Last year I got enough scholarship and grant money that I didn’t have to take out any loans.  This year has gone even better, despite not getting the Udall.  In addition to having enough to pay for school, rent, and all my bills through August 2010, I’ll be able to get new glasses (which I desperately need), pay off my E.R. bill from 2006 and a small student loan from the university I briefly attended in NC, AND get a cheap couch off of Craigslist.  I’m pretty excited about not having to sit on the floor if I want to hang out in my living room.

Even more exciting is the prospect of getting rid of all of my medical debt.  Since my financial aid has been so much better the last couple of years, I’ve been able to put a lot of my paychecks toward the $5000 of medical debt I accrued between 2003 & 2006. With the amount I’m getting this year, I’ll have all my old medical bills paid off by next August as long as I can control my shoe problem.

Once my ER bill and my other medical debt are gone, I’ll just have student loan debt –  about $24,000.  $24,000 isn’t that bad considering I’ll have been in school at least part time 5 1/2 years by the time I graduate and 2 of those years I was paying out of state tuition.  I’m also lucky that my loans are all subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford, not the nasty Sallie Mae kind.  I’m hoping that I’ll have all of those paid off before I finish grad school.

Unfortunately, I still can’t afford health insurance…  Hopefully wherever I go for grad school will have decent benefits.