Does this sound familiar? You went back to school because you thought you’d get a better, higher-paying job so you could follow your dreams and live in San Francisco like a baller. You graduated with a fancy degree, and you even got a pretty great job, but you’re not living the life you imagined. In fact, it’s those same student loans that are making it even harder just to scrape by in SF.
Fortunately, you’re a creative person (and you really like instant ramen). You’ve learned to make things work by sheer ingenuity, and because you love San Francisco so much, you’ll do practically anything to live here. Still, there are some sobering challenges and realities you’re likely to face when living with student-loan debt in this great but expensive city.
There’s an unspoken rule that any and all social interactions should be limited to the hours between 3 and 7 p.m. (also known as “the happy hours”)
Your friends know they’ll never see you unless they’re willing to hang out during happy hour, where there are ample half-price eats and drinks.
Splitting the bill after dinner is an emotionally trying event
Should you ever brave the “unhappy hours” with friends, you’re either happily on board with the “to each their own bill” understanding, or you’re at the mercy of the table equal split (re: the Dreaded Birthday Dinner). When the latter happens, you’ll likely experience a gut-drop as the cost of your order of a side salad and water with lemon skyrockets from $6 to $16.
Some San Francisco trends are a little out of reach
That artisan cocktail made with a trio of the most delightful fruit elixirs and boozes in all the San Franciscoland is really delicious and really $15. When you weigh that one drink against how many burritos that money could buy you, you choose to eat for the week rather than get drunk for the night.
You prioritize networking events that promise free food
It’s true that being a good networker could get you that dream job, but all those lunch dates and after-dinner drinks are spendy. Consequently, you choose where to schmooze based on event descriptions that include phrases like “Cookies and coffee served,” “Small bites provided,” and “Drink ticket included with admission.”
You live with four strangers in a two-bedroom apartment
You’re over the fact that you’ll never walk around in skivvies in your apartment. You’re even OK with the reality that your roommates ate your leftovers (again) and brought the party home (AGAIN), just as long as they pay the rent on time. And thanks to them, you now have a new understanding of what constitutes a bedroom in San Francisco, which includes living rooms, the hall closet, and the pantry with a curtain as a door.
You haven’t contributed to your 401(k) in years
Wait, what’s a 401(k)?
You’ve given up your dreams of being a homeowner
You’ve come to terms with the fact that the only dream house you’ll ever own is that Barbie dollhouse from your childhood.
You can’t bring your dates home
See: pantry with a curtain as a door
You can never change careers
Your current job pays the bills, but if you’re being totally honest, you’re starting to check LinkedIn for other opportunities. Still, your job pays the bills.
You’ve decided that sea monkeys are perfectly good stand-ins for the children you’ll never have
If you’ve somehow gotten over the challenge of dating (see: you can’t bring your dates home) and are pondering whether or not to have kids, you might’ve given up after realizing that kids are expensive and take up space (see: pantry with a curtain as a door). Sea monkeys it is!
Moving in with your parents actually sounds like a good idea
It’s tempting — no rent, free laundry, and hot meals that aren’t out of a microwave. But you’re a grown-ass adult, and you’ve got other options. Really, you do.
But don’t despair! There are money-saving options, like refinancing.
If you have student loans with high interest rates (and if you went to grad school or took out loans before 2013, you probably do), you could save a lot of money by refinancing your student loans. Depending on your financial qualifications, you could substantially reduce your monthly payment, shorten the term of your loans, and significantly reduce the overall interest cost.
Bay–Area based SoFi is a leader in marketplace lending that helps ambitious professionals like you take charge of their student-loan debt on their own terms. Unlike old-school lenders, SoFi has a nontraditional underwriting approach that’s catered to the individual they’re helping and that takes into account merit, cash flow, and employment history, among other factors. SoFi helps make paying off your line of debt manageable by optimizing monthly payments, lifetime cost, and/or the speed of payoff. When working with SoFi, users can do everything online, but helpful customer service reps are also easy to reach by email, phone, or text.
SoFi even offers services like unemployment protection, so if you lose your job, you won’t have to worry about selling all your belongings on Craigslist to survive. SoFi will pause the payments on your student loan (and even help you find a new job).
Check out SoFi to see if you qualify, and learn how you can save time and money on your repayment. Get ready to attack your student-loan debt so you can finally enjoy the hell out of San Francisco.
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