It’s March?!?
I’m not sure how February went by so fast, but I’m excited for March and warmer weather.
February was tough for me.
I battled with some weird negative emotions. I didn’t really feel like myself and had trouble focusing.
It was caused by lack of progress really.
Financially, February wasn’t the worst but it wasn’t the best. I ended up paying a large chunk of cash which I didn’t expect. More on that below.
My debt-free journey is slow, but I’m still making progress.
DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET
Current FICO Score: 759
Current Debt: $52,895.86
Roth IRA Value: $2,782.69
THE GOOD NEWS
I paid off over $700 of debt and am now under $53K total
I’ll always celebrate a decrease in debt. I would love for this number to be higher, but it’s still progress!
I made a decent amount of extra income
I love having side hustles. Extra income here and there is amazing and I’m so grateful for it. I also traveled for work in February and received a per diem rate for food. Of course I don’t need all that money for food so I got to keep what remained of it.
I’m FREE from a co-signed car
I’ve been dealing with that car for 3 years and I’M FINALLY FREE. I ended up going to court mid-February and then I got to have the car. I don’t want the car so I took it to CarMax and sold it there.
Unfortunately they only offered $4,000. The loan balance was over $6,600, plus I had paid the monthly payment the month before.
BUT I am so glad to be out of that situation. I’ll make that money back and then some.
THE BAD NEWS
I paid almost $3K unexpectedly
As I mentioned above, I paid the difference of the car.
My emergency fund is depleted
In order to pay for the car I had to use my whole emergency fund. This may set me back for a bit while I replenish it, but I’m going to stay positive and just focus on increasing my income.
I went over budget on groceries
I went over budget on groceries by about $27. But I’ll cut myself some slack here because there were 5 weekends in February so that means I had an extra grocery trip!
SPENDING
Taxes: ($1,040) I put this money aside 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 Old Dog Home. Specifically to a dog named Benny. 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: ($50.34) My electricity bill.
Water: ($36.14) My water bill.
Food: ($277.49) This is all on groceries and food out.
Gas: ($24.05) I only got gas once.
Car: ($382.55) My minimum car payment.
Student Loan Debt: ($127.86) I decided to apply for the graduated extended repayment plan which lowers my minimum payment from $301 to $127. I did this so I could pay off my credit card balance transfer quicker (now to save quicker).
Then once I pay the card off I’ll be able to put more money to a specific student loan.
Credit Card Debt: ($399.69) My goal was to pay off $500 of my Bank of America credit card, but I was only able to do about $400.
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: ($87.09) This includes my Ritual multivitamins ($32.40), my eye exam ($49), and some vitamin C ($5.69).
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: ($19.99) This includes paying for Tailwind and GSuite.
Spotify: ($9.99)
Grow You: ($49) Group coaching program with Natalie Bacon.
Parking: ($15) I had to pay for parking at the courthouse and my doctor. I also paid to park at a shopping market/walking trail. So that was my only $5 of unnecessary spending.
Co-signed car: ($2,649.46) This was the difference between what CarMax offered and the remaining loan balance.
Interest: ($1.50) My Bank of America card still had some charged expenses at the beginning of the month that were not part of the balance transfer. Luckily it’s not too much.
Excluding my savings and debt I spent a total of $5,068.70.
Let’s Review my February Goals
- No spend FOR THE MOST PART
- Less than $250 on groceries/food out FAIL
- Post at least 1 thing for sale FAIL
March Money Goals
- No spend
- Less than $250 on groceries/food
- Post at least 1 thing for sale
- Put at least $200 to my emergency savings