Feels like I Finally Found My Footing Thanks to Retirement Fund

I feel like I finally found my footing with my student loans debt. Im 27 now. It took me 6 years to graduate because I failed a lot of classes my first two years due to undiagnosed ADHD. Another huge set back on repayments was finding a place to live in a VHCOL (my hometown). Rent is debilitating but I am just grateful I have somewhere safe to live now. I don’t have a car. I grew up in VHCOL so I know how to use my resources. Next year I don’t think I will get bonus and I am predicting there will be furlough days bc I work for a nonprofit. Ive lived off of less before but I want to increase my retirement contributions from $100 to $200/mo. After a year of contribution I finally feel like I can see the light. Net worth is still negative but retirement fund and emergency HYSA feels optimistic.

I have no social life. This debt feels so debilitating because I can’t go out and spend money and make friends. I feel like Im missing out on being in my 20s. I know 30s isn’t old but Im scared Ill regret not living now. 2024 and 2025 I been hyper focused on paying off my debt but I have no significant milestones to reflect on. Life is so grey. I have small joys that I focus on like my dog but contrary to popular belief, they don’t add up to substitute big life events. Everyone keeps telling me to travel in my 20s but there nowhere that feels worth traveling to.

My priority is paying off my debt to finally be no contact with my narcissistic mother who took out all these loans for her own agenda. My mom is making the minimum payments to mitigate her credit (which i am grateful for). I was on a deferment plan with Sallie Mae but the program just ended so the interest rates increased. My goal is to pay off all Sallie Mae loans in 4 years.

Started out-of-state college: 2016 (more affordable than in state college) Moved back to hometown: 2021 First stable job: Feb 2022 Bachelor’s: Dec 2022 Contribution to retirement fund: Nov 2024 $10k Bitcoin to HYSA: 2025 403b 100% vested: 2027 Supervisor retires: 2027

Salary: $61k plus bonus $10k (gross) Rent: $1800 1b/ba recently increased to $1920.8 Utilities: >$200 (my half, my neighbor has his kid and gf over on weekends but they dont pay utilities) Food: $300-$600/mo Phone: $50/mo Sallie Mae: $1200/mo

Starting debt: > $220k

Current debt: SM1: 22k at 9.7% SM2: 27k at 12.3 % SM3: 31k at 11.2% Wells Fargo sold to debt collector: $35k at 14%