March felt pretty long but also it’s April?!?
The world is truly in chaos right now and it’s been interesting to see how much that has changed day by day, week by week.
To be honest, I haven’t been greatly impacted by this crisis. Obviously I’m limited in what I can do, the places I can go, and seeing people, but things have been OK for me.
Things are actually working in my favor…I’ll get to that in a moment.
I’ve decided I’m going to start just writing “Financial Updates” for these posts rather than ‘Good News and Bad News.’
There are quite a few updates this month.
DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET
Current FICO Score: 759
Current Debt: $52,473.16
Roth IRA Value: $2,530.05
Financial Updates
I still have my job
I’m grateful to say I still have my job. I’ve actually still been going to work up until April 3rd.
I am a bench scientist so majority of my time is spent in a lab and obviously I can’t bring that home. However, I now have to start working from home.
I know so many people have been laid off or effected financially and I can’t express how grateful I feel right now for my job.
My side hustle income has decreased a bit, but that is no problem.
My extra income was higher
I got paid out by most of my income sources (Adsense, Teachable, Mediavine, and Amazon). This is probably the highest amount I’ll see for a few months.
I’m pausing all extra debt payments
I still have my job and I won’t lose my job, however, I still want to save as much as possible right now because nothing is certain.
I am now only making minimum payments on all my debts.
My plan is to completely pay off my credit card (balance transfer) in June. After that I will continue to save, invest, and put extra money to my debt.
My total tax refund is $2,314
I did my taxes late March and I overpaid!!
All of my income is untaxed so I have to pay estimated payments each quarter. I wasn’t sure how to incorporate the interest I paid on my student loans or writing off business expenses.
After those two things are considered it lowers what I owe so I am getting back $884 from State and $1,432 from Federal. THIS is why I’ll be able to pay off my balance transfer in June (before the interest hits) and I’M SO HAPPY ABOUT IT!
My emergency savings is funded again
Due to my tax refund my emergency fund is now back up again. Thank goodness.
Before I had about a month of living expenses saved and I added to it each month. Now, I want to continue to add to it and eventually reach 3 months of expenses.
After I pay off my debt I want a year of living expenses saved up.
Student loan interest is waived
As I said, this crisis has been working in my favor.
Student loan interest is waived through September 30th and there is also the option to pause payments without penalty.
I will continue to make my minimum payment but this is going to save me $120 in interest per month!
I’m also going to pay extra to my student loans after June so it will save me even more money.
I qualify for the stimulus check
I also qualify for the $1,200 stimulus check that’s supposed to go out. Obviously I’ll believe it once I have it, but that money is going straight into my emergency savings OR I may invest it.
My Roth IRA dropped but is going back up
My Roth was over $3,000 in January. It dropped to $2,100 mid March but now it’s back up to $2,500.
I’m planning on calling Vanguard this month so I can transfer it over there!
I went over my grocery budget
(Again). However, I didn’t go over by much and I stocked up on quite a few things due to everything going on.
I don’t think a stockpile is necessary at this point so I can use that food for the next couple weeks.
I got my tooth extracted
At the start of March I was a bit stressed because I thought I would need another root canal. I had no emergency fund and another root canal/crown would cost ~$800.
However, the problem turned out to be an old root canal tooth (had a root canal THREE times).
The consultation, extraction, and ozone injection cost about $300 and I’m just glad the tooth is out. For now I’m just leaving it empty (it’s a back tooth).
SPENDING
Taxes: ($1,088) I put this money into my High-Yield Savings account until I have to pay taxes.
Sinking Funds: ($300) I put $200 in my sinking funds (car maintenance, vacation, gifts, and medical/dental), I added an extra $100 to save more to my emergency fund.
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 Two Tailz Rescue. Please consider donating if you can!
Rent: ($1,316) The cost of my one bedroom one bath apartment near Atlanta, GA!
Renter’s insurance: ($15.50) 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: ($55) I have Google Fiber. It was recently increased to $55 per month.
Electricity: ($65.21) My electricity bill.
Water: ($36.71) My water bill.
Food: ($276.02) This is all on groceries and food out.
Gas: ($34.44) I got gas twice.
Car: ($382.55) My minimum car payment.
Student Loan Debt: ($127.86) I decided to apply for the graduated extended repayment plan which lowers my minimum payment from $301 to $127. I did this so I could pay off my credit card balance transfer quicker.
Then once I pay the card off I’ll be able to put more money to a specific student loan.
Credit Card Debt: ($3.83) I still use my credit card for purchasing groceries/gas but I pay it off immediately. I have a minimum payment of $32 but when I make those payments mentioned it counts.
As I said I am now pausing extra debt payments but paid a tiny bit extra on this.
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: ($377.25) This includes my Ritual multivitamins ($32.40), my tooth consultation/extraction and some vitamins and medicine.
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 stepmom 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: ($578.45) This includes paying for Tailwind, GSuite, hosting renewal, and a logo design.
Spotify: ($9.99)
Grow You: ($49) Group coaching program with Natalie Bacon.
Interest: ($1.50) I’m not sure why but Bank of America keeps charging me minimum interest even though the balance on my card is a 0% balance transfer. I’ll have to call them.
Excluding my savings and debt I spent a total of $3,272.64.
Let’s Review my March Goals
- No spend CHECK
- Less than $250 on groceries/food ALMOST
- Post at least 1 thing for sale FAIL
- Put at least $200 to my emergency savings CHECK
April Money Goals
- No spend
- Spend less than $250 on groceries/food out
- Save all leftover money
- Create my 3-year plan (money and business)
As always, I upload videos every month with all this info on my Personal Finance YouTube channel.