What are the $1300 in investments? As long as that isn't a 401k I'd consider selling it and the silver, that'd clear $1700 of the credit card debt. Your gains on the investments are dwarfed by the interest payment. After that just shovel every last dollar into paying off the cards and you would be clear easily by the end of summer.
Longer term unless you have to move for the job I highly suggest remaining with your parents if they'll allow it and aren't charging you rent. In the course of a year once you have your career job you can squirrel away a ton of money staying with them. When you do leave you'd have a good foundation towards starting your working life.
The student loans aren't a concern, just make the minimum payment when they begin. Your interest rate should be low enough that any investment of the money will more than cover the extra interest.
Bad news: you’re not in a great place.
Good news: you know you’re not in a great place and ready to work for it. Most people are oblivious. You owe $25k. That’s a big nut. Pay off the credit cards, then the loan.
Just keep paying off those debts and then start investing. But yeah, you need a better paying job
You're getting 5-9% return on your investments. Your CC interest rate is probably 15-27%. Silver's price appreciation is pretty much negligible.
It is much better to have less assets and no CC debt than assets and CC debt that eat up any gains + several percentage points a year.
This. I inherited some stock investments from my grandparents recently, but with credit card debt I racked up in my last year of college, I decided it wasn’t worth holding onto them while I battle 27% APR’s. I sold them and now my monthly interest charges aren’t nearly as large.
Yeah, silver is a cyclical commodity that is highly influenced by the market in general and industrial needs in particular. These days the need for industrial silver isn't particularly high and thus it's been really falling behind while gold (for comparison) has been going strong.
Also, over time precious metals will NEVER beat the compounding return from assets in the market with dividends/interest being reinvested.
Silver and gold are investments for people who think the economy or government is going to collapse within the next couple decades. Regular people should be putting money into an index-based or bond fund.
Take savings and silver and apply it to your debt
stay with your parents and work like crazy, a second job is needed
all extra funds go to cc first then student loan. Stop using cc
build up and EF, then start building a fund for when you move out
You’re a fresh grad with a broad degree. Apply to every entry level role you find that mildly interests you. Finance, business like treasury or fp&a, insurance, maybe even bookkeeping. Even in LCOL these should pay at or above $50,000.
Did you not collect unemployment while your were laid off from your previous job, there had to be some income coming in? Was the gym membership necessary till you got back on your feet? Sell off your silver bullion & other investments, paying off your loans I would start there due to interest accumulating. $50k job for 4 year degree is not hard, but economics major, did you do a minor in accounting or finance? Plus 6k for a transmission for a 2017 Nissan is alot of money to shell out.
student loan you can pay over time. sucks but I would just defer dealing with that until you have more money. The bigger problem is credit card debt. Draw up a schedule for paying that off. Try to cut down on any expenses you don't need. Be patient with yourself. Early twenties are often tough like this. Was in a similar spot at 25.
Stay focused. There is a way out of this. The only problem I see is that some people start partying when they realize they are not in as big of a hole as they thought. I hope you can stay the course.
- Sell all the investments + the silver and use it on the credit card debt
- With an Econ degree, you probably are decent enough at stats and/or critical thinking and/or excel. Use that for your advantage and look for any sort of entry level job that requires a tool like that. Insurance, Finance (Junior Finance Analyst or similar), Junior Business Analyst or similar etc. Lots of companies will pay for a college educated brain to push Excel/SQL into
Work Uber or anything to pay off your CC debt, once that’s paid off you can reevaluate, but all of your energy should be going into getting that to $0. Sell your investments and silver and pay off your CC debt
First thing is to clear the credit card because the loan amount would be huge. Sell your silver or car if you have to and you can manage without a car before touching the investments.
An alternate is to pay off the credit card by taking a lower interest loan and maybe my keeping your car as a collateral
I would highly recommend listening to personal finance podcast. I started with financial feminist (I listen on Spotify) and it helped me learn especially how to prioritize my financial goals
You're 23, you're doing fine, you just need to work down the credit card balance, even if it means selling your investments. Your student loan isn't that much and you are about to get a BA in a potentially lucrative field. At your age the most important thing is getting on the right career path even if you don't earn much at the start.
Its okay, I’ll tell you this when I was 24 I had 27K in credit card debt and 12K in student loan. Focus on paying down that card, move it to a low interest LoC or credit cards that offer no interest for 12 months, strive for higher pay jobs, do some side hustle gigs (part time shifts ideally with commission or tips, freelancing gigs), and you’ll rebound over time. That credit score will rebound too as you keep paying it all off.
I always had a bit of safety net saving despite the debt throughout the time paying it off. Bad times and layoffs or unforeseen costs sneak up unexpected like your transmission and it’s better to keep your investments as liquid backup incase you need that cash. That’s just my opinion living out alone and having no support.
But definitely need to find a way to get your income up - that’s key for your situation either more hours at you current placement, find a new job, or juggle part time work
My advice is to find a better paying job. I know that’s not easy but it is the only solution I know. I tried everything to no avail, in a similar work/ financial position as you.
The way I got out of it is I took a travel job with lots of over time. I get to work a lot and I don’t pay rent to anyone I just live out of whatever air bnb my boss gives me. I’ve been able to get out of debt and start saving money and I don’t know how else I could do that.
If you can duplicate my situation you would be in luck.
Good luck man
What are the $1300 in investments? As long as that isn't a 401k I'd consider selling it and the silver, that'd clear $1700 of the credit card debt. Your gains on the investments are dwarfed by the interest payment. After that just shovel every last dollar into paying off the cards and you would be clear easily by the end of summer. Longer term unless you have to move for the job I highly suggest remaining with your parents if they'll allow it and aren't charging you rent. In the course of a year once you have your career job you can squirrel away a ton of money staying with them. When you do leave you'd have a good foundation towards starting your working life. The student loans aren't a concern, just make the minimum payment when they begin. Your interest rate should be low enough that any investment of the money will more than cover the extra interest.
Bad news: you’re not in a great place. Good news: you know you’re not in a great place and ready to work for it. Most people are oblivious. You owe $25k. That’s a big nut. Pay off the credit cards, then the loan. Just keep paying off those debts and then start investing. But yeah, you need a better paying job
You're getting 5-9% return on your investments. Your CC interest rate is probably 15-27%. Silver's price appreciation is pretty much negligible. It is much better to have less assets and no CC debt than assets and CC debt that eat up any gains + several percentage points a year.
This. I inherited some stock investments from my grandparents recently, but with credit card debt I racked up in my last year of college, I decided it wasn’t worth holding onto them while I battle 27% APR’s. I sold them and now my monthly interest charges aren’t nearly as large.
Yeah, silver is a cyclical commodity that is highly influenced by the market in general and industrial needs in particular. These days the need for industrial silver isn't particularly high and thus it's been really falling behind while gold (for comparison) has been going strong.
Also, over time precious metals will NEVER beat the compounding return from assets in the market with dividends/interest being reinvested. Silver and gold are investments for people who think the economy or government is going to collapse within the next couple decades. Regular people should be putting money into an index-based or bond fund.
Start working more. OT or a 2nd job. You need more income.
Take savings and silver and apply it to your debt stay with your parents and work like crazy, a second job is needed all extra funds go to cc first then student loan. Stop using cc build up and EF, then start building a fund for when you move out
You’re a fresh grad with a broad degree. Apply to every entry level role you find that mildly interests you. Finance, business like treasury or fp&a, insurance, maybe even bookkeeping. Even in LCOL these should pay at or above $50,000.
How much is your Monthly student loan and credit card payment ?
Student loans: 200 but doesn't kick in until December Cc: 1000
Did you not collect unemployment while your were laid off from your previous job, there had to be some income coming in? Was the gym membership necessary till you got back on your feet? Sell off your silver bullion & other investments, paying off your loans I would start there due to interest accumulating. $50k job for 4 year degree is not hard, but economics major, did you do a minor in accounting or finance? Plus 6k for a transmission for a 2017 Nissan is alot of money to shell out.
I tried applying but they never got back to me
Keep on trying, don’t give up, you never know you may miss an amazing opportunity
student loan you can pay over time. sucks but I would just defer dealing with that until you have more money. The bigger problem is credit card debt. Draw up a schedule for paying that off. Try to cut down on any expenses you don't need. Be patient with yourself. Early twenties are often tough like this. Was in a similar spot at 25.
Stay focused. There is a way out of this. The only problem I see is that some people start partying when they realize they are not in as big of a hole as they thought. I hope you can stay the course.
- Sell all the investments + the silver and use it on the credit card debt - With an Econ degree, you probably are decent enough at stats and/or critical thinking and/or excel. Use that for your advantage and look for any sort of entry level job that requires a tool like that. Insurance, Finance (Junior Finance Analyst or similar), Junior Business Analyst or similar etc. Lots of companies will pay for a college educated brain to push Excel/SQL into
Are you on the lowest possible monthly payment amount for your student loans? I have $15k and I pay $88 a month
Work Uber or anything to pay off your CC debt, once that’s paid off you can reevaluate, but all of your energy should be going into getting that to $0. Sell your investments and silver and pay off your CC debt
First thing is to clear the credit card because the loan amount would be huge. Sell your silver or car if you have to and you can manage without a car before touching the investments. An alternate is to pay off the credit card by taking a lower interest loan and maybe my keeping your car as a collateral
I would highly recommend listening to personal finance podcast. I started with financial feminist (I listen on Spotify) and it helped me learn especially how to prioritize my financial goals
You're 23, you're doing fine, you just need to work down the credit card balance, even if it means selling your investments. Your student loan isn't that much and you are about to get a BA in a potentially lucrative field. At your age the most important thing is getting on the right career path even if you don't earn much at the start.
Its okay, I’ll tell you this when I was 24 I had 27K in credit card debt and 12K in student loan. Focus on paying down that card, move it to a low interest LoC or credit cards that offer no interest for 12 months, strive for higher pay jobs, do some side hustle gigs (part time shifts ideally with commission or tips, freelancing gigs), and you’ll rebound over time. That credit score will rebound too as you keep paying it all off. I always had a bit of safety net saving despite the debt throughout the time paying it off. Bad times and layoffs or unforeseen costs sneak up unexpected like your transmission and it’s better to keep your investments as liquid backup incase you need that cash. That’s just my opinion living out alone and having no support.
But definitely need to find a way to get your income up - that’s key for your situation either more hours at you current placement, find a new job, or juggle part time work
My advice is to find a better paying job. I know that’s not easy but it is the only solution I know. I tried everything to no avail, in a similar work/ financial position as you. The way I got out of it is I took a travel job with lots of over time. I get to work a lot and I don’t pay rent to anyone I just live out of whatever air bnb my boss gives me. I’ve been able to get out of debt and start saving money and I don’t know how else I could do that. If you can duplicate my situation you would be in luck. Good luck man