If you can pay off $ 14,000 in debt in one year, I’d say you’re incredibly proactive and lucky enough to have high enough income (and low enough expenses) to drop that burden pretty quickly.
Once you’ve paid off your debt, then you can take the extra money that went into payments each month and become an aggressive and responsible saver.
I appreciate the advocacy of fund manager Suze Orman for financial literacy. You might benefit from reading his book, “The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke (2007, Riverhead).
Dear Amy: My ex-husband and I have been married for over 20 years. We have two wonderful sons. Our youngest son is 16 years old.
Throughout our marriage, it was evident that my ex never got over his girlfriend from high school. We met several months after she broke up with him. He stayed in touch with her throughout our marriage and had an affair with her.
Now I find out, my ex insisted on naming our youngest son “Brandon” after this woman’s brother! (This brother is alive and well, so it wasn’t to honor his memory.)
My ex had always told me she was an only child and, until a recent social media post mentioning this brother, I believed him.
Now I feel hurt and betrayed. His family and this woman knew the name of our son Brandon and the reason my ex had chosen him.