Happy March!! February flew by just like all the other months…
February had it’s fair share of ups and downs but not too shabby overall. Check it out below!
DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET
*This spreadsheet does not include payments for my car (a lease) or my insurance (life, health, vision, dental)*
CURRENT FICO SCORE: 654
THE GOOD NEWS
My credit score went up one point
One more point closer to the 700s 🙂
My debt decreased (a little bit)
While it was only $27…it’s still less than before! I’ll explain why it’s so low under the bad news.
I got a decent tax refund
My total tax refund is $1,336. However, in February I only received the Federal return of $1,124. I paid my accountant $100 for doing my taxes though so next year I’m going to try doing it on my own! Looks like the only benefit to student loans is increasing my tax refund, that’s what helped the most. Definitely grateful with this amount!
I paid my attorney in full
You remember last month one of my ‘Bad News’ items was that I had no idea how I was going to come up with enough cash for my attorney? DONE. Such a relief and now it’s one less thing to stress about. Again, thanks to my tax refund that was possible.
I got a temporary $1 raise
The past couple of months at my job (an urgent care) have been SO busy because of the flu. The big guys decided to give all hourly employees a 4-week $1 raise. I’ll get my first paycheck with this raise tomorrow (March 2nd) and then it ends by March 16th. While I would love for it to be permanent this was very kind of them to do and I’m really glad they did.
THE BAD NEWS
I used my credit cards
I charged $179.98 to my credit cards. Well, I also charged my gas and groceries on my Bank of America cash rewards card but paid those off right away so they don’t count! $100 of it was for my taxes the rest was for some supplements (I know…bad, but I really wanted them). Due to the fact that I charged to my credit cards, my debt didn’t decrease as much as usual. I’m not worried about it though I’ll get right back on track!
I spent a lot more money
I placed a large order on Amazon BUT it was all stuff I needed (shampoo, face scrub, probiotics, etc.) so it’s ok (plus I didn’t charge it). I’m preparing for a “cut” in April which is why I bought supplements and such and then of course paying for taxes. I feel HUGE amounts of guilt these days when I spend money.
I’m leasing a phone, which means more monthly payments
I know, I know. You debt free people are scolding me. Well I consider this phone an investment (because I’ve been using it to film for YouTube and to get better photos). So I do have to pay about $25 a month for the phone plus $13 for insurance, but I’m hoping it will pay off in the long run. I was due for a new phone!