As of today, July 4, 2019, my total debt is -$133,259.74. I know. I know. It would be great if that amount reflected tangible assets that could be readily sold, but it doesn’t. It’s student loan debt. In some later post, I will take the time to give you a brief history of my lack of direction, stupidity, and an explanation as to what constitutes this total amount. But this is not that post.

This is the post where I briefly set expectations as to how frequently I will post (if I eventually gain readers and this becomes a blog, as opposed to an online diary, I want folks to understand how, when, and why I will post so that they aren’t wasting their time checking back intermittently). I just accepted a new role, in a new state, that I begin on Monday (more on that later). Unfortunately, this employer pays monthly (yes, I currently work in higher education) so it is my expectation, at least at the outset before I get an additional job/hustle, that I will make a debt payment once a month. So, minimally, I will post once a month. As my income increases, and it will, as a result of another job or other opportunities, I expect to make additional posts. I may also occasionally post about the challenges of dating in debt, my feelings about my debt, etc. However, I will do my best to keep those post very limited in number and really make sure this blog remains a place where I can hold myself accountable for reducing my debt and where folks may, eventually, be able to get the same inspiration I have gained from so many others on their debt repayment journeys.

As I stated above, the title of this post contains my current debt total as of today’s date. It also includes my projected debt free date. That debt free date has not been calculated based on my loan payoff dates. It is just shy of my 40th birthday. While I will go into more detail about it later (probably in the next post), I have had debt since I was 18 years old and signed my first federal student loan. I have carried my student loan debt through the end of my teens, all of my twenties, and into my thirties. I refuse to carry debt into the next decade of my life. By December 2025, the last partial month of my 39th year of life, I will be debt free.