Hey folks, sorry for the relative silence. I've been attending a big conference and visiting with some of my closest friends for Thanksgiving (they live near enough to where I was going already that it was easy to stay around for the week instead of going right back home.)
This trip is making me super grateful to my employers. By the time I add up plane ticket, hotel (I shared with a friend, but still), and eating out three meals a day, the bill's going to be in the vicinity of $1000, and they are paying for it all. (Not the expenses associated with staying with my friends! But I just had to buy a $50 train ticket for that part.)
I'm having a quiet evening -- after a full day of cooking, eating, and cleaning that started at 7 am, I sent my friends out to see a movie a couple of hours ago, and put their kid to bed. Now I'm basically just keeping an ear out for her and relaxing. It's been a really tough few years for me in a lot of ways, and it's setting up to be a tough few years going forward, but I'm taking this moment to be thankful for what I've got: a small but close-knit family, friends and godchildren I adore, meaningful work, and a bank balance that's steadily growing, not declining. As a longstanding radical hippie communist Christian socialist (I'm half-joking, half-not), I feel a little strange about that last line item. I'm not sure it's right to enjoy watching my net worth climb as much as I have this year. But it's true: as I get older, headed into the second half of my 30s, I increasingly want a little more security, a little more stability. I want to be protected in case of emergency, without having to turn to my parents, who've already given me so much (and I'm too freaking old to be asking my parents for money!) So, yes, I'm thankful for that, and for those of you who've been kind enough to share some of this year's journey with me.
I hear you on the security part, because as sad as it is, our parents are not always going to be around. At least you can rest assured you're in a much better position financially than many. I doubt I'll be able to pay off my law school loans by the time I'm 35. Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteYeah, not only are they not going to be around forever, but also I just feel like it's time to stop having them be my backup plan. It's not so much that they've been supporting me all this time -- I've mostly been self-supporting -- as that they've been my "well, if you stop having income at all at least you *could* always ask...." plan, versus, I don't know, being on the streets or whatever. I just feel like I'd rather have an emergency savings fund!
DeleteI just left a similar comment on your blog -- it sounds like you could reasonably hope to pay them off by the time you're in your mid-30s though. I know it feels overwhelming, but the main thing is to just keep plugging. Good luck! I'll be following your blog for sure.