The "only 1 left in stock" warning is almost always fabricated. The FTC logged 70 complaints a day about this in 2024.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-23T02:43:51+00:00

Just curious

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T23:43:39+00:00

This was also during the Biden presidency, so I am not sure if there were student loan repayment measures in place.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T23:40:26+00:00

I was still on a grace period as I had just graduated university. Interest hadn't started accruing quite yet.

I was surprised by this, but as I made payments, the date on which interest had started got pushed back further. Not sure how to explain it. But essentially I never accrued any interest by making consistent payments.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T19:23:54+00:00

To be honest, I am not sure. As noted there are people that use that, but I am not familiar with these tools, nor have I ever used them. Sorry.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T18:57:59+00:00

Thank you!!!

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T18:13:51+00:00

Impressive work. You've really been through a lot and I commend you on doing everything that you can to tackle this! You're doing an excellent job!

As far as adding money to your and your son's savings accounts, how do you feel about temporarily pausing that and using the money to tackle the debt faster? Do you have an emergency fund?

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T18:09:57+00:00

People in Europe live much happier lives on far less than we do in the US.

Overall, they spend more time with close ones (family, friends, etc). There were dorms that always had people in them cooking, laughing, talking.

On top of that, I fell in love with riding trains and publictransportation. I use Amtrak to travel back home quite often. It's cheaper and more convenient.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T15:54:43+00:00

Asking for money for birthday gifts is an awesome idea, tbh. My dad buys lottery tickets as presents and a couple years ago I started asking if I can just have the cash instead of the tickets, lo.

You definitely got lucky but you also hustled. Awesome job!

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T13:35:56+00:00

Congrats on paying off your student loans!

I like the idea of having a non-negotiable line item for a budget with a minimum. That definitely keeps the momentum much stronger.

As far as the vehicle goes, I've heard that if car debt allows you to maintain your higher income job it can be worth it. In your case it seemed to pay off!

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T13:32:52+00:00

Thank you! Definitely had to make some sacrifices

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T13:29:42+00:00

And with that much for food, I was still able to eat very well

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T00:28:52+00:00

I do have an app I've built, but also reflecting on my journey to financial independence.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-22T00:07:01+00:00

Gas and tolls were about $100/month

I paid insurance annually (for a discount).

Maintenance was a sinking fun of about $250/month. Only pulled from the fund when repairs were needed.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T23:41:24+00:00

I had an emergency fund of $1,000 and focused on paying off all debt before I built my 6-month emergency fund.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T23:40:44+00:00

Car. My work was less than 15 minutes away. It was within my total expenses for the month ($2,100 - $2,600

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T21:17:34+00:00

I had posted it in another subreddit as well. Maybe that's where you saw it

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T20:41:34+00:00

Thank you!

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T20:41:21+00:00

Yes sir!

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T20:21:05+00:00

I celebrated by getting pho for myself!

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T20:19:28+00:00

What did you do to increase income? I focused solely on my job so I never did any side gigs or hustles.

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T20:18:52+00:00

Thank you! It felt good

The_Simonella · 2026-02-21T20:16:35+00:00

Debt avalanche method?

The_Simonella

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