Welcome to my first month of debt/income reporting! I am going to be very transparent, I’m not afraid to talk about money or my personal finances.
I have created a spreadsheet to keep track of all of my debt and income. I just used Google Sheets for this! Each month I will include a screenshot of that sheet and post it on this blog. I have decided to take the ‘Debt Avalanche’ method vs. the ‘Debt Snowball’ that most people start with. With the avalanche method, you pay off your debt with the highest interest first, meaning you’ll save more money in the long-run because you’ll pay less interest. I know many people prefer the snowball method because it’s more “pleasing,” however I don’t really work like that. If I can save more money I would rather do that!
I can’t put too much toward my debt at this time. I want to focus more on saving money and making more money. I made a decent amount of extra income from multiple sources, and my job was busier this month meaning more hours and tips. I want to get my Digit savings back up to over $1,000 and then I’ll start paying off debt more aggressively!
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: 675
Current Digit Savings: $251.17
The Good News
I made a lot of extra income
From selling stuff around the house on Ebay, apps on my phone, to pet sitting.
I got a raise at my current job
I told my job that I would be applying to jobs and should be leaving come August, so I wasn’t going to bother asking for a raise. However, I knew I deserved one, any bit helps, and it doesn’t hurt to ask. Honestly it won’t make much of a difference, especially because I also decided to step down to part-time. I did this for multiple reasons, but I think it’s what’s best for me at this point.
I had a job interview
At a pretty huge company too! I was interviewed by 2 people, it was almost an hour long, but it went well! I won’t hear back for a couple of weeks because there are other interviews, but I’m feeling optimistic!
I decreased a medical bill by 90%
Back in May I had a lingering sore throat and cough (this happens EVERY year around May), so I decided to go see an ENT doctor to hopefully figure things out. COMPLETE waste of time and money. He swabbed my throat, used a camera up my nose, then suggested I see an allergist. He prescribed me the same thing that a regular doctor would, but I ended up paying $223 (with insurance) because of that stupid camera down my nose. THEN, a few weeks later I got a bill in the mail from the lab that my swab was sent to…$267. Apparently he ordered ‘extensive tests’ which I was not informed of. I was furious so I figured out what I could do. My income is below the poverty line, so I applied for financial assistance, submitted some tax papers and got approved! My new bill due was only $26 and I’m so grateful for that.
The Bad News
My credit score decreased
I opened a new credit card AND most of my cards have more than 30% of my credit line charged on them…a lot more. My previous FICO score was 691 now it’s 675. I’ll get it back up soon!!
I’m more in debt than I started
I opened a new Capital One Venture One card in order to charge most of my purchases just so I could save up money in my Checkings and Digit savings. So obviously this added to my debt. I also didn’t pay any of my student loans so the interest went up, and of course the interest on my credit cards didn’t help.
I spent a lot of money
I knew this was going to be a high spend month. I went to California for the first time, I paid for the car rental this month and of course spent more shopping/eating out/parking. I haven’t been on vacation in over 2 years, I don’t regret any of the money spent. I call it my grad school graduation and birthday trip! 🙂 You can watch my adventures over on my YouTube channel.
So I know this month wasn’t that exciting, I didn’t pay off any crazy amount of debt or make thousands of dollars in extra income but this is only the beginning! I hope you continue to follow along with me on this journey and I would love to hear your story of getting out of debt!