BankerGirl

Posted by Heidi on November 18th, 2007 in About BankerGirl, student loan debt

If you’re a first time visitor - welcome!  I encourage you to read this series from the beginning.

As Part II wrapped up, my financial situation was beginning to improve.  Turns out that was to be short-lived.

Step seven - Backslide

I continued to work at that bank for five years,  eventually becoming a “personal banker” and “retail annuity specialist.”  I knew that in order to continue progressing in my career, I needed to finish my BA.  And so, once again, I filled out the FAFSA.  And again, instead of borrowing only what I needed to cover my tuition, I took the whole enchilada.  I figured I could pay it back with all of the money I would be making with the fancy new job I was sure to get with my newly minted degree.

Step eight - Accept a big title in lieu of a big salary

One thing in my career went as planned: I did get a fancy new job as a result of finishing my bachelor’s.  I was recruited to a small, local savings bank that lured me in with a great title: Vice President - Relationship Manager of a de novo branch.  The only catch was that they could only pay me $32,ooo a year.  It was more than had been I making at my current job, but not much. 

Still, I was only 27 and a Vice President!  I couldn’t believe my good fortune.  What I didn’t know at the time that they make EVERYONE at a bank a VP, so the title didn’t do a whole lot aside from look good on a resume.

Step nine - finance a graduate degree

It took me nearly 10 years from  the day I started my BA to finish (five of those years were spent in class, the rest of the time I was saving money and “finding myself”).  Once I was done, I discovered I missed being a student.  I knew that if I wanted to make real money in the financial services industry, I needed a MBA from a school with a stong regional, if not national, reputation.  I considered several programs; everything from the prestigous Chicago GSB to online degrees, and in the end settled on an evening program at a state university known for its finance department.

My work refused to offer graduate tuition reimbursent (which, looking back, forshadowed events to come).  Master’s level coursework doesn’t come cheap, and again I found myself applying for financial aid and maxing out my borrowings so that I could live comfortably.

Step ten - Upgrade your life, not your paycheck 

With the new job and the student loan “income”, I figured I needed a new apartment, so I upgraded to a $450 a month rental near a nature preserve.  A few months after that, I crashed my nearly-paid-for Accord and replaced it with a newer vehicle, which raised my car payment $150 a month.  I wasn’t worried about my increased spending - once I finished my master’s I could easily double my income and afford all of luxuries I was financing. 

Step eleven - Job hop

I was communting 90 miles (one way) to gradschool.  The drive was exhausting and I began to search for work in my field that was closer to class.  Good thing I already had a few irons in the fire, because after just 14 months at my VP job, I was laid off (along with other middle managers).  I was devestated - I had never lost a job in that way before.  In the end, it worked out well because I had already interviewed for a business banking position much closer to school.  I started my new job just two weeks later.  I recieved severence pay from one job and a signing bonus for another - talk about lemonade from lemons! 

The downside: I incurred moving expenses and rent went up to $600 a month.  Also, I wasn’t eligable for tuition reimbursement at my new position until I had been there for 12 months (HR was firm on this).  But that’s what student loans are for, right?

I was in this commercial lending position for just over a year when I met a C-level executive for a major financial services firm at a MBA networking event.  He asked for my card, and a few months later I got a call from a recruiter asking if I was interested in a product job at their firm.  The pay was great, I got a small relocation package, plus a signing bonus. The downside: they needed me to relocate immediately.

Step twelve - Buy too much house

I didn’t have much time to plan the move, but I knew that I was done renting (I had seen the gains people were making in the real estate market and didn’t want to sit on the sidelines any longer).  I gave myself two weeks to find a house.  I settled on a “charming” brick-and-stucco tudor on a quiet street just ten minutes from downtown.  The only problem is that I only had 10% of the $180,000 asking price to put down (and that was with the signing bonus from new job).  I borrowed the rest in a single 5-year ARM with PMI.  I figured that as often as I seem to move, I would need to sell the place before the ARM was up - but that’s another subject for a future post.

Today 

That was 18 months ago.  Here is my current situation: I owe more than $160,000 on my house, I have $17,000 in credit card debt (mostly related to the move - furniture, appliances, remodeling, etc.), I have $60,000+ in student loan debt, and there is $18,400 outstanding on my car (I bought a new, 2006 Honda CRV in December 2005).  I will get more specific about my debt load and payments in future articles. 

To make things even more interesting, I am getting married next year.  Our families have generously offered to donate to the cause, but we’re still going to have to come up with about $6000 to make it happen. 

Will I be able to curtail my spending and live more frugally?  How will I ever get off the credit card payment treadmill?  Will my fiance and I be able to save enough for the wedding?  I hope to answer these and other questions in upcoming posts!

Stumble it!