Hard Truth

(I missed April I know, there will be catch-up posts later)

So work is a little slow right now and I've just crunched a lot of numbers for a more concrete estimation of how long it will take for me to pay off a debt and save up for something. It's both comforting and depressing, but I'm very glad I did it.

It's strange how knowing you'll accomplish something off in the distant future can be comforting and stressful. Comforting because there's no set deadline, but stressful because no deadline means no plan. Does that make sense? So once you put a date to it you're glad the end is in sight, but knowing the actual distance can be disheartening.

That's what happened to me tonight. See, in regard to finances I have four specific goals:

(1) Pay off my credit card debt.
(2) Save up enough to be able to budget a month ahead.
(3) Save up enough for six months worth of expenses for my Emergency Fund.
(4) Pay off my student loans.

These are all concrete goals because they have a specific number attached, such as:

(1) -$1,379.52
(2) $2,600**
(3) $15,600**
(4) -$$$$ (Just know it's depressing. I'm not comfortable letting the internet know my student loan debt)

**These are high end approximations, because with emergencies it's always best to leave some wiggle room.

So once I had the end goal amount in mind, it was time to see what I could put toward them. Aside from my regular work income, I have "four" means of secondary income. There's the money I get from donating plasma, babysitting, working overtime, and the $50 "snowballed in" from the loan I paid off last year. If you're unfamiliar with that term, go check out Dave Ramsey's stuff. It's wonderful.

At first glance you'd think that putting all four secondary incomes into each progressive goal would be the best course of action, but it's not. Here's my plan of attack:

(1st)  Plasma/OT/Babysitting/Loan Extra ~~> Credit Card (pay off July or August)

(2nd) Plasma/OT/Babysitting ~~> Month Ahead Budget (finish around February 2017)
          Loan Extra ~~> Student Loans

(3rd)  Babysitting ~~> Emergency Fund
          Plasma/OT/Loan Extra ~~> Student Loans

Everything is going toward my credit card debt because well, it's a debt and needs to be taken care of immediately. It's also thankfully rather small, so focusing all my energy on it won't take much time. Then once that's taken care of, I'm re-dedicating the loan extra back into my next smallest loan because again, it's debt and takes priority.

Then, while it's not debt, being a month ahead on my finances is nearly as important. It'll mean I no longer have to live paycheck to paycheck. I can budget with a real number and not estimates. I won't have to wait until my next paycheck to buy groceries. It will provide a buffer and give me peace of mind. It will do away with that financial burden on my shoulder.

Both the Emergency Fund and Student Loans are going to take a few years to save up/pay off, so there's not much point putting a specific end date for them. Plus I could run into an emergency and use up some of my EF, so there's no way of knowing. The important thing is that I regularly put money into it, such as the $20 every Monday as part of my budget. My babysitting is sporadic and not particularly lucrative, but it can knock off a few months. Just going by the $80/month I'm allotting for it now though, it's gonna take 15 yrs.

Thankfully, with just "snowballing" my loan payments I can shave 2-3 yrs off my repayment plan, so adding overtime and plasma money could take off another year or two. AND if I can actually succeed in my Etsy business, I'd be able to pay it off even faster!