I completed the Dave Ramsey course (Financial Peace University). Some of the highlights include:

* CHEEEETAAAH!!!! RUN!! RUN AWAY!!!! CHEEEETAAAAAH!!!!
      - Cheetah being a metaphor for credit card offers, of course. We, the hunted, are the gazelles. I started the course a few weeks late and had to catch up. In my haste, I didn't read where the whole gazelle thing was explained. Instead, I wondered for weeks what the deal was with the gazelle at the end of every section in the workbook.

* Being the youngest member of the class. One week a woman said, "I wish I had learned this when I was your age! You are SO lucky!" I suppose I am, if I keep it together.

Here's me keeping it together. And my dad.

* Finding out after the first class I attended that my credit card application was denied due to having no credit score. Haha! I got a real kick out of that after hearing Dave Ramsey's views about both credit cars and credit scores.
     - Of course, it has not registered student loans yet. That'll pop up in November...TOO SOON! ACK!

From Despicable Me. If you watch it, check out the pillars in the bank - it's people being squashed by their weight.

* Completing Baby Step One - setting up an emergency fund.
      - I put $1,000 in a separate bank account that does not have a debit card or checks. It is web-based so I can access it at any time, but I have to go through a series of code names and passwords before I even get to the account, giving me time to think over whether or not I really want to access it.
     - I announced during the penultimate class that I had completed this baby step and received applause and hearty congratulations. Made me feel good. :)

***

I'm back living at my parents' home now, which if you've read my earlier posts, you know I'm not entirely thrilled about. Things are going well, but I'm particularly annoyed by my lack of car. My parents talked me into selling it and I had a buyer before I even got to their house. Almost the moment I came back to Michigan I sold my car and have been feeling a little depressed about it. The good news is that I got over $3,000 for it, which went to the Emergency Fund, my checking account, and my savings account. The latter two will have to bail me out come November when Student Loans descend on me like dementors and start sucking my soul.

I am trying to finish writing my thesis. I sold my car because I thought I'd be heading off to teach English in South Korea come August. Unfortunately, that hasn't worked out because I'm taking FOREVER to write the darn thesis. Now I'm dreading November because I don't have a job or a car to get to a job. My parents assure me I can use their cars, that we'll make it work. First I have to find a job. Are you familiar with the job market in Michigan? Me neither because it DOESN'T EXIST.

Stress!

Oh well. The good news is that I'm alive and optimistic that I will still be several years from now. Student loan debt won't kill me. The payments won't kill me. I have faith that God will get me through this somehow or another. I don't know if I'll ever be a millionaire, but hopefully I will see a day when I won't have payments hanging over me. At least they're only from one source, and one of the most reputable of them.

*sigh* That IS me - a 20 something with a five figure student loan debt, moving back in with my parents. Dang.

• Keep track of my expenses
• Cut back on fast food
• Regularly put some money in my savings account