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There was one thing I really wanted to do before I married Craig.
Pay of my student loans - in full.
Since I was working at Baylor, and my last loan was from a Baylor donor, I could pay the debt in person. I walked over to the financial aid office with my checkbook and told the lady what I wanted to do. The remaining loan was interest-free, but it was important for me to finish what I had started on my own - on my own. The financial aid rep pulled up my balance, I handed her a check with a ridiculous smile on my face, and eagerly awaited for something to happen. Not much happened. I even asked her if I could get a print out saying that my load was paid off and she said it didn't work that way. Paperwork would be mailed to my home address at a later date.
Phooey.
But it didn't matter.
Because I had just paid off my undergraduate education! I went from not knowing where ANY of the money for Baylor was going to come from, to paying it completely off in less than five years. My parents taught me to work hard for things and to live life without the unnecessary luxuries that our society bombards us as must-have items. While my peers (in college and as a working professional) drove new cars, bought new furniture, ate out and went out a lot, I was saving for the things I wanted. Call it old fashioned, but I waited until I had the money to buy something. I was doubling up on my student loans instead of buying other things - especially once I understood the term "compounded daily." And you know what? I don't feel, for one minute, that I missed out on anything. I still regard my undergraduate education as the best investment I could have ever made and I'm proud to display my diploma. I can't tell you how rewarding it was to buy my first washer and dryer, my first sofa, computer and yes, my first set of wheels. And I did buy a brand new vehicle, but not before I drove around my 1988 Delta 88 Olds with a broken driver's side window (that made getting on base every day loads of fun!). I wanted to, just once, buy a new vehicle. Call it silly, but I've already had my dream car and it was a truck!
These are from the day we traded in my truck and got the Accord.
The Baylor chapter was officially closed. My education was paid for! My graduate tuition was paid for by the government and the only thing I paid for was books - I estimate it was somewhere around $1200 or so.What a difference from Baylor...
I walked into our marriage owing about $4,000 on my truck. It would have been wonderful to walk into it completely debt-free, but I was OK with it.
I didn't immediately get a job when I moved to Georgia. Craig actually said he wanted me to get settled and after a few months, I began the job search. Looking for a job is really not fun, especially since I had left a really good job.
But it wasn't long before I was offered a job and I honestly didn't have to search for it because they came searching for me.
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