More Financial Updates

Sallie Mae is doing right with my payments. I have been sending my payments in via money order with 'apply to principal only' or 'principal payment' written on the money order and payment coupon. As of today, there's one more payment waiting to be applied. I'm keeping my eyes on Sallie Mae.

There's personal finance challenge on twitter. The challenge is to save at least 20% of your income for May. The hashtag is #pfchallenge. Singlema is in charge of the challenge. Yesterday I transferred my required 20% to savings. Feels real good.

My mortgage has been on auto pay since November. Smooth sailing so far.

My new cable bill is more in line with what I would like to pay. The gas and electric bill has also come down since Winter is gone. Keeping my variable expenses down during the warmer months will be critical to me paying off Sallie Mae by years end.

Getting Ready For Summer..........

means boot camp classes 3 days per week for the next 6 weeks.

Woooohooooo!!!!!!!

Financial Updates

Means eating healthier.....more fresh fruits and vegetables......this means more money.

I recently called Dish Network to downgrade my package. This means extra money in my pocket, which means extra money for Sallie Mae.

The price of gas in my area (NYC) is over $4 per gallon.

My office moved to a new location recently. This change in my schedule didn't fare well for my wallet. Starting next week I will do better. Less eating out at work and more brown bagging. Or in my case a cute little blue bagging in it. This is better for my waist line and my wallet.

Sallie Mae

My pimp, aka Sallie Mae has been applying my extra payments to principal. I don't trust her so I'll keep my eye on her until the balance is 0. That will be a day to celebrate.

Goal Change

I've decided that $6,000 emergency fund is enough. I will not add any more cash to my savings account for the rest of 2011. Why???? I am sick and tired of Sallie Mae. She has been on my back since sophomore year of college. That was quite a few years back. The monthly statement emails are annoying as heck. I don't like being annoyed.

My new focus will be to pay off Sallie Mae before the end of the year. This will require a payment of approximately $650 per month. Everyone else will be getting the minimum until I get rid of her. Sallie Mae is not my highest debt, it's not even the debt with the highest interest rate. However, it is the debt that bothers me the most. This decision is purely a psychological one. Financially it would make more sense to pay off one of the cc. Personal finance is just that 'personal'.

Behavior Changes

My emergency fund is currently at $6,000. The next goal will be $10,000.

Financial behavior:

Present: I am paying myself first.
Past: I paid bills first.

Present: I am paying down credit card bills without incurring new debt.
Past: Racked up credit card bills with no concrete plan to pay them off.

Present: I am no longer Bank of Family Incorporated.
Past: Always lent money, or helped family pay bills.

Present: Increase IRA contributions with each raise.
Past: Didn't have a proper retirment plan.

It's almost time to write up my 2nd quarter goals. My 1st quarter are halfway done.
I completed taxes, refund is on the way and I'll be able to open my CD.


2nd Quarter Goals (Subject to change)

1. Add $2,000 to my savings account

2. Pay off my Sallie Mae student loan (current balance $5,300)

3. Find a regular volunteer opportunity for me and the kids.

Random convo

Found out by random conversation that my homie has no credit card debt. Needless to say I won't be having the 'how much cc debt do you have' conversation with him anytime soon. My goal is to slowly bring my cc debt down to zero since that conversation is inevitable a few years from now.

Taxes

Last week I filed my taxes using Turbo Tax. The process wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. For the first time I was able to file head of household with two dependents. Yeahhh!!! for head of household status. I will be getting a pretty decent refund. My federal refund is slated to be deposited into my savings account in about a week. I look forward to just staring at it.

My plan is to buy a treadmill for me, and something for the girls off their wish list.

2011.........

is the year I get rid of my consumer debt. By the end of 2011 student loans and my mortgage will be the only debt I have.


Here's to being consumer debt free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love my alerts from chase bank. They help to keep me up on my cash flow.

Next weekend is time to buy gifts for the people on my xmas list. This year I have my nieces, the homie, my nephew and one friend.

The job search front is still kinda slow, but am still trucking.

The auto debit of my mortgage is in it's 2nd month. No hiccups or problems so far.

Goals - To Do List - etc

My to do list is still incomplete.

My mortgage is not on auto pilot. The first payment went out on November 1. The next two bills for auto pilot are my Sallie Mae and federal student loans.

Spring of 2010 vacation will be St. Thomas V.I. Why St. Thomas? Because it is the cheapest option. All I need is a plane ticket, no hotel, no car rental, no extra expenses. Lodging will be provided by relatives. :D

I am currently job searching with the hopes of finding a job before the first quarter of 2011 ends.

This brings me to my 2011 goals.

1st quarter Goals January 1 to March 31, 2011

Complete taxes early enough to receive my refund.

Open a 6 month CD with a minimum $1,000.

Buy my plane ticket for my vacation.

Land a new job making at least a 15% increase in salary.

Paint my apartment and finish additional decorating ideas.

Financial Changes

A new gym membership which costs $10 per month with an annual fee of $29 starting October 2011.

Currently job searching in hopes of getting a minimum 15 - 20% raise.

I've been eating out lunch and breakfast almost everyday. For November my goal is to limit that to once or twice per week max. This is not good for my wallet or waist line.

Recently upgraded my Chase checking account. It now comes with perks such as free money orders, gift cards, a safe deposit box etc.

This will be my second winter in the new condo. I'm hoping to get a better handle on my electical and gas bill this year.

Decorating

My 2 bedroom condo looks a little bland. In the next few months I'll be doing some painting and other things to personalize it and make it my own. My budget is $1,500 and not a penny over. This includes the cost of supplies and labor (if I need to hired help). I am excited and looking forward to my first major decorating project.

Family Issues

Family is family. My family is dysfunctional. I am single with no kids of my own so everyone thinks I am Mrs. MoneyBags. My two nieces currently reside with me. This has caused quite a few headaches in the past few months. Non of these headaches have anything to do with the kids themselves. However, it is other family members who are giving me grief. Everyone as something to say about the kids. It all boils down to money. One of the main problems is that they assume I will get a hefty refund when I file my taxes. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

There's a family and money post that I need to write. However, I need to take the emotions out of it so I don't sound angry and bitter. Stay tuned.

To Do List

1. Write a will.

2. Get additional life insurance to supplement the basic policy provided by the job.

3. Put additional bills on auto pilot.

4. Research vacation options for next spring and start saving.

5. Look about disability coverage.

Updates

It's been quite a while since I updated my blog.
Here goes:
- I quit the part-time gig last week. The stress wasn't worth the paycheck. I need time to focus on my apartment, studying for GMAT, exercising etc.

- My family is something else. There's been lots of talk lately about my decision to buy my condo, how I take care of my nieces and just me in general. At this point I am sick and tired of the nonsense. Just let me live.

- Financially I still have a long ways to go, but I am doing ok. I still need to work on managing cash flow.

- It feels so great not having my car payment. My title came within 30 days like the bank said it would. Love it.

- Summer fun has been ongoing. Most of the events have been free such as concerts, basketballs games and movies.

Tips I use to avoid over draft fees.

Move to a cash system for miscellaneous purchases. I keep an excel and a paper register. However, I sometimes forget small purchases here or there. Switching to this new system is less work in recording all my transactions. This past weekend's trip to PA was cash only.

Keep a larger buffer in my checking account. Under my old system my checking account would sometimes go down to a few cents between paydays. This was rather stressful and time consuming to keep track of. The buffer is now approximately $50 depending on what's going on.

Being more organized and keep better records. Last year while on vacation I was charged a NSF fee. Why? I wasn't organized enough. Plain and simple. I now keep better records and make sure everything is in the register.