Here’s what I’ve been up to this week. 

I received an unexpected bonus so I was able to throw a little extra at my student loan, once the payment hit, I would be below $25k owed and meeting my goal of paying at least $5k this year towards it. This interest is killing me though. 

I also paid an extra $60 towards my mortgage. I know Dave says not to do this, but it makes me feel good and keeps me motivated. 

Lastly I paid another $500 on the travel card. The interest is set to start in February, the goal is to have it paid off before then. 

I would have been able to pay a little more; however, I have to travel for a funeral of a good friend. 

I’m slowly but surely getting my feet wet with investing. I’ve opened an IRA, not much, however, I contribute monthly so that I have funds to invest with. 

I only purchase stocks of those organizations that I’m loyal to, some pay dividends some don’t.  I can honestly say, that they’re (stocks) doing pretty good, even in these times. I am happy because I  feel like I made some good choices. I still have a lot to learn though. 

My best performing stocks is Walmart and Costco, my worst, Nike. Nike was also my first ever purchase. However, for the most part I’ve seen a positive gain over all. Sometimes I can kick myself because I hadn’t purchased more, especially of the Costco stock. 

I’m proud of myself for stepping out. I am way behind the eight ball and I’m looking forward to getting this student loan down, so that I’ll have more funds to invest. 

I’ve decided that for every $5k paid off on the student loan I’m going to increase my 401(k) contribution by 1%. I should have the loan at $30k by December. It sucks that the student loan interest is starting back up. For me it means I have to decrease my IRA contribution temporarily and throw the funds at the student loans. 

I’m not going to lie, it would have been a huge help had the loan forgiveness went through. I’m glad I kept paying when the interest rates were frozen. I wish I could get another year, lol but oh well. 

For me the ability to throw $2k or $5 at a time on my loan felt great. Now I have a payment of $319, I’m readjusting my budget so that I’m ready. I hope others are as well. 

I crunched the numbers and I realized with every pay check I’m saving about 45% of my income.

Though most of the savings go towards future expenses (e.g. mortgage, HOA, Christmas fund, vacation fund) I’m still saving.

I remember when there was a time when saving wasn’t an option for me. 

Though I beat myself up regularly, I'm my worst critic, I need to remind myself of where I've come from. It's been a long short journey. It felt as though I'd never see the day where my debts were low and cash was saved, yet it feels like I just started this journey. 

Whew, this has been a pretty productive week. 

I’ve managed to knock everything off of my to-do list. 

Today I received my final payment from my former employer. I was able to save some funds for my car, sinking funds, and EF. 

I also added $500 to the credit cards and $100 to the student loan. In addition, I get an extra 300+ dollars to use towards what I want from my employer every quarter, a nice little perk, so I’ll be adding that toward my student loans. 

This week I feel as though I'm making progress 

I’m happy because though I’m nervous about my role, things are still coming together. My official training kicks off next week, wish me luck. 

Lord, I pray that I'm eligible for the student loan forgiveness. 

Biden made the announcement and I have no clue if I'm a part of the eligibility group. 

Fingers crossed s 

Looks like I’m just going to go with Home Depot on the cabinets. People are t showing nor are they responding. I’m not sure what is going on but this is really frustrating. 

I applied for one of their credit cards, it’s interest free for six months. So I’ll buy the cabinets and pay cash to have installed. 

I started the new job today. It was great but I’m depressed. I realize I don’t want to work and I’m in no shape or form to even consider this option. I can just beat myself up with all the financial mistakes I’ve made. I hate it! 

I hope I get out of this depression mode real soon, I have no clue what I need to do at this moment. I haven't been depressed in a long time. Thankfully I'm not having suicidal thoughts, so I guess that's a good thing 

I’m back from vacation, the islands were beautiful. 

Now that I’m back it’s time to buckle down on my finances, I got a little side track but I’m ready to get back serious. 

All major bills are paid through September, this gives me time to look for a job or new contract. 

Prior to leaving I had two really great interviews but no response. I hate being ghosted by recruiters, especially if you contacted me. 

Upon my return I knocked out a few applications, and next week I have two interviews lined up. Fingers crossed that something pans out. I get the feeling the job market will be switching to the employer. 

My COBRA ends in August so I started shopping around. I found a few on the exchange but the deductibles are high, about $8k. Hopefully I land a gig and can get group insurance. 

I took the night to up date my spending register and balance a few accounts. Of course travel and food were the budget busters. I’ll finalize every tomorrow. Net worth is still trending positively and I’m finally starting to earn some dividends on my investments. 

Though small, I’m loving how I’ve gone from being scared of investing to loving learning all about it. I know they say don’t watch daily, but doing so has helped me get a better understanding on what’s happening. Tonight was the first time I actually balanced my IRA account. 

Slow and steady wins the race. 

Finally closed my books and I was right, I went way over in the travel category last month due to poor planning. I can't beat myself up over spilled milk, I just have to make adjustments, primary adjustment, be involved in the planning whenever there is a trip. 

Other than that, I either broke even or came in under budgeted. There were a few unexpected home repairs, it happens and I was able to pay all expenses  in cash. 

I decided to run a few more reports and found that in October of 2021 was when I hit a positive net worth. I never really looked at this number, disgusted I guess, but now more than ever I'm so interested in tracking. It's a goal to get to six figures, just as much as it is to pay off my debt. 

As of today, my net worth is $39,799.17 with a credit score of 845, and total available cash $41,852.90. I would have never thought I'd see this day, never in my life I could have imagine a thing like this. Wow! 

I am going to keep pushing, my goal is to hit millionaire status  one day and I think I can do it.  

I received my $800 payment from my long-term client,  paid my tithes of $80 and I have $720 left. I plan on keeping $500 in my checking account and using $200 towards savings and debt.

I always struggle with how much to save, pay towards my snowball but for savings I decided to round up and for debt I decided to round down. 

So for today I will be saving or paying the below: 

$29.63 EF

$13.04 car fund

$16.96 baby EF 

$15 vacation fund 

$50 student loan

$68.59 mortgage 

$20 IRA 

I'm so upset that I won't be meeting my June goal of paying off my student loan; however, I have to remember that I came a very long way and by the grace of God I was able to do what I have done. Actually, the goal was to pay it off by December but I was doing so well that I thought jube would be the month. 

I think that when I get the settlement check rather than paying the September mortgage and the November HOA, put that money aside. My thinking is I should land a job/contract by then and the money saved I'll just throw it at my student loan. If I don't get a gig well at least I know I have the money. 

Seems like saving and paying debt is the story of my life. I can't wait to reach financial freedom. But is that such a thing? 

Checked my credit score and I'm at 845. I can't believe it. I know Dave Ramsey is against credit scores but I'm here for it. I have paid off a ton of debt that has helped this number increase. Periodically I use my credit cards and pay them off immediately so that they don't close. 

I'm hoping that once I get this debt paid off I can get a rental property, so I want to maintain my score. 

I remember just a few years back being in the 600s. 

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 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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 

I don't know why I struggled today but I did. I did not want to send/pay anything towards the student loan, but I pushed through and paid $422.23 bringing my new balance just below $15k. 

I haven't struggled with this decision before and I'm not sure why I did today. I was like just hit the send button already. Weird 

I also contributed $25 to the IRA, not much and I'm not worried, I should be ble to contribute  the max amount in July. 

That's it for me 

After looking at the mortgage 🏡 I realized I have not made any traction in the four years that I've had this loan. This was my ah-ha moment. 

In December I decided to make one extra mortgage payment 💰  a year. Today I decided that every month, I'm going to round down my mortgage, so today I paid $75 towards the principal and my new balance is $114,600. 

I'm 48 and I've set an aggressive goal to have this loan paid off by my 55th birthday 🎉. 

I know Dave says you can't save and pay down debt, well time is not on my side so I chose not to listen to him. I add to my IRA since I'm self-employed, working on my student loans and mortgage at the same time, I'm just more aggressive with the student loan. I also save money for a rainy day. Yes, I'm making good money 💵  right now; however, either one of my clients can say, hey we're done. Makes no sense to only have $1k saved. With my total savings, I can pay one year's worth of expenses. 

I just realized that I'm back to blogging. I hope this site stays up and running 

I'm so excited, I thought budgeting monthly was going to be hard. When I started working for myself I completely stopped, didn't even try. I continued to knock out my student loans and save a nice chunk but I also spent a little more in a few areas. 

Well, I decided to get back at it, I started back using the cash envelopes and when I tell you I killed it, I killed it. I pay myself about the 20th of each month, monthly, this is also new. Anyway, I came in well under budget, this budget period and had a ton to roll over in my cash envelopes. I usually roll over twice before throwing at debt. 

I also do these money-saving challenges (e.g. 52 weeks) ad love them.  every year that I do these challenges I say I'm getting a new bedroom set, well the money always goes towards my student loans. Last year June, I took half and threw it at my student loan. Then in December I took a little, even though I have a Christmas fund, and used it towards Christmas gifts. Well, I have $955 left of that money and that will pay for my ten days in Greece (housing). My plane ticket was paid in cash last year. I'm so excited. 

For 2022,  I started the savings challenges again and I have $365 saved. This money will be my spending money while in Greece. I'm thinking by the time we go, I’d saved about $1200. Everyone on this trip is just as frugal as I am and I love it. I'm certain I'll probably come home with a ton 

I'm so excited about my journey. Never in my life would I have saved to pay cash for a trip, under any other circumstances this would have been on a credit card. I've never been able to afford COBRA and here I am seven months in and haven't missed a payment. I've never had more than a few thousand dollars saved and here I am close to 30k saved. I just can't believe this  

After balancing my final account, I've been waiting on the statement, the numbers are in. Sadly, overall I spent 14% more than the previous year( 2020).

First, my savings accounts increased by $6789.87; liabilities went up by $2400.07. Last month I used the CC for dental work, I'll be paying it off this month, I wanted to use the CC for points, that equal cash. 

I paid off $15,429.81 in student loans; decreased the mortgage by $3455.10, and my net worth increased by$2306.14. 

Where I spent my money the most was student loans, up 269% (payments); entertaining, up 101%, I bought season tickets to football games, dental up by 125% and personal care, up by 86%, I started back going to the salon and I'm now cutting this out, so my personal care line item should decrease. Clothing  was also up, 26% 

I didn't see much decrease but the mortgage decreased by 7%, auto registration was down by 9%, cellular down by 9%; and miscellaneous spending down by 4%  

Looking at these numbers really put things in perspective. I'll admit, I lost focus in June and hadn't started budgeting again until December. 

Some things I'm doing to ensure this is a better year:

• Started the cash envelopes back up
• Started budgeting again 
• Cutting my salon visits 
• Will not buy season tickets to the games this year 

That's it 

I can't complain this has been a fabulous year. 

Here's a quick recap but ill be spending the weekend reviewing and finalizing things 

• Quit my toxic job
• Paid off a student loan
• Paid down my second student loan 
• Met my goal of one extra mortgage payment 
• Met my savings goals 
• Turned my side hustle into a nice little job 
• Improved my blood pressure, no longer on meds 
• Main bills paid through February 
• Mood improved drastically 
• Closed out the year with extra payment to my student loan and mortgage 

This has been a great year 

It’s not much however I’m happy. Today, I bumped my IRA contribution to $100 a month, I’m hoping to eventually max this out since I’m not getting any younger. 

I also paid $100 on my student loans. 

Since I’m not great at managing my money without a pay check, I got with my accountant  who will begin paying me a paycheck bi-weekly, withholding taxes starting in January. 

My interview with my third client went well and I’m estimating, approximately $24,000 a month for the next three months if I land that contract. I’m exhausted but the plan is to max out my IRA, pay off my student loan and get my mortgage down. 

I can't help but think that had I not had these student loans I'd be half way to paying my house off 

Well here’s an update. 

Paid $100 on  student loan #2 and I’m now  at $19,600. I’m hoping to throw another $4000 at it by the end of the month. Hopefully I can pay it off by February. 

My lawyer called and the company that ripped me off offered $2,500, he recommended we reject it. The sad thing is the language they’re using implies that I was to be an employee and not a contractor which by the way is worst. They technically violated DOL FLSA rules, SMH.  If they go with the amount requested by my lawyer, I plan on throwing it all at my student loan. 

I also have the possibility of picking up another client at about $8k a month and I submitted a RFP with a partner for $300k on a six month project. Fingers crossed. 

All in all, I’ve made more money in one month that I have working two months at a job that was very toxic. 

Lastly, I see that the site has a new look. I like it but had a hard time on my phone, locating how to create an entry. 

Happy Sunday everyone!

As promised I wanted to check in and let you all know how things are going. 

First, my job is very stressful, our CEO needs to retire, but she refuses. She’s done a great job with getting the business where it is but we can’t move forward under her leadership. I’ve submitted about 85 applications in the last 30 days and nothing. For those saying people don’t want to work, I say think again. It took a friend over a year to land a job. This was his first and only offer. 

Next, I managed to get my emergency fund to $14,000. I’ve never had that much money. Though this is a drop in the bucket for some, it’s a lot for others. I’m so proud of myself. My goal is to save about a years worth of my take home pay. 

Moving onto my student loans, I’d slowed down because the HOA is attempting to amend the bylaws to force everyone to change the roofs even if there is no damage. I’ve been praying this does not pass. Any way I started back at it. I got my second loan down to $6500, I’ll be paying another $300-$400 this week. It feels good seeing this go away, even if it is slow. 

My internet has been down since Wednesday, this sucks but I have to finish my taxes, I’ll do that today using my phone’s hotspot. Thank goodness I completed most of it. I just have to add the tax ID of my side hustle and hit send. 

I’m still trucking along with the 52 Week Challenge as well as the $2021 for 2021. I had fell behind a bit but I’m catching up. This money will go towards my student loans. 

I’m still paying an extra $25 a month on my mortgage and adding an extra $25 to my IRA each month. I know Dave says not to do this but I’m older and it gives me a peace of mind. 

Health wise, I’ve been walking more so my blood pressure has been great. Hopefully when I see the doctor I can get off these pills completely. 

That’s it for now

Hi SA family, 

Awhile ago I posted ago contributing to my IRA vs 401(k). Someone shared with me the cons in doing so; however, I can't find the post. 

my company has a 401(k) no match and I thought it would be best to contribute to my IRA instead. Can someone share with me if this is a good idea or not? And why not