams don't come easy.

I spent the first year in a pretty depressed state. In addition to the relationship pressures of my graduation and us moving in together, add to that moving clear across the country with absolutely NO network except on high school friend of BF. This was the rockiest time in our relationship and, to date, our lives.

When I finally snapped out of my depression, got a job at a fun young company, and made some friends, I was stunned. In my state of depression I had racked up a whopping $20,000 in credit card debt, purchased a new used car for another $17,000 after taxes and interest, and had BF fully furnish the apartment, with furniture we ended up hating, to fill the empty space. It was a rude awakening to say the least.

Since then I have struggled to pay down my debt. Between BFF's weddings, trips home, Christmases, birthdays, socializing, etc - it was hard. Every time I made headway, something came up and brought me back to my starting point.

I look back now and realize I wasn't really into the debt reduction. I was letting debt control me instead of taking control of it.