The Debt Generation

Here is a link to a series Young & In Debt, in USA Today.

Unfortunately, I am a member of this group.

Posting will be sporadic until I can catch up on my sleep. Between the regular job and the part-time gig am pooped. Just got in at almost midnight after leaving the house before 8am.

Am off to bed since I have to be out at 7am again tomorrow.

Be back in a few days to update on my financial world.

P.S I have to work Monday night so am going to miss Heroes. Arrrgghhhh.

Hi my name is tiredofbeingbroke and am addicted to 'Heroes' on NBC.

Wow there you have it, I've admitted my addiction. Now if only NBC can cure me by showing new episodes all year round.

It's a quiet Sunday....

and I have no idea what to do with myself. I will be staying inside all day getting some sleep, food, sleep, and more sleep.

Yesterday I returned the car vacuum to Target and got my money back. As much as I do not like doing returns it made no sense to keep what I was not going to use.

My E-fund....

is officially over $500 (see side bar).

Random Mess

1. I had to go and loose my cell phone. So what? Have to spend $69 on a damn phone. WTH Does not even come with some Popeyes chicken or nothing. Am still gonna search all over for the old phone so I can return this expensive ass mess.

2. My hours at the part-time gig are a bit erratic. After tomorrow am not working again till Wednesday night...talk about an unpredictable paycheck.

3. Why am I so hard headed?? When will I learn that family and finances don't mix. Especially my family, who are under the misconception that because I am the one with the college education I got money. B**ches those two degrees cost money.

4. Why was the gas price drop fast before the election, now it is stuck in park? Conspiracy theory anyone?

5. Why the fvck do people give me the screw face when I say am too young to have children. News flash!! Am 26 and still don't know what I wanna be when I grow up.

6. WTH does the cigarette lighter thimagig in my car does not seem to be working? Oh well! since I do not smoke it has to stay that way. I just need to return the car vacuum I bought and get one that is battery operated.

Vote Vote Vote

Make sure to exercise your right to vote today. I just voted about half hour ago.

There is a total of $465 in my ING account. I moved $400 of that into a 6-month CD that matures in May 07. This will cover part of the insurance payment on my car that comes due around that time.

the regular e-fund is now back to $65 with $50 being deposited this Wednesday and $100 next Thursday etc...etc...etc...

I decided to move into a CD because:

1. The interest is higher on ING CD's than the regular savings account.

2. I will not be tempted to transfer it into checking.

3. Part of it is psychological. I am so happy to get my savings going again, that a CD is a real accomplishment.

Sallie Mae payment update

Here are the last 5 payments to Sallie Mae:
09/28/06 - $50
10/06/06 - $25
10/12/06 - $30
10/20/06 - $40
10/26/06 - $30

My weekly payment is working out to be 4 payments per month. Starting this month I will make one additional payment at the end of the month. They will both be on the same day, with the second payment 'apply to principal only'. So far the weekly payment routine is getting better and saving me hundreds if not thousands in interest.

The current interest rate on this loan is 10.25%.

I am back to the real world of bills and work and all that. It was a wise decision to fill my tank before heading to MA. The further north you go the more expensive gas becomes, in most places. I filled my tank in NJ after work at $1.98 per gallon. The price where I live in NY is still $2.30+ per gallon. On my way back to NY today I had a half tank and contemplated whether or not I should fill up. The price was $2.35 per gallon. Oh hellzzz no. My car is very good on gas. I got back to NY, went to NJ to run an errand where I got my car filled at $198 per gallon.

Am off for the weekend

I will be visiting family this weekend a few hours away.

A wonderful weekend to all.

Thank you to 3 Things About Money...

For the idea to pay Ms. Sallie on a weekly basis with small payments versus the one big payment each month. The interest is no longer accumulating, and for each payment a larger bulk goes to principal. I am now seeing the principal balance go down versus up.

Once again, thank you 3 things about money.

E-fund

The E-fund is back up and running. It currently stands at $300. It is funded $100 every two weeks from the main gig, and $50 from the part-time gig. I decided against using the HSBC mainly because the direct deposit is easy to set up with ING. Automatic, automatic, automatic.

Now I do not have to think about it.

Random sh*t

With the week I have had, let me just get some ish off my chest.

I know the job does not require a degree, but I have one so stop talking to me like am stupid. Do not insult my intelligence. Can't wait to get a real job that has growth potential where I can actually learn something.

Why is it so hard for people in New Jersey to drive in the rain. B*tch slow down, cuz trust me anybody hit my car again, they gonna get it.

No I do not speak damn spanish, ENGLISH ONLY. Speak english damnit, stop signaling with your hands. No comprendo.

How the hell do you complain about not having money, but yet you buy lunch everyday. Dumb broad.

Gas is now $2.09 per gallon. Yippeeee. I need my dollars sto stretch, so prices keep going down.

Bad timing

My 5 year old dell laptop has a few things wrong with it:

The speakers do not work so I have to use headphones.

The touch pad mouse does not work. I am using a gateway regular mouse a friend gave me.

With all the problems it still did the job.

However, last night the keyboard suddenly stopped working. Am here typing by using the on screen keyboard, arghhhhhh!!!!!

This is slow and annoying. However, I do not have any money for a new laptop at least till Christmas.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap reliable laptop? I am starting to save for a new one.

Sallie Mae and the saga continues

This time around am happy to say she has been acting right. I keep my eye on her like a hawk. The payments have set up to go out weekly, so I check in online to make sure she is doing what I asked. So far so good. (knock on wood)
I have to keep check her cuz this b***ch is liable to start acting bipolar and do crazy shit with my money.

Career decisions...what do I wanna be when I grow up

In February I received a Master of Public Administration (MPA). The job ( you know the thing you do just for a paycheck) I have now is completely unrelated and as a matter of fact does not require a degree if you ask me. Here is the dilemna, I have only been there for a year. I am leary to move because I do not want my resume to look to hoppy / crazy.

The problem is that I have started looking and can't find anything in my field. Also, am not 100% sure of what I really want to do.
I have a few friends who have moved to the Virginia/DC area where positions are more readily available than here in NY.

I need advice from anyone who have been in there career a few years.

Should I start looking now? Would leaving this job after a year have an adverse impact on my career prospects?

Time to buckle down and...

Save as much money as I can and pay off debt. After the week I have had at work it began to make me think what would happen if I was unemployed from the main gig right now? So what would I do? Ha I would cry first....and then figure some things out later.

In the mean time here is the plan for now, in the event I loose the main gig in the next few weeks.

I would increase the amount of hours at the part-time gig. However, this would put me back to the days before I finished undgrad. It would keep a roof over my head and food on the table.

Retirement!

My 403B is performing decently. I now have a little over $3,000 in less than a year. In 2007 I will try and increase the amount am contributing, after I pay off my debt.

goals for 2007

I renewed the lease on my apartment for one more year. This will give me a year to get things together financially. I now have new goals to be accomplished by the end of 2007:

1. Be debt free of all credit cards.

2. Pay off sallie mae student loan.

3. Establish an emergency fund of $10,000.

4. Get more educated on the home-buying process.

In order to fulfill all these goals I will continue at the part-time gig, as long as am physically able to.