About

My name is Ashley.  I’m a 27 year old grad student living in Southern California.  You can learn everything about me on my personal blog.

I was always very responsible with my money growing up and all the way through college, but I started accumulating credit card debt the minute I started graduate school.  I was in over my head trying to support myself here in California while living the life of a grad student.  Most of my debt is living expenses from the last four years, but once I was in debt, I started making stupid decisions and using credit like it was cash.

I made a few half-hearted attempts to do something about my debt before, but I was mostly in denial.  In November 2009, I finally made the decision to get serious about my debt.   I’m doing whatever it takes to get out and that means working a full time job and a part time job while I finish grad school.

I started with $20,500 in credit card debt.  My goal is to be completely free of credit card debt by the end of 2010.  I can’t wait, but this experience has already changed my life.

This blog is about my personal story of debt.  I’m sharing my experiences, rather than providing a how to guide for others.  But, if you ever have any questions, feel free to email me at astoryofdebt[at]gmail[dot]com.

Suggested Posts:  I Want To Be Debt Free, From Dave Ramsey, The Calming Effect of Having a Plan,  Financial Mistakes I’ve Made,  Bad Habits Don’t Die, A Good Job, Acting Rich, It Was the Shopping Too, On Not Buying Stuff, Saving for Risk and Uncertainty,  A Clarification, It’s Shockingly Possible, Strategies I Use, Priorities, It Wasn’t Any Fun, What Was I Thinking?,  What This Experience Has Taught Me About Money, Having Fought For It, When I’m Not Here, and Balance: $0.