Last week I took part in the student debt challenge of Maaike van fuck that student debt (fuck die studieschuld). I have been following her for a while and saw the challenge and thought Lets see. The challenge consisted of 7 assignments in 7 days. Here are the challanges and how I did them.
Challenge 1 No spending
The first day was immediately a tough challenge. You weren’t allowed to spend that day. Neither cash, nor debit cards and not via internet. That day I had to send a registered mail to one of my clients. So I had to get out of the house and to the mall. I did it. I only paid for it that day (That was allowed).
I am not someone who buys, buys and buys. Still, it was difficult not to go to supermarket and get something that day. I survived the first challenge.
Challenge 2 Pocket change
Find small amounts that you spend on your account and choose one and don’t spend it for a whole week. This was a little easier now with Corona measures than usual, because when I work on location I sometimes buy lunch. Those are small amounts, but quite often. This also worked more or less this week, because on Thursday when I was working on location my water bottle broke and so I bought water. Little cheat 😊.
Challenge 3 Repayment goal
On day 3 you had to come up with a repayment goal. So I have thought that of every part of an invoice amount that goes to private (this is a fixed percentage per invoice), 2 percent of that will go to my student debt. I opened a special redemption savings account in Knab for this, because you can transfer a minimum of 5 euros to Duo. And since it concerns every invoice that I get paid, it can be large or small amounts. Every time there is 5 euros on it, I will transfer it.
I also have a nice thermometer hanging to visualize my goal. I am curious how much will be gone by the end of 2020. You can help😊 by buying my Excel ecourses or making your purchase at bol.com and booking through my website. On the side you see the banners to make your purchase.
Challenge 4 Sell something
Sell one thing. I already had a stand for the laptop on Marktplaats (Dutch ebay) and I added a large storage box. I no longer need both, because the first does not fit my laptop and the second I have cleaned up and put away those things, minimizing remains a goal for me. This assignment was a breeze for me.
Challenge 5 Tell about your student debt
Tell someone about your student debt. Most people around me know that I have a student debt, but not how big it is. Until 2012, I paid more than the minimum amount each month. That was easy with my salary back then. When I started for myself, it did not seem wise to me, because I first had to look and have a buffer. After that, I went on a trip and paused the payoff or paid off the minimum so far. I have over 33,000 euros left to pay off. So I told someone, you the reader 😊.
Challenge 6 Less ads
Make sure you get less advertisment. Because I adhere to minimalism, I receive little to no advertisment. I went through my email anyway and canceled two more newsletters. I already had a Yes / No sticker so no problems there.
Challenge 7 Pay a small amount to your student debt
Transfer an amount to Duo. Okay, I didn’t expect that. Do I really have to transfer an amount to Duo right now? I have not sold anything through Marktplaats so that money was not there to transfer. Oke, I will transfer 5 euros! So my first repayment in years has been done! Although the minimum that is allowed, but a start.
The challenges were nice challenges and got me thinking about my student debt. It is my own fault that I still have it. And it has to go, because otherwise the capital that I am building with investing has no value. So Duo can expect a lot of 5 euro transfer from me.