Hello everyone,
Thank you for reading. My plight could be one in a million. I believed that a stellar education was the ticket to financial stability. Growing up poor, I had no other choice than to pay for college (and two masters degrees) with student loans. I worked full-time most of my college and graduate school career, but was still in low-paying non-profit gigs, so I usually had to take the full amount to help get by with rent, etc.
I graduated college over 15 years ago and completed my second masters a little over two years ago. As I was still working in non-profits, I have never been in a position to actually save money. As interest rates go up and balances grow despite regular minimum payments, I find myself slowly sinking.
I have finally risen to a top position in my field and now make a healthy salary. Yet, I am still living paycheck to paycheck and will be for the rest of my life. This type of hardship results in additional credit card debt. I occasionally have to buy groceries with credit cards during months when there are additional expenses (and by additional expenses, I mean car registration, medical procedures not covered by my insurance, etc.).
There is no end in sight and I don’t see myself being able to earn more money than I do now in my field. I am doing so much good right now for my community and my field. But I spend most of my days being nauseated and flailing under the weight of the massive debt I carry. I understand why those men threw themselves out of windows during the stock market crash in 1929.
I trusted the system and the system is crushing me. I will never get out from under this debt without help. I work 50+ hours a week in my salaried director position. I also attend functions and meetings multiple times a week and volunteer with two additional service organizations in my community. And I have also signed up to be a food delivery driver in my precious little spare time because if I do not, I will not only be unable to support myself, but I will also be unable to contribute to my community as I would like.
Please help me. I did everything right and now I don’t know what else to do.