Hey everyone who missed me!! Its been a good week and I am in the progress of trying to secure a new apartment. I really like the space in my current apartment but this new one has a rent of $395 dollars a MONTH!! You really can't beat that with a stick in a nice part of town, and a lake, mall, and walmart in walking distance. Hopefully I will know something by tomorrow.
Ever since my lease was up at the beginning of September I have been wondering if I should stay or go. It was definitely an upgrade moving to this place and this place represents where I have come from. I really can't believe its been a year but hey time flies when you are getting debt free. Thats why Its important for me to encourage people when they say they can't do it. With anything else worth having it can take a while. However you just don't realize how fast time goes by when you are sacrificing so much. As I get closer and closer to debt freedom I am thinking of ways to increase my snowball. Renting a cheaper apartment can not only bring me closer to debt freedom faster, over the long hall I could save a LOT OF MONEY. I looked at my budget and assuming I am debt free by March I would still have over 20,000 worth of income to build an emergency fund, have a little fun with some travel, buy some toys and begin to invest in my future. It was a really exciting picture to see, and that just made me pray more that I get this new place.
I have set some goals for the rest of the year to help me stay on track. I REALLY want to call In to the Dave Ramsey show and scream I'MMMMMM DEBTTTTTTTTTTTT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and I can TASTE IT. I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday, stay tuned to more!!
Showing posts with label debt snowball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debt snowball. Show all posts
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Michael Jackson & My Debt Snowball
Today I was looking over my budget and I have to be truthful with my fellow bloggers and say its not looking to good!!! Originally I thought I would be ok bringing in the new year with a little bit of debt but that debt free date keeps going futher and further out. I have been spending a lot, and putting very little towards my snowball with the excuse being "wait til my home is sold" but my house is having less and less to do with my other remaining debt. When I saw that debt free date being pushed closer to march I started to freak out. Hey its been almost 3 years now and this has gone on longer than need be and its time to REALLY kick it in to gear.
Soooooooo (DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!) I am going to get a second job (REALLY THIS TIME). I am so ready to be done with this debt and move on with life and I am at the point where I am ready to do what it takes. I took a lot of time off in between due to burn out and ever since I have been plinking away at my debt. Have I done well? Oh yes no doubt!! but I need to bring it on home and wrap it up!!! I realize the more I piddle away the more depressed I get because nothing is happening.
I have about 4 news papers that have been piling up on my door step since the weekend and I am going to plug away until I find something. I need an extra $6,000 to be debt free by year end which is somewhere betweeen $600-$700 every two weeks give or take. I am ready to put this debt to sleep for good and the time is gonna be now!!!!!
Has anything been keeping you from moving faster in your snowball, or are you having a hard time getting started... Let me know!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
My Debt Round Up
I haven't giving an update on my finances in a while so I thought now would be a good time. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about my debt and I remember saying to her "I haven't paid much this year" Being shocked at my own statement this taunted me for a good few days until one day I was laying in my bed and realized it wasn't true!
When I was having the conversation I was basically recalling actual checks I have written to pay off debt which is mostly why I couldn't really tell from just looking at the numbers on my spread sheet. However it dawned on me that I was having money auto drafted out of my paycheck for a good 2 months in excess of 500-800 at a time. So after I went back and recalculated here is what I discovered.
My total debt pay off to date : $11,000 - this includes a 401k loan and a pay day advance from YEARS ago.
I also brought a car for $2500 with $400 in repairs to date.
There are a bunch of other randomness within my budget but over all I have done a great job (In my opinion). I certainly didn't think I would be rolling up on 3 years worth of getting out of debt but it has definantly made for good story telling if nothing else!
Whats your debt repayment round up?
When I was having the conversation I was basically recalling actual checks I have written to pay off debt which is mostly why I couldn't really tell from just looking at the numbers on my spread sheet. However it dawned on me that I was having money auto drafted out of my paycheck for a good 2 months in excess of 500-800 at a time. So after I went back and recalculated here is what I discovered.
My total debt pay off to date : $11,000 - this includes a 401k loan and a pay day advance from YEARS ago.
I also brought a car for $2500 with $400 in repairs to date.
There are a bunch of other randomness within my budget but over all I have done a great job (In my opinion). I certainly didn't think I would be rolling up on 3 years worth of getting out of debt but it has definantly made for good story telling if nothing else!
Whats your debt repayment round up?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Snowball Update
I haven't been able to post much lately because I don't have much to say lol. So I figure today would be a good time to update my progress.
Debt free by 10/14/2010 is the goal
$5,178 401k loan balance
$10,800 student loan balance
total 15,978
Im still in the game!!!
Paid off about 4,000 this year!! woot woot!!
Debt free by 10/14/2010 is the goal
$5,178 401k loan balance
$10,800 student loan balance
total 15,978
Im still in the game!!!
Paid off about 4,000 this year!! woot woot!!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Keeping Gazelle Intensity
First let me say happy Martin Luther King day to all! I am glad to be back up and running, feeling a lot better than last week.
As I have entered my last year of being in debt, I have been reflecting on how I have gotten to this place. Though I haven't been 100% focused in the scope of the 2 years. I have managed to not return to most of my old habits which to me is worth a big ole pat on the back. The last 2 years have sailed by and If anyone wants to partake on this journey I encourage people to NEVER GIVE UP. Once you start you will be amazed at how much time flies. I do realize it can be a challenge to sacrifice so today I will share a few things that helped me stay on track. Please keep in mind this is about personal finance so always do what works best for YA!
1. Be honest - This was by far the best thing I could have done right from the start. It was very scary to account for all my debt, ie car payments, student loans, pay day advances and credit cards. I decided from the start that I wasn't going to lump debt into good vs bad, i had to deal with ALL OF IT. Once I figured the true number I was able to devise an action plan to pay it all off.
2. Pay cash for big ticket items - Since working the debt snowball I have made a few large purchases, some good some not so good. I made it a point no matter how stupid the purchase was to keep it cash. I knew that once I got back into my old habits of using credit, it would be hard to break. Though it has taking me longer to be completely debt free I feel much comfort knowing im not deeper in a hole.
3. Reevaluated my goals - I had to do this a LOT, with moving 3 times, working extra jobs and still dealing with life I had to change my money plans. I started out wanting to be debt free in 15 months but as you can see im a little bit past that lol. When I looked at my budget for the year I could see if I was on track and also if I needed to make changes to the plan.
4. Took a break - Since becoming debt free is all about personal finance I made it super personal and took a LOT of breaks lol. In 2009 I took more than a few trips but I paid cash for them. You should treat yourself every now and then, just don't get carried away.
5. Worked a lot - I have had 4 different extra jobs since I have been working my debt snowball. The most recent job I have taken on however is unpaid to advance my endeavor to be self employed one day. I do believe had I not been working to become debt free I wouldn't have as many opportunities put before me as I do now. Trust God honors your hard work and commitment.
6. Watched my funds - Even though this is last on the list it is the biggest of them all. I have an electronic check book in excel that will calculate my end balance every time I make a purchase. Its been the best thing I can do. It keeps me from stressing out about how much money is in the bank, and it also lets me see where I need to cut back.
If you have anything to add to this list please feel free to post it. I hope these things help each of you to stay encouraged and know there is an end in site if you keep at it!
As I have entered my last year of being in debt, I have been reflecting on how I have gotten to this place. Though I haven't been 100% focused in the scope of the 2 years. I have managed to not return to most of my old habits which to me is worth a big ole pat on the back. The last 2 years have sailed by and If anyone wants to partake on this journey I encourage people to NEVER GIVE UP. Once you start you will be amazed at how much time flies. I do realize it can be a challenge to sacrifice so today I will share a few things that helped me stay on track. Please keep in mind this is about personal finance so always do what works best for YA!
1. Be honest - This was by far the best thing I could have done right from the start. It was very scary to account for all my debt, ie car payments, student loans, pay day advances and credit cards. I decided from the start that I wasn't going to lump debt into good vs bad, i had to deal with ALL OF IT. Once I figured the true number I was able to devise an action plan to pay it all off.
2. Pay cash for big ticket items - Since working the debt snowball I have made a few large purchases, some good some not so good. I made it a point no matter how stupid the purchase was to keep it cash. I knew that once I got back into my old habits of using credit, it would be hard to break. Though it has taking me longer to be completely debt free I feel much comfort knowing im not deeper in a hole.
3. Reevaluated my goals - I had to do this a LOT, with moving 3 times, working extra jobs and still dealing with life I had to change my money plans. I started out wanting to be debt free in 15 months but as you can see im a little bit past that lol. When I looked at my budget for the year I could see if I was on track and also if I needed to make changes to the plan.
4. Took a break - Since becoming debt free is all about personal finance I made it super personal and took a LOT of breaks lol. In 2009 I took more than a few trips but I paid cash for them. You should treat yourself every now and then, just don't get carried away.
5. Worked a lot - I have had 4 different extra jobs since I have been working my debt snowball. The most recent job I have taken on however is unpaid to advance my endeavor to be self employed one day. I do believe had I not been working to become debt free I wouldn't have as many opportunities put before me as I do now. Trust God honors your hard work and commitment.
6. Watched my funds - Even though this is last on the list it is the biggest of them all. I have an electronic check book in excel that will calculate my end balance every time I make a purchase. Its been the best thing I can do. It keeps me from stressing out about how much money is in the bank, and it also lets me see where I need to cut back.
If you have anything to add to this list please feel free to post it. I hope these things help each of you to stay encouraged and know there is an end in site if you keep at it!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Taking The Plunge
Ok so 2010 is suppose to be my year of debt freedom and I am doing (mostly) everything I can to make sure I am able to pull this off. In efforts to be totally serious about this thing I did one crazy thing...
If you look to your right you will see my stats on my debt pay off. Do you see the one that says 401k loan?? yep look closely ok good!! Its about to start disappearing very quickly because I signed up for irreversible auto debit. Yes I did!! That means HALF of my paycheck will be automatically drafted from my checks before I see it. Yea it was scary but I had to do it!! Now im pretty much forced to be on a strict budget because I will no longer have much to live on. Its going to be fun and interesting getting back on the envelope system which I neglected some eons ago. I thought I had everything down packed and I was cured from over spending so I started back using my debt card instead of the envelope/cash system. I didn't bounce another check since but It sure didn't help me pay much off.
I have a lot of groceries(beans and rice) in my pantry so I should be good on that for a while. My boss gave me a $25 gas card for Christmas so I do believe I have a head start on that too!
I will post my monthly spending here (if im brave enough) so everyone can see my progress. If I can live on half my income there is NO limit to what I can do, I believe that !!!
So here is to debt freedom 2010!! are you readdddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!! cuz I am!
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