Struggling to be debt free

Gosh darn it, I missed my $8,000 goal for my student loan! I was really hoping I would be able to pay it down into the high $7,000s by the end of October but, as you can see in my previous post, Murphy got in the way.  I'm very disappointed, but there have been several other missed goals on this journey to debt freedom.  Despite this missed goal I'm still making good progress on paying down my student loan. Here are the numbers so far this year: December 2014: $23,650 April 2015: $19,408 May 2015: $18,939 June 2015: $16,632 July: $14,824 August: $12,392 September: $9,999 October: $8,019 Also, with this most recent payment (today) on my student loan I have officially paid over $16,000 on my student loan this year.  $16,087.22 to be exact! 

So yesterday as I was driving home from work I noticed that my headlights looked odd in the reflection of the car in front of me.  When I got home I pulled into the garage and left the lights on so I could check.  Well, my fog lights and indicators lights were working, but 2 of the main headlights were totally out.  The other 2 were on very dim and definitely on their last legs.  My car is 9 years old and the headlight bulbs have never been replaced- so I guess it was about time to replace them.  Anyways, I promptly went inside and researched the replacement bulbs for my car and instructions on how to replace them.  Talk about expensive!! I had 4 bulbs that had to be replaced: 2 low beam bulbs and 2 high beam bulbs.  On the internet without tax, I estimated the cost for all 4 bulbs to be about $58.  I went to the auto store today and the cost was almost $64 with tax.  However, I was able to replace the bulbs myself and save some money in th...

So far this year I have paid $15,625.22 to my student loans. Of that amount $468.28 has gone towards interest. I will probably pay less than $50 in interest for the remainder of the year.  I should easily make my goal of putting $16,000 on my student loan this year, less than $400 to go.  I currently owe about $8,500 and at this point I have approximately $13,700  in savings.  Which means, according to the Dave Ramsey theory, that I have more than enough to pay off my student loan and, in fact, should payoff my loan.  I'm really teetering on the edge of whether I should pay off the loan.  At this point, I don't really feel comfortable with taking so much money out of my meager savings.  I have a 9 year old car and a house to maintain.  However, I also am so damn tired of paying on this loan.  But still, it's too close to Christmas to quickly rebuild my emergency fund and I don't want to get stuck in a bad situation because I was impatient....

$270 utilities $100 groceries $200 spending $50 savings $100 gas $33 alarm $1510 student loan $95 credit card- travel expenses $164 car maintenance Okay guys, here's the budget for the next 2 week period.  I initially paid only $1,050 on my student loan so that I could hold some extra money aside for some car maintenance.  The car maintenance only totaled $164 so the left over $460 went back to the student loan.  My balance is approximately $8,502 with interest calculated through the end of the month.  My next payment is not due until July  of 2021!  A screenshot of my account is below.

Yesterday I made a $1,050 payment to my student loan and that dropped my balance down into the $8,000s! Holy crap, I can barely believe that at the end of December of 2014 I owed $23,650.  Again, the balance is barely down into the $8,000s- the exact amount owed is $8,962 (with interest calculated through 10/31), but it's still in the $8,000s.  I have a little money held aside to pay off my credit card (work travel expenses) and a little for an oil change- so I likely will put a little more on my student loan before I get paid again.  I have a small chance of actually making my goal off $8,000 by the end of the month! Alright, I need to get moving- I gotta put a load of clothes in the washing machine (and hopefully dryer) before I head to work today.

I have been so sick for the past 6 days! I've been dragging myself to work, but I don't know how productive I have been.  My head hurts, I'm dizzy, hot flashes, neck pain, nausea, you name it.  I don't know what's wrong, but I am finally starting to feel just a little better.  My sister seems to be catching the same illness, I hope it passes quickly for her. Tomorrow is payday and I need to close out the previous 2 week budget period, but I'm so tired I don't know if I can do it tonight. I will definitely do it tomorrow and post the next 2 week budget period.  This next 2 weeks will be expensive: Halloween candy, dinner and movie with a friend and an oil change for my vehicle. I will be so happy when I am actually saving money for retirement and various sinking funds and not just paying off debt.  Right now it feels like all of my money goes right out of the door.  My boss has been behaving oddly lately and I don't know what to make of that. He's...

I took this weekend to spend some time catching up on a few thing around the house: cleaning my bathroom, the kitchen, etc.  I plan to try and do some yard work today after I go for a walk with a friend.  Payday is looming brightly head this coming Thursday and I am certainly looking forward to it.  I won't be able to make a huge payment on my student loan out of this upcoming pay period due to travel expenses, but I'm hoping to still put at least $1,000 on it.  That will bring me down into the $8,000s.  I am hoping with crossed fingers and sugar on top that we get Christmas bonuses this year! I would put $1,500 on my student loan out of that bonus.  Happy positive thoughts people! Here's the progress I've made on my student loan so far this year (by month): December 2014: $23,650 April 2015: $19,408 May 2015: $18,939 June 2015: $16,632 July: $14,824 August: $12,392 September: $9,999 October:??

$1,480 mortgage $492 student loan $60 pet plan $90 groceries $200 misc spending $100 savings $100 gas So I have been traveling for work quite a bit lately.  I just got back last week from a conference in the mid-west.  I was down in central Florida today.  I traveled a lot last month and I am so tired! Of course, once again, travel reimbursements are slow and I am struggling a bit with the financial aspects (specifically a $600 hotel bill!).  My $1000 travel fund has basically been depleted. I will probably be pulling money out of my spending budget in order to continue to sustain the necessary traveling, which sucks since any leftover would have gone to my student loans. However, frankly, at this point I'm too tired to complain about anything and I am just going to be happy that I can pay the bills! Happy Tuesday Everyone!

 I made 10 goals at the beginning of the year.  I did a mid-year status update on June 5, 2015. Below is the 3rd quarter follow-up! 1. Pay off $10,000 on my student loans. PASS- - To date I have paid off approximately $13,650 on my student loans this year.  I did have a stretch goal of paying off $12,000 this year on this loan- DONE!! My new goal is to pay off $16,000 by the end of the year!  2. Pay off the smaller student loan completely. DONE!!!! 3. Cash flow the dental work I have left. DONE!! 4. Be a better friend to my friends. DEFINITELY IN PROGRESS 5. Read at least 24 books I HAVE TOTALLY FALLEN BEHIND ON THIS I HAVE ONLY READ 9 BOOKS 6. Give more (time and money). IN PROGRESS! 7. Lose weight = 30lbs. OMG!! Weight loss to date--3lbs. Sigh. FAILING TOTALLY- I refuse to get on the scale.  8. Find a new job. FAIL! 9. Be more positive! FAIL! 10. Increase online savings account to $3,500. PASS- $3,688! My new goal is to get this t...