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All over the internet I see people posting about how long January has been. While it did feel long, it also went kind of fast!
It’s been quite a decent start to 2018 for me which I’m quite happy about! I’ve enjoyed working towards my goals but I did have a few set backs. I got sick for a few days, then a couple of weeks later I got the flu! That was my first time ever getting the flu and it was not fun. Following the flu I fell into a huge rut for several days, but I’m feeling SO much better now!
I had some writer’s block, felt a lot of frustration, I lacked motivation, and I just didn’t feel like myself. Some down time and a few Gary V. videos did the trick though!
Without further ado, here’s my January 2018 debt analysis:
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: 653
THE GOOD NEWS
My credit score went up again
I’m up 32 points since my last debt analysis!! That’s crazy and awesome! Each time my debt decreases I watch the “percent utilization” go down and it’s so addicting. I’m still in the red for credit utilization (about 51%), but I think by next month I’ll be in the yellow!! YAY!
My debt is continuing to decrease
Baby steps toward financial freedom! I just got to keep at it. I didn’t pay as much toward my debt but I’ll explain why under the bad news.
I didn’t use my credit cards
I can’t believe how often I used to use my credit cards. Now it’s like a huge no, no and I love that! Just like last month, I only use my Bank of America cash rewards card for gas (because I get 3% cash back), but then I pay it back on the same day or within the same week
My savings is increasing
I transferred $150 to my savings account and I also still use the Qapital app which rounds up every purchase to the nearest dollar and saves it. My total in accessible savings is about $255.
Extra income/side hustles are always a plus
I meal prepped for a nurse practitioner 3 weeks in a row ($30 for only 3 meals/week), which actually helped me out a ton! I also reached the payment threshold for Google Adsense from my blogs and YouTube channel. The last time I got paid from Google was August. I want to really work on reaching that $100 each month! Lastly, I received “front desk of the month” so I received a $25 Target gift card. It’s nice to be appreciated and Target is my favorite store. 🙂
THE BAD NEWS
I worked even less hours than last month
I was supposed to work overtime 3 out of 4 weeks of January but it ended up being only one of the weeks. There were some schedule changes and then we got some snow here in Georgia so my job didn’t even open one day. Neither of my paychecks had overtime hours so it’s literally been the lowest work income month since I’ve started here!
I didn’t pay as much toward debt
After interest I only paid about $236 toward my debts. My Care credit minimum payment used to be close to $200…last month it changed to a minimum of $27 so I only put about $50 toward it. This is because I really want to increase my savings to at least $1000 (which is why I put $150 in my savings), then I’ll increase my payments!
I don’t know how I’m going to come up with attorney fees ASAP
I’ve got to pay my attorney (read my court story here) $750. Luckily she’s a friend of mine and she’s not nagging me for it at all, but she did a job for me and I need to pay her. I would like to pay her $750 all at once but that’s not possible for me right now. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to increase my income for this. I guess this is another debt I should add huh? :/
While things are looking up and getting a bit easier, money is still really stressful for me. One thing I’m looking forward to is March because it’s going to be a 3 pay check month for me and I should get my tax refund (fingers crossed it’s a decent amount). Maybe then I can get my savings to $1000 and pay off that last 10% of my Care credit!!
