Amber's Personal Finance Blog

Well I received an email that my settlement check after legal fees is $9800. First thing I’m doing is paying my tithes, one extra mortgage and HOA. Then socking a little to my EF account. 

Now I’ll start pricing out my kitchen cabinets. I’m estimating about $1500 total. Appliances are on the high end, I’m not sure if I’ll get used or not. I also have to replace all the valves in my home because they won’t shut off from the inside.  I’m hoping I come in under 5k for everything. We will see. 

I’m glad to be getting this check but upset that everything in the house is falling apart, well seems like it anyway. 

I applied for a few positions, reached out to a friend who is a recruiter and shared that  I’m looking for work, and I also reached out to the guy who got me the NY gig, and asked that he keeps me on his radar for any upcoming projects. Hopefully something pans out. 

I’m enjoying this little respite though. I feel like I need a break coming from Europe (jet lag), and dealing with all the home repairs that greeted me upon my return. Yesterday I spent the day at the pool, it was just me and I loved every minute of it. Our community pool can be busy so I'm thankful for the days when it's only me. 

I'm so over these mass shootings I can scream. One can be pro-gun and pro-gun control. I'm sick of seeing these kids murdered. 

Heartbroken 

First thing I did this morning was submit my monthly invoice to my long term client for $800. I then reviewed and updated an article that I’ll get paid $100 in gift cards. 

Next, I applied for a few jobs and consulting gigs. I’ll be honest, I want to do consulting work. I’m praying that this pans out and is long term. I do not want to go back into the office. I like working for myself, it’s the flexibility I enjoy most, as well as the money made. 

I’ve decided that before I do anything when I get the settlement check I’m going to pay my September mortgage, and an additional HOA payment. I’d rather be ahead on the payments since I have no clue when additional funds will come in. The remainder I’ll use to replace the valve, kitchen cabinets and paint. Though this was to be done late this year or early 2023, with how crazy things have been going I’ve decided to just take care of it. 

I went to my first white cost ceremony, it was absolutely beautiful, I'm so proud of my friend. She's been accepted to the anesthesiologist assistant program, keep her in prayer, I know this will be tough. 

I forgot to add garlic to my shopping list when I picked up groceries from Wal*mart yesterday, so I grabbed my keys and walked to Publix. 

I needed to go to the bank as well and it’s in the same plaza so it worked out. 

The walk is about two miles total/round trip. I’m so happy to have done this, one it keeps me on track with my walking/exercise routine, and secondly I’m saving on gas. 

Wal*mart is a bit too far to walk, about 3 miles total. I tried that walk last week and was exhausted. I’ll walk to Publix if I have one or two items to pick up or if I need to go to the bank. This should help with gas. Now that I think about it, I have a Wal*mart grocery center that is much closer than their super center. That’s about a mile each way, I’ll go there instead. 

i like the idea of walking vs. driving. I've been considering doing this for quite some time and now I'm finally doing it. 

After the refrigerator went out, I had to throw everything away, chicken, salad dressing, ice cream, etc. 

I’m annoyed about this but what can I do. 

I took today to plan my meal for the week, I decided on spaghetti with a salad, and chicken and rice. 

After figuring out what I would be preparing, I decided to order online for pick up, this way I’m not tempted to add anything else to my cart. This is the first time I’ve done this with groceries. It was pretty easy, I’m just waiting now for an alert that my order is ready. 

One thing I did do was place my order through iBotta. iBotta had $4 cashback on orders over $35 placed through their app. I checked the prices via the Wal*Mart app first because some stones going through iBotta are more expensive. I’m glad I decided to go through iBotta because every little bit helps. My order was $37, with the rebate it’s $4. 

It was bugging me that I couldn't pay the typical amounts I normally pay on my student loan but I wanted to pay something so $25 it was. The new balance on loan number three is $7,950. 

I figured something is better than nothing. 

I get a check from another client this month for $800, I'm going to use this for some of the repairs I have to have done around the house. I wish so badly I could throw this at my debt but here we are. 

Other financial news. I had to get gas yesterday, to fill up my Camry, it was $71.00. I couldn't believe it. Two years ago it was about $30. I'm so thankful that I'm not driving into work, this would kill me. I would have to fill up weekly, now it's every 30-days or so. It might be longer because I now walk to the grocery store. 

I also went to Walmart. I noticed my waterpik stopped working so I needed a new one, cost me $40. Then I needed a filter for my sink. The new faucet didn't have one, and there were particles in the water, that was $30. SMH. 

Next I needed detergent, bleach, and dishwasher liquid, all in all I spent almost $90 on four items. My God! I don't know how families are doing it. 

Things are not going to get any better. I've been saying since 2020, that we are in a recession; it's just that most of us aren't feeling it and now we are starting to feel it. I'm so nervous about what is to come. 

I need to start preparing for hurricane season, because not only are things scarce they're expensive. 

Well I have to get a new water heater and change the valves (all) in the house. 

The plumber came out and capped off the ice maker, the water wouldn't shut off because the valves are old. Like the handyman, he told me to change the valves. He stated that he shouldnt have to go outside to turn the water off. He changed the one in the kitchen and told me to do them all. 

This has been one heck of a week.

Everything is falling apart. My kitchen cabinets are barely holding on and I was trying to hold out until the end of the year, when I paid off the student loan, but I'm going to just take the settlement money and get the water heater, cabinets and valves.

I have needed a new bedroom set for a few years, now the bottom drawers are collapsing. Why now I don't know.  

This really sucks. Life 

I really need a break. Today my waterpik stop working, this will cost another $30-$50. 

Then I went to the bank to exchange my euros only to get there to have left some of the money. SMH. 

Groceries are so high, I have to start getting prepared for hurricane season, water has skyrockted. It's a never ending story. 

I have no idea why all these things are happening but they are and I'm exhausted.

Edited to add I now need a new water heater  

When it rain it pours. 

Yesterday I was able to get a used refrigerator. Well, my ex came by to help me put the old one out before picking up the new one. 

While doing so we found a copper line running from the refrigerator. I told him it had to be the ice maker. Well, he called his brother who is a handyman, and he tried walking him through how to disconnect by turning the water off. He (ex) couldn't find the valve and I told him several times to just leave it. I'll have the company (appliance store) to deliver and pay, they should know how to disconnect. 

Long story short, he called his cousin who walked him through, cousin is a plumber, and now I have no running water in the kitchen. I told him a 100xs to just leave it. Apparently, something is clogging the pipes. I really didn't want to be spending any extra money. I don't fault him because my dishwasher stop draining some time ago and my ice maker stop making ice so it was bound to happen but why now? I can't help but think if he had just left it alone as I instructed I would have water and a least when the appliance company came if the water had stopped I could pay the company to fix it right then and there.

More money being spent. Unbelievable  

Well, I paid the HOA and COBRA bills for three months. I paid two months on the mortgage because the website didn't update and I want to make sure my payments are applied to both June and July, before I pay August. 

I'm so glad I did this because I don't know what may happen as far as income goes. 

I also purchased a used refrigerator for $214 with tax. Thankfully my ex will pick it up for me, so there is no delivery charge. Though it's not the color I was looking for I'm glad I was able to get a good used one. 

I got the news that the payment for my settlement was received, after legal fees I'm expecting about $8500. I'm just going to save this money. 

I also saved a total of $433.27, I rounded up to the nearest $50 for all my savings account. I'm a big believer of putting something up, no matter how small for rainy days. So, I wanted to make sure I socked away something since money will be right. I'll update my sidebar later. 

Lastly, in regards to finances, I have about 310 euros left and will exchange those tomorrow for US dollars, I checked and it will be $308.

In nonfinancial news, one of the travelers I went on the trip with, admitted that the trip was poorly planned and that he too was very disappointed. I was really surprised because I thought it was just me. He stated that there were quite a few days that he was very upset with us not spending any time at some location visited and also that we had too many things planned for one day. 

That's it for now. 

So I get home and now my refrigerator is out. I went to two used appliance stores with no luck. Now I'm looking into purchasing a brand new one and they're not going to be available for some time. This is so frustrating. Thankfully I have a small one in my home office. 

Yesterday, it cost me $60 to replace my driver-side seatbelt latch. It was acting up before I left and I was planning on ordering upon my return but I thought I had sometime. Anyway, it gave out, and thankfully it was in stock and the SO was able to install, so no labor fee. 

Murphy seems to be hitting me from all sides. I'm happy for my EF but it makes me nervous when I have to use it. 

Its only Tuesday and I already feel like giving up. 

I decided to pay three months of mortgage, HOA, and COBRA. After my conversation with the TPA yesterday, he informed me that it appears as though my contract will be ending. I was really hoping to have paid off my third student loan by June but looks like this won't be happening. 

I'm so bumbed by this. I really wanted this loan gone by June. I feel I worked so hard to have come to halt. I know should be thankful for what I have paid off so far, and I am but I am still hurt by this. 

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to have had traveled abroad, though the trip was not what I expected, to say I've been to Greece is a plus.  

After traveling for 23-hours, I can say I finally made it home. After a review of things, I found that I am at fault, rather than relying on others to plan the trip, I should have been more involved in the planning,  asked a ton of questions, and shared my expectations. 

What I learned was that you can’t travel with everyone, including friends. One traveler was solely traveling for social media likes so we would get to a location after traveling for hours only to spend thirty minutes for a photo-op, while the other was so “cheap” and inconsiderate of time, that the trip ended up costing way more than I anticipated/budgeted (penny wise pound foolish).

Things were so poorly plan; for example, I didn’t get the itinerary, that I asked for multiple times, until the day before (couldn’t make heads or tails of it once received),  there was only one key to the places we were staying so it forced us in many cases to travel together, also transportation wasn’t figured out prior to the trip, so we wasted a ton of time trying to get transportation. At one point we couldn’t even get a rental car. 

 I take responsibility in this, I assumed because I had no experience traveling internationally and they did, that things would be great, and that a plan would be set in motion.  You don’t have to have travel abroad to plan things accordingly. Lesson learned. 

My next trip is to the islands, this one is with family. Lodging and transportation are already arranged. The good thing is, if I want to go off and do things on my own I can. I’m actually planning my days and the things I want to do and see. I found a local driver, at a reasonable cost through a travel group, identified things I want to see and made a list. I’ll be mapping things out, so I can get a clear picture of how long it will take to commute to significant sites and estimate costs. 

Now it’s time to tackle my finances. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the person that I was working with,  my biggest contract, is no longer with the organization, so I’m not sure where things are. I have a call tomorrow to touch bases with the TPA who got me the gig. Fingers crossed because I was relying on this to pay off student loan number three(3), now I’m going to pause the extra payments until I get definite answers and a feel of how things will go. 

Because of this, I decided to pay June and July’s mortgage, HOA, and  COBRA. Though I have a great deal of savings, I don’t like to touch it, and I only want to in case of a real emergency like no money coming in, and since I have the money to pay these things (I received my last contract payment before I left), I am. You never know. 

The good news is, a former client reached out to me to work on a project for a few weeks. We are scheduled to chat some time this week. This should bring in about $2-4k a month. I’ll throw a little at the student loan but I won’t be as aggressive. I’m just thankful for income. It seems like God is always one step ahead of me. 

That’s it so far, I’ll update my expenses and share over the next few days. 

 I honestly cannot wait to go home. Today we fly out at midnight, then there is a eight-hour delay, smh. I had no idea this guy booked a return flight with an eight hour delay. I was reading one hour, but clearly I was wrong. He is so cheap, this  is not being frugal. In my opinion cheap is when one is a penny wise and a pound foolish. 

Yesterday  we went to a shopping area and was to meet up in a hour. Well, guess what they were almost one hour late returning. I started to catch a cab but didn't because I didn't have a key to get into the Airbnb. 

There were some good days; however for the most part I've been ready to go. The way things were set up I actually spent more than I had budgeted and spent a tremendous amount of time wasting time. We wasted a ton of time, having been here for 18 days, it's ridiculous. On average we spent 5-6 hours just commuting 

Now I see why a friend of mine travels alone. I think I'm going to do this. 

Long post alert! 

Whew, I’m still on vacation and I’m so looking forward to going home. 

This trip started out very rocky, but is ending pretty good. One thing I’ve learned is to be mindful of who you travel with. 

First, I’d asked the group for our itinerary, multiple times. The people I am traveling with are international travelers so I trusted their judgment. Long story short, I didn’t receive the itinerary until the day before we left and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. So I decided to go with the flow. First sign this would be a mess. 

Next, we were scheduled to leave for the airport at a certain time but left late. I hate rushing but okay. 

We landed but had no transportation to our Airbnb. My second clue was that this would be a mess. It was late and one of the travelers was attempting to barter with a taxi, in the cold late at night mind you, over 7 euros that would have been split 3 ways, for a total of 2.33 Euros. The taxi ended up leaving us and taking someone else, he found one that was the seven euros less than he wanted to pay. 

The next issue, as we couldn't get into the Airbnb, when we finally did the place was filthy, but I made it work since we were only there a few days. 

On day one, after a 16-hour flight and no rest, the group decided to tour. So I went along because of the way things were set up, if they locked the door, there was no way for me to get out or turn on the lights. Fire hazard, 🙄 I had no choice but to go. 

We had no car so we walked everywhere for hours. My legs became extremely sore to the point I thought I was going to have to go to the ER. I texted my niece who is in health care and she told me to put on my compression socks. That made a huge difference, but I was still sore. Long story short, the group could care less about my legs and wanted to walk 40 minutes to catch a $12 bus to take us two hours away because paying a cab about 100 euros, which would be split was too much. Thank goodness it was too late to take the trip. 

There's a second piece to this but too much to type. 

Needless to say, we left that location and headed to the next. I decided to hire a personal driver for a few hours since my legs were still somewhat sore. I'm glad I did. I got to see so much vs had I been walking with them. 

To wrap things up, we spent more time in vehicles (e.g. Cars, cabs, ferries) than touring, seeing the area. I feel like I missed so much. One day we visited two sites for a total of two hours, about one each but we spent a total of 8 hours on the road. I'll make another post about this later. 

Financial news 

While on vacation I got word that the HR manager who wanted to hire me full-time is no longer with the company. I'm nervous because I make about 8k a month with them. Fingers crossed that this contract doesn't end. 

So for now, I'm going to slow down on my student loan payments. I'll still pay extra but the kit is aggressive. 

I picked up another contract for about 2-3k a month but this will cover my everyday bills. 

I had booked my trip to Turks & Caicos already so too late to cancel. The total for that trip is $1000. I'm traveling with my family so no drama there

Paid an extra $25 on the mortgage and student loan each, now I'm officially under $8000 on student loan number three (3). See sidebar. 

I have to invoice my client on Monday. They're pretty good with paying the bill timely. If I get it before I leave for my trip, I'll pay another $2,000+ on student loan number 3. 

I'm so excited to see this number decrease. It's a matter of weeks by the time I pay this loan off then it's officially onto the last loan, that's about $28k. This will take some time because I'm going to slow down while I max out my IRA. I'm shifting my focus a bit after paying student loan number 3 because I'm behind on saving for retirement and I want to make sure I max out my IRA before the end of the year. 

I plan to pause student loan number 4 since it's interest-free for two months and throw everything at the IRA, then tackle the student loan. 

I know this isn't the Dave way but it's my way and it works for me. Age is not on my side. 

Hi all,

Just wanted to say that I got the second contract with a client whose contract ended in March. I'm so excited and looking forward to it. 

That's it for now 

I was asked to visit the Turks and Caicos, but really didn’t plan on it, since I’m heading on vacation next week. I treated myself, to this trip after paying off so much debt and not taking a vacation in about six years. 

Well my client, whose contract ended last month, asked if I’d be interested in another two month contract and of course I said yes. That’s about $6k extra a month. 

So with that, I’ve decided to take the trip to Turks and Caicos. Total with hotel and airfare is $847. 

I figured student loan number three will be gone next month, and now I want to go. I have a gig that pays $800 a month, I consider this my whatever money. I usually throw/divvy up the $800 and apply to my  EF, IRA and student loan. 

After this trip that’s it for me until next year. We are planning on going to Italy but if I don’t meet my halfway point for student loan number four, I won’t go. This is my motivation to go full ham on my last student loan debt. 

Welp, I thought my check wouldn't clear until Friday, since I'd deposited it late last night. Well it cleared today and I paid $2100 towards student loan (number 3), now I wait patiently for the balance to show $8k. 

I'm so happy, I should be able to meet my goal of paying this off before June. After crunching the numbers, student loan number 3 should be paid off next month, right after I return from vacation.  

Wow, is all I can actually say. 

I can't believe where I've come from. I have worked so hard to save and pay off debt. I've done it before but this time seems more difficult. I don't know if it's because I'm older, had more debt, or simply have a better understanding of money. Either way I'm making progress. 

I re-worked my budget to include extra payments on the mortgage. I know some will say why pay extra on the mortgage when you have student loan debts? Well because it makes me feel good and keeps me motivated. So today as I prepare for my trip, I paid my May mortgage and an extra $71.11 towards the principal. I absolutely love the amortization table, I use this to round down my debt. 

Other news, looking at my side bar you can see that I'm way behind the eight ball as it relates to my retirement account. I also re-worked the budget so that I max out my IRA account this year. I'm self-employed so I have no 401(k). I did a little research and learned that a SEP might work for me. I'm able to double what I'm contributing to an IRA to a SEP, so this might work. I've set up a call upon my return with a member of the Fidelity team. 

Also about a week ago, I bought my first stocks, Nike, because I'm a Nike snob. Well it's been exciting to watch how my stocks are doing, following the news on the company and all, not to mention the highs a lows. I'm new to this whole investing thing so I'm nervous as hell, I only bought five shares (I do plan on increasing). I must say that  I'm happy with the progress I'm making. I decided to follow a few other companies and every month when I deposit to my IRA, I'll take a little and buy a few shares. By doing this, I have an entire month to research the companies before purchasing. 

Friday is pay day for me and I'll be dropping $2100 on my student loan, this will bring my third student loan balance under $10k. I'm so happy I can scream. I still cant believe that in just over a year and a half I've paid off over $40k in student loans. Plus my other credit card debts. 

If you're new to this journey, keep pushing it gets better. 

Hope everyone had a great Easter. 

Today, was so-so. It started out great then my niece got on my nerves a bit but I'm good now. 

I made my own holiday dinner, I'll be freezing the bulk of it. I tried stuffing for the first time and it turned out great. I am so happy because I love stuffing. 

Other news, I'll be blogging a little more. I've decided to give Social Media a break. I realized that I spend way too much time on social media, to the point it is not productive.  
I don't want to become one of those people who is constantly on Facebook, it's such a mindless task. I have plenty of other things that I can and should be doing. 

I have no idea what triggered my ex but he broke down and told me he has to get his life together. He has a client, a few who are millionaires, who want to help him and he finally spoke with one today. He said he’s tired of living the way he is living. 

For starters he need to focus on him and not the mother, in my opinion. The mother keeps him in a financial black hole. I’m not saying not to help mom; however, he’s not in a financial position to do so at this time and parents shouldn’t live a reckless life with the intent that it’s their kids responsibility to take care of them. 

I think it hit home because I’m trucking along, much better mind you, without him. I think this trip I’m taking and his inability to do the same is nudging at him, not mention him being sick and no money saved. Either way what ever the cause, I’m glad he’s finally realized he has to get his life together. 

I’m not saying that I’m the queen of doing right financially but at least I’m willing to try. All I ever asked is that he tried. 

I can't discuss the details of my case for nonpayment of services, but I wanted to let you all know we settled and I am pleased. I hate it had to come this but here we are. 

Edited to add that I paid another $100 on student loan #3, the balance is now $10,100. I can see the end. 

Praise God, the Biden administration has extended the pause on interest and payments for student loans again. 

I logged into my account and read, Federal student loan flexibilities for the COVID-19 emergency have been extended through August 31, 2022. This is awesome! I'm slated to pay off student loan number 3 in June and can begin to tackle student loan number 4. 

Though there isn't an official announcement yet, I know that this is true, because it's on the site. 

Many people post that this is the wrong thing to do, people should pay their loss,  yada yada ya. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. One I'm thankful for this, it has allowed me to pay off two loans and be on my way to paying off another, in a span of two years. Had the pause not occurred I'd owe over six figures on the 30k loan.  In my opinion, student loans are like loan sharks. It's ridiculous that unlike a mortgage I am unable to pay down the principal until the interest that compounds daily is paid. Do I believe in paying what I owe, yes? However, if parts of it were forgiven, I'd be thankful and if not I'll just keep chipping away. 

Either way, this extension is a huge help for me and I'm taking advantage of it. 

In preparation of me reaching financial freedom, I signed up for a stock stimulator, so that I can learn the market. 

Though I anticipate paying off student loan number 3 in June, and number 4 next year, I want to get a better understanding so when I meet with a professional, I have some kind of a clue. I’ll continue to contribute to my IRA account and then next year I’ll dabble in the markets. 

I took inventory to identify the brands that I believe in and consistently try. So far it’s been great following and learning 

Any book, podcast etc you all recommend for me to get better acquainted, I’d appreciate it. 

Wow, I just wanted to cry or scream when I saw my student loan balance, my student loans are finally below $40,000. My $2k payment hit yesterday and my total balance is now $39,011.66. It took almost two years but I did it. Before COVID, the balance was close to 90k. 

I'll admit, sometimes I get so discouraged but seeing this balance gave me hope. I still can't believe that I'm finally below $40k 

Just so that it's an even number, I'm going to pay $11.66. Next week I will be able to drop another $300 on it. 😀

I did it!

I reworked my budget so that I will max out my IRA for 2022 and meet my savings goals. 

Yes, I'm still paying off debt but for me paying debt and saving simultaneously gives me peace of mind and keeps me motivated. I've learned that everyone’s journey is different and I have to do what best fits my needs and most importantly keep me motivated. Who knows this may change again, but for now here's what happened today. 

$500 added to EF

$773 paid on mortgage principal 

$2000 paid towards student loan number 3

$500 towards IRA 

$205 saved for HOA

$100 for house fund, next few years I'm going to need a roof 

Next week I get another $800 and I’m going to throw it towards my student loan 

One of my clients offered me a full time position, I countered, and if all goes well I will be making $16k a month. Please pray for me. 
If this happens, I can be done with my student loans, and start on my mortgage, this year. 

I am asking that you all send positives vibes and prayers. 

side note, I paid $200 extra on the student loan (#3) 

Though what's happening in Ukraine doesn't impact me directly at this moment, I'm a nervous wreck. 

I am not sure if I should focus on savings or continue paying down my student loans, given this war. I currently have about 8 months worth of expenses saved but my car is old, very old. If I was driving to work I'd probably be looking for a new vehicle right now. 

I guess I'm nervous, things are good but whose to say if my consulting gigs will continue and then I'd have to go back into the office. 
I just don't know. What are you all doing? 

Paid another $200 towards my student loan (#3) and the new balance  is now $12,600. I'm so thankful that I'm finally seeing a dent. 

I went ahead and updated my sidebar to show the new balance. 

Edited to add, I did not meet my goal of $2500, I only paid $2200, feeling a little down