The whole month of April I worked from home.
When I was told I had to start working from home back in March, I was thinking it would only be 2-3 weeks.
However, I’m STILL working from home and they haven’t made a decision on when we’ll go back.
I’m so, so grateful though that I still have my job and have the ability to work from home, even though it’s been pretty boring.
I’m also grateful I am still healthy and so are all the people in my life.
April was a good month financially because I’m CREDIT CARD DEBT FREE AGAIN!!
I’ve also hit a milestone of getting under $50K in debt!
My total debt is now about $49,000. Did you know when I first start this journey my student loan debt ALONE was over $49K. Crazy.
DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET
CURRENT FICO SCORE: 763
CURRENT DEBT: $49,138.90
ROTH IRA VALUE: $3,143.64
FINANCIAL UPDATES
My job was extended another year + I am getting a raise
My job is kind of like a contract position where I have to be renewed every year. Thankfully I am good through April 2021 AND my raise was confirmed to begin in June. I’m very grateful.
I paid off over $3,000 of debt
Last month I mentioned that I would pay off my credit card debt in June, but I decided I just wanted it gone.
I paid off the last of the balance transfer (which was $2,995) so I am credit card debt free again!
I also paid the minimum payment on my car so my debt went down by over $3K.
I am now under $50,000 in total debt
I have finally gotten my debt below $50K! I started at over $80,000 in 2018 so I guess it’s not so bad.
Obviously, I still have awhile to go, but at least there is progress.
I didn’t pay my student loan
As many of you know, student loan interest AND payments are deferred right now. I had auto pay set up but Navient (my loan provider) paused them.
I figured I could save the money instead. I’m still not sure if I want to save or pay off extra debt over the next few months though.
My credit score went up
Due to paying off one whole credit card my score went up about 4 points.
My Roth IRA is now with Vanguard
My Roth IRA was with RBC Wealth Management and I’ve wanted to switch to Vanguard for awhile.
I finally set it up to happen and all went well! I added an extra $300 to it and put it all with VTSAX.
I received the stimulus check
I did qualify for the $1200 stimulus check and received it early in the month. This allowed me to pay off my debt and save!
I was supposed to go to Chicago in April
I had a 3 day trip to Chicago booked since December for a live personal development and business event, but obviously it got canceled.
However, this saved me quite a bit of money! I received a credit for my flight so I can use it on a future trip, but my hotel was going to cost me over $500. Plus I would have gone out to eat several times in downtown Chicago.
It sucks I didn’t get to go, but I’m excited to save that much!
I went over my grocery budget again
I haven’t been strict enough with my grocery/food budget but I am doing a lot better than last year.
I went over by about $73 this month.
SPENDING
Taxes: ($1,010) I put this money into my High-Yield Savings account until I have to pay taxes.
Sinking Funds: ($300) I put $200 in my sinking funds (car maintenance, vacation, gifts, and medical/dental), I added an extra $100 to save more to my emergency fund.
Investing: ($100) I automatically invest $100 into my Roth IRA each month.
Donate: ($50) Every month I donate at least $50. This month I donated to a rescue group called Second Chance Rescue in NYC. Please donate if you can!
Rent: ($1,316) The cost of my one bedroom one bath apartment near Atlanta, GA!
Renter’s insurance: ($15.50) I am required to have renter’s insurance for my apartment.
Trash: ($35) Valet trash is mandatory at my apartment. Dumb, I know.
Wi-fi: ($55) I have Google Fiber. It was recently increased to $55 per month.
Electricity: ($58.46) My electricity bill.
Water: ($37.00) My water bill.
Food: ($323.31) This is all on groceries and food out.
Gas: ($17.68) I got gas once.
Car: ($382.55) My minimum car payment.
Student Loan Debt: ($0) As I mentioned, student loan interest and payments are deferred right now. I decided not to put anything toward my student loans.
Credit Card Debt: ($2,995) I paid off my whole balance on my Bank of America credit card. This was a balance transfer of my student loans.
Insurance: ($147.15) This includes vision, dental, and life insurance. I have health insurance through work on top of my salary which is really nice.
Health: ($204.07) This includes my Ritual multivitamins ($32.40), I purchased a couple of vitamins, and also received another bill for my tooth extraction from last month.
Phone bill/car insurance/Dogs: ($230) My sister pays my phone bill so I pay her for that. I also pay for my dad and step mom’s phone bills because my dad pays for my car insurance…the costs basically equal out. I pay an extra $50 to help her out with our dogs. My dad and stepmom paid off their phones so I offered my dad the $50 difference each month but he said to save it, which I’m so grateful for.
Business: ($86.94) This includes paying for Tailwind, GSuite, a new theme, and a new domain name. I decided I wanted to redesign my blog!
Spotify: ($9.99)
Grow You: ($49) Group coaching program with Natalie Bacon.
Gifts: ($75.10) My mom’s birthday was in March and my dad’s is in April. I bought them both gifts.
Beauty: ($42.00) I purchased 2 bottles of my daily moisturizer (with spf) from Mario Badescu. My current bottle is almost out.
Interest: ($1.50) I’m not sure why but Bank of America keeps charging me minimum interest even though the balance on my card is a 0% balance transfer.
Excluding my savings and debt I spent a total of $2,753.70.
Let’s Review my April Goals
- No spend CHECK
- Spend less than $250 on groceries/food out FAIL
- Save all leftover money NO – Paid off debt instead
- Create my 3-year plan (money and business) CHECK
As always, I upload videos every month with all this info on my Personal Finance YouTube channel.