Money Money Money

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Meghan

I can’t believe it’s almost February! Where did January go?! Maybe the busyness from the holidays followed by being busy catching up at work has made this month feel so short. Either way, I’ve stuck to my New Year’s Resolutions, and I’ve been chipping away at my student loans, staying on budget every month, and done some cheap/free activities with Avery this month. Here’s three (money money money) financial updates this month…

First, a little recap on my student loan status this month…

14 Month Progress

Debt Nov 2012: $41,868.53
Debt Jan 2013: $29,149.64
Debt Paid Off: $12,718.89

Although $ is tight, I put every extra penny towards an additional loan payment this month. It wasn’t as much as December, but it helped… I’m almost under $29K !!!

January Review

Starting Balance: $29,894.98
End Balance: $29,149.64
Paid Towards Loans: $736.98
Interest Paid: $110.69
Principle Paid: $847.67

I’m hoping I can pay off the next loan on my list with the help of my tax return… but who knows what that will look like after selling a house? Either way, it looks like there will be a few hours of overtime available this coming month (I only got 2 last month :() so I will have more extra $ to put towards these loans…

Loan Pay Off Plan

~~SM 1-08 @ 6.55% (February ’13): $0~~
~~SM 1-07 @ 6.55% (Nov’13): $688~~
~~SM 1-05 @ 6.55% (Nov’14): $3020~~
SM 1-06 @ 6.55% (Mar ’14): $3315.55<– # is going down!!!
SM 1-02 @ 6.55% (Sept ’14): $6432.2
SM 1-01 @ 6.55% (2015): $7222.47
VSAC C @ 4.77% (2015): $2087.54
VSAC A @ 3.17% (2015): $4659.28
VSAC B @ 3.17% (2015): $2323.85
SM 1-03 @ 2.1% (2015): $1350.48
SM 1-04 @ 2.1% (2015): $1332.37

As I write all these numbers out, I think back to before I started paying these loans off… I can’t imagine how much I would still have left if I kept paying minimums and didn’t sit down and put all the numbers down in front of me, every month. As scary as it is, seeing how much debt I have, having control of it, and a plan to abolish it, is empowering. I know there is an end in sight, maybe not my 30th birthday, but I can reach for that and even if I pay them off a little after that date, it’ll be SOOO much better than paying these for 10-15 more years! I know how much $ it would free up a month, which would mean more $ to save for Avery’s college, or save towards a house for us, so many possibilities when my expenses will go down by $800-$1000 a month!

And that brings me to this month’s budget…

It’s hard to admit, but we were very close to being in the red this month. I’m a little disappointed, but I knew it was going to be tight this month. My income was lower than expected because I was only offered 2 hours of overtime – although I am swamped at work, I can only do certain kinds of work on overtime, and there just wasn’t much available this month. We were in the green though (I earned more than I spent)… so that’s a good thing!

I knew going into this new apartment and having laid out all my expenses that I needed to work so much overtime every month to stay afloat. I know it’s risky, but affording a two-bedroom apartment near my office is near impossible. I was good about cutting costs this month though, so we squeaked by. I have high hopes for next month. I know there is some overtime available already, so I’m jumping on that on Saturday. I’ll be able to make some more $ next month and use it towards student loans.

On my monthly expense excel sheet this month, I didn’t spend much on activities/entertainment. That’s because Avery and I did some cheap/free activities like going to Chuck-E-Cheese – I only paid for tokens, we didn’t eat there, and it was over an hour of fun! When we visited Vermont, we went to a high school basketball game (that Avery LOVED!) and that was free for him and only $3 for me.

Because it’s been so cold outside, we’ve been keeping ourselves entertained inside too.. Play Doh has become a daily activity, especially with the new ‘hair salon’ contraption MiMi got Avery.

Overall, this month wasn’t financially great, but we are keeping our heads above water. Avery and I are happy and healthy with a roof over our head and food on the table. I’m thankful for that.

❤ Meghan

Check out my About Meghan page for more posts on finances and paying off my student loans.

I BROKE 30K

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Meghan

This past month I broke the $30,000 mark for my student loans. I officially have less than $30K of student loan debt!!! The past year of hard work is really paying off and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel… well, it’s $30K away, but that seems so much more attainable than the $42K I started with just over a year ago.

13 MONTH PROGRESS

Debt Nov 2012: $41,868.53
Debt Dec 2013: $29,894.98
Debt Paid Off: $11,973.55

I now understand the ‘snowball method’ of paying off loans. Although I’m doing my own version of it, I see the benefits of it. Every time I pay off a loan, I just roll that money that was going to that loan into the next one, and thus I’m paying more and more every month. Take a look at the leap the chart has taken lately…

I even had a coworker ask my advice on paying off her student loans, so I must be doing something right. I honestly just took the time to setup an excel sheet and this ‘fancy’ chart that just auto updates every month. So, in reality, I spend less than an hour each month ‘working’ on my student loans. My payments are on auto pay, so that doesn’t take any time. I just spend a little time each month deciding how much $ I can mail in to make an extra payment, and send that out. Then I spend 15 minutes a month logging my payments into my ‘fancy’ excel sheet…

…and another 15 writing this post. Wah-la. Done. Who knew paying off student loans would be so easy!

DECEMBER REVIEW

Starting Balance: $31,165.37
End Balance: $29,894.98
Paid Towards Loans: $1,361.39
Interest Paid: $135.19
Principle Paid: $1,239.54

This month I put an additional $1,000 towards the next loan I’m working on. I have been able to throw more money at it because I worked some overtime last month, but this month there hasn’t been much overtime available so I’m thinking next month will be difficult to scrounge up even a couple hundred extra. I’ll try!

LOAN PAY OFF PLAN

~~SM 1-08 @ 6.55% (February ’13): $0~~
~~SM 1-07 @ 6.55% (Nov’13): $688~~
~~SM 1-05 @ 6.55% (Nov’14): $3020~~
SM 1-06 @ 6.55% (Mar ’14): $3810.27<– # is going down!!!
SM 1-02 @ 6.55% (Sept ’14): $6500.90
SM 1-01 @ 6.55% (2015): $7299.62
VSAC C @ 4.77% (2015): $2102.96
VSAC A @ 3.17% (2015): $4690.02
VSAC B @ 3.17% (2015): $2340.20
SM 1-03 @ 2.1% (2015): $1350.48
SM 1-04 @ 2.1% (2015): $1800.53

I feel so accomplished being under $30K. Now I just have to keep chipping away at this next loan. No idea what my taxes are going to look like, so cross your fingers and maybe in February/March I’ll get a nice refund and be able to pay more towards it, or even pay this next loan off!!!

❤ Meghan

Check out my About Meghan page for more posts on finances and paying off my student loans.

42K x 30: Month 8 Update

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Meghan

Another month gone, and with it… some loan debt!

I’m still nowhere near my goal (red line), but I keep chugging along (blue line). Extra debt paid off now means less debt (and interest!) paid later. Plus, imagine what it’ll be like when my loans are gone – what to do with $1,000 extra a month? That’s like a whole ‘nother mortgage!

Starting Balance: $37,085.35 (6/1/13)
End Balance: $36,279.91 (6/30/13)
Paid Towards Loans: $972.51
Interest Paid: $166.39
Principle Paid: $806.12

This month I fell a little short of my goals. I had some added expenses this month that held me back, but I still made progress.

June Goals

Pay (at least) $640 extra to Sallie Mae Loan 1-07 –No 😦
Pay minimum on other Sallie Mae Loans CHECK!
$40 bi weekly to VSAC Loans CHECK!

I couldn’t muster up the $640, but I did send a $500 check (woo-hoo!) to SM which lowers to the loan (1-07) that I’ve been chipping away at to $737. I would be a miracle if I could wrangle together $737 this month and meet my goal of paying off this loan in July. But in reality, I don’t think it’s going to happen… I’ll still set it as my goal, but if it doesn’t happen until August, I won’t be (too) disappointed.

July Goals

Pay off Sallie Mae Loan 1-07 ($737+interest)
Pay minimum on other Sallie Mae Loans
$40 bi weekly to VSAC Loans

With Loan 1-07 gone soon, that’ll make my minimums to SM lower by $29. Instead of $329/mo, it’ll be $300/mo to SM, which means I can put that much more towards the next loan to pay off on the list.

Short Term Goals Pay off this loans in this order (deadline)

~~1-08 @ 6.55% (February ’13): $0~~
1-07 @ 6.55% (~~April~~ Jul ’13): $737
1-05 @ 6.55% (Dec ’13): $3099
1-06 @ 6.55% (2014): $4989

I’ll check in again in a month… and maybe I’ll surprise myself and find some $ hiding around and pay off this pesky loan… only $737 left on it!!! Sooooo close! Then I take a look at my chart and see how far I am from reaching my goal… ugh. I’m telling you now, if you get my name for Christmas, just gimme ca$h… 🙂

Are you totally bored of me blabbing about my student loans every month? If not, read these and then I’m sure you will be…