It's Saturday night and I'm sitting alone in a quiet living room. This afternoon I left my friends after a fun afternoon to spend my night playing pretend and eating Mickey Mouse shaped chicken nuggets. My Friday night looked eerily similar. I love the kids I babysit, I truly do. But once the kids go to bed, it's not the most exciting way for a 27-year-old to spend a Saturday night. And I'm starting to be ok with that.
I have started and stopped my path to paying off debt several times in the past 6 years. It starts off with great intentions. I work really hard juggling multiple side jobs and oftentimes pull in a decent amount of extra money. Yet every time money comes in, I barely make a dent in my debt. Why? It's hard to spend your 20's saying no to fun events in exchange for a small extra payments to your student loans. Success is boring. Really boring.
Don't get me wrong, I assume the feeling of success itself will feel the opposite of boring. But getting to that point is a whole other ball game.
I've been terrified of setting up a ho hum, boring life for myself and I was convinced that how I spent my 20's will define how fun and exciting the rest of my life trajectory will be. So when given the chance, I always took the trip or went to the cool restaurant or bought fun new clothes.
However, that extra income I made? It flew out the window in fear that I wasn't taking every opportunity to get the most out of life. It rarely went towards debt unless it was in the form of credit cards I was using to fund more fun. With my behavior, I still had the nerve to pout that my debt was such a burden.
I'm ready to make debt a priority. And this time, I know I can't give up when the going gets boring. I won't be able to travel as much as I would like to. I will have to say no to fun events with friends in place of opportunities to work. I will have to get more creative with the food I already have in the fridge instead of ordering takeout when it sounds delicious or when I get particularly busy. I have to focus on what I should be doing instead of what feels fun and easy in the moment.
It doesn't have to be as miserable as that sounds though. I live in a great state full of cheap or free entertainment and technology will help me stay in touch with all of my long distance friends and family. My friends are all supportive of me getting out of debt and they know I will join in the fun when I can. I truly enjoy all of the side jobs I have so most of the time they don't feel like work. And hey, I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen and I've been wanting to grow my cooking skills.
Despite my best efforts, occasional boredom is inevitable and I need to work through it instead of splurging. Being aware of it is a good start at least, right?
I have a dream of being debt free by 30 and if I don't tackle my bad habits now, I won't be able to make it a reality. Starting now is my last chance to hit that deadline. And don't get me started on how ending these bad habits will help my long-term goals too. It might be an uncomfortable 2 years and 9 months but it will be worth it.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Bad Habits
I'm continuing to keep busy with work and earning extra income. And when I say busy, I mean I've been working a minimum of 2-3 jobs every day. Between dog sitting, resume writing, and helping out at our office's front desk, my work is paying off.
I'll have a separate post on my latest goals soon but for now, know that I'm currently working to save $6,000. In the past few weeks I've been able to get my savings up to $2,000 so I'm ahead of schedule to hit my goal by December 1st.
But I realize that it is still my habit to spend too much money. For example, as I was working the front desk today, I hadn't brought my lunch. My first instinct was to have Jimmy John's delivered. With tip, that's $10. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had everything in the fridge to make the same kind of sandwich at no additional expense.
2 weeks ago I brought sandwich fixings for my daily lunches. I had some bread and mayo remaining that I kept at my desk. Then for book club last week I made these yummy sliders that left me with some extra ham and swiss. Voila!
It frustrates me that this wasn't obvious to me from the start. Using what I have rather than buying more and eventually throwing away the food that would have gone bad. It's habits like this that are keeping me in debt. But I'm aware of it and am working on this.
It doesn't matter how many jobs I have or how much extra income I bring in if I don't control my spending. This isn't anything new and I just have to be more mindful on every single purchase I want to make.
I'm starting the Mindful Budgeting tracker today so I have to think about it each time I make a purchase. Before I write it down, I'll ask myself if I already have something that would make do. It will take some extra effort until it becomes a habit but I look forward to seeing the results!
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Conditioning
I was on a resume call with a client last week and we were talking about his volunteer experience. As he described his responsibilities as a soccer coach, he mentioned team building, game strategy and conditioning. Now, I grew up playing basketball and have done plenty of conditioning drills. Have you ever had to do a killer? Offta!
Anyway, despite the concept of conditioning being an old term for me, it gave me an ah ha moment. As you work towards a goal of better fitness, you don't just start off that way. You have to work hard at it with smaller exercises until you become stronger and faster. As your strength grows, you are more capable of doing harder work more easily. I'm sure you can see where this is going...
The same is true for money habits.
You don't just wake up one day and stop spending money. Habits don't break easily and you can't just wish yourself into great financial shape. You have to do smaller exercises daily and rigorously so you can take on the bigger challenges more easily.
As I'm trying harder to live within my means, I find it's easy to be lazy. It's so easy and comfortable to lay on the couch or be able to buy whatever you want when you want it. But if you want to be successful, it takes a lot of hard work and conditioning.
I realize how obvious this sounds but somehow it registers with me. I used to compare my budget to a diet. Cut calories, lose pounds. Cut spending, lose debt. But it felt restricting and like most diets, temporary and unmanageable.
Conditioning, however, makes me feel stronger and productive. I'm building up to be in great financial shape. Who wouldn't want that? Yes, it's hard work but it's the only way to beat the other team (or my financial struggles in this case). When I think of taking the time to meal plan to avoid eating out, I think of it like doing a killer in basketball. Sure, we all complained when we had to do them because it's painful and exhausting. But how great did it feel to win our next game? We couldn't have done that if we had just been lazy.
Now of course there's a line between conditioning and pushing yourself too far. It can cause injuries and burnout. Trust me, I work 5 jobs at the moment so I know the feeling. I'm trying to find a good balance of really getting the most of my working hours and the money I make, while still maintaining some fun and relaxation time. If I wanted to, I could work 24/7. And some days, like when I'm dog sitting, I actually do.
You know when you go to the gym and workout way harder than you have in a long time? The next day or two or three you're so sore you don't want to go back to the gym, right? Then you lose momentum and all the hard work from day 1 is gone. I'm trying to avoid feeling like that while still building as much muscle (savings) as I can. So I have to remind myself that it's ok to take breaks or I'll become lazy again.
When I wear myself out with working too much, I go out to eat too often due to exhaustion. Or I feel like I can afford to splurge on things when the point of all that work is to pay off debt, not add more.
I'm still trying to find a good balance because right now, I really do go in spurts. I want to find that sweet spot of bringing in extra income and not being so exhausted that I spend it outside of my priorities. It's a tough spot that many people deal with, athletes and clueless cash carriers alike. But I'm aware of it and I can use the conditioning mindset to push me when I'd rather lay on the couch.
Anyway, despite the concept of conditioning being an old term for me, it gave me an ah ha moment. As you work towards a goal of better fitness, you don't just start off that way. You have to work hard at it with smaller exercises until you become stronger and faster. As your strength grows, you are more capable of doing harder work more easily. I'm sure you can see where this is going...
The same is true for money habits.
You don't just wake up one day and stop spending money. Habits don't break easily and you can't just wish yourself into great financial shape. You have to do smaller exercises daily and rigorously so you can take on the bigger challenges more easily.
As I'm trying harder to live within my means, I find it's easy to be lazy. It's so easy and comfortable to lay on the couch or be able to buy whatever you want when you want it. But if you want to be successful, it takes a lot of hard work and conditioning.
I realize how obvious this sounds but somehow it registers with me. I used to compare my budget to a diet. Cut calories, lose pounds. Cut spending, lose debt. But it felt restricting and like most diets, temporary and unmanageable.
Conditioning, however, makes me feel stronger and productive. I'm building up to be in great financial shape. Who wouldn't want that? Yes, it's hard work but it's the only way to beat the other team (or my financial struggles in this case). When I think of taking the time to meal plan to avoid eating out, I think of it like doing a killer in basketball. Sure, we all complained when we had to do them because it's painful and exhausting. But how great did it feel to win our next game? We couldn't have done that if we had just been lazy.
Now of course there's a line between conditioning and pushing yourself too far. It can cause injuries and burnout. Trust me, I work 5 jobs at the moment so I know the feeling. I'm trying to find a good balance of really getting the most of my working hours and the money I make, while still maintaining some fun and relaxation time. If I wanted to, I could work 24/7. And some days, like when I'm dog sitting, I actually do.
You know when you go to the gym and workout way harder than you have in a long time? The next day or two or three you're so sore you don't want to go back to the gym, right? Then you lose momentum and all the hard work from day 1 is gone. I'm trying to avoid feeling like that while still building as much muscle (savings) as I can. So I have to remind myself that it's ok to take breaks or I'll become lazy again.
When I wear myself out with working too much, I go out to eat too often due to exhaustion. Or I feel like I can afford to splurge on things when the point of all that work is to pay off debt, not add more.
I'm still trying to find a good balance because right now, I really do go in spurts. I want to find that sweet spot of bringing in extra income and not being so exhausted that I spend it outside of my priorities. It's a tough spot that many people deal with, athletes and clueless cash carriers alike. But I'm aware of it and I can use the conditioning mindset to push me when I'd rather lay on the couch.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Contentment
Recently I heard "Debt is a sign of discontentment." And of course it struck a chord with me. I grew up with parents in debt constantly. Big mortgages, car payments, and LOTS of credit card debt. In addition to the debt, I was regularly reminded that we still couldn't keep up with the Joneses. We never had "enough" and money was always tight.
I carried that mindset for a long time because I didn't realize there was another way to think. The more I learned from people who weren't in debt, it was still a hard habit to break, especially when I felt so behind in both income and debt payments.
But hearing "Debt is a sign of discontentment" explained so much to me. It wasn't a numbers game anymore. It was personal. Mental and emotional discontentment has spurred so many trips to Target or the mall or Amazon.com. So it didn't matter how many jobs I worked to get out of debt, I was always going to stay in debt if I was discontent about areas of my life.
I felt a shift in mindset when I listened to Dave Ramsey speak those words on his radio show. What would it take for me to be content? Oftentimes I had what I NEEDED but I still wasn't where I wanted to be so I would spend to fill the gap. And sometimes what I was missing wasn't material, yet I'd go shopping to fill the void. It ended up being counter-productive and set me back with credit card debt.
I got a new job in July and that came with a new paycheck that provides the cushion I needed to live within my means.
Now every day I remind myself that I have everything I need and a lot of what I want. Life is far from perfect but I am very fortunate and spending more than I have is not going to make me more fortunate.
I carried that mindset for a long time because I didn't realize there was another way to think. The more I learned from people who weren't in debt, it was still a hard habit to break, especially when I felt so behind in both income and debt payments.
But hearing "Debt is a sign of discontentment" explained so much to me. It wasn't a numbers game anymore. It was personal. Mental and emotional discontentment has spurred so many trips to Target or the mall or Amazon.com. So it didn't matter how many jobs I worked to get out of debt, I was always going to stay in debt if I was discontent about areas of my life.
I felt a shift in mindset when I listened to Dave Ramsey speak those words on his radio show. What would it take for me to be content? Oftentimes I had what I NEEDED but I still wasn't where I wanted to be so I would spend to fill the gap. And sometimes what I was missing wasn't material, yet I'd go shopping to fill the void. It ended up being counter-productive and set me back with credit card debt.
I got a new job in July and that came with a new paycheck that provides the cushion I needed to live within my means.
And the more I focus on the mindset of having what I need, I am finding several ways to make sure that my life fits into my paycheck, rather than trying to expand my paycheck to fit into my life.
Now every day I remind myself that I have everything I need and a lot of what I want. Life is far from perfect but I am very fortunate and spending more than I have is not going to make me more fortunate.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Subtle Changes
I mentioned in my last post that not much has changed financially in the past 8 months. However, the reason I'm back to blogging is because my motivations have changed and I don't want to discount the small steps I've taken so far.
1. I shrunk my wardrobe. And I haven't wanted to replace it.
My new closet is small. Like really tiny. And I have always had a lot of clothes and always enjoyed buying more. Not a great combination. Eventually it wasn't fun anymore and making simple decisions on what to wear each day were exhausting. Keeping up with laundry, putting away clothes and maintaining a clean room was nearly impossible. And that's not what I want to be spending my time and energy on either. So I noticed a shift in my priorities. While I haven't gone to the extremes of Steve Jobs or Gary Keller who only wear/wore black, I have some simple go-to outfits that I rotate, mix in a few fun/colorful pieces and voila. I really don't need more than that and I don't have the time or money to invest in clothes anymore. Seriously, that's a big deal.
2. I adjusted my eating habits.
Food is another category that I always seem to overspend on. Living in Minneapolis and having a healthy group of friends that love to eat can really add up. The list of delicious restaurants to try is endless and it's so easy to meet up for brunch, dinner and drinks. While that is fun, it usually ends up eating my food budget. On top of that, I have used take-out as an excuse for busy days where I'm working multiple jobs or on stressful days where I'm too tired to cook or I want Chipotle to make me feel better. But it finally occurred to me that I can't do both. Obviously. If I want to join my coworkers for lunch, I can't also go out to dinner. If I plan on doing brunch on the weekend, I should make a cheap dinner at home a few nights that week to balance it out.
I'm currently on a 66-Day challenge to bring my lunch to work so it becomes a habit. And I passed up take-out for egg sandwiches for dinner last night. Thanks to a dog sitting gig, I'm actually coming in way under budget this pay period. Normally I would use that as an excuse to splurge on takeout or blow the money on something else or even transfer it to savings. But I'm realizing that I can just leave the money there to use on a particularly pricey food week. There will be weeks of birthday dinners and special occasion brunches where I'll go over budget and rolling over money will allow for that when necessary. It finally sunk in that I can leave that money there for the future. It won't disappear if I don't use it. Novel concept, I know.
3. On a similar note, I became more patient.
Not only did I realize that my food budget didn't have a 2-week expiration date when the pay period ended, my extra income didn't either. If I earn extra income, it can sit in my bank account until I decided what to do with it. I was always eager to put any extra money towards something the minute it touched my bank account. Understandably, I didn't trust myself to leave money hanging out because I would justify a way to spend it on things I shouldn't. I'm really good at justifying any and everything. However, I started bringing in extra income from several sources and it was hard to tell it where to go. I didn't know if I should save or pay down debt or a combination of both. I didn't have a goal in place or a plan to work towards it. But that wasn't stopping my side hustle.
So I let it sit. And guess what? It's still there. Not only did that help me establish some trust with myself but it has given me some time to really think about a game plan. I can think through my options and eventually put that money towards whatever will help me reach my goals fastest. I have always struggled with patience so it's exciting to see there might actually be hope for me after all!
It's the principle of not accommodating every whim. If I wanted a new outfit or a meal I've been craving, it always trumped logic. I caved every time, even if I didn't have the finances to back it up. But now I have learned to use my justifying skills to my advantage. When my brain starts to dream about how great Chipotle would be or how nice it would be have new shoes, I can justify why I don't need it. I can argue with myself and eventually convince myself that I don't need the immediate reward. Now, that doesn't mean to deprive myself. It just means to really weigh the decision before swiping that card. 90% of the time, it's something I don't really need to get and a more affordable option will be just as good.
These changes seem obvious and minor, but to me they're huge. I work too hard to frivolously spend my money on food and clothes I don't need. I've spent thousands of dollars on excessive food and clothes and it kills me to think of the different financial spot I'd be in now if I had learned to tell myself no earlier. Now I'm singing a new tune...I can't wait to see what the long-term payoff of these changes will make.
1. I shrunk my wardrobe. And I haven't wanted to replace it.
My new closet is small. Like really tiny. And I have always had a lot of clothes and always enjoyed buying more. Not a great combination. Eventually it wasn't fun anymore and making simple decisions on what to wear each day were exhausting. Keeping up with laundry, putting away clothes and maintaining a clean room was nearly impossible. And that's not what I want to be spending my time and energy on either. So I noticed a shift in my priorities. While I haven't gone to the extremes of Steve Jobs or Gary Keller who only wear/wore black, I have some simple go-to outfits that I rotate, mix in a few fun/colorful pieces and voila. I really don't need more than that and I don't have the time or money to invest in clothes anymore. Seriously, that's a big deal.
2. I adjusted my eating habits.
Food is another category that I always seem to overspend on. Living in Minneapolis and having a healthy group of friends that love to eat can really add up. The list of delicious restaurants to try is endless and it's so easy to meet up for brunch, dinner and drinks. While that is fun, it usually ends up eating my food budget. On top of that, I have used take-out as an excuse for busy days where I'm working multiple jobs or on stressful days where I'm too tired to cook or I want Chipotle to make me feel better. But it finally occurred to me that I can't do both. Obviously. If I want to join my coworkers for lunch, I can't also go out to dinner. If I plan on doing brunch on the weekend, I should make a cheap dinner at home a few nights that week to balance it out.
I'm currently on a 66-Day challenge to bring my lunch to work so it becomes a habit. And I passed up take-out for egg sandwiches for dinner last night. Thanks to a dog sitting gig, I'm actually coming in way under budget this pay period. Normally I would use that as an excuse to splurge on takeout or blow the money on something else or even transfer it to savings. But I'm realizing that I can just leave the money there to use on a particularly pricey food week. There will be weeks of birthday dinners and special occasion brunches where I'll go over budget and rolling over money will allow for that when necessary. It finally sunk in that I can leave that money there for the future. It won't disappear if I don't use it. Novel concept, I know.
3. On a similar note, I became more patient.
Not only did I realize that my food budget didn't have a 2-week expiration date when the pay period ended, my extra income didn't either. If I earn extra income, it can sit in my bank account until I decided what to do with it. I was always eager to put any extra money towards something the minute it touched my bank account. Understandably, I didn't trust myself to leave money hanging out because I would justify a way to spend it on things I shouldn't. I'm really good at justifying any and everything. However, I started bringing in extra income from several sources and it was hard to tell it where to go. I didn't know if I should save or pay down debt or a combination of both. I didn't have a goal in place or a plan to work towards it. But that wasn't stopping my side hustle.
So I let it sit. And guess what? It's still there. Not only did that help me establish some trust with myself but it has given me some time to really think about a game plan. I can think through my options and eventually put that money towards whatever will help me reach my goals fastest. I have always struggled with patience so it's exciting to see there might actually be hope for me after all!
It's the principle of not accommodating every whim. If I wanted a new outfit or a meal I've been craving, it always trumped logic. I caved every time, even if I didn't have the finances to back it up. But now I have learned to use my justifying skills to my advantage. When my brain starts to dream about how great Chipotle would be or how nice it would be have new shoes, I can justify why I don't need it. I can argue with myself and eventually convince myself that I don't need the immediate reward. Now, that doesn't mean to deprive myself. It just means to really weigh the decision before swiping that card. 90% of the time, it's something I don't really need to get and a more affordable option will be just as good.
These changes seem obvious and minor, but to me they're huge. I work too hard to frivolously spend my money on food and clothes I don't need. I've spent thousands of dollars on excessive food and clothes and it kills me to think of the different financial spot I'd be in now if I had learned to tell myself no earlier. Now I'm singing a new tune...I can't wait to see what the long-term payoff of these changes will make.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Motivation Is A Funny Thing
I let 8 months go by without blogging. And guess what? You haven't missed much. Sure, life continues to have a lot going on and in typical Katie fashion I continue to make huge changes on the regular. But when it comes to finances, I don't have anything exciting to show for my blogging absence. I wish I could tell you that I won the lottery in January and had no need to worry about money anymore. But honestly, I just got sick of writing about financial stress and stupid mistakes that kept me there. Every post started to feel the same year after year and I needed a break.
Quick recap:
- I still write resumes as a side job and it continues to have growth.
- The salary I'm making is very comparable to what I was making so that part is still pretty much the same.
- I still have a bit of credit card debt. However, it's on a 0% interest credit card for now.
- My student loans and car loans are still very much there and still annoying.
- I still babysit and dogsit and wear myself out with side jobs.
- I still spend too much and save too little.
What's new:
- I got my real estate license and joined a real estate team. I'm working on a salary and saving my money until I can build a savings to switch to a commission only position. The income potential is very exciting and scary.
- I moved to the other side of my duplex with people I don't know. The rent went up only slightly, which is still a good deal for this area. However, I don't recommend moving in with people blindly. I signed a year lease and can't leave until May.
- I recently started listening to Dave Ramsey's podcasts from his radio show. Not only do I learn more about financial situations, it keeps smart advice in the front of my mind.
- I started reading The Financial Diet blog and it feels like such a smart community of financially like-minded women and it helps me realize I'm not alone with my mistakes.
- I very rarely use credit cards anymore and I'm getting much better at not buying things I don't need. There's a LONG way to go here but I have noticed a decent change.
- I've always been one to work a lot of hours. I'll pick up odd side jobs and work as many shifts as possible all to throw that money away on stuff I probably don't need. Then on Tuesday I read Bridget's article and it shifted things around for me. I work too hard to be dumb with my money.
So why am I back to blogging? My motivation is back. My financial situation has become dire enough that I have no choice but to change. My posts are finally going to show some results.
When I turned 27 in June, I looked at my finances and realized I'm way too old to be making these dumb decisions. I have no one else to blame but me and I'm the only one that can get me out of this mess. It's time to grow up and it's about to happen in a big way.
Monday, January 5, 2015
What would you do?
Now that my credit cards are paid off, a new question has popped into my head and I'm looking for advice.
I currently rent a room in a duplex with 2 other roommates. The location is great and the rent is roughly $500, which is fairly cheap for this area. Our lease is up at the end of April, both roommates are moving out and I find myself at a crossroads.
Do I use these next few months to save for a downpayment and buy a house? The housing market is still good and interest rates will only be getting higher by next year. I would find a 3 bedroom with 2 roommates to pay the mortgage for me. My current $500/month would go into savings/home maintenance expenses.
OR
Do I find 2 new roommates and stay where I am. Continue to pay $500/month and continue to pay off debt for at least another year? I may miss out on equity on a house and cheaper housing costs down the road but I avoid unexpected expenses that come with home ownership and I would have more time to save for a stronger down payment maybe next year.
What would you do?
I currently rent a room in a duplex with 2 other roommates. The location is great and the rent is roughly $500, which is fairly cheap for this area. Our lease is up at the end of April, both roommates are moving out and I find myself at a crossroads.
Do I use these next few months to save for a downpayment and buy a house? The housing market is still good and interest rates will only be getting higher by next year. I would find a 3 bedroom with 2 roommates to pay the mortgage for me. My current $500/month would go into savings/home maintenance expenses.
OR
Do I find 2 new roommates and stay where I am. Continue to pay $500/month and continue to pay off debt for at least another year? I may miss out on equity on a house and cheaper housing costs down the road but I avoid unexpected expenses that come with home ownership and I would have more time to save for a stronger down payment maybe next year.
What would you do?
December 1st Balances
Amex:$1,545.79 $0
Mastercard: $5,714.27 $3,646.73
Sallie Mae:$14,123.57 $11,451.11
Chase:$19,907.33 $19,723.04
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
January 1st Balances
Amex:$1,545.79 $0
Mastercard:$5,714.27 $0
Sallie Mae:$14,123.57 $11,410
Chase: $19,658.65
Sallie Mae: $24,735.87
That's a total of $3686.73 this month.
Thanks to my 401K learning experience, I was able to pay off my credit cards fully, which feels great. And I won't be using those again for a very long time. However, the rest of December was a wash and if I'm being honest, I'm ok with that.
The hardest part about the challenge this month was:
The holidays. Hands down. Between presents and holiday parties and going away parties etc, I couldn't do the spending challenge. I felt guilty about it for a while but eventually I forgave myself. It's the holidays and despite my goals, spending time with loved ones is more important than money. Sure, I could have asked to adjust plans that were more affordable, but I didn't.
Instead I soaked up time with my favorite people and was nice to myself during a challenging time. My parents moved to South Carolina on December 22nd, leaving me to be without family in my home state anymore. It was a tough transition but now I'll have a warmer place to visit.
What I learned from the challenge this month was:
I have so many people to love in my life! That probably sounds ridiculous and obvious but it's apparently something I learned. When I started the challenge, I didn't factor in holiday expenses or Christmas presents for anyone. In August I bought my family their Christmas present, a family photography session since we were all in the same state at the same time, a rare occurrence. And with that, I thought I could get away with a skimpy Christmas.
Last year at this time, I was living alone, working from home, and didn't have too many friends nearby. So this year I told myself I could skip all the hoopla and be a bit of a scrooge. I was so wrong. Since last year I now have roommates, a job full of wonderful people I love, a great book club, and an amazing group of friends. There was no way I was going to skip out on giving presents and getting into the holiday spirit with them, just because of money. I didn't go all out on anyone's present but doing something small to show I care really added up. There were Secret Santas, Favorite Thing parties, cookie exchanges, and presents for the family that took me in for Christmas after my family left. Sure, I could have skipped presents this year or found ways to make presents for cheap/free, but I didn't. None of them needed a present from me to know how much I care but I didn't want to skimp on others just because I wanted to focus on my selfish goal.
Being ok with adjusting the challenge to work for me was another great lesson. I didn't beat myself up over not saving anything extra in December. It was actually a good break for me. And now I'm ready to bounce back and get intense with my finances over the next 8 months!
The best part about the challenge this month was:
Paying off my credit cards! Seeing a $0 balance and knowing that the only debt I have is from student loans and my new car loan feels great. It was just the push I need to kick off the new year with a strong foot. And let me tell you, it's going to be a good year!
4 months down, 8 to go!
Amex:
Mastercard:
Sallie Mae:
Chase:
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
January 1st Balances
Amex:
Mastercard:
Sallie Mae:
Chase: $19,658.65
Sallie Mae: $24,735.87
That's a total of $3686.73 this month.
Thanks to my 401K learning experience, I was able to pay off my credit cards fully, which feels great. And I won't be using those again for a very long time. However, the rest of December was a wash and if I'm being honest, I'm ok with that.
The hardest part about the challenge this month was:
The holidays. Hands down. Between presents and holiday parties and going away parties etc, I couldn't do the spending challenge. I felt guilty about it for a while but eventually I forgave myself. It's the holidays and despite my goals, spending time with loved ones is more important than money. Sure, I could have asked to adjust plans that were more affordable, but I didn't.
Instead I soaked up time with my favorite people and was nice to myself during a challenging time. My parents moved to South Carolina on December 22nd, leaving me to be without family in my home state anymore. It was a tough transition but now I'll have a warmer place to visit.
What I learned from the challenge this month was:
I have so many people to love in my life! That probably sounds ridiculous and obvious but it's apparently something I learned. When I started the challenge, I didn't factor in holiday expenses or Christmas presents for anyone. In August I bought my family their Christmas present, a family photography session since we were all in the same state at the same time, a rare occurrence. And with that, I thought I could get away with a skimpy Christmas.
Last year at this time, I was living alone, working from home, and didn't have too many friends nearby. So this year I told myself I could skip all the hoopla and be a bit of a scrooge. I was so wrong. Since last year I now have roommates, a job full of wonderful people I love, a great book club, and an amazing group of friends. There was no way I was going to skip out on giving presents and getting into the holiday spirit with them, just because of money. I didn't go all out on anyone's present but doing something small to show I care really added up. There were Secret Santas, Favorite Thing parties, cookie exchanges, and presents for the family that took me in for Christmas after my family left. Sure, I could have skipped presents this year or found ways to make presents for cheap/free, but I didn't. None of them needed a present from me to know how much I care but I didn't want to skimp on others just because I wanted to focus on my selfish goal.
Being ok with adjusting the challenge to work for me was another great lesson. I didn't beat myself up over not saving anything extra in December. It was actually a good break for me. And now I'm ready to bounce back and get intense with my finances over the next 8 months!
The best part about the challenge this month was:
Paying off my credit cards! Seeing a $0 balance and knowing that the only debt I have is from student loans and my new car loan feels great. It was just the push I need to kick off the new year with a strong foot. And let me tell you, it's going to be a good year!
4 months down, 8 to go!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
401K Fun
As I learn more about finances, I'm realizing just how much there is I need to know. I recently learned one big lesson the hard way and it's been an interesting pill to swallow.
When I left my last job in April, I had a 401K with that company. They had matched 3% to the 6% I contributed so it was sitting just under $6,000.
I regularly saw that money on my Mint account and loved that tiny investment portion of my finances. Even after sitting down with 2 financial advisers, I didn't realize I had to do something with that money after leaving the company. However, when I recently logged into my account, there was a notice that said I hadn't taken action on my 401K after 6 months of not being employed with that company so the account would be liquidated.
Oh.
Apparently I was supposed to roll it over into an IRA if I wanted to keep the funds for retirement. I guess that makes sense because I wasn't vested with my company so they couldn't keep their match tied up with me when they could get it back. I just didn't know and admittedly didn't make the effort to learn.
So after the company match, taxes, and the 10% fee were removed, I had a check for about $3,000 in my hand. It bums me out that I don't have that money for retirement anymore and come to think of it, I could have just re-invested it. But I didn't.
Debt has obviously been a big struggle for me and it was my first instinct to knock out $3,000 worth of debt with that money. And that's exactly what I did. At the unfortunate sacrifice of retirement, I'm happy to announce I will be ending 2014 completely credit card debt free.
Going forward, I will also be working to save towards retirement because now I'm really behind. I have been with my current company for 6 months now, which means I am eligible for a 4% match that is 100% vested at the start of the new year. I will take advantage of that and the rest of my extra income will still go towards debt repayment.
It is a huge relief to kick off 2015 with a financial focus on student loans. I felt incredibly guilty having credit card debt because it's obvious proof of not spending wisely despite the mountain of student loans I have. As the spending challenge continues, I want my hard work to reflect smart spending habits.
When I left my last job in April, I had a 401K with that company. They had matched 3% to the 6% I contributed so it was sitting just under $6,000.
I regularly saw that money on my Mint account and loved that tiny investment portion of my finances. Even after sitting down with 2 financial advisers, I didn't realize I had to do something with that money after leaving the company. However, when I recently logged into my account, there was a notice that said I hadn't taken action on my 401K after 6 months of not being employed with that company so the account would be liquidated.
Oh.
Apparently I was supposed to roll it over into an IRA if I wanted to keep the funds for retirement. I guess that makes sense because I wasn't vested with my company so they couldn't keep their match tied up with me when they could get it back. I just didn't know and admittedly didn't make the effort to learn.
So after the company match, taxes, and the 10% fee were removed, I had a check for about $3,000 in my hand. It bums me out that I don't have that money for retirement anymore and come to think of it, I could have just re-invested it. But I didn't.
Debt has obviously been a big struggle for me and it was my first instinct to knock out $3,000 worth of debt with that money. And that's exactly what I did. At the unfortunate sacrifice of retirement, I'm happy to announce I will be ending 2014 completely credit card debt free.
Going forward, I will also be working to save towards retirement because now I'm really behind. I have been with my current company for 6 months now, which means I am eligible for a 4% match that is 100% vested at the start of the new year. I will take advantage of that and the rest of my extra income will still go towards debt repayment.
It is a huge relief to kick off 2015 with a financial focus on student loans. I felt incredibly guilty having credit card debt because it's obvious proof of not spending wisely despite the mountain of student loans I have. As the spending challenge continues, I want my hard work to reflect smart spending habits.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Spending Challenge: November Totals
November 1st Balances
Amex:$1,545.79 $0
Mastercard:$5,714.27 $3,760.59
Sallie Mae:$14,123.57 $11,472
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
December 1st Balances
Amex:$1,545.79 $0
Mastercard: $5,714.27 $3,646.73
Sallie Mae:$14,123.57 $11,451.11
Chase:$19,907.33 $19,723.04
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
That's a total of $113.86 this month...
Now, I know that sounds like a teeny tiny number, and it is, but it's not exactly representative of what actually happened in November. There were 2 very large car expenses (taxes and maintenance for the new car) that I put on my credit card. I have the money to pay myself back, it just hasn't gone through yet. So when you see the totals for December, it will be drastically different.
I still worked hard, earned extra money and stuck to the spending challenge. I babysat, wrote resumes, did 2 freelance research projects, earned a small bonus at work, worked on Gradible.com, dog sat, and stuck to the spending challenge rules to make this possible.
The hardest part about the challenge this month was:
Having my friend Jessie and her fiance visit. Of course I LOVED seeing her and I don't regret spending a little extra money on hosting her. I did some extra grocery shopping to feed them and we went out to eat a bit. It wasn't a huge budget buster but it did go over. I knew she was coming with plenty of notice so I could have planned better.
What I learned from the challenge this month was:
If you need to get a book for book club and you're 168th on the hold list at the library, check out the large print version. I was only 6th in line and I already have the book. Yes, there's an extra 200 pages because the text is so big but I didn't have to buy the book!
I also learned that you have to do something with your 401K within 6 months of leaving a company. More on that in another post.
Lastly, I learned that sticking to a budget your comfortable with is crucial, especially with big purchases. I could have justified buying a fancy 2013 car but I would have been car poor. Considering cars are never an investment, I'm so glad I found a better deal. If you're not finding a deal you're comfortable with, keep waiting. It will happen, you just have to wait and dig a little deeper.
The best part about the challenge this month was:
Budgeting for stuff I'm allowed to buy. Living in Minnesota, we got hit with some snow early in the month and it was time to buy winter boots. Rather than treating it like an unexpected expense and putting it on my credit card to "pay off later," I was prepared and didn't feel guilty about making the purchase. Better yet, I was smart and more thoughtful about what I bought. I usually buy Uggs, which are warm but not waterproof. Instead, I went with Sorel boots at the same cost. They are more sturdy, waterproof, and will last for many more years.
3 months down, 9 to go!
Amex:
Mastercard:
Sallie Mae:
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
December 1st Balances
Amex:
Mastercard:
Sallie Mae:
Chase:
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
That's a total of $113.86 this month...
Now, I know that sounds like a teeny tiny number, and it is, but it's not exactly representative of what actually happened in November. There were 2 very large car expenses (taxes and maintenance for the new car) that I put on my credit card. I have the money to pay myself back, it just hasn't gone through yet. So when you see the totals for December, it will be drastically different.
I still worked hard, earned extra money and stuck to the spending challenge. I babysat, wrote resumes, did 2 freelance research projects, earned a small bonus at work, worked on Gradible.com, dog sat, and stuck to the spending challenge rules to make this possible.
The hardest part about the challenge this month was:
Having my friend Jessie and her fiance visit. Of course I LOVED seeing her and I don't regret spending a little extra money on hosting her. I did some extra grocery shopping to feed them and we went out to eat a bit. It wasn't a huge budget buster but it did go over. I knew she was coming with plenty of notice so I could have planned better.
What I learned from the challenge this month was:
If you need to get a book for book club and you're 168th on the hold list at the library, check out the large print version. I was only 6th in line and I already have the book. Yes, there's an extra 200 pages because the text is so big but I didn't have to buy the book!
I also learned that you have to do something with your 401K within 6 months of leaving a company. More on that in another post.
Lastly, I learned that sticking to a budget your comfortable with is crucial, especially with big purchases. I could have justified buying a fancy 2013 car but I would have been car poor. Considering cars are never an investment, I'm so glad I found a better deal. If you're not finding a deal you're comfortable with, keep waiting. It will happen, you just have to wait and dig a little deeper.
The best part about the challenge this month was:
Budgeting for stuff I'm allowed to buy. Living in Minnesota, we got hit with some snow early in the month and it was time to buy winter boots. Rather than treating it like an unexpected expense and putting it on my credit card to "pay off later," I was prepared and didn't feel guilty about making the purchase. Better yet, I was smart and more thoughtful about what I bought. I usually buy Uggs, which are warm but not waterproof. Instead, I went with Sorel boots at the same cost. They are more sturdy, waterproof, and will last for many more years.
3 months down, 9 to go!
Monday, November 17, 2014
The time brunch fixed everything
Two weekends ago I went out to the Lyndale Tap House for brunch with two of my favorite friends. I had a Groupon from an old birthday present so that made it even sweeter. As we were brunching, we were talking about needing to buy cars, because both my friend and I were looking for a new one.
My friend, Jamie, is from Illinois and is not a great driver (self-proclaimed), especially in the MN snow. She has a 2008 Ford Focus and wanted something more heavy duty with all-wheel drive. As I listened, I had a light bulb moment. I should buy her car.
I asked her 20 questions and found that there's only 75,000 miles on it. It has remote-start. It has some cool stereo bells and whistles. It gets great gas mileage. And she was simply hoping to trade it in to the dealer for whatever they will give her. Even by paying more than the dealer, I was still going to get a great deal!
Jamie even took the car to a mechanic to make sure everything checked out. The brakes need some work and we agreed to split the cost. This deal couldn't have gone more smoothly!
Best of all, it was much closer to my comfort zone of a car payment. Yes, I would still need a loan but it would be much more affordable than something much newer. And car insurance would be more affordable too. What a huge sigh of relief!
Since I wasn't needing such a high loan, I was approved for the $6,500 I was looking to take out, despite my credit issues. Technically I paid $5750 for the car but I had to consider taxes and fees, fixing the brakes and few maintenance expenses. The dealer was willing to give her roughly $5,000 at best and the car values at up to $8,000.
So without further adieu, I am pleased to introduce you to my new car!
Meet Lloyd Christmas! Fitting name, as he is my Christmas present to myself, he's red, and Dumb and Dumber is one of the funniest classics of all time :)
Now Jamie is thrilled with her brand new Chevy Equinox and I am loving Lloyd. You can even imagine us doing a happy dance, jumping around the Chevy parking lot when we both got new cars!
It really was the best deal I could have found and I plan to run this car for as long as it will last. Now to navigate selling my old car and continuing with the spending challenge!!
My friend, Jamie, is from Illinois and is not a great driver (self-proclaimed), especially in the MN snow. She has a 2008 Ford Focus and wanted something more heavy duty with all-wheel drive. As I listened, I had a light bulb moment. I should buy her car.
I asked her 20 questions and found that there's only 75,000 miles on it. It has remote-start. It has some cool stereo bells and whistles. It gets great gas mileage. And she was simply hoping to trade it in to the dealer for whatever they will give her. Even by paying more than the dealer, I was still going to get a great deal!
Jamie even took the car to a mechanic to make sure everything checked out. The brakes need some work and we agreed to split the cost. This deal couldn't have gone more smoothly!
Best of all, it was much closer to my comfort zone of a car payment. Yes, I would still need a loan but it would be much more affordable than something much newer. And car insurance would be more affordable too. What a huge sigh of relief!
Since I wasn't needing such a high loan, I was approved for the $6,500 I was looking to take out, despite my credit issues. Technically I paid $5750 for the car but I had to consider taxes and fees, fixing the brakes and few maintenance expenses. The dealer was willing to give her roughly $5,000 at best and the car values at up to $8,000.
So without further adieu, I am pleased to introduce you to my new car!
Now Jamie is thrilled with her brand new Chevy Equinox and I am loving Lloyd. You can even imagine us doing a happy dance, jumping around the Chevy parking lot when we both got new cars!
It really was the best deal I could have found and I plan to run this car for as long as it will last. Now to navigate selling my old car and continuing with the spending challenge!!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
When Life Hands You Lemons...
Thank you for all the advice and perspective on what car to buy. This is the first time I've been looking at buying a car and making the right choice is nearly paralyzing.
Here are the dirty deets on what I'm looking at, numbers wise. The most I'm comfortable paying on a monthly basis is $225/month. I can't emphasize enough how that is the absolute most I'm willing to pay and even the idea of that amount makes me want to throw up. I understand that is not a huge car payment compared to many but for my situation, that's where I'm at.
That averages out to a car loan of $10,000. When I look at used cars for $10,000 or less, it's nerve wracking. A car in that range will be older, roughly 2008 at best. And it will have a lot of miles, nearly 100,000 in most cases. By the time I paid off a 4 year loan, it would be time to get a new car. Stretching my budget and financial comfort zone so much while still driving a car that could come across several problems at any time just didn't feel ok. Even thinking about it now puts knots in my stomach.
However. If I bumped my budget up to $14,000 I could afford a 2013 car (used of course) with 40,000 miles. A car like that could last me 10 years at least. If I had a 4 year loan, I would have at least 6 years of no car payment. But that bumps my monthly payment up to $305. *Excuse me while I dry heave*
So this dilemma lead me to my last post where I simply don't know what to do. But then life made the decision for me.
I went over to a local credit union where I found the rate of 2.99% to get pre-approved. They dropped a big bomb on me that my credit is all screwed up from 2 unpaid bills that I never received. Apparently all my moving around has left a few bills that did not get forwarded. When a bill is mailed to you, you have 30 days to pay it. There is no legal requirement for them to call you or email you before it gets sent to collections. Who knew?
Between those hard credit hits and my high debt ratio with student loans, it puts me in the "maybe" category for qualifying for a loan. If I tested it and applied anyway, the poor credit would hurt the terms of my loan at best. At worst, I would not qualify and I would have another soft hit on my credit from the application. I guess that solves my problem before it began.
After a few incredibly frustrated Lauren Conrad tears, I called the collectors and got the bills paid from the parking lot of the credit union. The pleasant man named Mr. Royal explained that it will take 45 days for my credit to be redeemed. December 19th to be exact.
I am thankful my car still runs relatively well and I'm praying every day that my car works one more day as I get closer to December 19th. I think chances are good but as always with a 198,000 mile car, ya just never know. It helps that I've been listening to Amy Poehler's new book on CD so it makes me enjoy my time driving whenever necessary.
In the meantime, in true Katie fashion, I came up with a plan. The spending challenge is still completely in tact and in fact, even more important than ever. Instead of putting all my extra money towards debt, I will be saving every single penny I can find until December 19th. The goal is to save enough to get my expected loan amount down from $14,000 to as close to $10,000 as I can get. That way I can get a longer lasting car without going drastically over my comfortable monthly payment.
I'm expecting to save at least $2,000 with the hopes that it could be more. Whatever I can save myself now will ultimately reduce my monthly payments and leave room for extra money to go towards my student loans.
It bugs me that the spending challenge is being rerouted a bit. I hate that I'm tacking on more debt but I'm determined to get rid of it all one way or another. I am not giving up and trust me, I'm learning a lot along the way. I have to come to terms with the fact that I will be entering my 30's with debt, unless I win the lottery that I don't play.
So that's the scoop. The count is on and I'm being more frugal than ever to make this as painless of a blow as it needs to be. In fact, I found a quarter on the front walk and you bet I snatched that up!
Here are the dirty deets on what I'm looking at, numbers wise. The most I'm comfortable paying on a monthly basis is $225/month. I can't emphasize enough how that is the absolute most I'm willing to pay and even the idea of that amount makes me want to throw up. I understand that is not a huge car payment compared to many but for my situation, that's where I'm at.
That averages out to a car loan of $10,000. When I look at used cars for $10,000 or less, it's nerve wracking. A car in that range will be older, roughly 2008 at best. And it will have a lot of miles, nearly 100,000 in most cases. By the time I paid off a 4 year loan, it would be time to get a new car. Stretching my budget and financial comfort zone so much while still driving a car that could come across several problems at any time just didn't feel ok. Even thinking about it now puts knots in my stomach.
However. If I bumped my budget up to $14,000 I could afford a 2013 car (used of course) with 40,000 miles. A car like that could last me 10 years at least. If I had a 4 year loan, I would have at least 6 years of no car payment. But that bumps my monthly payment up to $305. *Excuse me while I dry heave*
So this dilemma lead me to my last post where I simply don't know what to do. But then life made the decision for me.
I went over to a local credit union where I found the rate of 2.99% to get pre-approved. They dropped a big bomb on me that my credit is all screwed up from 2 unpaid bills that I never received. Apparently all my moving around has left a few bills that did not get forwarded. When a bill is mailed to you, you have 30 days to pay it. There is no legal requirement for them to call you or email you before it gets sent to collections. Who knew?
Between those hard credit hits and my high debt ratio with student loans, it puts me in the "maybe" category for qualifying for a loan. If I tested it and applied anyway, the poor credit would hurt the terms of my loan at best. At worst, I would not qualify and I would have another soft hit on my credit from the application. I guess that solves my problem before it began.
After a few incredibly frustrated Lauren Conrad tears, I called the collectors and got the bills paid from the parking lot of the credit union. The pleasant man named Mr. Royal explained that it will take 45 days for my credit to be redeemed. December 19th to be exact.
I am thankful my car still runs relatively well and I'm praying every day that my car works one more day as I get closer to December 19th. I think chances are good but as always with a 198,000 mile car, ya just never know. It helps that I've been listening to Amy Poehler's new book on CD so it makes me enjoy my time driving whenever necessary.
In the meantime, in true Katie fashion, I came up with a plan. The spending challenge is still completely in tact and in fact, even more important than ever. Instead of putting all my extra money towards debt, I will be saving every single penny I can find until December 19th. The goal is to save enough to get my expected loan amount down from $14,000 to as close to $10,000 as I can get. That way I can get a longer lasting car without going drastically over my comfortable monthly payment.
I'm expecting to save at least $2,000 with the hopes that it could be more. Whatever I can save myself now will ultimately reduce my monthly payments and leave room for extra money to go towards my student loans.
It bugs me that the spending challenge is being rerouted a bit. I hate that I'm tacking on more debt but I'm determined to get rid of it all one way or another. I am not giving up and trust me, I'm learning a lot along the way. I have to come to terms with the fact that I will be entering my 30's with debt, unless I win the lottery that I don't play.
So that's the scoop. The count is on and I'm being more frugal than ever to make this as painless of a blow as it needs to be. In fact, I found a quarter on the front walk and you bet I snatched that up!
Monday, November 3, 2014
HELP - I need your advice!
Good morning, blog world!
I mentioned in my monthly update post that it's time to buy a new car. Unfortunately, that means I'm adding on a car payment in the midst of trying to get rid of debt. It's safe to say this is not a happy decision for me but unfortunately it is necessary.
As I look at what I can afford, I am completely torn. A newer, nicer, reliable car will likely last me 10-15 years, but it hits the max of my budget, which is already as tight as can be thanks to this spending challenge. This loan will last 3-4 years, which means I couldn't incur any further expenses for the next 3-4 years unless my income drastically improved and I would barely make a dent in additional debt payments with my paycheck alone.
However, if I look at an older car with higher mileage on it, it will cost me a few thousand less total but will likely only last 5 years max and the chances of it requiring repairs is obviously higher.
Thankfully, I have found a wonderful credit union who is offering 2.99% interest on any car loan I get, which is the best deal I've found so far. That's the only silver lining I have found so far.
I am frustrated to be adding to my debt when I am trying so hard to reduce it. I'm frustrated that I have worked several jobs for my entire adult life and yet I'm always pinching to make ends meet. I'm frustrated that in all my years of learning about finance, I'm still in this situation. There are so many times I could have been smarter and I'm kicking myself for not applying what I've learned. I'm scared that I will take on more debt, be in over my head and not be able to get myself out of it. I'm scared that I'll take out a loan and something horrible will happen to the car and I'll be in big trouble financially.
I am trying really hard to set aside my emotions and do the smart thing. But to be honest, I'm not sure what that is.
Have you bought a used car? What models are good? How much mileage is too much? What would you do??
I mentioned in my monthly update post that it's time to buy a new car. Unfortunately, that means I'm adding on a car payment in the midst of trying to get rid of debt. It's safe to say this is not a happy decision for me but unfortunately it is necessary.
As I look at what I can afford, I am completely torn. A newer, nicer, reliable car will likely last me 10-15 years, but it hits the max of my budget, which is already as tight as can be thanks to this spending challenge. This loan will last 3-4 years, which means I couldn't incur any further expenses for the next 3-4 years unless my income drastically improved and I would barely make a dent in additional debt payments with my paycheck alone.
However, if I look at an older car with higher mileage on it, it will cost me a few thousand less total but will likely only last 5 years max and the chances of it requiring repairs is obviously higher.
Thankfully, I have found a wonderful credit union who is offering 2.99% interest on any car loan I get, which is the best deal I've found so far. That's the only silver lining I have found so far.
I am frustrated to be adding to my debt when I am trying so hard to reduce it. I'm frustrated that I have worked several jobs for my entire adult life and yet I'm always pinching to make ends meet. I'm frustrated that in all my years of learning about finance, I'm still in this situation. There are so many times I could have been smarter and I'm kicking myself for not applying what I've learned. I'm scared that I will take on more debt, be in over my head and not be able to get myself out of it. I'm scared that I'll take out a loan and something horrible will happen to the car and I'll be in big trouble financially.
I am trying really hard to set aside my emotions and do the smart thing. But to be honest, I'm not sure what that is.
Have you bought a used car? What models are good? How much mileage is too much? What would you do??
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Spending Challenge: October Totals
October 1st Balances
Amex:
Mastercard: $5,714.27
Sallie Mae:
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
November 1st Balances
Amex:
Mastercard:
Sallie Mae:
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
That's a total of $2,088 this month!
I babysat (a lot!), wrote resumes, earned a bigger bonus at work, worked on Gradible.com, dog sat, and stuck to the spending challenge rules to make this possible. It takes some pretty serious effort to always prepare your meals or to pick up side jobs after a long work day but numbers like that are worth it.
The hardest part about the challenge this month was:
I got pretty overwhelmed one night thinking about how much debt I'm in. I got frustrated that I have been working at this goal for years and if I had done things differently, I could have been out of debt by now or at least much closer. I was annoyed that even with an entire year of this spending challenge, I will probably still have $40,000 in debt based on really rough estimates. It would take another 2 years of a spending challenge to be debt free. That really sucks.
Another challenge was having some serious car troubles. An entire post will be coming on this soon but long story short, I'll be buying a new (to me) car next week. Adding on a car loan was a big blow to my motivation and I ended up spending outside of my challenge as a result. However, it's a new month and I'm not giving up!
What I learned from the challenge this month was:
I had to change my perspective in order to be ok with this mountain I'm climbing. With this challenge, plus efforts down the road, I will still probably be debt free before 30. There's nothing I can do to fix the errors of my past but I can be proud that I am fixing issues that caused this debt and I'm working every day to get out of it. I am making some pretty big dents and if I take it one day at a time, I'll enjoy the little victories. After all, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
I also found that I was way to relaxed on my spending in October. I was so strict in September that I had plenty of money left over. As a result, I gave myself more freedom and it turned into too much. It feels a lot like the 3 bears - one month was too little, one month was too much, now this month will be juuuusst right, right??
The best part about the challenge this month was:
Looking at my finances when I realized I would need to factor in a car payment and seeing that I can make it work, thanks to the spending challenge. It will slow down my debt repayment but it doesn't completely ruin everything. If I were to have needed a car payment even 6 months ago, I would have been in big trouble!
2 months down, 10 to go!
Friday, October 10, 2014
How to pay off student loans faster
The spending challenge is still going strong and there are no signs of caving. It feels great to be making such progress! But I am a doer. My paychecks only come twice a month and my extra income does not result in daily payments to my debt. So the days in between can feel unproductive, even if not spending money is actually very beneficial to getting out of debt.
I was starting to get antsy that I won't be able to make another debt payment until payday next week. That feeling usually spirals into thinking if I can't make immediate progress, why not go spend money? I know it's not logical but impatience never is.
Thankfully, I came across a company called Gradible. They provide you with tasks that help local businesses in return for money that goes straight to your student loans! Tasks vary from writing content, like a blog post, to posting services to Craigslist. The tasks are worth LoanCreds, 100 LoanCreds = $10. Easy!
When I registered, 3 tasks in 30ish minutes and earned $16 off my student loans. It's not a ton of money but it can really add up and shrink your debt! It will especially help ward off those impatient feelings of not being able to immediately see numbers go down.
This is not a sponsored post by any means but I do believe in sharing how to pay off debt! If you want to do the same, sign up here and we'll both get $5 off our loans!
Have a great weekend!
I was starting to get antsy that I won't be able to make another debt payment until payday next week. That feeling usually spirals into thinking if I can't make immediate progress, why not go spend money? I know it's not logical but impatience never is.
Thankfully, I came across a company called Gradible. They provide you with tasks that help local businesses in return for money that goes straight to your student loans! Tasks vary from writing content, like a blog post, to posting services to Craigslist. The tasks are worth LoanCreds, 100 LoanCreds = $10. Easy!
When I registered, 3 tasks in 30ish minutes and earned $16 off my student loans. It's not a ton of money but it can really add up and shrink your debt! It will especially help ward off those impatient feelings of not being able to immediately see numbers go down.
This is not a sponsored post by any means but I do believe in sharing how to pay off debt! If you want to do the same, sign up here and we'll both get $5 off our loans!
Have a great weekend!
But what if you get a hole in your yoga pants?
As I explained the spending challenge to my friends, I told them I wasn't allowed to buy clothes for a whole year. One friend asked, "But what if you get a hole in your yoga pants or something you can't easily repair??"
Normally, if I got a hole in my beloved yoga pants I would have gone out and bought another pair. I would have found a Buy 1, Get 1 50% off coupon and then I have 2 new pairs of yoga pants. Did you know I already have several pairs? Same with jeans, sweaters, tank tops, shoes, dresses, etc.
I have enough clothes to not do laundry for probably 2 months without repeating outfits. It's ridiculous. Not only do all these clothes take up so much space but it takes forever to make a decision on what to wear each day. If I think jeans and a sweater sound good, that could still mean several variations. If a dress sounds good, I freeze debating a sun dress or maxi. And then what shoes go with what outfit??
I know this is typical girl stuff but it takes up a decent chunk of time each day making this relatively minor decision. And then I become late for work and rush myself into a decision that I don't even love sometimes.
Part of this spending challenge is focusing on my priorities. Spending money on clothes I don't need is certainly something I want to quit. I also want to get precious time back into my day that is normally wasted on clothes. Time wasted picking out outfits, loads of laundry, picking up the clothes all over my floor or putting laundry away. It's getting old.
Coincidentally, last week I did get a hole in my yoga pants. As stretchy as they are, thankfully it was not due to an expanding waistband. The seam caught on a filing cabinet and it split right down my thigh. The paperclip I used to keep my pants together made for a really cute look.
I thew them out when I got home and have easily been surviving with the other pairs I have.
I'll admit that there are times when I get an email for a fall special on sweaters with a fairly good coupon attached. I'll admit that I've wanted to browse the racks of Target several times already for a few cute new additions. But when I look at my closet, I can't stand the idea of another hanger being used.
So now, if anything happens to my clothes, I can either sew them with my sewing machine or I can throw them out. After all, I have several backups of whatever item to last me through the year. There is nothing irreplaceable in my wardrobe that would absolutely require me to buy clothes during this challenge, with the exception of bridesmaid dresses, which are covered in my Bridesmaid fund.
I even want to downsize and donate a big bin to Good Will but I've been nervous because what if I get bored with my clothes this year and want to try some lesser worn outfits? But the simplistic approach will win me some time back in my day, which is worth a lot.
Normally, if I got a hole in my beloved yoga pants I would have gone out and bought another pair. I would have found a Buy 1, Get 1 50% off coupon and then I have 2 new pairs of yoga pants. Did you know I already have several pairs? Same with jeans, sweaters, tank tops, shoes, dresses, etc.
I have enough clothes to not do laundry for probably 2 months without repeating outfits. It's ridiculous. Not only do all these clothes take up so much space but it takes forever to make a decision on what to wear each day. If I think jeans and a sweater sound good, that could still mean several variations. If a dress sounds good, I freeze debating a sun dress or maxi. And then what shoes go with what outfit??
I know this is typical girl stuff but it takes up a decent chunk of time each day making this relatively minor decision. And then I become late for work and rush myself into a decision that I don't even love sometimes.
Part of this spending challenge is focusing on my priorities. Spending money on clothes I don't need is certainly something I want to quit. I also want to get precious time back into my day that is normally wasted on clothes. Time wasted picking out outfits, loads of laundry, picking up the clothes all over my floor or putting laundry away. It's getting old.
Coincidentally, last week I did get a hole in my yoga pants. As stretchy as they are, thankfully it was not due to an expanding waistband. The seam caught on a filing cabinet and it split right down my thigh. The paperclip I used to keep my pants together made for a really cute look.
I thew them out when I got home and have easily been surviving with the other pairs I have.
I'll admit that there are times when I get an email for a fall special on sweaters with a fairly good coupon attached. I'll admit that I've wanted to browse the racks of Target several times already for a few cute new additions. But when I look at my closet, I can't stand the idea of another hanger being used.
So now, if anything happens to my clothes, I can either sew them with my sewing machine or I can throw them out. After all, I have several backups of whatever item to last me through the year. There is nothing irreplaceable in my wardrobe that would absolutely require me to buy clothes during this challenge, with the exception of bridesmaid dresses, which are covered in my Bridesmaid fund.
I even want to downsize and donate a big bin to Good Will but I've been nervous because what if I get bored with my clothes this year and want to try some lesser worn outfits? But the simplistic approach will win me some time back in my day, which is worth a lot.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Spending Challenge: September Totals
I know I started on September 6th but I get paid on the 1st of each month so to make matters less complicated, I'm going to do my updates on the last day of the month. I will still finish on September 5th, 2015.
Starting Balances
Amex: $1,545.79
Mastercard: $5,714.27
Sallie Mae: $14,123.57
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
October 6th Balances
Amex:$1,545.79 $0
Mastercard: $5,714.27
Sallie Mae:$14,123.57 $11,472
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
That's a total of $4,518.32 this month! Doesn't that $0 balance look pretty??
I dog sat, babysat, wrote resumes, received bonuses at work, sold my kayak, received an inheritance, found plenty of affordable activities and stuck to the spending challenge rules to make this happen. This is certainly an abnormal month because I won't always have large items to sell and an inheritance doesn't happen every day. The momentum from this month has been incredible though!
Side note: Normally I would follow Dave Ramsey's snowball strategy and I would have made a dent in my Mastercard. However, the money from the inheritance was given to me by my parents who wanted to support my school debt. Understandably, they didn't want the money to pay off my excessive Target trips ;) Any debt payment going forward will follow the snowball plan.
The hardest part about the challenge this month was: Honestly, it was hard to find a challenge this month. It wasn't always my preference to prep my meals and plan ahead to avoid eating out. But with my food budget, I was able to get a meal or two out without consequence. I suppose you could say I easily would have bought clothes from Target over the past few weeks. Their fall lines looked adorable and definitely my style. Occasionally people were busy doing things that cost more money than I wanted to spend. It left me doing activities solo on occasion, which isn't always fun. The mindset that this challenge is going to make my life better made the challenges worth it. I have a feeling most months won't be this easy though!
What I learned from the challenge this month was: There are tons of free things to do and so many people are on board with doing more affordable activities! I was worried that people would count me out and drift away from our friendship if I wasn't able to spend money and that has certainly not been the case at all so far. I'm learning my insecurities were what was holding me back rather than reality. I learned that it feels great to set a goal and stick to it, rather than sway with any negative feedback of others.
For so long my goal has been to be out of debt and it has consumed me, unsuccessfully. I'm learning that it's not about the numbers. I know that when I'm 100% debt free, my life won't change all that much. I'll have less stress and more options financially, no doubt. But the people that love me will care for me either way.
One more lesson I learned - it was actually fairly easy to keep my spending money. By Sunday I still had $30 left. I splurged on Thai food delivered to my house. Ugh, the fees and tip alone cost $10. Looking back I'm bummed that I did it. I know in other months that $30 would really help. Lesson learned to save any leftover fun money for rainy days!
The best part about the challenge this month was: seeing how supportive people are. 95% of people I have talked to have been so encouraging and it makes this so much easier. Yes, seeing the $0 balance on my credit card felt pretty great and knowing I have less than $3,000 left in credit card debt is exciting. I honestly would have assumed that would have been the best part of the month.
1 month down, 11 to go! There are already some big things on the October schedule so I'm excited to see those numbers next month!
Starting Balances
Amex: $1,545.79
Mastercard: $5,714.27
Sallie Mae: $14,123.57
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
October 6th Balances
Amex:
Mastercard: $5,714.27
Sallie Mae:
Chase: $19,907.33
Sallie Mae: $24,754.52
That's a total of $4,518.32 this month! Doesn't that $0 balance look pretty??
Side note: Normally I would follow Dave Ramsey's snowball strategy and I would have made a dent in my Mastercard. However, the money from the inheritance was given to me by my parents who wanted to support my school debt. Understandably, they didn't want the money to pay off my excessive Target trips ;) Any debt payment going forward will follow the snowball plan.
The hardest part about the challenge this month was: Honestly, it was hard to find a challenge this month. It wasn't always my preference to prep my meals and plan ahead to avoid eating out. But with my food budget, I was able to get a meal or two out without consequence. I suppose you could say I easily would have bought clothes from Target over the past few weeks. Their fall lines looked adorable and definitely my style. Occasionally people were busy doing things that cost more money than I wanted to spend. It left me doing activities solo on occasion, which isn't always fun. The mindset that this challenge is going to make my life better made the challenges worth it. I have a feeling most months won't be this easy though!
What I learned from the challenge this month was: There are tons of free things to do and so many people are on board with doing more affordable activities! I was worried that people would count me out and drift away from our friendship if I wasn't able to spend money and that has certainly not been the case at all so far. I'm learning my insecurities were what was holding me back rather than reality. I learned that it feels great to set a goal and stick to it, rather than sway with any negative feedback of others.
For so long my goal has been to be out of debt and it has consumed me, unsuccessfully. I'm learning that it's not about the numbers. I know that when I'm 100% debt free, my life won't change all that much. I'll have less stress and more options financially, no doubt. But the people that love me will care for me either way.
One more lesson I learned - it was actually fairly easy to keep my spending money. By Sunday I still had $30 left. I splurged on Thai food delivered to my house. Ugh, the fees and tip alone cost $10. Looking back I'm bummed that I did it. I know in other months that $30 would really help. Lesson learned to save any leftover fun money for rainy days!
The best part about the challenge this month was: seeing how supportive people are. 95% of people I have talked to have been so encouraging and it makes this so much easier. Yes, seeing the $0 balance on my credit card felt pretty great and knowing I have less than $3,000 left in credit card debt is exciting. I honestly would have assumed that would have been the best part of the month.
1 month down, 11 to go! There are already some big things on the October schedule so I'm excited to see those numbers next month!
Monday, September 29, 2014
I could really get used to this spending challenge!
Another weekend in the books and the challenge is still going strong!
I had $30 left for food until my next paycheck so I ran to the grocery store for a few things to compliment what I had in my kitchen. Less than $20 I was out of there and ready to make some baked fajitas thanks to Pinterest.
I paired it with a tortilla shell I had on hand and some plain Greek yogurt because I am blessed to have taste buds that are fooled into thinking it's sour cream. I may have also paired it with the rest of my boxed wine and a night on the porch with my favorite single lady.
Saturday kicked off a new season with the organization I volunteer for. We teach Downs syndrome kids how to read and I was lucky enough to tutor two kids Saturday morning. These kids are the best and I love reading with them!
After being a responsible adult with a walk, lunch, shower, etc. it was time for some bridesmaid duties. One of my best friends from high school is getting married to her high school sweetheart and we picked out our bridesmaid dresses on Saturday. As a way to get to know the bridesmaids better, we also did dinner and went to Bar Louie in Uptown.
I love being a bridesmaid because I get to become friends with the bride's friends and it's super fun! These girls are hilarious so I'm really looking forward to the bachelorette party and the wedding!
As rounds of drinks were bought, the bride was worried that I would talk about how I spent too much money on my blog. Haha! I seriously love how invested in this challenge and supportive people are! I spent more than I would have on a night out with this challenge but I have a "bridesmaid" fund and it covered my bill :)
Sunday was a little rough after the night before but when Erika called me to go hiking, I was on board. The weather was perfect and the views at Afton Alps were beautiful.
It was way cheaper and more active than our normal brunch outing! I really love that we made that switch even if those hills showed how out of shape I am!
I finished the weekend with a Vikings win, getting some work done, and reading for book club. My budget is still completely on track with this challenge and I can't wait to give you the first month's official totals tomorrow! Spoiler alert - the results are good!
I had $30 left for food until my next paycheck so I ran to the grocery store for a few things to compliment what I had in my kitchen. Less than $20 I was out of there and ready to make some baked fajitas thanks to Pinterest.
Saturday kicked off a new season with the organization I volunteer for. We teach Downs syndrome kids how to read and I was lucky enough to tutor two kids Saturday morning. These kids are the best and I love reading with them!
After being a responsible adult with a walk, lunch, shower, etc. it was time for some bridesmaid duties. One of my best friends from high school is getting married to her high school sweetheart and we picked out our bridesmaid dresses on Saturday. As a way to get to know the bridesmaids better, we also did dinner and went to Bar Louie in Uptown.
As rounds of drinks were bought, the bride was worried that I would talk about how I spent too much money on my blog. Haha! I seriously love how invested in this challenge and supportive people are! I spent more than I would have on a night out with this challenge but I have a "bridesmaid" fund and it covered my bill :)
Sunday was a little rough after the night before but when Erika called me to go hiking, I was on board. The weather was perfect and the views at Afton Alps were beautiful.
I finished the weekend with a Vikings win, getting some work done, and reading for book club. My budget is still completely on track with this challenge and I can't wait to give you the first month's official totals tomorrow! Spoiler alert - the results are good!
Monday, September 22, 2014
A very free weekend
Spending challenge days 14 and 15 complete! People often equate not spending money with sitting at home, being boring and doing nothing. That may be the case occasionally but this weekend was packed full of fun, free things.
Simply turn your head sideways to view pictures in this post because my computer is being ridiculous today.
Friday was relaxing. I cleaned, cooked and watched Season 1 of You're The Worst, a new hysterical show on FX. Part of my goal for this challenge is to spend more time keeping this organized and getting rid of crap. I took an old cork board that was sitting in my closet and turned it into a necklace rack. My jewelry has been sitting in a shoe box for a year now so it feels great to have it displayed better.
I still need to find a holder for my earings and bracelets but it's a good start!
Saturday I wrote some resumes, enjoyed a walk around Lake Calhoun, and explored my dream life at the Parade of Homes. One of the benefits of the spending challenge is to be in a better spot so I can buy a home so I used this as motivation. These houses were incredible and a cool $1.5 million.
By the 5th house I was starting to get depressed at how far out of reach these were so I headed home, just in time to beat a big storm. I headed to my friend's house to have a drink and watch Jim Gaffigan on Netflix to cheer us up.
Sunday was the best of all. I biked 5 miles to my friend's house, where we met to go hiking at Lebanon Hills. The weather was perfect and the 4-mile workout was fantastic.
Instead of doing our usual Sunday brunch at a cool Minneapolis restaurant, we made our own and it was freaking fantastic! Eggs Benedict, sweet potatoes, asparagus, salmon cakes, bloody mary's and champagne!
We didn't have to wait in line and we each spent less than $10 on the food and drinks. It was a big hit and I'm so glad the girls are on board to do it again! My friends are so supportive of this challenge and it's making a world of difference.
Afterward I had my bike adjusted before I rode back home because not only were the tires nearly flat but the seat was not adjusted to my height correctly. Thank God for friends who know a thing or two about bike riding!! All that exercise showed some great results for my Fitbit that I finally started using!
I ended the weekend with a Paint Nite event with my co-workers. I bought the Living Social deal a few weeks ago so my only expense was a glass of sangria, which I'm regretting since it was $9 that could have been spent in a better way.
Normally I would have picked a different night to go when we were
painting a design I liked better but it was a team bonding event and I
didn't get a say. Instead of making a painting of flowers that I would never actually hang in my house, I decided to go rogue and make a painting I actually might want. I'm certainly not a skilled painter and my idea became more ambitious that I was prepared for but I was able to cover it up with bold black lines. The instructor was a bit surprised I did something different but if I paid for the supplies, why not paint something I wanted?
It feels great to have another fun weekend without screwing up the challenge! Happy Monday!
Simply turn your head sideways to view pictures in this post because my computer is being ridiculous today.
Friday was relaxing. I cleaned, cooked and watched Season 1 of You're The Worst, a new hysterical show on FX. Part of my goal for this challenge is to spend more time keeping this organized and getting rid of crap. I took an old cork board that was sitting in my closet and turned it into a necklace rack. My jewelry has been sitting in a shoe box for a year now so it feels great to have it displayed better.
I still need to find a holder for my earings and bracelets but it's a good start!
Saturday I wrote some resumes, enjoyed a walk around Lake Calhoun, and explored my dream life at the Parade of Homes. One of the benefits of the spending challenge is to be in a better spot so I can buy a home so I used this as motivation. These houses were incredible and a cool $1.5 million.
Sunday was the best of all. I biked 5 miles to my friend's house, where we met to go hiking at Lebanon Hills. The weather was perfect and the 4-mile workout was fantastic.
Instead of doing our usual Sunday brunch at a cool Minneapolis restaurant, we made our own and it was freaking fantastic! Eggs Benedict, sweet potatoes, asparagus, salmon cakes, bloody mary's and champagne!
We didn't have to wait in line and we each spent less than $10 on the food and drinks. It was a big hit and I'm so glad the girls are on board to do it again! My friends are so supportive of this challenge and it's making a world of difference.
Afterward I had my bike adjusted before I rode back home because not only were the tires nearly flat but the seat was not adjusted to my height correctly. Thank God for friends who know a thing or two about bike riding!! All that exercise showed some great results for my Fitbit that I finally started using!
I ended the weekend with a Paint Nite event with my co-workers. I bought the Living Social deal a few weeks ago so my only expense was a glass of sangria, which I'm regretting since it was $9 that could have been spent in a better way.
It feels great to have another fun weekend without screwing up the challenge! Happy Monday!
Friday, September 19, 2014
Breathing is Expensive
Every fall I have to avoid bonfires, exercise, beer, and sometimes even just being outside. Although it's the most beautiful time of year, it's often the most stressful for me. As someone with chronic asthma, my lungs just can't take the season change and with very few exceptions, I end up in the ER in the middle of the night unable to breathe once or twice a September. It's been happening since 2nd grade and not only does it cramp my fall-loving style but it's expensive. Crazy expensive.
Depending on the year and how bad my asthma is, I end up paying $1,000-$4,000 in medical expenses every fall. That's not exactly budget friendly. And go figure, my asthma is also triggered by stress so worrying about that expense doesn't help anything.
This year, especially in line with the spending challenge, I knew I needed to be proactive. Not only did I not want my roommates to have to drive me to the ER in the middle of the night, I knew I wasn't wasting money on the ER. So I decided to be proactive. Every year, after the asthma attacks, my doctors would give me a preventative steroid inhaler. It finally clicked this year that I should use last year's after thought to be preventative this year!
As I picked up my meds yesterday, I learned that my preventative inhaler cost $191. I was appalled that it costs me $1.50 per puff but I would rather pay that than a medical bill and a ruined fall any day. And fortunately a fee like that can be covered with my HSA account, unlike a couple thousand in medical bills.
So I puff my Flovent inhaler and take an allergy pill every night and it's amazing the difference I have felt! I have exercised, I drink beer, I go on walks and I even had a bonfire last night! I might actually be able to enjoy this season we call fall! And best of all, I sleep through the night, full able to breathe with no coughing fits. I'm knocking on all of the wood and crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes that this solution sticks.
I'm learning that fairly minor changes like this is exactly what I was hoping the spending challenge would accomplish. I have yet to feel restricted or deprived, yet I already feel smarter about how my actions affect my financial situation.
Cheers to starting week 3 tomorrow!
Depending on the year and how bad my asthma is, I end up paying $1,000-$4,000 in medical expenses every fall. That's not exactly budget friendly. And go figure, my asthma is also triggered by stress so worrying about that expense doesn't help anything.
This year, especially in line with the spending challenge, I knew I needed to be proactive. Not only did I not want my roommates to have to drive me to the ER in the middle of the night, I knew I wasn't wasting money on the ER. So I decided to be proactive. Every year, after the asthma attacks, my doctors would give me a preventative steroid inhaler. It finally clicked this year that I should use last year's after thought to be preventative this year!
As I picked up my meds yesterday, I learned that my preventative inhaler cost $191. I was appalled that it costs me $1.50 per puff but I would rather pay that than a medical bill and a ruined fall any day. And fortunately a fee like that can be covered with my HSA account, unlike a couple thousand in medical bills.
So I puff my Flovent inhaler and take an allergy pill every night and it's amazing the difference I have felt! I have exercised, I drink beer, I go on walks and I even had a bonfire last night! I might actually be able to enjoy this season we call fall! And best of all, I sleep through the night, full able to breathe with no coughing fits. I'm knocking on all of the wood and crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes that this solution sticks.
I'm learning that fairly minor changes like this is exactly what I was hoping the spending challenge would accomplish. I have yet to feel restricted or deprived, yet I already feel smarter about how my actions affect my financial situation.
Cheers to starting week 3 tomorrow!
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