<prompt> Human: Hi all. I thought Id ask about how you guys deal with the stress of having a tight financial situation, even if you have a plan to make it better. Im drowning in debt from grad school -- student loans and credit card. I have a full time job, so Im paying it down as aggressively as I can 60 of my income goes to payments. I cant renegotiate my interest rates, but its all under control and should be paid off within two years. I work remotely and live in a cheaper country to help. Ive applied for about 100 second jobs, in person and online. Everyone wants to be a tutor or babysitter or barista these days for extra cash, so its not that easy. Still, Im stressed all the time and any bad financial news -- however small -- really sends me into a downward spiral. I got a call from the IRS today saying that I filed incorrectly last year and might owe 4,000 -- until I refile and fix it. I know I dont actually owe anything, and can see now the error I made on the form I submitted about tuition, but the phone call still left me in a total panic. I find it hard to deal with friends who talk about people in debt like theyre idiots, like they should have had an emergency fund how are you meant to have an emergency fund of 6 months of living expenses while youre in school?. I have to make excuses not to go out with people all the time to avoid the expense. Its very isolating. No one knows about my debt but me. How do you deal with the burden of debt? Assistant: Do you budget any of your income for leisure? I get wanting to pay down as aggressively as possible, but youre probably making your financial stress worse by living only to pay that balance off as quickly as possible. Two years is an awesome goal, but would two and a half really be so bad if it meant not feeling so isolated for the entire duration? Loosen up a little and spend some time with your friends or doing things you enjoy. It doesnt have to be a lot. If I didnt allow myself any any discretionary income until after Id paid down my student debt, I would be a mess.Human: I feel so guilty spending anything on myself, at all. A 40 brunch with friends when the IRS is calling me just leads me to be stressed out all the time. I dont know how to go about fixing that issue  <response>: It was not the IRS! It was a scammer! 