It’s been A WHOLE YEAR since starting my real debt free journey!! Wow it went fast!
I’ll also be 26 this month. I’m officially half way through my twenties!
I say “real” because I started paying off my student loans in August of 2017, but my largest total debt wasn’t until June of 2018. That’s also when I started to take it more seriously.
That was about the time when I realized I could pay off over $82,000 of debt in at least 4 years if I put my mind to it. That was also when I started tracking my spending each month, which has made a big difference.
Over the past year I have paid off over $20,000. It looks like a lot but feels like nothing.
If you’re interested in reading more about the last year and how I did it, check out THIS POST, where I also talk more about the ups and downs of this journey.
June was GREAT financially, as you’ll see below! So many positive things happy and I’m very grateful for that.
DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET
Current FICO Score: 747
Current Debt: $60,552.28
Roth IRA Value: $2,041.59
THE GOOD NEWS
I paid off a WHOLE student loan
One of my higher interest rate student loans had a bit over $1400 left on it. My goal was to completely pay it off and I did just that! I’ve never put so much toward a debt at one time so this was pretty exciting.
Paying off this amount of debt will save me about $10 in interest each month!
I got a $753 refund
WHAT!! My dad called me and asked, “Do you want the good news?? There is a $750 check here with your name on it.” I was so confused! He then explained that I received a refund for the gap insurance from my previous car loan. If you remember, I refinanced my car last month. I had pre-paid the gap insurance on my previous loan for the whole life of the loan.
I had NO idea I would get a refund for this, so I am very happy about it!
I did a balance transfer of my student loans
Two of my credit cards promoted a balance transfer offer, so I took advantage of that. On one card, I chose to do a balance transfer of $4000 at 0% interest (3% fee) for one year. On my other card I transferred $2550 (2% fee), again 0% interest for one year. My fees totaled $171.
I know a lot of people think this is a stupid idea, but I know I will pay this off by the end of the promotion period.
Obviously I will continue to pay the minimum payment on my student loans, but this should save me around $200 in interest (after considering the fees). I know it’s not much, but ANY amount of money saved is good in my book. Plus, I don’t want to give any more money than I need to to Navient.
As of the last day of June, only one of the payments has actually posted on my statement, which you can see in the spreadsheet above.
I moved all of my sinking funds to my high-yield savings
I had been using Qapital for my sinking funds, but then I learned I can create MULTIPLE accounts within my Marcus by Goldman Sachs savings! I had no clue. I transferred all my funds to separate accounts (you can even name them) but they’re all under one “roof” and ALL gaining interest.
I’m so excited that I can have the best of both worlds now! I have set up automatic transfers and even started a medical/dental sinking fund!
I paid off a large amount of debt
I paid down the most amount of debt in one month ever!! Looking forward, I can’t keep this amount up over the next couple of months, but I’m hopeful I’ll eventually be putting an extra $2K or more to my debt.
I stayed under budget for groceries
My goal was to spend less than $350 on groceries and I spent $336! I think next month I want to challenge myself to truly budget my groceries.
My no spend month was (almost) a complete success
I made June a “no spend month.” The only things I wanted to buy were groceries and necessities. I ended up upgrading my phone though (which will now save me about $15 a month) so I bought a phone case, a screen protector, and a pop socket. I also bought a few of the supplements I take such as probiotics and vitamin D. I guess those can be considered “health” purchases though.
This is the first time I’ve done this and it was awesome!!! I feel like I’ve been spending too much lately and it feels good not to have spent unnecessarily.
I might just try to carry it into July! 🙂
I canceled my Google Play subscription
If you read my monthly updates, you know I have Google Play. Well I just found out that Spotify offers their premium service for free for 6 months to Samsung users! So I cancelled my Google Play and I’ll save at least $60 through the rest of the year! I love finding little work-arounds!
THE BAD NEWS
I think I have an unhealthy obsession with my finances
I’m happy to say this is the only bad news I can think of for the month. I’ve become a bit obsessive with my finances…I check my accounts daily (multiple times a day), I am constantly calculating how I can save more, how I can make more, etc.
It has taken a bit of a toll on me, just causing me unnecessary stress.
Going forward, I really want to focus on the journey and not the results. I actually want to start applying this to all areas of my life.
For example, instead of obsessing over how I can save even more, I simply want to budget only $50 per week for groceries. I’ll keep track of everything in my cart and control the total.
If I do this, I don’t have to keep checking everything over and over throughout the month. I’m also choosing how much extra I want to put toward my debt NOW and just scheduling the payment. I won’t have to think about anything later!
SPENDING
Savings/Sinking Funds: ($2,266) I’m not including this in my “spending” total because it’s not actually spending. $180 went to my sinking funds which I’m SO GLAD I’m doing. The rest is for my taxes and I put the $750 refund I got into savings for now as well.
Investing: ($100) I automatically invest $100 into my Roth IRA each month.
Donate: ($50) Every month I want to donate at least $50. This month I donated to Society of Humane Friends, specifically a little pup who was so matted her paw self-amputated 🙁
Rent: ($1,316) The cost of my one bedroom one bath apartment near Atlanta, GA!
Renter’s insurance: ($16.66) 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: ($55.33) My electricity bill. I used air conditioner almost every day because it’s been so hot in Atlanta!
Water: ($34.41) I’m not sure why my water bill was higher this month but ti’s not horrible!
Food: ($336.72) I expected my food spending to be pretty high considering all the times I bought food or coffee out while traveling.
Gas: ($40.91) I got gas twice this month.
Health: ($75.86) I ordered a few of my vitamins/supplements.
Car: ($385) My minimum payment is actually around $382 but I just rounded it up to $385 this month.
Student Loan Debt: ($1,690.37) I pay $288.37 every month. This month I was able to put an extra $1402 to pay off a full loan!
Credit Card Debt: ($4,120) As I mentioned above, I did a balance transfer of $4,000 for my student loans. The 3% transfer fee was the reason for the $120. This will be at 0% interest until next June, but I’ll probably pay it off by the end of this year.
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.
Business: ($32.94) This includes paying for Tailwind, Canva, and GSuite. I used other services but pay most of them annually.
Google Play: I pay $9.99 to listen to any music ad free, but I have now canceled it!
Lor (Phone bill/car insurance): ($250) Lor = my sister. She 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.
Other: ($46.55) This category basically includes unnecessary spending. I am so PROUD that I spent less than $50 in this category. Feels so good. I bought:
The Four Agreements – $5.50
Phone accessories (case/screen protector, etc.) – $39.97
Clothes at Kohl’s – $1.08 cash (I had a $25 gift card)
Excluding my savings and debt I spent a total of $2,497.52.
Let’s review my June goals
- No spend month (only on groceries, gas, and necessities) CHECK (basically)
- Pay off Student Loan 1-02 (about $1400 left) CHECK (SO exciting!)
- Make over $600 from Mediavine FAIL (over $500 though!)
- Spend less than $350 on groceries CHECK
July goals
- No spend month again?? (only on groceries, gas, and necessities)
- Put an extra $300 to my debt
- Make over $600 from Mediavine
- Spend less than $250 on groceries
- Spend less time on my finances and focus on the JOURNEY (less checking Mediavine, no calculations until halfway through the month and the end)