As a personal finance blogger, I definitely talk the talk. I write about saving up some emergency savings, spending wisely, and contributing to your retirement, even at a young age.

Well, this week marks my 1 year anniversary since I entered the real world and started working. I’ve tracked all my expenses with in my personal budget and I started off my career with $24,000 in student loans and only about $1,000 in savings.

Want to know how far I’ve come? I’m going to break down the past year in a few ways and let you decide if I can walk the walk, too.

Amount Saved in Emergency Savings: $5,000

Amount Paid to Student Loans: $4,900

Amount Invested in Retirement: $9,710

Net Income Last 12 Months (income-expenses): $23,000

% of Income Contributed Toward Net Worth (emergency, retirement, student loans, other savings): 47.5%

Pretty cool, right? I just wish I had been able to break that 50% mark!

The biggest news of all of this is that I officially have a positive net worth! I was pretty surprised to log into Mint recently and see that my cash and investments were greater than my debts. Pretty cool, right?

My take is that if I, a normal person who graduated from college and entered the working world, can get out of $24,000 in debt in just 12 months, anyone can. I didn’t live too much like a college student (it’s been a little cramped, but remember when I got an iPhone?), and setting goals and reaching them has actually been motivating and dare I say fun!

I’m scared to part with my money. By sweating the big stuff, I no longer worry about the little things. Decisions about whether or not I should treat myself to dinner are over. But what’s not over are all those big decisions I have to make. And believe me, I’m sweating!

My decisions surrounds what I should do with my extra money. I have a healthy emergency savings account and I’d much rather earn more than 2.15% on my extra money. That’s great for a savings account, but my extra money should be earning a little extra!

If I could, I would sign up with Lending Club and earn a great rate, far outpacing the 3.5% student loans I have. But living in D.C. prevents me from doing that, so I’m left with the same three boring choices:

• Save at 2.15%
• Pay off loan, effectively earning 3.5%
• Invest at ??%

I know the smart thing to do would be to pay off part of my student loan. I could reduce my student loan debt by 25% in the blink of an eye.

But I don’t want to!

I didn’t realize I’d get so emotional about my money, but making a decision is the last thing I want to do. Why can’t I just let it sit there forever? I want to see my bank accounts grow, not get smaller!

But I know the smart thing to do is to at least pay off some of that student loan debt. While I have no problem spending it, I’m unable to feel the direct connection between paying off debt and getting wealthy, even though that’s exactly what it is.

Giveaway Details

What I would like from you is a little encouragement. Let me know that it’s ok to let go of money. Help me disconnect from it.

And as a thank for your helping me, I’m giving away $50! Cash! And I’m making it super easy:

All you have to do is leave a comment below with some words of encouragement!

Plus, I’m in a super good mood, so I’ll give you two extra ways to win!

Sign up for my RSS feed or email feed. Just leave a comment letting me know.

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*Each action is worth one entry. Entries close at midnight EST on Saturday night, the 3rd and I’ll announce the winner on my Best of the Rest roundup on the 4th.

This is a guest post from Jamie of Eventual Millionaire.

Last week Daniel talked about Student Loans, and I wanted to follow that up with some information about situations he didn’t discuss. We found out that for the average student, taking out loans is worth it, but what about if you end up switching careers like I did?

If You Switch Careers, Are Student Loans Worth It?

If you plan to stay in your field forever, it is a good idea to get a college degree.

But the average person switches careers between three and seven times. If you end up being someone who changes careers shortly after college (like me!) then your degree might not be worth it.

How can you tell if your degree is worth it if you switch careers?

Let’s look at me:

My IT degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology came with $49,000 in student loans.

Two and a half years after graduating college I changed my mind. I did not want to be in the Information Technology sector anymore. So…

Was My College Tuition Worth It?

I spent $49,000 on the degree after scholarships, and not including room and board. My parents took loans for about $19,000 of it and I took loans for $30,000.

I worked very hard and was lucky. The salary of my first job out of college was $100,000. It was a ridiculously good salary, and a big improvement from my previous job of $40,000 a year.

But I switched careers two and a half years later. I became a personal and business coach where you do not need a degree. My salary plummeted when I started working for myself. The first year I made about $6,000 working part time.

Was my college tuition worth it? Surprisingly YES.

It was worth it because I paid off all of my student loans within those two and a half years. If I had spent all of the money I made during that time, and had student loans hanging over my head for 20 years on a small income, it would be a struggle.

It was also worth it because I now know that I can make six figures, and the belief that I can do it again is helping me get there. I also have all of my IT knowledge which has helped me in so many other aspects of my life.

I also had the opportunity to quit my corporate IT job and switch careers because I paid off all of my other debt. That college degree gave me the opportunity to make an incredible income so I could pay off all of my debt (excluding the mortgage). If I had never gotten the degree, I would have had a smaller salary to pay off my car, and home equity loans.

If I could go back I wouldn’t decide not to get it, but I would definitely have taken more time before deciding what I really wanted to do with my career and skills. I wish I would have gotten a coach or someone to help me through the decision too, since I just picked the degree because I was good at it and it made a lot of money!

The Recommendation: Before You Go to College

My biggest recommendation is to take your time to think and research before you decide. Before you sign the papers to get a loan, go to Salary.com and see how much people in that field make. Try to imagine yourself doing that field for 20 years. Determine if you are really ready to work for your education.

A higher education is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. You’ll want to try it on before you buy so you can make sure it’s the right size and color :)

For more from Jaime check out her blog Eventual Millionaire where you can join the journey to become a millionaire while living your ideal life style.