My name is Nick, I’m in my mid-twenties and l live in the northeast United States. I graduated from college in 2012 and started working right after graduation as a business analyst. It’s nothing too exciting but basically I work in between the technical and the business people, making sense out of the data that the company receives. I enjoy the problem solving aspects of the job and the people that I work with – I’ve made a lot of new friends at my job. I currently live at home as my girlfriend is in her senior year at college.  It allows me to take advantage of living almost rent free.
Why did you start blogging?
I was completely stressed out looking at my student loans and the total amount I owed. I tried to just follow “out of sight, out of mind” but that just caused me to panic whenever the subject did come up. I started doing research and realized that there were other people out there like me, and I didn’t want to be paying off my loans for 10 months. I figured I would start a blog like others had done to share my journey and keep me accountable along the way.  I’m also hoping to offer people some useful advice and prevent others from getting into the same situation that I ended up in.
Which part of financial literacy do you focus on most?
My main focus is on paying off debt, as that is the most pressing concern for me right now. I also work on budgeting as I think it’s helpful in my debt payoff journey. That helps me put the most money possible towards my debt by keeping spending down in other areas! As far as investing goes right now, I’m kind of in a “set it and forget it” mode right now as I don’t really have enough free cash to make any huge investments at this stage.
When did you decide to take control of your finances?
A few months after graduation and after starting my first job. The first few paychecks I just let boost up my savings and checking accounts, as I had never even imagined receiving a single paycheck with that much money. This ties into my earlier post of why I started blogging – I knew that I didn’t want to have loans and be in debt the rest of my life. My parents always complained how they were one emergency away from having to take on more debt and worry about money. After doing research I realized it didn’t have to be that way and you don’t have to live like that. Taking control of my finances gives me more control in other aspects of my life instead.
What was your biggest financial blunder?
Not doing enough research before attending school. I could have went to community college for free with my grades and then transferred to the same school I attended with additional scholarships. I would have had half the debt that I ended up with. I have managed to avoid credit card debt, car loans, and most unnecessary spending though!
What are your favorite blogs?
Some of my favorite blogs are Mr Money Mustache, Budget Bytes, The Single Dollar, Budgets are Sexy, and Root of Good. I follow a TON of financial blogs though and enjoy reading as much as I possibly can. Of course I also like following along with all the Tumblr blogs I follow like Debt Departure, A Life Less Stressed, and various others. Sorry to anyone I missed!
What is most important for controlling your expenses?
I think that it’s all about doing everything in moderation. You don’t have to decline all social events and become a hermit to prevent spending money. If your friends want to go out after work, just get one drink and then move onto water. You still get to spend time but you aren’t spending $20+ on drinks each time you go out. Get water instead of soft drinks, that sort of thing. Always look for room to optimize in areas of your budget that aren’t as important to you. If you want spend money going out, maybe you can save some money on your cable bill instead? That’s a better solution than increasing your overall spending. It is possible to enjoy life and save/pay down debt at the same time without being a miser!
What keeps you motivated?
My motivation comes from watching my debt continually go down and seeing that I’m making real progress. Even further in the future is that I’ll be able to see those numbers go just as quickly in the other direction as I build up wealth to spend on travel and other experiences as opposed to spending it on debt.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to others?
Keep track of your expenses, you’ll be surprised at what you find. Many people think that they are only spending $300 on food a month when in reality in might be closer to $500. Or that they are blowing $50 on X each month without even noticing it. Once you have a budget established, you can start shifting money from things that aren’t as important to you to the things that really matter to you.
Where can people find out more about you?
You can checkout my blog, From Debt To Dreams.
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