This article was originally posted at Qvisory in October 2008 as a guest post. I’m reposting it here to share with any readers that may have missed it.
Who am I? I am one of the many faces of Generation Debt. As a twenty-something recent graduate, I finished grad school with a master’s degree in one hand and a bill for $22,000 in the other.
With $22,000 in student loans, I am a textbook example of the average college graduate these days — young and broke. But instead of complaining about it, this broke graduate is on a mission to change his situation — to make an escape from Generation Debt.
When I started my fourth year of grad school, I still hadn’t received any job offers from companies that I really wanted to work for. Feeling down and discouraged, I was left with little motivation to finish my thesis and graduate. What good is a master’s degree if you don’t have a job?
What felt like a slump at the time turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Instead of writing up my thesis, I started writing about my finances, and that’s when Broke Grad Student was born.
My blog started out as a fun way to motivate myself to prepare for paying back my student loans and to share my experiences, both good and bad, along the way. I also thought it might be an interesting way to make some extra money on the side.
Less than a year later, it has already turned into much more. By blogging about my student loans and other financial topics, I’ve met college students and recent grads from all over the country who are in similar situations. Some have more debt, some less, but we all have one thing in common — an eagerness to get out of it.
My blog could be part of my ticket out of Generation Debt. As Broke Grad Student has become more popular, the small amount of income it generates has gradually turned into a decent amount of money. In fact, I’m currently making enough blog-related revenue to cover my monthly student loan payments.
Of course, I have to pay for living expenses too. Gone are the graduate research assistant days where I lived off of a monthly stipend. Ironically, shortly after starting Broke Grad Student, I landed a job with one of the top companies I wanted to work for. Things have a tendency to happen when you least expect them.
While my salary is enough to cover my living expenses and student loan payments, the extra blog income has allowed me to build up an emergency fund and invest more money into retirement funds at the same time. These are key elements in my plan to escape from Generation Debt.
Contrary to what you may see and hear in the media, Generation Debt isn’t just a bunch of whiners, complainers, and slackers. There are still plenty of us who haven’t given up. We are the ones working hard to live frugally, save for the future, and pay off our debts.
I’m sharing my story, because I want other members of this generation of debt to know that you aren’t alone. We’re all in this together, and we should help each other out by sharing our knowledge from our successes and our failures.
This is my story so far. What’s yours?
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my RSS feed or via email for free updates.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, what a fantastic post!
Really encouraging. I feel like that also sometimes, when I hear the media again about the low motivation level among Dutch students (They call it a 6-culture, named after the grade, a 6, just enough to pass.)
And I am not one of those! I do want to get those eights, and do want to improve myself, and rise above everyone.
Makes me feel good when I write that
Great story. Being a recent grad myself it’s always nice to hear stories from others in the same age range. I was fortunate to have college taken care of for me by my parents so I graduated with no debt. But still have a lot of similar situations now that I’m living on my own. Looking forward to more to come.
I’m an undergrad with no debt, but I’ll start grad school in the spring (’10). It’ll have to be out of state, and I have no idea how much financial aid I’ll be able to get. I’ll eventually do a doctoral program, so I’m looking at 6 years of school. It’s going to be a lot of debt to take on…
I will be completeing my undergraduate studies next year and I honestly do not know where I will end up. I may try getting into grad school or I may find an ideal career. Right now my goal is to attain the highest grades possible which becomes a bit difficult sometimes due to the fact that I work full time as well. I know it sounds like a bad idea but I have managed to find a job where I am able to do some of my homework. I find that there’s so much work around campus that you could always find a way to earn some money. Every dollar counts when it comes to trying to eliminate debt.
Great post BGS! I’m working my way out of debt with the support of my husband. We’ve almost eliminated the car loan and the plan is to take care of the student loan in 5 years or less.
I AM Generation DEBT. 82k in private loans and 21 in federal loans. Going to be done paying it all off within 6 years. Will get it done! Amazing post and a great way to start out the year BGS! Congrats on you on your blog earnings as well. I hope one day I can start earning such income. I must say, Iv been blogging nearly 6 months now and Broke Grad Student was one of the first that got me into reading, and eventually, writing my own. I am proof of your outstanding work. Thanks.