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Finances

December 2018 Debt and Spending Analysis

January 5, 2019February 2, 2019 Leila Leave a comment

Happy New Year!!

WOW. I’ve written a debt update EVERY month in 2018 and it just flew by!

Overall, 2018 was a pretty good year. It was actually probably my best year, but 2019 is going to be better!

A few highlights from 2018:

-I got a new, well-paying job working in a field related to my degrees
-I took 2 small weekend trips, one to Tennessee and one to Florida. Nothing extravagant but I’m still super grateful for both.
-I gained about 6,000 YouTube subscribers!
-I reached over 100K page views in one month on this blog! Super exciting!
-I paid off over $7400 in debt (not much but it’s a start!)

December was not the best month for my finances at all. However, entering 2019 is super refreshing and I really know the changes I need to make. These changes may slow my debt pay-off a little bit, but I’m expecting this journey to take another 3 years.

ANYTHING could happen in 3 years. What if my income increases significantly?

If anything, these changes may set me back a few months, but what does it matter??

I’ve realized that putting so much pressure on paying this off super aggressively is unnecessary. It may take longer, it may take 2 years less. No one knows and it really doesn’t matter. Realizing that has been such a relief. I am making progress and that is all that matters.

I’ve decided I want to prioritize SAVING right now.

Tax Savings

Any money I save for taxes, CANNOT be touched. The income I earn from my full-time job is not taxed. I have to set money aside to pay taxes at the end of the year. Over this past year, I used a little bit of it to pay off a large vet bill for my dog (about $900). I will not allow myself to touch it at all this year. I put my tax savings into my Marcus by Goldman Sachs online savings account. This account has a 2.05% interest rate so I will gain a little bit of money allowing it to sit there.

Emergency Savings

I ended up having to use my $1000 emergency fund. I had to get a THIRD root canal on the SAME tooth. I was able to use $300 from an old HSA account I had, but that left about $1000 remaining. That is what emergency funds are for though. However, in January I will need to replenish this, so I don’t think I’ll be able to pay off extra debt.

Sinking Funds

In 2019 I have decided to create a few sinking funds in the Qapital app. Use my link for a free $5 🙂

-Gifts: $100 per month (birthdays and Christmas)
-Pets: $50 per month (annual visits)
-Car/Maintenance: $30 per month (oil changes, house work, etc.)
-Business Investments: Any income I make from my online businesses goes here (I want to buy a camera, get a logo designed, and buy business cards)

These sinking funds will allow me to be more prepared for everything throughout the year and I’m actually quite excited about it.

Anyway, let’s talk about December’s finances:

DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET

*This spreadsheet does not include payments for my insurance (life, health, vision, dental)*

CURRENT FICO SCORE: 713

THE GOOD NEWS

My credit score went up 2 points

Keep going credit score!! 🙂

I paid off a whole credit card

I paid off my Capital One credit card! I’ve never made such a large payment before.

I paid the largest amount of debt off in one month

The most I paid off previously was about $1470 back in October 2018. In December I paid off over $1600 and that’s a big win for me!

I got accepted into Mediavine

For anyone not familiar with blogging/Mediavine, I will explain. Mediavine is an advertising company. I currently use Google adsense to display ads on my blog. Those ads help generate income for me, because I literally have been blogging basically for free for 4 years. Mediavine will display more/more effective ads on my blog and I should see my income increase because of that.

THE BAD NEWS

I miscalculated how much I need to pay in taxes

Like I mentioned, my job doesn’t take taxes from my check…I have to do it myself at the end of the year. However, this whole time I’ve only been thinking about FEDERAL taxes, not State. So I was expecting to pay about $5,000 in taxes, but once I actually went to pay it I realized I need to pay state taxes as well. That was another $2,200. I had the money for it, but that led to my next bad news…

I didn’t pay off all my credit card debt

So because I miscalculated my taxes, I was unable to pay off all my credit card debt. I still gave about $1700 to pay off and I don’t think I’ll be able to pay it off until the end of February. It’s ok though I’m not stressing.

I spent SO much money

Well, I didn’t prepare for Christmas, I bought quite a few things for myself, and I spent A LOT on food. I couldn’t believe some of the numbers (which you’ll see below), but like I said, I know what I need to do now going forward. I can do this.

SPENDING

Savings: I’m not including this in my “spending” total because it’s not actually spending. I didn’t transfer any money to my savings because I had to pay my taxes. Any money saved was with Acorns or Bank of America doing it automatically. I also invested $100 in the stock market which is not shown in this table at all.

Rent/Utilities: I live with my sister (and her boyfriend) so $600 goes toward the mortgage, electricity, internet, etc. $100 goes toward the money I owe her!

Food: Holy guacamole I spent $500 on food. Not good. For at least the next 2 months I am on a meal plan, and I calculated what I will be spending each month and this SHOULD stay under $300.

Gas: I drive 22 miles to and from work Monday-Friday so I have to get gas every weekend. $118-$130 is expected for gas each month. With a few extra days off this month I spent WAY less on gas! Plus gas prices are quite low right now and I love it.

Health: This includes my multivitamins and my gym membership. I also got a massage, which I get just about every month because it’s important for my muscle recovery/health.

Car: My minimum payment for my 2015 Toyota Camry.

Credit Card Debt: Self-explanatory. I do still use my Bank of America credit card and Capital One Card for the rewards. I now pay off both right after using them.

Student Loan Debt: I pay $288.37 every month.

Insurance: This includes vision, dental, and life insurance. I have health insurance through work on top of my salary which is really nice.

Business: This includes paying for hosting/my domain for this blog and G Suite (by Google), which is now $14.12 and $5 each month. I also pay for a Tailwind membership ($15). I upgraded my Mailerlite account for e-mail services (about $170 for the year) and I paid someone $49 to speed up my blog and I should be getting a new blog theme as well.

Other: This category basically includes unnecessary spending. I wanted to break this down to exactly what I spent my money on.
Google Play – $9.99
Gymshark (workout clothes): $240
Donation: $20
Dog Treats: $4
New microphones: $47.96
Gifts: almost $600

Excluding my debt I spent a total of $2,720.98. A LOT.

Let’s review my December goals

  • Pay off ALL credit card debt FAIL (I paid off one, $1709 to go)
  • Invest another $100 in the stock market CHECK
  • Make at least $500 in extra income FAIL (I made $228 in extra income)
  • Spend less than $300 on food FAIL ($500 on food…oops)

January goals

  • Get my emergency savings back up to $1000
  • Invest another $100 in the stock market
  • Make at least $400 in extra income
  • Spend less than $300 on food
  • No buying clothing or other unnecessary things

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Things I Want to do More (or Less) of in 2019: Finance and Side Hustle Edition
January 2019 Debt and Spending Analysis

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I've been vegan for 5 years as of yesterday. It's I've been vegan for 5 years as of yesterday.  It's still the best decision of my life.  I've gained the most strength and look my best as a vegan.  It's also worth mentioning I was vegetarian for 13 years before going vegan, which is why I had to bust out a double bi in photo 3 lol  So yes, I do get enough protein despite not eating animals 😏  As a vegan I've also learned to cook better, eat more types of foods, and have discovered amazing restaurants, recipes, and vegan alternatives all without harming animals.  I never want to push veganism on anyone, but I encourage everyone to explore this lifestyle.  Personally, having an animal suffer for my food, clothes, and products just isn't worth it. Being a perfect vegan isn't necessary, but even small changes can make a large difference.  My sister (@loka1089) made this shirt for me for Christmas by the way!!  #vegan #bekindtoeverykind #veganfortheanimals #veganweightlifting #vegangains #strongvegan #veganwoman #vegananniversary #GoVegan #veganbodybuilding #anythingyoucaneaticaneatvegan #LivinglikeLeila
Happy March!  An update on my February goals:
▪️Pay off my car ✅✅✅🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️  ▪️Jump rope for at least 2 minutes daily ✅ (Well, I missed ONE day but otherwise I enjoyed this challenge a lot)  ▪️Start 'Phase 2' of my training program ✅ (it's more intense than I expected but my strength and body are improving!)  ▪️Finish reading 2-4 books ❌ (I finished 0. I stopped reading a fiction book because it was boring. I've been taking my time reading The Brain That Changes Itself because it requires focus lol)  ▪️Stick to my usual habits better ❌ (Feb was tough for me honestly. Sometimes I have bouts of intense fatigue and lack of motivation which I believe is associated with PMDD. Idk honestly)  March is usually a pretty transformative month for me, so here are my goals:  ▪️Put at least $600 to student loan savings
▪️Make over $1K online
▪️Finish The Brain That Changes Itself
▪️5 minutes of abs daily (new challenge!)
▪️Walk 10K steps daily again
▪️Stick to my habits/routine (for real this time!! I'm feeling better 😊)  #NewMonth #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #blogger #youtuber #goals #february #habits #march #personaldevelopment #strong2021 #fitness #vegan #fitnessgoals #health #healthy #LivinglikeLeila #DebtOverIt
I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the l I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the love and kind words on my previous post ❤🥺  It amazes me that I have this growing community of support and I'm so grateful for it.  I know paying off a car and paying off debt isn't a big thing for everyone, but it's a huge part of my life and I genuinely appreciate that everyone is proud of me and celebrating with me!!  I do hope my progress and my openness on my finances encourages more people to look into theirs and improve it. Improving my finances has made a HUGE difference in my life.  No, money may not buy happiness. But when shit is in order you have less stress, more clarity, and more faith in what's to come👌  These blue light glasses are from @tijneyewear 👓 (gifted)  #thankyou #financialindependence #finance #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #DebtOverIt #blogger #financialcoach #debtcoach #personaldevelopment #neverstopimproving #LivinglikeLeila
I paid off my car today 🙂 27 months EARLY!!! T I paid off my car today 🙂 27 months EARLY!!!  This car should have cost me about $22K, but it ended up being about $30K!!! I'll break down why that is in a future video.  But for the first time in my adult life I am paying $0 in interest right now 😭  I started my debt free journey in June 2018 with $82,200 of debt... I'm now down to ONLY my student loans of $36,200. Which are in forbearance and at 0% interest right now.  This is like a little preview of the debt free life 🥺  Not to mention, my minimum car payment was $382.55 and if I invested that monthly, it would grow to over $200,000 in 20 years.  You may be able to afford that car payment, but it comes with a HUGE sacrifice.  My debt free journey has changed my life and I'm so, so excited for my financial future. 🙏💰  #cardebtfree #finances #debtoverit #cardebt #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #money #finance #studentloandebt #financialfreedom #financialindependence #firemovement #financialindependenceretireearly #TransferTuesday
'Living like Leila' will always be my first born b 'Living like Leila' will always be my first born baby business, but as my personal finance business has significantly grown I've realized I just want LLL to encompass Me.  If you haven't noticed, I am VERY multi-passionate. I love fitness, finance, personal development, veganism, plants, books, food, planning, habits, business. I literally lose sleep at night because I CONSTANTLY have ideas lol  So I know this IG and my LLL YouTube covers everything under the sun, but that's exactly what I want it to be. It's just a digital journal of my life and even though it can be a lot, it's just a reflection of my life and the things I value.  This has allowed me to put less pressure on myself for the content I create, and I truly just enjoy it all as a hobby now.  So I understand that some of my content may not resonate with everyone, but I appreciate ya'll being here 😊❤  And as a side note, if you decide to start an online business...niche down to ONE topic. It will go a lot further, at least from my experience 👀  #multipassionate #livinglikeleila #vegan #personaldevelopment #books #debtfreecommunity #finance #debtfreejourney #business #onlinebusiness #habits #fitness #life
Post-filming, pre-workout selfie ✌ hence the mes Post-filming, pre-workout selfie ✌ hence the mess.  My January finance update and February budget will be up Friday 😊  Also these are the best leggings ever from @ptulaactive  #ptulafamily #ptulaactive #ptula #youtuber #health #fitness #vegan #fit #igfitness #blogger #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #debtoverit #budget #finance #livinglikeleila
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