Monday, November 30, 2015

Happy Holidays!! Budget for December 1-15

$1,480 mortgage
$492 Student loan
$60 pet plan
$90 groceries
$200 spending
$100 savings
$100 gas

Today is payday for me, so I will be running to the bank at lunch to deposit my paycheck.  I had a good bit of money leftover from the last 2 week pay period so I will be able to put more than $492 on  my student loan today.  I should fall down in to the $5,000s, but I need to close out the budget period so I can figure out the exact numbers.  I have been waiting with bated breath for this paycheck as paying off debt is like a drug to me.  Payday is such a thrill, but there is always such a long time between checks! Sometimes if I have a little cash available I will make a small payment to my student loan, mid pay period, just to see the numbers drop a little more.  Goodness, I will be so happy for the day when student loan is no longer a line item on my budget because I have paid that stupid thing off!  Good wishes and happiness to all of you!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!

I am off to work in a few moments for a half of a day.  I am so grateful that we only have to work half a day today so I can get home and finish my Holiday cooking!! So far I have stayed on budget with my Thanksgiving budget and even have $100 left over.  We did not get Thanksgiving day bonuses and while it was missed, I'm okay with it.  I was able to budget well and thanks to the $60 gift card I received when I purchased my tires, everything worked out. 

Hopefully, I won't spend much over the next 4.5 days and I will be able to put that extra money on my student loan.  Guys, I am laser focused and obsessed with making sure that I put $19,000 on my student loan this year! I will do it! 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

New Goal for debt payoff

As of Monday I have paid $17,651.22 on my student loans this year.  At the beginning of this year, my original goal was to pay $10,000 on my student loans, I later modified that goal to $16,000.  I have met both of those goals.

So I have been thinking about what to do and my new goal is to put $19,000 on student loan debt by the end of this year.  I am hopeful that I can make that goal.  I only have about 1.5 months left, but I am going to try as hard as I can to squeeze every extra dollar out of my budget (without sacrificing too much) in order to come up with the $1,348.78 needed to meet that goal.  I have about $984 budgeted towards my student loan debt for the next 1.5 months.  So I am a bit short, but I am hopeful that my Christmas spending will be limited and I will be able to scrape together extra money. If I am able to make this goal, my student loan will be down to approximately $5,130 by the end of December!! Boy, would I love to start the year owing only $5,130 with a payment not due until probably June of 2023. 

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

The Student Loan is in the $6,000s!!!

Oh my goodness!!! I put a $1,564 payment on my student loan (this was my $1,529 budgeted payment and $35 leftover from the last budget period).  I currently owe $6,464 on the loan (with interest calculated through the end of the month).   With this payment I have paid $17,651.22 on my student loan this year! I don't have a payment due until September 16, 2022. It's a great feeling to know that if tough times emerge, I would not have to make a payment on the loan for almost 7 years.  However, believe me, I would be trying to find every way to scrape together some money so that the interest would not compound! 

If I had only paid the minimum payments on this loan, I would be paying on it until 2030.  As it stands, if I only paid the minimum payments on this loan (from here on out)- it would still take me, approximately, 4 years to pay off the loan. That would put my at paying off the loan in 2019!! There is no way I can pay on this loan for 4 more years.

 I am honestly overjoyed to see this balance drop into the $6,000s.  I wish I could get it down lower, but in the $6,000s is fantastic.  I should be able to pay this down into the $5,000s before the end of the year!

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Budget November 16-30

We don't get paychecks until Monday because the 15th fell on a Sunday, but I wanted to go ahead and put my next budget period up.

$210 utilities
$100 groceries
$1529 student loan
$300 thanksgiving
$33 alarm monitoring
$200 spending
$50 savings
$100 gas


 I have a little money leftover from the last budgeting period to help me get through the weekend.   I have a $60 prepaid debt card that I received as a result of the new tires I purchased last month.  I think I am going to buy a Publix gift card with that prepaid debt card and use it for Thanksgiving. (The rules regarding the use of the prepaid debit card are overly complicated.) That way, hopefully, I will have cash leftover after Thanksgiving that I can put on my student loan.  I'm also still hoping that the firm gives us gift cards for Thanksgiving as we likely will not receive Christmas bonuses this year.  If we receive gift cards from the firm, I may have more money that I can put on my student loan after Thanksgiving.

I have some travel coming up for work and I still haven't bothered the bookkeeper about my travel vouchers.  I have a trip on Tuesday and another one at the end of November.  I then have 2 more trips in December (for now).  My travel fund is on $0, I need to fill it back up.  Speaking of that, I may take some money from that student loan amount and throw it in the travel fund, until I get reimbursed.  I hate to keep taking money away from the student loan, but I don't know what else to do.


Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Veterans Day and Odds and Ends

First, oh my goodness, payday is not until NEXT Monday (16th), I'm so ready to put a payment on my student loans.  It feels like I have been in the 8000s forever.  Is anyone else as impatient as I am? I really need to learn patience, it is not one of my virtues. 


I hope everyone has exciting plans for Veterans Day.  I plan to stay home, clean, read and work in the yard. Hopefully, a no spend or low spend day.  I gotta make this money stretch until payday.

I have a few expenses coming up: a new water filter for the refrigerator, thanksgiving grocery items and some travel for work at the end of the month.  That reminds me, I need to email the bookkeeper sometime this week to make sure she reimburses me for (some of) those outstanding travel expenses.  I already have 2 trips planned for December.

While I'm concerned (as I spoke about in my previous post) about the new associate that has been with the firm for almost 2 weeks now, I'm excited that maybe I won't be gone for 2 weeks in February for a trial in Central/South Florida. That would have been an expensive trip and I would have hated to carry those expenses for 2 months until the firm reimbursed me. 

Okay, I just wanted to type out a few things that had been on my mind.  I'm going to go get a few things done.  Have a wonderful Veterans Day (especially those of you who have the day off). 

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Work Concerns

I should be getting reimbursed for some work travel in the next few weeks.  I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but the amount that's due to me in November is about $1,000.  That is the amount that I typically keep in  my travel fund.  I was hoping to be able to put some of that money on my student loan, but I guess I will put it all back in the travel fund.  Maybe I will split it and put a small portion on my student loan.  Oh well, I guess I will figure it out when the reimbursements come in. Although, I have a feeling that that due to the upcoming Holiday season, the bookkeeper may be a bit slow in reimbursing me.  I will have to stay on top of her to make sure that she pays them this month.  The firm will also probably try to do some small bonus or gift card for Thanksgiving and that will likely cut into my reimbursements.  In December I am expecting another $250 or so in reimbursements. 

Also, as of October 30, 2015 the South/Central Florida office hired a new associate. This is a bit worrisome to me.  I was helping out a lot down there and this North Florida office doesn't really have much work.  We have a few cases that trickle in.  I hope I don't get laid off before I can pay off my student loan.  I  know I am paid up six years in advance on this loan, but I just need to finish it.  After I pay it off, I can focus on building savings in case of an emergency.  I hope that if there is a money flow problem the firm lays off non-billiable staff first.  Typically, most law firms will layoff non-billiable staff (secretaries, etc.) in order to cut expenses and keep the staff that is making the firm money.   However, this firm does not do anything that is logical and reasonable.  Oh well, only time will tell.  I will have to be more diligent with my finances.  Unfortunately, I blew $72 at Walmart on Friday. 

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

November 1-15 Budget

$1,480 Mortgage
$492 student loan
$60 pet plan
$90 groceries
$200 spending
$100 savings
$100 gas

I was only able to put $492 on my student loan, but my next payment is not due until November of 2021.  I am paid up exactly six years in advance on my loan!  I owe $8,019 (with interest calculated through the 15th of this month) on the loan.  It's getting close, it was a real morale booster to get below $10,000.  I'm hoping I can snowflake a bit towards the balance over the next couple of months so that I can get it down even more before the end of the year. Should I make a new goal for the end of the year?  I will probably have the balance down to around $5,600 by the end of the year.  Should I try and shoot for $5,000? $600 is a lot to strive for when my budget is already cut to the bones.  Hmmm, I will have to think about this one.

I have $3,841 in my online savings account and I earn about $0.11 a day of interest.  It's nice to see the balance growing.  Even if it's just at $3 of interest a month, plus whatever I can contribute to it. I can't wait to see the day when that balance grows by leaps and bounds. I am getting so close to my goal of $4,000 saved in it by the end of the year.  That with my $10,000 emergency fund will give me such a great level of comfort, especially knowing that at the end of January I will be taking about $3,500 out to pay off the last bit of my student loan.