Loan Payoff Parties

One of the questions that people ask when someone gets that first "adult" job is what you plan to buy with all of your newfound money. Aside from three books on Amazon, a rain jacket from REI, and a new pair of Saucony Fastwitch shoes I haven't really bought anything. The nice thing is I make enough money in a day and a half to afford all of that stuff yet I am on my fifth week.

I have obviously thought about all the stuff I want, or would at least enjoy having. However, after thinking about all that I might want and all of the debt that I already have for my education and vacations and patents that I have decided that I will reward myself with something every time I pay off a loan. I have 11 loans. I hope to pay the first one off by the end of March. The advantage of paying off a loan is that then my required minimum monthly payments will be much lower. So I will be able to pay off subsequent loans at a faster rate than I pay off the first loans. As of now just the interest on my loans is about what I earn after taxes in a month. That's 1/12 of my year spent paying interest! What about food, insurance, housing, gas, and the principle on that loan!

There is no guarantee that I will actually have a party every time I pay off a loan, but I am sure there will be a few along the way. I mean what better thing to celebrate that not being in debt? Of course it will probably take an entire week of work to pay for the final get out of debt party...

I am massively in debt. I would rather have $100 and no debt than to have $10,000 with $50,000 in debt. Alas, I am learning from this experience. I will forever view debt in a different light. Not as an entirely terrible thing, but I will view it with restraint in terms of what it allows me to afford immediately.