Happy September!!
August brought some change and some progress that I’m very excited about.
As far as work goes, I am still working from home and still a part of the same Covid response as last month. Of course, I’m still super grateful for my job and that I am in such a good situation during this pandemic.
In case you didn’t know, the student loan forbearance and interest waiver has been extended through the end of 2020.
This has caused me to shift gears a bit in my debt payoff plan. I’ll share in the updates below.
I’ve hit a new milestone this month, so let’s get into it!
DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET
CURRENT FICO SCORE: 764
CURRENT DEBT: $46,519.91
ROTH IRA VALUE: $4,131.86
NET WORTH: -$29,659.30
FINANCIAL UPDATES
My new plan is to pay off my car loan
Since the student loan forbearance is extended, I have decided to put all excess money to my car loan! It’s the only thing still gaining interest right now AND it has a high minimum payment.
If I can pay it off (hopefully by the end of the year) then I will free up $383/month, which is the minimum payment of my car. Even if I don’t pay it off by the end of the year, each extra payment pushes back my next due date. So if I absolutely needed to I wouldn’t need to pay my car payment for awhile.
I am increasing my food budget
I recently took a look at my spending per month based on percentages. I realized that $325/month on food is 7.5% of my take home pay.
I have been budgeting $250 for groceries/food but I have failed repeatedly for months now. I don’t think 7.5% on my income is bad…so I’m increasing my budget to $325.
My emergency fund is now over $3,000
I know my job is set through April 2021 and I honestly think I’m good beyond that, so I’m comfortable with $3,000 right now.
Each month I am going to continue putting $200 to my emergency fund, and I will evaluate things as I go.
I paid off $1,228 of debt
I put an extra $900 to my car loan in August on top of the $383 minimum payment. Due to interest, I paid off $1,228.
My total debt is under $47,000
Another milestone!! Now that I’m starting to put extra to my debt again, I’m expecting to see $1,000+ milestones every month. I LOVE IT!!
I’m so excited for more progress and watching that debt drop.
SPENDING
Taxes: ($900) I put this money into my High-Yield Savings account until I have to pay taxes.
Sinking Funds: ($400) My sinking funds include car maintenance, vacation, gifts, medical/dental, and my emergency fund.
Investing: ($100) I contributed to my Roth IRA (VTSAX with Vanguard)
Donate: ($50) Every month I donate at least $50. This month I donated $50 to Barkville Dog Rescue. Please donate if you can!!
Rent: ($1,346) My rent for a one bed, 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.
Electricity: ($60.55) My electricity bill.
Water/Sewage: ($36.79) My water/sewage bill.
Food: ($317.36) This is all on groceries and food out.
Gas: ($21.83) I got gas once and haven’t been driving much.
Car: ($1,282.55) My minimum car payment + and extra $900!
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.
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: ($283.91) This includes my Ritual multivitamins, other supplements, a sports chiropractor visit, a general doctor visit, and prescriptions. I had a couple of health things come up in August but everything is good!
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: ($30.71) This includes paying for Tailwind and GSuite. In August I also purchased stickers of my logo!
Spotify: ($9.99)
Gifts: ($80.39) I bought gifts for my sister and my boyfriend, they both have their birthdays coming up. I pull this money from my sinking fund!
Excluding my savings and debt I spent a total of $2,559.90.
As always, I upload videos every month with all this info on my Personal Finance YouTube channel!
September Goals
- Pay off $2,000+ of my car loan
- Spend less than $325 on groceries/food