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Feeling depressed about personal finance, encouragement/advice?
Main Post:
EDIT to include numbers - below first para.
I’m 32F, married to 33M with new baby. I’m feeling down about finances. I have been financially illiterate my whole life and finally am trying to face my finances and take control. Can’t afford a home, still renting. Still have student loans from Ivy League education (got financial aid when there but still had a lot of loans). While pregnant, I worked hard with full time job and freelance jobs to get some savings going. I was hoping to use this for a down payment for a house. My husband said we should put most, if not all, to pay off the $21k left of my student loans. I know he’s right, but it’s depressing to see all my savings going to loans that I failed to pay off sooner and have just paying interest on for years. I’m finally tracking every dollar I spend and doing a no spend month(s) and working hard to save and break my spending habits. Nothing too crazy but I have always been the person to not really know how much they exactly spend.
Make $98k + $15k in freelance. $2k a month in rent. $21k in loans. Savings now $15k after paying down a lot of loans. Husband makes only $55k as he went back to school. He also has his loan payments starting up and has like $80k in loans with 6-8%interest rate 🫠. (Should we pay off mine first? The loans that I have left have lower interest than his but I’m closer to paying off?)
Any encouragement that I will be able to afford a home one day? Anyone else feel like their education failed them and that they’re throwing money to arbitrary student loans? Anyone else feel like what was the point of working hard to have an average salary?
Top Comment: Any encouragement that I will be able to afford a home one day? Do you want blown smoke or actual assessment? If the former, that's a different sub. If the latter, you need to include a LOT more numbers.