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Finances

January 2019 Debt and Spending Analysis

February 2, 2019February 3, 2019 Leila 2 comments

Hello February!

You know, this debt free journey is truly a roller coaster. Last month I felt super positive and relieved about my finances.

Currently, I feel overwhelmed and stressed.

Overwhelmed because I feel SO far away from being debt free. Stressed because of all the uncertainties going on in my life right now.

I’ve been writing down my budget and my expected debt payments over and over…trying to see where I can really make or save more to get rid of my debt faster.

The house I live in is under contract. At this point I did not want to move…it’s stressful and unnecessary. However, because of my living situation I don’t have control of any of it. It sucks.

As of right now, I’m not sure if I’ll be moving to an apartment on my own, or moving with my sister and her boyfriend to wherever they decide to move. The main thing I am concerned about is my commute to work. I already drive 22 miles to and from work, and I don’t think I can go any further. So if it’s too far I’ll likely move on my own. I DON’T KNOW. It’s stressing me out.

If I move on my own that sets back my debt payments significantly. I’ll also be further from my boyfriend, which really upsets me.

There’s many things that need to be considered here though, so I’m trying to stay calm and just focus on my work (so I can increase my income).

Uncertainty is inconvenient, but I guess that’s just life. The important thing is that I am safe and healthy. Either way I will be able to make it.

Anyway, January was great financially. I have lots of good news to report.

DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET

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

CURRENT FICO SCORE: 724

THE GOOD NEWS

My credit score increased

I paid off a WHOLE credit card so it went up 11 points! I’m so glad to see this number continuing to go up. It’s not done yet!

My Mediavine ads went live

I know, I know. More ads may not be good to you, but it’s income for me for writing these blog posts! My ads went live on January 16th, and in less than 15 days I made over $300! That means I should make at least $600 each month from ads alone, but hopefully I can increase that number significantly! Thank YOU for helping me get to this point.

I won’t see my first paycheck from them until April though.

I replenished my $1K emergency savings

Last month I used my emergency savings to pay majority of my root canal bill. I got a 3rd root canal on the same tooth. It cost a total of $1250, luckily I had an old HSA card to pay my $300 co-payment. My emergency fund went to the remaining $950. With my January paycheck I replenished it though which is amazing!

My debt decreased

I didn’t pay off much, but my debt still decreased which is great!

I was under budget on food

WHAT?! This is a rare event people. I was under my food budget!!! I’ve got to keep this up from now on. I’ve been on a meal plan with pretty basic food, so I figured this would happen. I went to Chipotle once though and paid for myself and my boyfriend.

THE BAD NEWS

I still can’t pay off my credit card

I still have almost $1700 left to go on my credit card…and now I don’t think I’ll be able to pay it off until March. HOWEVER, my major goal this year is to pay off my car by December 2019. If my calculations are correct, that will still happen 🙂

SPENDING

Savings: I’m not including this in my “spending” total because it’s not actually spending. I transferred $1200 to my Marcus online savings for my taxes, $181 went to my sinking funds (see last month), I invested $103 in the stock market, and the rest saved is automatic from Bank of America and Acorns.

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: I spent $290.54 so I STAYED UNDER BUDGET WOOHOOOO!!!

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 (which now has added tax) 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 redesigned my blog with a new theme which cost me $49.99.

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
CVS (Lip balm and a protein shake) – $10.70
Donation – $50
UDemy course – $9.99
Acorns Fee – $1
Amazon (protein powder, electric toothbrush, probiotics) – $103.35
Mario Badescu (needed new skin care) – $77.35

Excluding my debt I spent a total of $1,707.04. Which is the lowest I’ve spent in a LONG time. 🙂

Let’s review my January goals

  • Get my emergency savings back up to $1000 CHECK
  • Invest another $100 in the stock market CHECK
  • Make at least $400 in extra income Kind of? I made over $400 but won’t get paid all of it yet.
  • Spend less than $300 on food CHECK
  • No buying clothing or other unnecessary things FAIL…I really didn’t do too bad though, but I guess fancy skin care is kind of unnecessary, no clothes though!!

February Goals

  • Invest $100 into my Roth IRA
  • Pay off at least $1500 of my debt
  • No buying clothing or other unnecessary things
  • Spend less than $300 on food
  • Make over $600 from Mediavine


Post navigation

December 2018 Debt and Spending Analysis
March 2019 Debt and Spending Analysis

2 comments

  1. Susannah says:
    February 4, 2019 at 3:35 pm

    Hi Leila! We’re so glad that you’re happy with your switch to Mediavine! We know we’re pretty darn happy to have you.
    We’re here to help you optimize your site in all the ways, so please check out our blog and help docs and reach out to us with any questions: publishers@mediavine.com
    Thanks for the shoutout!
    — Susannah at Mediavine

    Reply
    1. Leila says:
      February 6, 2019 at 12:36 pm

      Yay!!! I’m so grateful to get the opportunity to work with Mediavine.

      Thank you ?

      Reply

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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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