Another blogger on the interwebs wrote a very interesting article about increasing your net worth by a huge amount every year. And one of her points was earning over 50k a year. It got me thinking how being able to earn more money opens many more doors. But where some people can tap into a side income or work a few over time hours at their main job, that's a bit more difficult for me.
I've thought really hard about working a second job, which would be easy to find during this holiday season. It would definitely increase my meager salary, however, when you take the bus everywhere, and you live in the middle of nowhere, it becomes almost impossible.
So, for the sake of being able to do something productive, and change my situation, I'll be looking into purchasing a car!
But wait, how does this relate to paying off debt if you are going into more debt? Yes, it sounds counter intuitive, but it actually isn't. Instead of a 1.5 hour commute each way, it would be about 20 minutes (yes, the bus route is that roundabout). Then a second job at night (probably one where the restaurant has a bar and thus closes later) would only take me a max of 30 minutes to get to. Yes, it would mean having to pay for a car and all the associated costs, but it does open up a lot of opportunities. It's not just free time to veg out, but free time to actually do productive things and spend time with the bf.
As for my school loans, it's finally time to come out with the whole amount:
27,000
I've been paying it off for a couple months now, and luckily, it's a small amount. But it's still debt and it's money I would love to use for something else. For the past couple months, I've been trying to pay double the minimum payment, and luckily, it's not that bad of a strain.
If having a car would mean the possibility of a second job, that would DOUBLE my salary, I could definitely contribute more on a monthly basis to my student loans! It would almost seem like a win-win!
It would be great to hear how others deal with a long commute or if they ever regret getting a car after taking public transportation for a long time. Please tell me I'm not making a mistake!!!!
You're not making a mistake. If you have public transportation available the use it - don't buy a car which entails more ongoing expenses and id a depreciating asset. Remember: the "possibility of a second job" is just that - only a possibility. If you can live on the income from one job then do so and enjoy life. Having 2 jobs "may" pay down debt faster but so what? You're young still - tough it out and eventually that debt will get paid off.
ReplyDelete