January always seems long but I don’t really mind.
I made amazing progress on my debt in January (I explain it below) and I made the payment about half way through the month.
It feels like weeks and weeks since I’ve made that payment so I’ve just been eager to make more payments (but I need to wait on income to come in lol).
I made this great progress with my debt but honestly it just doesn’t feel like enough.
I still have so far to go and this was just a tiny drip in the bucket.
DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET
Current FICO Score: 758
Current Debt: $53,650.96
Roth IRA Value: $2,941.93
THE GOOD NEWS
I paid off almost $4K of debt
WOW! This is the most debt I have ever paid off in a single month. I paid off a huge chunk early last year, but that was because my sister sold our house and I got some of the profit.
So what happened this time??
Well, some of you may know that taxes are not taken out of my income. Therefore, I have to pay them on my own throughout the year.
I save a certain percentage of my income each month based on my calculations. Well I forgot to consider the standard deductible!!
So I was going to end up paying taxes for an extra $12,200 in income, which was thousands of dollars.
This was like the best news ever.
I had extra money saved up in my high yield savings account so I paid off my whole Capital One credit card and about $900 of my Bank of America card.
My credit score increased
Due to paying off so much credit card debt, my score increased significantly. Last month it was at 723 now it’s at 758.
I stayed under my food/grocery budget
I set a grocery budget of $250 for the month and I spent about $241!
If you’ve been following my journey, you know I struggle with staying under budget so this is good news.
To be honest though I had a couple of VISA gift cards from Christmas AND a Target gift card which allowed me to stay under budget even though I stocked up on a few things (toilet paper, trash bags, etc.).
I made a decent amount of extra income
I didn’t make much from my online work (about $394), but I sold quite a few things between Poshmark, Ebay, and Mercari which is definitely helpful.
THE BAD NEWS
STILL dealing with legal issues
I actually have to go to court in February regarding this issue but I don’t really even know much.
I’m still dealing with all of it though and it’s REALLY annoying.
SPENDING
This looks a little different than usual because I added in my income, my budget, and the difference between my budget and what I actually spend.
Taxes: ($1,006) As I mentioned above, my calculations have been off so I don’t need to set as much aside each month.
Sinking Funds: ($200) I put $200 in my sinking funds (car maintenance, vacation, gifts, and medical/dental).
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 No More Puppies GA, but it was for a family who was highly involved in the rescue world. Unfortunately, the husband passed away from his injuries from the awful accident.
Rent: ($1,316) The cost of my one bedroom one bath apartment near Atlanta, GA!
Renter’s insurance: ($15.66) 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: ($50) I have Google Fiber. It is $50 a month.
Electricity: ($62.90) My electricity bill. A little higher than usual but that’s OK.
Water: ($35.41) My water bill.
Food: ($241.20) This is all on groceries and food out.
Gas: ($26.34) I only got gas once.
Car: ($382.55) My minimum car payment.
Student Loan Debt: ($301.14) This is my new minimum student loan payment. I didn’t put any extra toward my loans since they’re technically on my credit cards now.
Credit Card Debt: ($3157.47) I paid off a whole credit card and then some!
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: ($32.40) This includes my Ritual multivitamins.
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 step mom 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) My free 6-month trial of Spotify ended so I am now going to be paying for it monthly!
Grow You: ($49) Group coaching program with Natalie Bacon.
Other: ($0)
Excluding my savings and debt I spent a total of $2,321.04.
Let’s Review my January Goals
- No spend CHECK
- Less than $250 on groceries/food out CHECK
- Continue to work on my money mindset CHECK
February Money Goals
- No spend
- Less than $250 on groceries/food out
- Post at least 1 thing for sale