October 2018 Debt and Spending Analysis

Financial

Friday, Nov 2nd, 2018

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Wow, it’s November. The final 2 months of the year.

October wasn’t my greatest month financially. However, it’s been quite a productive month and I believe that is going to set me up for a better financial situation in the months to come.

At the start of the month, I thought October would look better than September, but that wasn’t exactly the case. I had one large bill to pay plus another fairly large bill, so my spending numbers piled up really quick.

Honestly, my feelings fluctuate about my finances. Sometimes I don’t stress about it at all, other times I get really overwhelmed and frustrated. Debt is awful, and I always end up thinking about what my life would be like without it. How much less debt I would have if I made different choices in my life.

I know those aren’t the best thoughts to have, but I think that’s normal. I know I’ll be debt free soon, but no one said this would be easy and it will definitely always be a struggle.

Well I paid off a lot of debt and I did a lot of spending…keep reading for more detail.

DEBT PAYMENT/INCOME SPREADSHEET

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

CURRENT FICO SCORE: 695

THE GOOD NEWS

My credit score went up 3 points

This is always good news but I’m actually a bit disappointed in this number. I completely paid off my Bank of America credit card, dropping my total credit card utilization down to 23%. I’m now in the “green” and I thought doing so would improve my score by at least 10 points. It’s not a big deal but would have been nice to see a 700 score again. Maybe next month!

My Capital One credit card interest decreased

I didn’t have to pay interest on this card for the last year, but then it ended up being 23.74% once the promo was over. So I decided to call them and they were able to lower my interest rate to 19.65%! It’s not a huge reduction, but it’s definitely something. It was free to call, took 5 minutes, and it will save me a few bucks!

I paid off a lot of debt

I paid off a total of $1,470.01 of my debt!! My new highest month which is super exciting. Remember that this number is debt paid off AFTER interest. I’m hoping to pay off at least $1400 every month from now on, but aiming for more.

THE BAD NEWS

I had to pay 2 large bills

My dog (Haylee) went to the vet to get a dental cleaning and a small eye mass removed. They ended up draining the eye mass, but she did get 2 teeth extracted. Costing me close to $900. I also had to pay the “wear and tare” charges for my car lease I turned in back in June…$320. I have to pay another $350 for the “disposition fee.” It’s ridiculous, never lease a car.

Low extra income (again)

I made an extra $33 this month. At least it’s something, but I feel like I work so hard on my side hustles and see very little return. You really have to believe in yourself for these things and just keep going.

However, I did reach my HIGHEST traffic month ever and was sent free products by two companies, no cash payment included though.

I can’t seem to stick to a food budget to save my life

I am really struggling with my $250 food budget. Most of it was on groceries, I only spent about $6 on 2 donuts (going out to eat). I always meal prep my food but I end up buying expensive things or more than I intended. I just love my food agh!

SPENDING

Highlighted fields are spending areas I can/should improve in!

Savings: I’m not including this in my “spending” total because it’s not actually spending. My income is not taxed, therefore I transfer $1550 from each paycheck every month into my savings. For months I was using the app Qapital which I think is great. In July I started using the app Acorns. Acorns invests your money in stock for you which I think is so cool. If you use my link to sign up you’ll actually get $5 invested for free! I have also started investing in stocks (well kind of). I have opened and deposited $50 into my Ameritrade account and I opened a RobinHood account with $1. Use my Robinhood link for a free stock!

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: Like I said above, I can never seem to stick to my food budget. I don’t go out to eat, I just spend a lot on groceries. I spent less than last month but I still want to lower this.

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. Glad to see I was a bit under the norm!

Health: This includes my multivitamins and my gym membership. In October I also got a massage ($95 total).

Car: My minimum payment for my 2015 Toyota Camry plus $320 for the “wear and tear” of my lease that I turned in back in June.

Credit Card Debt: Self-explanatory. I do still use my Bank of America credit card for the rewards. Now that it’s at $0, I pay off the totally completely if I use it.

Student Loan Debt: I pay $288.37 every month. Once I pay off my credit cards I will throw extra to my student loans!

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 literally includes just paying for hosting/my domain for this blog and G Suite (by Google), which is $7.99 and $5 each month. I am also now paying for a monthly membership to Tailwind ($15). I paid $2.20 in Ebay fees.

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
Amazon (joint supplements for my dog, blue light glasses, fridge water filters, a gift for my sister’s birthday, Atomic Habits book, and tiny hoop earrings) – $148.81
Pets (Haylee’s dental) – $885.84
Parking – $12
Acorns app – $1.00
BCAAs – $44.98

Excluding my debt I spent a total of $2,553.07. Womp, womp. Not good to look at and not good to feel. It’s incredible how easily those numbers add up.

Let’s review my October goals

Lower my interest rate for my Capital One credit card by calling them CHECK
Spend less on myself/unnecessary items CHECK (more on Haylee!)
Make at least $500 in extra income NOPE
Get my Bank of America credit card debt under $500 CHECK ($0 woohoo!!!!)
Track my spending WEEKLY so I stay on top of my food budget (~$250) NOPE (I tried and didn’t enjoy it lol)
No going out to eat! KIND OF? (I spent $6 on 2 donuts!)

My November Goals